If becoming an allied health professional is on your mind, chances are that you must have already started preparing for the Allied Health Professions Admission Test (AHPAT). The competitive exam, just like regular medical tests, is difficult to crack. The test is conducted to analyze your ability and knowledge level over five areas namely reading comprehension, verbal ability, chemistry, quantitative ability, and biology. The skill-based test measures the knowledge of various topics covered under these five heads and then chooses applicants based on their ability to analyze, comprehend, and answer the questions correctly. If appearing for the Allied Health Professions Admission Test is on your mind, here are four things you may do to crack the test:
- Set up a timetable Before you set on to do anything, it’s very important to chart a timetable and then study as per your calendar. Competitive exams may be extremely tough to crack, considering the number of applicants sitting for the tests across the country. Hence, when you are appearing for AHPAT, you need to be cautious about the competitiveness of the test. The best way to start would be to chart a daily routine where you may focus on all the five key areas of the test and then based on your strengths and weaknesses, decide on the amount of time you need to spend on each topic.
- Self-evaluate yourself It is important that you know your weaknesses more than your strengths while appearing for the Allied Health Professions Admission Test. Therefore, it is pertinent that you do a strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat (SWOT) analysis on yourself before setting up your timetable. Keep in mind that the goals that you have set for yourself must be realistic and should keep you in a positive state of mind, instead of stressing you out. Once you know your strong and weak points on the basis of self-evaluation, you should create test papers for yourself on a routine basis. Ensure that you are keeping a tab on your speed and accuracy level from one test to another and focus on concepts more.
- Sit for preliminary tests Preliminary tests give you an idea of what to expect in the exam hall. Sitting for these tests months in advance will ensure that you are not thrown off by the test paper in the actual examination. These tests are set keeping in mind the actual test paper and hence, give you an opportunity to assess your skill and ability, based on timing and speed.
Take tips from seniors Last but not the least, instead of stressing yourself out, take some time to talk to your seniors who have previously appeared for this test. Listening to their experience will help you gauge the type of preparation you need. They may guide you in a positive way and may give you a tip or two to crack the test successfully.