With the tests coming up real soon, I thought I would throw out some advice and hope some other folks who have been succesful will do the same:
1) Night before the test, relax! Do something you enjoy that does not wipe you out. Obvioulsy, avoid anything that will affect you the next morning, like booze. Make sure your uniform is ready! Get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
2) Morning of the test, wake up at your normal time. Get a good breakfast. Avoid extra stressors like a lot of caffiene. Listen to the birds chirp or something else that soothes your mind!
3) Walking in to the test: Be a bit early, in the right uniform, with everything you need. Find a seat and take a minute to 'go to your happy place.' You already know what you know and you don't know what you don't know. Nothing you can do now will change that. Know that fact deep in your heart!
4) Opening the booklet: Take that deep breath again, think about 'your happy place.' Read the first question, without looking at the answers. Think through the question, exactly as it is written, without putting in a bunch of 'what ifs.' Think of what you would answer if it was a fill in the blank question. Then, look at the choices given. Your answer is probably there! Don't double guess yourself, but look at the other answers and see if you can rule them out. Pick an answer, look at the question number in the book, fill in the CORRECT answer number on the answer sheet.
5) Repeat # 4
6) Repeat # 4 148 more times.
7) If you still have time, go back to Q #1 and give a quick light review of each Q & A and make sure it makes sense! Sometimes, question # 87 will enlighten you about question # 6.
8) Gather your stuff and turn it in.
9) Relax for the next couple of month and patiently await your results. Nothing more you can do to change what you did in # 1-9!
10) While back at work, do your best to just do your job right every day. When you are less than 90% sure you are about to do something 'correctly' take the time to look it up and make yourself 100% certain. Do this for rating and leadership items.
I take the all the extra time to memorize the questions. Its fun and challenging to see all the ones I can remember when I get back. I write all the ones I dont know on the scrap paper to get them in my head better even though I have to turn the scrap paper in it helps me remember the areas I have to study more. Thank you masterchief! Good luck everyone.
Relax is the key! Should you not score well, it isn't the end of the world. You cannot get kicked out or masted for not writing a good test. Definitely stay away from coffee or sweets. Train the people around you. Its not only for their benefit but, it helps you as well.
Make sure you know where the test is going to be held, and how to get there. Last year I got the location wrong, and was lost trying to find the new location at the last minute. I almost missed the start of the test because of this. Don't be the last one, like me.
