Updated 6 min read
Know the pattern for your recruitment
NTS designs each test for the organisation that is recruiting, so the pattern is published with the advertisement. Note the sections, the total number of questions, the time allowed, the passing score and whether wrong answers are penalised.
Calculate your pace
Divide the time by the number of questions to find your time per question, then practise at that pace from the first week. Speed is a skill you build, not something that appears on the day.
Speed drills
- Sets of 20 questions in 15 minutes, mixed across subjects
- Skip anything that takes more than a minute, then return to it
- Review skipped questions afterwards: they show which concepts are slow to recall
Broad before deep
Screening tests sample widely. Revise pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy, microbiology, biochemistry and physiology to a solid basic level before going deep on any one subject.
General sections
If the test includes English, analytical, quantitative or general knowledge sections, practise them daily in short sessions. They are often where well-prepared pharmacy candidates lose easy marks.
On the day
- Answer the questions you know first
- Do not spend long on any single question
- If there is no negative marking, never leave a question blank
- If there is negative marking, answer only when you can eliminate at least two options