First and foremost, allow me to congratulate you for taking your first step to achieve your goal, whIch is basically acquiring tips and reviewers for your Civil Service Exam, otherwise you wont be here reading this blog.
Alright, let's get going to why you are reading this. Below are the tips I personally learned upon my CSE journey:
1. Don't just review, create a timeline for your review - upon registration for CSE, you have around 3 months or less to prepare for the day itself. Even though the CSC is not releasing yet the exam coverage you have to start reviewing. I suggest you buy a book reviewer because it allows you to make a time frame for each category you have to relearn. Divide each section of the reviewer and mark when you should reach the last page. The CSE is so broad, so might as well start reviewing upon successful registration.
2. Leave the last 2 weeks before the date of exam as refresher of what you did learn for the last 3 months - there's a big chance you will forget what you have reviewed, so allot your last 2 weeks as refresher for what you have reviewed for the last 3 months.
3. Take down notes - have a personal notebook where you take down notes and important details that you will read back during the last 2 weeks for refresher as mentioned in tip no. 2. Also, studies show that you are more likely to remember stuff when you write it down.
3. Still take time to do what you are passionate about even when reviewing - take it lightly and still do what you are fond about. Whether it is writing poetry, playing guitar, nature tripping, baking, or whatever creative stuff it is, still have some time to do it. I strongly believe that not stressing too much yourself as you review greatly helps. You can also allot only at least 2 hours a day for the review and do some other stuff. Enjoy as you review. Personally, I exclude Mondays as my "no review day", so I think having a break helps. As long as you are achieving your time frame as mentioned on tip no. 1.
4. Join online community - as for me, joining the page of Ma'am Taj Martin (CSE FB Community) really helps me. You will be amazed by the hokage tips you can get from the online community which are beneficial to your goal to pass. I personally suggest that you involve yourself with the online coaches, like Ma'am Taj Martin, Maam Leonalyn, and Team Lyqa, rather than enrolling to a review center. You are really going to need their hokage tips on how to solve/answer questions in easier ways. You may also ask knowledgeable persons if you want to fully understand certain topics, like your prof/teachers, like what I did.
5. Practice Mock Exams with Time Limit - buying book reviewer, like Brain Box, usually comes with a mock exam. You can also find these CSE mock exams online and free. Please do not skip this tip. This will help you improve manage your time because the actual exam is really time consuming. You have to learn how to answer faster. So practice mock exams with time limit.
6. Pray before and after you perform your review - among all the tips here, this is the most effective. Pray to God and talk to Him with all your heart. Let Him handle this battle.
7. Don't announce that you are going to take the exam - you may allow some of your closest loved ones or friends but never announce it to the public. Believe me, you will feel less pressured and that will contribute to a healthy psychological well-being.
8. Check all the necessary documents/things you need to bring before the exam day - please don't do this on the day itself.
9. Check the exam venue before the date of your exam if possible - or at least google map it to plan your route going there.
10. Be early on the day of your CSE - don't ruin all the efforts you have made for the last 3 months by being late. Be there at least 1 hour before the time.
There you go. Hope these help. I really wanted to share these insights because it's the only thing I can do to help strangers acquire a passing score. 80% is not an easy score to achieve and that shows on the figures below:
I only passed because of the grace of God. That's why tip no. 6 is very important. After the exam, I already accepted that I indeed failed the exam, there's no way I could reach that 80% passing rate, I told myself, and if ever I passed, it's not because I can but only because of God's grace. Perhaps some of the guess I shaded, blessedly, turned out to be the right answers. I don't know, but I am sure it's not because of myself alone. And I pray, you too, pass this CSE and if not, don't give-up and try again. This was my score the last time I took CSE, it was also my first time. It's okay to fail. In my case, I turned it as a stepping stone to do better next time:
This is what I got now, praise be to God:
By the way, allow me to share my husband's rating as first time taker because I'm so amazed of his rating almost surpassing mine without a decent review as he say so. I don't know if he's bluffing, but during the 3 months of my review, I never saw him pick up my reviewer, so unless you have a brain like him, forget all the tips I mentioned 😅. But not no. 6 and No. 10. Never.
P.S. if you saw the numbering mistake here, you are likely to pass CSE 😅.
