Advice for the exams
1. Spend a maximum of 30 seconds for each question. If you still don't know the answer flag it, skip it, and come back after
2. Know which questions to skip. In maths and numerical reasoning, I skipped the questions with the long passages and instead came back to them in the end. If you spend like a minute reading the passage and not know how to answer them, that's a waste of more than a minute.
3. If you get halfway through the exam and feel a bit hopeless because in the worst case scenario you keep skipping questions, flip to the end questions and do those. Usually the easier questions are at the start and end, and they put the harder ones in the middle to slow down students
4. With writing, always allocate at least 2 minutes for planning. You want to visualise a structure for your essay before you start writing because if you get stuck halfway then it can be game over for you.
5. For writing, make sure to remember the basics such as punctuation, grammar, polished vocabulary, etc. To build these skills READ.
6. For mathematics, the curriculum mostly covers Year 8-9. It would be great if you could learn linear equations, speed&distance&time questions, money, trigonometry, volume and area, and other Year 8/9 topics.
7. Make sure to have a good sleep, eat healthy, DRINK A LOT OF WATER BETWEEN THE EXAMS.
Results in JAC
My first tests for each topic I got really really bad. Like 30% in verbal and mathematics, and 60% in numerical and reading comprehension. It was mostly due to the fact that the timing is really bad for edutest and I hadn't covered much of the content. After a few weeks of asking a lot of questions in class, analysing patterns, and fixing my weaknesses my results spiked to superiors for the next 8 months. Keep in mind that I went to an accelerated program so I didn't need to study much outside of school as much of the maths and writing was covered at school. JAC doesn't let you take the tests home but the week after each test, JAC would give these sheets with each question number, what topic that question was, how many students got it right, and if you got that right. The best way to improve is to analyse a couple of weeks' worth of those sheets, find a pattern for your weaknesses and work on them. Khanacademy is great for this and has a lot of videos for mathematics. If writing is your weakness then search prompts up and write them, and then ask your JAC English teacher or your school English teacher for feedback. The practice papers at JAC should be enough for you to get the hang of timing but it's good for you to be able to identify questions you should probably skip. I always skipped the money questions and the questions with a large amount of writing.
How similar were JAC tests to the exam tests?
Very accurate. In fact, I think some of the tests they give are harder versions. As in the same topics are in the practice tests but they give harder versions. I don't think any other testing centre is that accurate, especially Henderson's. I went to their exam and it was REALLY easy, way easier than the actual exam. I got 5 superiors and 1 above average on the Henderson's exam as opposed to 4 superiors and 2 high averages (ugh, writing) on the real one. However, I still recommend you go to one of their trial exams as it gives you the experience of the testing conditions.
The biggest tip I'd give you is use those sheets that JAC gives you every week. Almost no one does but it's the best way for your results to sky rocket.
All the best! With hard and smart work you'll get in for sure!!