First lesson to be learnt from this exam was don’t leave the immediate previous semester question paper. Do it and make sure you have all the numerical and questions done!! This is what happened to my roommate and me. We studied everything, did every numerical twice, scoured the notes by heart but ignored the numerical of last semester. So there we were. sitting in the examination hall cursing myself and the question setter for not making an effort and myself for being foolish enough to leave these questions thinking they won't be repeated so soon.Well, if these two questions were a blow then the rest was scary as I was left there to answer all the theory questions for which the theory was inadequate. In p2 mainly the theory comes from the combustion chamber part and here I did one more mistake in my preparation. I did make notes but they were not enough, I mean this subject requires notes and to be studied from variety of books, they questions are similar but not a single book you will find in Gie that has the complete answer in it, so you got to scour loads of book to get a good answerable answer. Otherwise it just vague, and on the figures that you have to depend on. So make it a point to have good notes on the theory part of P2.
Does having good notes will suffice, no? Having notes gives you an edge now studying and memorizing them does the real work and this takes me down to my last minute exam blunder. From the start of the course people fed us p2 is easy. Just do the numerical do the cc and you are clear. And I foolishly believed it and so did some other folks! But this over simplification made me neglect the subject. Yeah it actually did. I did give it less time, I concentrated on the numerical, left out the theory for last week before the exams and this is where I did get my most anxious moment.
I delegated the theory till the last week before the exams and then when I finally sat with the book and the notes, I started getting anxiety pangs. And believe me they are much worse that snake bites!! “Ok lets do cc”. “Hey what are the different types of nozzles” and then ok that is the derivation for the Bryton cycle. This and much more topic tumbled down to me all at once, drawing me, drowning me. I somehow did the stuff but was not satisfied; I could have done much better if I had paid the proper study schedule for p2. So folks learn from my mistake. Never delegate the work of p2 and never neglect and let it sit there till the last moment.
One of my reason for keeping the thing off to last minutes was the confidence that I had 25% of the syllabus like the cycles already covered in section a and I can do that in an hour and that proved to a naught. It not that I couldn't do the numerical or derivations, but its that it look more time I expected and silly mistakes snarled in every fifth line making things frustrating, so do all the stuff before exams when you have lots of time. keep the exams and a week before the exam for pure old studies. no new things, just revision of what you have already learnt.
And when I am on to advising then there is one more that I guess every amaesi'an will agree. When preparing for amaesi, be prepared to surprised at the question paper, its always as inventive as Edison (perhaps!), as unpredictable as the stock market. And there are no rules. don't say this topic will come , that won't come? It a wild stock market out there. any question is possible so just go ahead and study what you can. Don't believe me just flip the June 2004 and Dec 2003 questions your doubts will melt away. As one batch mate of mine who gave flight for the 4th time put it candidly, "every time I study for flights I learn a new thing!" So folk you will always find new things; the subjects are vast and so is the mindset of the question paper setter, so just make sure you learn every time you read and don't guess. just learn what you find. who knows!!
And last but definitely not the least thing that I learnt from the exam was not to fret over what I have not learnt. Just make sure that you know everything that you have studied and concentrate on it during the exams. Fretting over what you have not done cost a friend of mine a semester. You know, our syllabus is big for 6 months, but we brave souls do take the plunge. But don't expect to cover all of it. If you can its well and good but crying over what's not covered it not great as I learn from mistake of one friend in this exams. I am in no way suggesting selective studies. No that's even worse. You loose more by it. All I am saying is if time gets crunch and before the exams, its always wise to have a in-depth knowledge of what you already know than shoving the new material under stress!!! So prepare from the beginning of the semester........
Related links for AMAeSI June 2008 exams
5 tips for studying for exams
Secret of clearing AeSI!
My way of decompressing while preparing for exams
After exams what?
6 lessons from last semester
