ENTRY TEST PREP - Resources for Preparation

I have mentioned here the textbooks and resources I used, along with ones I feel are most suitable for use in order to prepare for the AKU Entry Test. I have based my choices and preferences after carefully matching their content with the AKU test Syllabus.

First off, if you intend on start studying for AKU's Entrance Test you must know at least an overview of the syllabus of the Entry Test so that you are aware of the content, topics you have done and ones you haven't. Click here for the Test Syllabus.

Now let's go over the books:

NOTE:
I found out after I had cleared my tests, that there are "AKU Exam Board" Textbooks available in the market, basically books that students in grades 11 and 12 studying in the AKU board use for their academics. Now, I haven't done a whole lot of research, but I do know that the "Entry Test Syllabus" is basically the curriculum of the AKU board academic system, so I feel safe to assume that these books ought to be ideal for studying the syllabus. So get a hold of these if you can. If you can not, I have shared some alternatives that I feel match the syllabus word for word and are incredible for syllabus coverage.
For more info on the AKU Exam Board, click here. (Link will open in a new window)

TEXTBOOKS:
Please note that there are three other boards apart from the AKU board that are studied across Pakistan, namely the Sindh Jamshoro Board, the Punjab Text Book Board and the Federal Board Islamabad. I have put up snapshots of the covers for convenience, but note that covers may differ based on the edition of the book.

1. BIOLOGY:
I checked all three boards for this and can safely say that all three boards are equally useful for coverage of the AKU Syllabus. I used the Sindh Jamshoro Board Biology Textbooks for Class 11 and 12 because these felt to be the most detailed. There is a downside to the Sindh Board though, because the book is entirely black and white with dull pictures and no colour so it may get boring at times.
If I were to prepare for the test again, I would still select Sindh Board for Biology simply because of how detailed it is.

http://www.mynoteslibrary.com/pdf/Class_XI_Biology_Book_Notes.pdf

http://freebooks.pk/biology-part-2-for-12th-class (This is the eBook of Punjab Board Bio)

Covers of Sindh Board Bio Books!

2. CHEMISTRY:
Federal Board Islamabad is the way to go in the case of Chemistry because its content matches the AKU Syllabus ENTIRELY! Each and every chapter and every learning objective is covered in Federal Board Chem and this is not the case in the other two boards.
I'll give you an example: The AKU Chemistry Syllabus has a subtopic under Organic Chemistry as "Detection of Element in Organic Compound". You will not find a topic or even content related to this topic in the other two boards whereas in Federal Board Chem, there is an entire separate Heading for exactly this! 
Trust me on this and get Federal Board Islamabad Chemistry Textbooks (Class 11 and 12) and you won't regret it!
 You may get these books from anywhere, I got a hold of them from Urdu Bazar at Karachi. They will make your preparation extremely efficient. Here's what the covers look like:

Here's some links you may find useful, I couldn't find any free eBook online so you will have to purchase the books. These links are to notes and resources derived from those books.https://urdubazaronline.pk/school%20books/Federal%20Board%20Books%20Urdu%20Bazar%20Karachi/Chemistry%20Grade%2012%20Federal%20Board%20(National%20Book%20Foundation)https://archive.org/details/CollegeChemistryGuideForClass12PDFFederalBoardhttps://www.office.com.pk/f-sc-2nd-year-chemistry-notes-federal-board-in-pdf/Update! I was able to find a pdf of the first 5 chapters of class 12 Chemistry. Here's the link:http://www.learningall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/first-5-chapters-chemistry-xii.pdf3. PHYSICS:Punjab Board is for Physics what Federal Board is for Chemistry. Get a hold of Punjab Textbook Board's Physics Books for class 11 and 12 for a comfortable syllabus completion of your AKU entry test. It's got sound English, really helpful questions and worked examples, and it's coloured and very user friendly. Oh and here's the cherry on top, free eBooks for both years! Yay!Follow the links to PDF files of each book: (Links will open in a new window) Class 11 Physics, Punjab Board PDFClass 12 Physics, Punjab Board PDF(NOTE: If you have trouble opening the pdf files, contact me ASAP and I will fix up the links or email them to you directly)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES I USED AND FOUND VERY HELPFUL:1. SABAQ.PKwww.sabaq.pkThis is a website I wish every student in Pakistan knew about. Open it up and you'll see just why. The procedure is the same, Sindh board for bio, Federal Board for Chem and Punjab board for Physics. You won't find the books here but you'll find the exact same topics in the form of video lectures. DO GIVE THIS A TRY. I used this website as a substitute for going to any tuition centre for prep, and believe me it did miracles. The lectures are in Urdu, are incredibly easy to understand and often accompany helpful solved questions.2. DOGAR BROTHERS' "MASTER THE AKU MCAT"https://www.dogar.com.pk/book/master-mcat-aga-khan-medical-college/I only used this book for practising questions and practising papers. There's a huge collection of questions and a lot of complete papers you can practise from and solve available in this book. BUT NOTE THIS, although claimed to be past papers of the AKU entry test, the questions here were not like ones that I encountered in the real Entrance Exam. The questions of the entry test were much more conceptual and required a lot more thinking, and not rote memorisation. Nevertheless, these are good for practise and self assessment. Could I have done without these? Maybe. I used the book 2-3 days before the paper to practise every chapter and that was pretty cool.3. SAT 2 BIOLOGY by Princeton and Kaplan:I borrowed these from a friend to study the Kingdoms bit of Biology only, because I didn't touch those chapters from the Sindh Board Bio book. They saved a lot of time and I was able to correctly attempt the Kingdoms related questions in the test as well, so it worked for me. This was the only time I used SAT 2 Books, some people used SAT 2 for all three sciences and to be honest I would've prefered to sit the SAT Subject tests before the AKU test for prior preparation coverage of topics explained beautifully in these books. So yeah, I would encourage you to sit the SAT Subject tests. (I didn't :p)And that's a wrap to this post. I hope you find these resources and books helpful. Feel free to hit me up for any confusions, errors, broken links or suggestions you may have on regarding this post. I will be sure to get back to you. For now, all the best and happy studying!

November-December, WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW?

It was around this time last year when the thought of AKU really seriously hit me, and curiosity arose as to what should my plan be from here on in order to ensure my admission into the university. I feel that a lot of students will start, already have been, or soon will start to think about this. I hope to answer this question through this post.
Question:
What should I be doing in November-December, with around half a year remaining for me to undergo the entire AKU admission process?

My Answer:

1. FOCUS ON YOUR ONGOING STUDIES:

Whether you're an A level student, an intermediate FSC student of any board across Pakistan or an international student studying in a different board, your priority for now must be to continue studying in your respective academic circle and try your best to do the best you can in them. This time of the year is usually for the mid-term assessments, so study for those, and then continue studying for your final exams. Getting a good grade in your Examinations (the finals, e.g. CIE A Level papers) will definitely be helping you, not just in getting a good grade but also for preparation for your AKU entry test.

TRUST ME ON THIS, everything you're studying right now is a part of your entrance test preparation. I was an A Level student, and I can safely say that most of the marks I scored in the test were based on my knowledge through my A level studies. So yeah, focus on whatever you're studying right now and aim to get the best possible result in it, and you'll be good to go.

2. INTERNSHIP, COMMUNITY SERVICE AND PAID WORK:

You're upcoming winter break (December vacation) is probably the last vacation you'll be getting for a long time with your exams and then the AKU process taking up your next summer break, so my advice to you is this: Utilise this winter break. If you haven't done so already (most of my classmates did some sort of community work during the summer break after their first year AS level exams), involve yourself into some kind of community service or internship, preferably at a hospital, foster home or orphanage. This will really help you in gathering experience, motivation and inspiration. I've always regarded the profession of medicine to be a highly prestigious one and I gain a lot of contentment even just thinking about "helping out someone with their lives", in its truest and purest meaning. I really feel that visits to hospitals, and such interactions with patients, nurses and doctors were the key to my motivation, that really instilled in me the decision to join this profession and to do my best to get into the most prestigious place to start its journey, and I'm really elated with where that's taken me. And so I would highly recommend you to get into some sort of community work or hospital internship this Winter Break and work there wholeheartedly, and I assure you it will be bring not just apparent advantages but spiritual benefits as well. Oh, and as a bonus you'll have an extracurricular activity that AKU highly regards (this is based on my interview questions and their extracurricular form) and you'll probably have a lot to talk about in the interview as well! (trust me, you want this, silent interviews are a definite no no)

NOTE: There is an AKU Volunteer Work Programme that happens during the Summer Vacations. I don't have the details on it yet because I didn't take part in it so I'm getting a hold of someone with the information and I'll write a post on it soon. But please note, if you're applying to AKU next year in 2018, you obviously will NOT have the time for the programme, so this is for anyone planning to apply in 2019 or onward.

3. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:

These are extremely important, much more important than most of you might think. AKU is looking for all rounded, well educated and dedicated individuals, and not just focused hardworking students (emphasis on "just"), and trust me they will ask you about your extracurricular activities, a lot! So its really important that you ensure you've got a wide range of activities which you involve yourself in. Make sure you keep your certificates safe, they'll come in handy later next year. The scope and impact of your activities is entirely up to you, and it can range from being at an international level to even being a personal interest or hobby of yours, just make sure you're doing what you enjoy a so that the passion oozes out when you're asked to write or speak about it, that's what I believe. I'll make a separate, more detailed post about extracurricular activities because of how highly AKU considers it, but for now here are a few you could consider:

• Sports
• Debates, Poetry, Public Speaking (MUN maybe)
• Olympiads
• All forms of art
• Community work/ volunteer work
• Writing
• Personal Hobbies and Interests

4. SOCIALISATION:

Yes, socialisation and having friends and strong relationships with your relatives is as essential as anything else when it comes to applying to a university like AKU. You're hoping to becoming a doctor, and you're probably aware that the profession demands a lot of human interaction, so you need to show that you're comfortable with it, and the best way to show that is to have a reasonable social life. So yeah, get along with, different groups of friends even, spend time with family and it'll really help you pretty soon. And needless to say, AKU does ask about one's social and family life during the interview.

5. OPTIONAL:

• Go over the AKU website, you will be doing a lot next year though
• Sit the SAT (I've heard studying for the SAT Science subject tests really helps out with the AKU test, plus you can mention your scores in AKU's stage 2 application form, one you'll receive after clearing the test, but it's up to you. I didn't sit for the SATs.

And that's about it for now for the next month and a half, I hope this helps you out. I'm pretty sure most of you are doing most of what I've mentioned in the most and more but I'd just like you to ensure you're not overlooking anything. You're time right now is of great value and is certainly the first few steps up this long uphill journey, but trust me, you'll love the view at the top! All the best and I'll write again soon!
Cheers!

NOTE: If you're a senior reading this I would love to get some feedback and anything that you might feel one should involve themselves in during this time of their lives. Hit me up on my My Facebook Page or email me at akuhelper98@gmail.com

AKU ENTRY TEST SYLLABUS

Below are the links to the entry test syllabus, for each of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I'd suggest you print these out and give each of them a read, just to identify how much of the syllabus you've never touched and how much you have come across at some point in your studies. DO NOT START STUDYING FOR THE ENTRY TEST!!! Just go through the syllabus and match it with your current studies. The Syllabuses will open in a new window:

Biology Syllabus
Chemistry Syllabus 
Physics Syllabus

My next post will be on the paper pattern, marks and details of the test!