How to Crack NDA Entrance Exam without Coaching

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the NDA 2023 Examination. This exam is conducted two times in a year, i.e. NDA I and NDA II in the Month of April and September.

The exam is divided into two parts, first is Written Test and second is the SSB Interview.
As admission in Defence Academy would not be easy, hard work is required at every step. Before discussing the preparation tips, let’s begin with the first and foremost thing:

Stop relying on the coaching

RElying only on coaching will not help you in cracking any level of competitive exam. Self-study is the key. Work hard and you will succeed.
So first discuss the syllabus and pattern of NDA Written Examination :

Mathematics (300 marks and 2.5 hours time) :

• Concept of set
• Operations on sets
• Venn diagrams
• Types of matrices
• Operations on matrices
• Determinant of a matrix
• Trigonometrical ratios
• Trigonometric identities sum and difference formulae
• Distance formula
• Equation of a line in various forms
• Angle between two lines
• Distance of a point from a line
• Equation of a circle in standard and in general form
• Composite functions – one to one, onto and inverse functions
• Notion of limit
• Standard limits

English (200 questions and time is included with General Knowledge section – 2.5 hours) :

• Vocabulary
• Grammar and usage
• Comprehension and writing

General Knowledge (400 questions and time is included with English section – 2.5 hours) :

• General Physics
• General chemistry
• General science
• Geography,
• Current events
• History
• Freedom movement.

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PHASE I – SSB Exam

So here are the tips on how to Crack the Written Examination :

1. Time and study Management

Before beginning anything, time management and proper study timetable are important.
As you can see, Mathematics is an important part of the written examination, work on your Maths skills. Your basics should be clear and you must be aware with the theorems and formulas of every chapter and topic.
Manage your timetable giving 2 to 4 hours a day for Mathematics, 1 hour of English and 2 hours of General Knowledge every day.
For Mathematics, your school textbooks are enough. Go according to your school studies of 11th and 12th class and do every question and solved example as many times as you can. Do not leave any question, whether it is easy or difficult.
For English, you can take help of BBC. It is one of the best books to prepare for Grammar, Reading and Writing section of the English exam. Work on your Grammar basics and start from the very beginning – prepositions, verbs, tenses etc.
For the Reading and Writing section, do comprehension and poems and write the letters, notices, stories etc.
For General Knowledge, watch the news on daily basis. Stay aware of what’s happening around you and read magazines daily. Read newspapers and read them aloud in front of a mirror which will help you in the Interview. Learn about India’s geographical system through books.
Always add a break after 2 hours of study. Do your favourite thing at this time – play, write, draw – anything. It will keep you refreshed and active.

2. Online content

Browse and collect previous year question papers and solve them. Try to solve the question paper 15 minutes before the finishing time, so that you would have time to revise. This will help you in understanding the exam pattern better and learn which type of questions comes in the exam and how.
Take online mock tests regularly. It will help you stay up to date with your preparations.

3. Diet and exercise

Diet and exercise not only matters in the SSB Interview but also in the preparation of any exam or in your daily life. If you stay healthy, you would be able to do anything anytime.
Have carbohydrate-rich food and take protein. Eat the maximum amount of food at the breakfast and the minimum amount of food at night.
Add chicken or fish in your regular diet. Milk and oats are important and drink at least 5 to 10 litres of water every day at every hour interval.
Dedicate 30 minutes to exercise in the morning and take a few minutes rest after it. Have a proper diet after the exercise. You can also consider yoga.

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PHASE II – SSB Interview

Now comes the most difficult part which is the SSB Interview. Many students are able to crack the written exam but fail to clear the interview.
In the interview, they check your physical strength, confidence, communication skills and what not. They put you through the toughest of the tasks.
So here are the few points which you must remember during the interview.

1. Maintain Your Health Properly

Maintaining not only your health but also your physical strength is important. The type of diet and exercise and eating routine mentioned above must be followed timely.
Work hard on yourself and you can also join a gym. You can consult a dietician and a personal trainer at the gym to have you through the right type of diet and exercise every day in a better way.

Relevant Links
How to Get Hired for a Job after a Career Break in India
How to Crack UPSC IAS exam in One Attempt
How to get Government Job in India: A Comprehensive Guide

2. Improve Your Communication Skills

Work on your English speaking skills.
Reading the newspaper on a daily basis is the best way to improve your English speaking skills.
Whenever you find a new English word, write it down in a separate notebook with meaning and a sentence made by your own imagination or a situation which you have been through which describes the meaning of that word.
It will help you remember this word.
Read a newspaper or magazine aloud in front of a mirror and pay attention to your body language.
Your body must give the positive wives with a firm and satisfied smile on your face.
You must not feel panicked and nervous in any way. Stay confident and your body and words will reflect the same.
Tip: If you don’t know the answer to a particular question, don’t pretend to know or don’t think hard about it.
Be firm and let them know that you are unaware of it.
This will reflect your self-confidence and on spot thinking level which is tested in the interview.
SSB Interviews are designed to test you in the hardest way possible. They will try to give you situations about anything and you must think of a way out of it.
For this, you can consider going through different and any type of pictures online and generating an imaginary story behind it.
Real hard work and creativity is required to crack SSB Interview but believe that you can do it because after all, the interview is all about testing your confidence level.
All the best.