[Note: This article was published in 2023. It does not take into account any recent changes in the admission requirements or test format.]

My BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) journey started right after I failed to get a Golden A+ on my SSC exams. I let this fake standard of academic excellence, the mythical "Golden A+", get into my head and was completely devastated. While my friends celebrated their success, I thought that the only way I could regain my self-confidence was by getting into the most reputed institution in the country. 

As wrong as my motivation was behind aspiring for BUET, it shaped the next two years of my life. 

After HSC, a student gets roughly three months before the BUET admission tests. Previously just a 600-mark written exam, the BUET admission test has now been divided into two parts – preliminary MCQs and a written part. However, the preparation strategy remains roughly the same. 

For me, the preparation started right from the first day of college, which made things easier in the three months before the entrance exam where I could just focus on revisions, solve previous years' questions, and polish my problem-solving capabilities. During my two years of college, right after I finished any chapter, I spent a particular amount of time solving problems from previous years' admission test questions from that chapter. This helped me not get overwhelmed during the admission season. Sure, we've all heard legends of someone cracking the exam by working hard in the three months after HSC, but for commoners like the rest of us, consistency is more important than the last-hour grind.

However, the preparation procedure certainly varies from individual to individual. I had friends who were much quicker than me when it came to solving problems and didn't have to invest half the time I had to. While that might seem demotivating, what's crucial to comprehend is that it all comes down to accuracy and delivering the best as per one's capabilities. In the admission test, it's almost impossible that someone would be able to even attempt all 60 questions, let alone get them right. So, the ones you attempt must be attempted correctly. 

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The months before the entrance exam should be put into getting better at what you already know and not imposing any new burden upon yourself. While some of my contemporaries followed the higher mathematics book written by Ketab Uddin which contains more difficult problems than other books, I solely completed my preparation based on the book I followed during my college years along with previous years' questions. At the end of the day, things worked out for both me and my contemporaries. You must analyse the previous years' questions yourself and base your preparations on your own analytics rather than following others blindly. 

It took me a few months to realise that I need to put in more time than some of my contemporaries to extract the same amount of output. I had to put in at least eight hours a day behind my studies for getting the same result as others. However, to follow any routine religiously day in and day out, it takes the right sort of motivation.

It is crucial that you get the motivation right. The admission period is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in a student's life and to grind that hard, day after day despite all the failures and the competition, takes a lot of mental spirit. The right sort of motivation is crucial to get you through these days and into an institution of your choice.

But it's important to not let that motivation turn into an unhealthy fixation. When the motivation for getting into BUET turns solely into getting the label of the institution rather than pursuing engineering, it ends up causing harm in the future. At the end of the day, BUET or any other prestigious institution is merely a platform and a stepping stone for your career. The toxic institutional pride that's so prevalent around us goes back to the false narrative preached among aspirants that getting into a particular institution is going to set you up for life. By the time university students realise the lie behind the statement, it's often too late. 

In the pilot episode of Kota Factory, Jeetu Bhaiya, played by Jeetendra Kumar, tells his student, "Children leave Kota in two years but Kota doesn't leave the children for years." Making the aspiration for BUET the sole element in your college life can never be healthy. Your mental health deteriorates, and anxiety and panic attacks become a part of your daily routine. Sure, it should be a key driving factor in building up your routine, and practising discipline and punctuality, that's so very important during the admission period. But when you raise the stakes this high in your head, the recovery from failure takes years and one can't help but fall into a constant state of depression. 

Ifti is a student of BUET and a contributor at SHOUT. Reach him at hasiburrashidifti@gmail.com