As the examination season is around the corner, I felt this would be a good time to share my experience of an exam that is very important to me. Yes, the SNAP examination. The one-hour format adding to the best of two attempts rule does make this a very rare and challenging paper. I would split this article into two broad categories. I will first give an idea about my experience of the exam followed by things I wish I knew before I gave SNAP.
The Day of the Exam
I remember waking up slightly anxious. For context, the SNAP exam is conducted thrice, a candidate can appear twice and their best score is considered. This was my very first attempt but it was the second SNAP paper. Though appearing second seems to have an added advantage of experience but in reality, this was hardly the case. The only thing to undergo any addition was my anxiety. There were various reviews of the first paper and obviously different conclusions and expected cut-offs. To every aspirant, no matter what the exam, the expected cut-off score is an added weight that may often pull them down. With all the built-up anxiety, the first thing I did on the day of the exam was to deal with this. I made an entire day’s routine concentrating on a nice lunch post the examination. This was solely to take my mind off the paper and help me compose myself. As I sat on my allotted seat, like most people I reran my strategies in my mind.
I knew which section I was going to attempt first, which section I would attempt last and how much time I would spend on a section approximately. To every aspirant reading this, remember that the SNAP exam gives you a superpower. It allows you to pick any section and that too move between sessions as and when required. Now as we all know, that with great power comes great responsibility and it’s your responsibility to use this power well. Almost every individual enters an examination hall with a specific strategy. I had decided to keep my strengths for the latter portion of my paper, but every individual’s strategy is extremely unique. Now, as you probably know, SNAP has become a one-hour paper. This truly and immensely adds to the difficulty of the examination. Due to the strict time bound nature of the exam, there is very little scope for inaccuracy. It is also equally important to carefully judge whether a question is solvable or not because getting stuck on one question is the worst thing an aspirant can do to themselves in this format.
So to every aspirant reading this blog, don’t let anxiety get the better of you, prepare well and believe in yourself. All the best!
Things I Wish I Knew Before I Appeared For SNAP
I honestly don’t have too many regrets regarding the snap exam but I will still name a few things I wish I knew before I gave SNAP. Firstly, I wish I knew my friends were unpunctual. There was a two hour wait before the exam. I reached three hours early thinking my friends would be there. They reached an hour before the exam and I learnt a valuable lesson about faith. One more thing that I wish I knew before I gave SNAP is how crucial time management is. It has been an important life lesson which SNAP taught me in some way. It is a heavily time-based examination and you need to be extremely strict with your time management strategy. So, if a question is not working out you cannot waste an extra second on it. The last thing I wish I knew before I gave SNAP is the future. I wish I knew that it would all work out and I am sure my younger self would have performed better, would have been a lot less anxious and would have smiled more.