Aniket Pratapneni
Aniket Pratapneni, a student of The International School Bangalore got the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award in English for his excellent performance in the Cambridge IGCSE examinations. You will be happy to know that this topper never compromised on his sleep or hobbies. In fact, he regularly played basketball and practiced piano to release stress and relieve boredom during the exam period. Apart from academics, he likes to give back to the society and help people especially children. Aniket and some of his friends have taken up the role of PE teachers and teach various sports including basketball to the children living in the workers’ complex adjacent to their society. What’s interesting to note about this topper is that he is wiser beyond his years and understands the working of human brain and effectively applies this knowledge to ace his exams. In this interview to Priya Sarin, let this extra-ordinary young Champ share some wisdom with you and guide you on the art of excelling in exams.
Good memory is vital for success in exams. How did you ensure that you are able to remember and recall what you have studied?
>> It’s hard to remember information if you try to memorize without understanding or think of it as just isolated pieces of data. Understanding the concepts and mechanisms behind everything I studied was a key step in helping me remember the information I needed to. In addition, linking certain concepts to others – even across different subjects – helped me a lot, because the brain finds it much easier to recall one chunk of interlinked information than multiple pieces of seemingly unlinked information.
Can you share a few study techniques and tips that you followed?
>> Making notes about important concepts is a key skill to have in order to prepare well. However, just making notes is not enough – it is important to revise these notes multiple times. It doesn’t need to be intensive memorization – light but frequent read-throughs help to ingrain the information into your memory. After reading through the notes a few times, it helps to recall the information without visual prompts to see if you remember – this provides a greater capability to remember the concepts as well as a confidence boost.
The brain’s conscious self focuses on the narrative and finds processes that become more positive more tolerable, no matter how negative they may have started. So, to combat procrastination, I found it helpful to set a timer of 30 minutes to an hour, during which I would focus on the particular subject or chapter that I didn’t like, and then give myself a reward once the time was complete (say, another 30 minutes of basketball).
For students of this digital age, focusing and working on one thing has become the biggest obstacle. But your results show you know how to concentrate while studying. What are the main things students can do to concentrate better?
>> Focusing on studying during a month-long session of exams was a struggle for me, too. Many students think that the answer is to detach yourself from the outside world for the entire month and sit in your room and study for 10 hours a day. But doing so can easily cause you to burn out – it is far more productive to keep a balance between studying and entertainment – I went out to play basketball for about an hour every day. But just as I was 100% focused on basketball in that one hour, I was 100% focused on my studies in the time I spent studying. I didn’t keep my phone in the same room and disconnected from the internet unless it was absolutely necessary.
Revision is important to ensure that you are able to retain and recall your lessons. How do you ensure quick and effective brush up before exams?
>> As I mentioned before, taking summary notes of the important concepts in the syllabus was one of my key skills in preparing for the exams – after condensing the information that I needed to know, the ordeal of studying seemed far less tedious and daunting. Connecting different concepts to form easily accessible chunks allowed me to just read through the summary notes without any tedious rote memorization and still recall the necessary information.
Notes are a student’s most important weapon. And winners like you have powerful weapons. Any note-making tips for your juniors?
>> I think many students get caught up in focusing on parts of lessons that don’t matter as much, believing that the exam could spring a trick question on them. However, in my experience, most of the questions on the exam are quite straightforward as long as one does not overthink them. So, I would say that it is important to refer to the syllabus documents while taking notes and ensure that it covers the entire syllabus, but nothing outside the syllabus.
Many students tend to sacrifice on their sleep and hobbies for exams. Did you do so? If yes, did it help? If not, how did you ensure that you make the most of your time?
>> No, I did not sacrifice any sleep for my studying. Nor did I cut down on my hobbies – in fact, playing basketball and practicing the piano often provided me with mediums of releasing stress and relieving boredom during the exam period. As I mentioned before, making the most of my studying sessions involved removing all potential distractions from my immediate surroundings. I’ve tried staying up late and waking up early to study, but I find that sacrificing sleep makes me lazier and less productive throughout the day – operating at 100% efficiency for 2 hours makes much more sense to me than operating at 50% efficiency for 3 hours.
~ Priya Sarin
priya[at]thestudentsdigest.com
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