General Academic Prerequisites

NCE GAP April 2023 (pdf)

Short online test

Study everything in advance

• Familiarise yourself with the instructions for all the problem types through a mock test. Make sure you really understand them. If you need to take five minutes to read the instructions and try to understand them in the exam, you will have wasted those five minutes.

How the answers are scored in the test

• You get a point for each correct answer, while part of a point is deducted for each wrong one: one third of a point for problems in which you choose from four options, and one quarter of a point for problems where you choose from five options. If you do not answer a question or give more than one answer, no points will be added or subtracted.

General problem-solving tactics

• Read the entire assignment carefully for each problem. Don’t jump headlong into a solution unless you are 100% sure you know what you should do. Pay attention to any text in bold.
• Remember that only one of the answers is correct.
• Reading all the answers offered is common practice in understanding the problem and finding the correct solution. As you need to choose one correct answer from a number of choices, it is sometimes best to use the elimination method and cross out any answers that cannot be correct.
• Don’t get discouraged by longer questions. They may appear more complicated until you read them and start solving them.
• Time plays an important role in most tests. Some test takers may not be able to solve all the problems in the time allowed. So work quickly and focus. However, don’t be worried if you cannot complete the whole test.

Solve the simple problems first

• You don’t need to solve all the problems correctly to get a good result. The test is designed in such a way that finding the correct answer to about half the problems should give an average result.
• You can solve the problems in any order. 
• All the problems, whether they are hard or easy, are of equal value. This means it is best to first solve the problems that seem easy and that you can do quickly, then return to more difficult ones. Don’t stay on one problem for too long.

Eight tips for tackling the Scio GAP

1. Check the test first (this applies especially to the analytical part). Try to identify the problems that you should be able to solve quickly and correctly.
2. Proceed in waves. Take advantage of the fact that you can solve the problems in any order inside the individual sections. First solve the problems you know you’re good at.
3. Don’t let the lack of time make you nervous. This is a problem for every test taker, with very rare exceptions.
4. Be careful not to “get stuck”.
5. Don’t think about anything other than the problem you are currently tackling. When tackling it, try to avoid the “What am I going to do next? How much have I done and how much have the other candidates done?” type of thinking.
6. Read the question very carefully. Do not return to solved problems (unless you have a good reason).
7. In the case of a more complicated question, make sure that you really understand it and think about which solution methods are available to you. Then choose the most suitable one.
8. Write down as much information as possible in the question and on the notepaper. Underline the key words in the question, and write down the main points of your reasoning and the intermediate calculations.