How To Prepare For NDA Exam After Class 10?

Ashish Tiwari
May 4, 2022
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2 Comments

Jai Hind! Future Warriors. Today we are going to discuss some tips and strategies regarding preparation for NDA Exam and SSB Interview. This post is only for students who have completed their class X exams (or are going to very soon).

How To Prepare for NDA Exam from 10th Class 1

About NDA Entry

National Defence Academy, located in Khadakwasla, is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together(three years) before they go on to respective service academy for further pre-commission training. It is the first tri-service academy in the world. Number of seats for army wing is around 200-210 each term.

NDA 2 2022 Exam Dates:

NDA 2 2022 EVENTS	IMPORTANT DATES
Notification Release date	18 May 2022
NDA 2 2022 Application Start	18 May 2022
NDA 2 2022 Apply Last Date	16 June 2022
Release of Admit card	2 Weeks before Exam
NDA 2 2022 Exam date	04 September 2022 (SUNDAY)
Declaration of result	Nov– Dec 2022
NDA 2 2022 Online Coaching	NDA Online Course

Eligibility and Process:

Unmarried Candidates of the age group 16.5-19.5 years(at the time of joining) are eligible to apply if they have completed their class XII or are currently studying in class XII and can procure the marksheet till date of joining of respective course.

Specific requirements for the different wings are:

1. For Army Wing: Candidates of any stream can apply for the Army wing.

2. For Air Force and Navy/Naval Academy: Candidates who fill Air Force and Navy/ Naval Academy as their first choice need to have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as one of the subjects in class XII.

Pro Tip: Choose PCM as your stream in class XI, as NDA Exam becomes very tough if you are from commerce/arts. Because you will have to manage two separate things whereas Maths syllabus of NDA is your class XI+XII syllabus.

The process involves a written examination conducted by the UPSC in two parts first consisting of MAT(Mathematics Ability Test) and GAT(General Ability Test) which further consists of English and General Awareness Sections . Candidates who qualify the written exam are called for interviews at one of the SSB Interview

The SSB interview will be conducted in two stages and only candidates who get recommended will have their medical tests conducted at one of the military hospitals.

Medically fit candidates who have secured the rank are in the final merit list (based on total scores of Written and UPSC) will be issued joining letters for the academy.

NDA Exam Coaching Study Material

NDA Exam 2022 Online Course [Full] by SSBCrackExams
NDA Exam 2022 Mock Test Series

Written Exam

There will be two exams

Mathematical Ability Test

120 Questions of 2.5 marks each

Correct response +2.5 , Wrong Response -0.83, No response +0

Syllabus : Complete NCERT Syllabus till class XII plus some additional chapters like binary numbers, etc( for complete syllabus refer to UPSC notification)

General Ability Test

Comprises of two parts totalling to 150 questions of 4 marks each

Correct response +4 , Wrong Response -1.33, No response +0

Parts:

English: 50 questions
General Awareness: A total of 100 questions from History , Geography, Polity, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, General Knowledge, Current Affairs .

SSB Interview

SSB interview is a two stage process

Stage -1(Day-1)

After document verification comprises of two tests

Two OIR Tests which are basic intelligence(reasoning) tests.
PPDT in which candidates have to write a story along with its details in 4.5 mins on a picture shown to them for 30 secs. After this candidates will be divided into groups and they will first narrate their story to group after which discussion on a common story will take place.

Results will be announced after candidates and candidates who make it will stay for stage -2 ending with conference on 5^th day and rest will be dropped at the gates.

As stage -II is quite a big process to explain here candidates can refer to : 5 Days Procedure In SSB Interview

Section wise strategy

Maths

As you will notice if you analyze the previous year question(PYQ) papers, around 60% of questions are from class XI NCERT Maths Book with the following chapters being very important

Trigonometry
Statistics
Algebra containing Permutations and Combinations, Binomial Theorem, Sequences and Series
Complex Numbers
Quadratic Equations
Straight Lines and Conic Sections
Probability(more in class XII)
Sets and Relations and Funtions(more theoretical questions from R and F)

How to Study?

Focus on NCERT first, solve a particular chapter after your teacher has taught it, now revise it one time, go on to solve all questions related to it in the question paper of the last 10 exams. My advice would be to also make a notebook/diary for any shortcuts/tricks/hacks you notice during practice. Also if you have time solve questions from Manjul Tyagi. This way you will develop a very strong base. In case you are also preparing for JEE from some coaching institute, then don’t do the above mentioned things, the notes for JEE would suffice.

English Section

English holds the key to cutoff score as it holds 200 out of total of 900 marks alone. You have two long years, so my advice would be read newspaper daily and not just plain read it, go in front of a mirror, and deliver a talk on topics read for at least 5 minutes. This way you will not only improve your knowledge and language skills, it will also help you a great deal in SSB and school debate/declamation competitions. For vocabulary, I would say not daily but at least each weekend write essays/stories/articles whatever you like , with at least 5 new words you learn in the week.

Rest of GAT Section

For History, Geography, Polity and for PCB(most of the questions are from class X level) leave that too for the summer holidays of class XII because there is never an end to that syllabus, plus you also have to focus on your own PCM/PCB studies.

More tips:

To be honest NDA exam is quite an easy exam considering the cutoff scores so I would say also prepare yourself mentally for the SSB Interview and life ahead(in the academy) for that if you haven’t joined the NCC yet go join it, participate in the camps, learn new sports, etc.
Also start maintaining your physique, if possible go for runs and build your stamina.
Participate in as many competitions(stage and sports both) as you can without the fear of losing, because they will show your true level hence giving you a platform to improve.
As I said earlier start reading newspapers, but in case they bore you too much, start reading novels in English, I know it sounds harsh why only English? Hindi/Regional Language is our mother-tongue, why am I being forced to read English. But you should know that English is the language of the defence services and is important, not only for SSB , but also in any professional field. English speaking will give you confidence, an attribute required and admired by everybody.
Last but not the least focus on your studies, be competitive here also, score good marks, because forces require and all-rounder personality. Also if you can, learn some new skills, it may be anything from coding to cooking.

Conclusion

These all may sound too much, but also see that you have two years, if you start making monthly goals, you will surely achieve your dream. For more startegies and information regarding defence exams and SSB Interview, stay tuned.

Jai Hind

How to prepare for the NDA Exam?