How to prepare one month before NDA & NA Written Examination

The National Defence Academy and Naval Academy (NDA & NA) Examination is administered by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for School Leaving (K-12) Students in India. Writing written examination is the first step; qualified candidates are called for personality test and interview for final selection. The UPSC India conducts NDA & NA Examination twice every year. 

Here are a few tips to prepare one month before actual NDA and NA test date.

#1. NDA & NA Examination is rigorous testing to fix, what you have studied in school years and whether you would be able to serve to Indian Defence Forces. Plan your preparation at least one year before you write actual examination.

#2. Self study is the key; NDA & NA Examination is objective type test / multiple choice questions (mcqs). Clear the basics well, and practice identical questions, the types that are asked in real examination.

You can find guide books for NDA & NA Preparation in the market place. Also you can search for websites that conducts online classes and provides study material, mock test etc.

Find a mentor; join some coaching institute for NDA & NA Exam Preparation. If your parents can not afford fees, find someone who can teach you only selected topics, that way will be cheaper. If either not works for you, do not loose hope, be your own mentor!

#3. Plan your studies for NDA & NA Exam at least one year before the actual examination. This is essential step. Cover every topic mentioned in the NDA & NA Exam Syllabus and practice lots of Objective Type Questions. This is essential, so you feel confident at least one month / two month / 3 months before actual exam date. 

NDA&NA Written Exam is competitive test to identify whether you would be able to complete a course from one of the Defence Academy and further serve to Indian Defence Forces. The Level of NDA & NA Examination Questions is high.

One Month Before NDA & NA Examination

#4. Do NOT study new topic. Every topic from the syllabus is important. But NO, if something has left, leave it for now. Focus only around covered topics.

#5. Revision is the Key. Keep revising Mathematics Formulae, and General Ability Test (GAT) Basics.

#6. Test your self; take mock tests, as many as you can. Ideally, one mock Test every alternate day will work well.

#7. Evaluate yourself, how you fared. Why you marked an answer wrongly from one of your favorite topics. Pick the basic books and clear doubts.

NDA & NA Exam is high pressure competitive test; do not overload yourself with exam worries. This is just another examination. Stay calm, go for walk, listen music, eat healthy. STAY FIT. Even small sickness may hamper your performance in actual test.

2/3 Days Before NDA & NA Examination

STOP READING!

How much you prepared, believe, that much will get you a place in NDA & NA Written Test Result. You can flip books, look across some formulae, or periodic table, but not for the purpose of Exam Preparation and scoring. You are already prepared, now it’s time to test yourself.

How to stay productive and learn with ease

In my opinion, a person is most productive when his / her all departments are working normally, this includes, body, mind and soul (the connection between body and mind). The term Soul is often connected with spirituality, see detailed definition here https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul.

Noises are many, shall you listen to every advice, shall you attend all type of classes, online, offline, crash course, full time etc., etc., etc.. The answer is NO. Whatever you do with full concentration is the most productive part of your productivity system. That is the stage when you focus on One Task, outside noises do not disturb you. Whether you read algebra or go through a history page or you are setting your OKRs for your company, it's completely normal, not tiring and you are into it.  

OKRs that stands for Objectives and Key Results. Students can set OKRs for college programmes. To know about OKRs see official website https://www.whatmatters.com/

Listen everyone, but time is limited. Try to listen to those who have already achieved it, who has already cracked an examination, who are already working and taking a product to the next level. Learn from Doers, Hack Gaps, those who are doers will infuse a positive sense of doing in you. Books are many, magazines are many, websites are limitless, AI is bringing you new knowledge, online classes are there, videos can teach you anytime, anywhere, but hold on, before you decide to take that class and learn from lectures, chose certain options, give them a try, and then select one that fits you and not your classmate or a work colleague necessarily. 

Learning from different sources is awesome, and knowing more will take you close to success where you will say, Aha, I have cracked this. But in the heavy load of information, being human, and in the quest of to know more, get more, we forget the fact that we have only 24 Hrs in a day, our energy level is certain and our body and mind need continuous resources to strengthen. Information load is so high that we do many things, follow many methods to achieve quick success, we go by stories because stories are interesting. In all this, the most important thing we forget is how much to do around what?  

For example, to learn set theory, you can follow your syllabus, take 4/5 mock tests, and buy one guidebook and practice book to increase your problem-solving speed. There is no need at all to solve problems from 10 books that are recommended as marketing gimmicks. Yes, you heard it right. Books are marketed that way too. And no wrong in one sush practice but when you buy a new practice book when exams are nearing, I think that may cause you distraction.

When you solve problems from one practice book, repeat solving them again, do it 2/3 times, you will notice, your approach of problem solving is different as well as time taken.

Entrance Examinations test you not only for knowledge but also for your way of approach to solve a problem. This is not about memorizing or learning. Indeed, this is about how beneficial you would be to college and industry after completing the coursework. The way of approach to solve any problem comes from practice. Yes, when you can do more, do it, that is completely fine, but not meeting your tennis buddy till the exams are over will not help you in cracking Bernoulli's Theorem.  

Keep a balance, and you can crack any exam with learning; and learning is the way you approach to solve a problem. Seats are limited, demands are high, no problem in that, it's not about one test only. It's meaningless, if your test preparation won't teach you a problem solving approach, and that approach will come from a selection of a few books, few classes, and a few mock tests. Strike a balance, Hack Gaps. Crack any examination that you want to. 

Under preparation and Over preparation both hampers your performance. Before you begin must identify your topics and classify those according to difficulty level. This way you will know how much emphasis to go give on what? Once you know you can prepare better and prevent under doing or over doing.  

Inspiration source: Vox.Com, i was searching internet for some articles and found Vox article, the website is pay walled, i read only a few lines before it shown Paywall features, but headline was so interesting that I read it somehow and this idea came in mind perhaps helpful to you test takers. I have not paid them; they need a mention for great work.

First Edit: 3 September 2025 

16 Websites and Apps For Entrance Exam Preparation

Every student appears for entrance examination at some stage in life. Preparing for an entrance exam takes ample amount of time and energy. You need to be with the crowd and stand out as distinct. In any entrance examination the number of candidates qualified is significantly less than the number of candidates appeared for it.

Preparation matters.

Irrespective of at what examination a student is writing, the level of questions asked are always high. An entrance examination tests you for 3 things. 

1: What you have studied in previous years. 

2. Your academic aptitude, are you able to take admission in a said course for which examination is being conducted and 

3. Whether you would be able to complete further course work successfully?

The questions asked in any entrance examination come from the curriculum that you had studied in preceding years. However, the level of questions asked are high.

This is digital age, computers, laptops and mobile devices are available in abundance. The method of learning is changing slowly. Now many best teachers prefer teaching online. Student also loves studying while sitting at home. To help in your entrance examination preparation, I gathered here 16 Website and Apps that you can use for entrance test preparation. 

Following given the list and web address. Through these website you can get access to Online Learning for Entrance Examination (Web based learning, App based learning, Computer Based Learning or a combination of few or all of these).

1. Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org)
2. Lynda (www.linda.com) now called LinkedIn Learning (https://www.linkedin.com/learning/)
3. TCYOnline.(www.tcyonline.com)
4. WizIQ Education Online (www.wiziq)
5. Wisdom24x7.com (www.wisdom24x7.com)
6. MeritNation.com (www.meritnation.com)
7. Toppr.com (www.toppr.com)
8. Yahoo Answers (https://in.answers.yahoo.com/)
9. LearnHub.com (www.learnhub.com)
10. Aakash iTutor (www.aakashitutor.com)
11. Brilliant Tutorials E-Tutor (www.brilliant-tutorials.com)
12. SnapDeal (www.snapdeal.com/products/e-learning)
13. Flipkart (www.flipkart.com/e-learning)
14. Topperlearning.com (www.topperlearning.com)
15. SimplyLearnt.com (www.simplylearnt.com)

Note: using these website, you also prepare for school exams, board exams, college exams, and competitive exams to obtain a job.

 

This list may be or may not be helpful to you. But do not count on AI based learning for examinations, that will lead you to nowhere. Perhaps some may pass the exam from AI based learning as well but AI is not a trusted source of information.

Please count of books, teachers and guides for academic studies. I am not against AI instead I am with AI but I do not support blind faith and academic learning based on AI. May be AI can help learning to those in special need or something like that and its doing it already but writing your answers based on AI responses because you are lazy will be harmful to your career.

General Knowlege for Competitive Examinations

Indian students write many competitive examinations to get admission into next level of school, colleges and university programmes. Also examinations are held for recruitment to various posts and service. Some of the popular examinations in India UPSC Examinations, SSC Examinations, Banking Services Examinations, Railways Examinations, Admission Tests for College Admission Undergraduate, Post Graduate etc and Entrance Examinations to enter into professional programmes. 

In all such examinations Questions of General Knowledge are asked. In some exams there might be a separate question paper, in some it may be a part of question paper with other subjects, in some may be not. But General Knowledge is one of the compulsory part in a student life.

This is why to help out Indian students I have gathered chapters of general knowledge in varied subjects areas. These are true to my knowledge and written after study of various books, news sources, periodicals etc. 

General Knowledge (GK) means popular knowledge that comes from listening day to day stories.  These stories may from any area of life. The knowledge in all such general talks makes part of General Knowledge. Our common know how about things, people, places, science, technology etc is a measure of our awareness. In the competitive examination for admission, jobs and scholarships etc Questions in General Knowledge are asked. So you can prepare better for your upcoming examination I have gathered data around different walks of life and put in Organized Format. Here are lessons for you

• Indian Polity: General Knowledge for Competitive Examinations
• General Knowlegde: PHYSICS
• General Knowledge: CHEMISTRY
• General Knowledge - BOTANY
• General Knowledge: Zoology
• An Overview of Historical Facts and Figures: World History
• Noted Indian Historians
• List of Historian from countries other than India
• Countries and Languages
• List Of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites In India
• General Knowledge: First in India
• GK: First Heads of States (World)
• GK: First Visitors, Invaders
• GK: First in World
• GK: Nationals Animals and Countries
• Countries and National Flowers
• List of National Fruits
• Important Rivers of the World
• List of National Birds of Some Prime Countries
• National Emblems of Different Countries
• International Boundaries
• News Agencies of Some Countries
• Some Important Political Parties of Different Countries
• Intelligence Agencies of the world
• Signs and Symbols and Their Significance
• Indian National Symbols
• Official Books and Papers
• Nick Names of Important Indian Places
• Most Popular Newspaper
• Interesting Facts about India