As many of you know by now, you can prepare for DU C unit from a non-business background too. It mainly tests your HSC knowledge. The questions come from Bangla, English, ICT, and either Higher Mathematics, Statistics, or Economics.

The MCQ distribution is Bangla 12, English 12, ICT 12, and Higher Mathematics, Statistics, or Economics 24 marks from any one of the three. That makes a total of 60 marks. There is also a 40 mark written section with 10 marks from each subject.

Usually students from science background are expected to answer Higher Mathematics or Statistics, while Humanities students are expected to answer Economics or Statistics, depending on what they studied in college. But the exam does not stop you from answering any of the three subjects yet. Even if you did not study one of them in HSC, you can still choose it in the admission test. That is why many science students switch to Statistics or Economics. Because their prep feels less exhausting than Higher Mathematics' prep.

You do not need a huge amount of time to prepare for DU C unit. If you are starting at the beginning of the admission season, 1 to 1.5 hours a day is enough. If you are starting in the middle or later part of the season, try to give around 2 to 2.5 hours daily. That is more than enough to be one of the top candidates, but you have to be consistent. If you are taking DU C prep as a backup, a good strategy is to keep your C unit materials on your phone or laptop and scroll through them before sleeping. Give as many mocks as possible, online and offline both.

Now let’s talk about each subject one by one.

Bangla focuses mainly on grammar. Believe it or not most of what you need is covered in the class 9-10 Bangla grammar book. Bangla first paper has a relatively small contribution here. So if your HSC basics are decent just revise them. Do not spend too much time trying to exhaust yourself over the first paper. For the written section practice translation and sentence and spelling correction (Bakko o Banan Shuddhikoron).

For English, the questions usually check sentence completion, grammar, and overall language coherence. Spelling correction is quite important here. Since this is an admission test for a business school, they may ask the spelling of words like entrepreneur, synonyms of words like procurement, or business related idioms. In recent years the vocabulary section has become a bit tricky. For the written part focus on translation and basic error correction.

For ICT, theory should be your main priority. Both the MCQ and written sections have been heavily theory based in recent years. You may see a few short mathematical or coding questions but they are usually very simple and can be solved in a few lines. Read the definitions, concepts, and theoretical parts carefully.

For Higher Mathematics, practicing easier A unit question bank problems is a great strategy. The math in C Unit is generally a little easier than A unit. But it is always better to prepare for the worst. Even if your accuracy is not perfect while practicing harder A unit questions, the exposure will give you a strong advantage.

For Statistics, the questions are mostly basic and formula based with a small theory portion. Compared to the other subjects it has traditionally been relatively easy. However the question pattern has been evolving every year and the standard is gradually increasing. So practice the in text exercises from Abdul Aziz Sir’s HSC board book. If you are preparing in very limited time or only revising, focus mainly on the formulas. Learn how to use them, when to use them, and which formula applies to which problem. The theory or derivation behind the formulas is much less important than applying them correctly in the exam.

For Economics, build the basics first. The entire subject revolves around two words SUPPLY and DEMAND. Once you understand these two processes properly, topics such as consumer behavior, producer behavior, market structure, price system, elasticity, currency etc. become much easier. Practice as many MCQs as possible from Ranajit Kumar Nath Sir’s HSC book. Reviewing the mistakes that you make while practicing those MCQs is the most important part here. For definitions, try to understand the concepts instead of memorizing them word for word. That way you can write the answers in your own language during the written exam.

If you come from a Science background and have never studied Statistics or Economics before, it is still entirely possible to learn the subject from scratch and score well in the admission exam if you choose it instead of Higher Mathematics. All it takes is a consistent 30 minutes to 1 hour of practice every day during your admission preparation. I would still say stick to Higher Mathematics because you have already studied it for two years. But if you want to switch, choose Statistics because it is relatively easier and less exhausting than Economics.

This may look a bit overwhelming in words, but believe me it is not that hard. A regular practice of 1-2 hours will put you miles ahead in the game. All the best<3.

Iffot Ashfi Rahman
DU FBS, Finance.

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