IOE Entrance Preparation
The Institute Of Engineering (IOE) of Tribhuvan University conducts entrance exams for the undergrad program in Engineering (Bachelor in Engineering). Every year well over 10,000 students appear in the IOE entrance examinations held in the ICTC building of Pulchowk Campus, IOE. The reason for such high numbers is simply one name, Pulchowk Engineering Campus. Pulchowk Campus is the oldest engineering institute in the country and it has developed a reputation for producing the best engineers in the country and since it is a government college, it is also very affordable plus many of the students get a full-ride scholarship. These are the things that make Pulchowk Campus or IOE an attraction for the students as well as their parents.
1. Courses offered
* Civil Engineering
* Architecture
* Computer Engineering
* Mechanical Engineering
* Electrical Engineering
* Electronics and Communication Engineering
* Automobile Engineering
* Agricultural Engineering
* Geomatics Engineering
* Industrial Engineering
* Aerospace Engineering
* Chemical Engineering
2. Constituent Campuses
* Pulchowk Engineering Campus
* Thapathali Engineering Campus
* Purwanchal Engineering Campus
* Paschimanchal Engineering Campus
* Chitwan Engineering Campus
Is the Entrance Examination hard?
You may have heard many people referring to the IOE entrance exams as hard but it is not really what you think. I mean it is a competitive exam so it is obviously not very easy and simple but the toughness of the exam has been over-exaggerated than it actually is. You see the exam itself is of 140 full marks divided between 4 subjects:
- Mathematics - 50 marks
- Physics - 45 marks
- Chemistry - 25 marks
- English - 20 marks
Yes, some of the questions are indeed hard. When I myself appeared at the entrance, there were 4 questions which I had never seen in my entire life. So the rumors about the examination being tough start from here. The exams last for about 10-12 days normally with 4 shifts every day for which there are different sets of questions. So if you collect all the difficult questions from all the shifts then you will obviously think that the exams are tough when you have not even seen all the questions. So no the entrance is not actually tough but they are very simple yet tricky questions from your +2 course books that you or your teacher might have skipped because they were not important for the board exams. I mean what do you expect where all you are being asked are 1 mark and 2 marks questions. The 1 mark questions are either very short numerical or concept-based questions and the 2 marks ones are numerical questions (well at least for physics, math, and some chemistry).
How should I prepare for the Entrance?
Some students take the entrance preparation classes in the hopes of cracking the exams but honestly if you do not actually get to your desk and read the books, it is a total waste of money and more importantly your precious time. If you are a student who literally did not study anything in your school classes then joining the classes might be a wise decision but do not join the classes if you have less than 2 months left, it may not be fruitful. Instead, get your +2 course books and just read them, read them by heart. Why am I saying this, because students miss the simplest things while they are preparing for the board exams but jot down the long derivations. You are going to solve objective questions not subjective so those derivations are of no use unless you grasp the actual concepts from them. Here are some tips for the preparation of different subjects. These are just tips and in no manner a must-do thing.
* PHYSICS
1. Read every line of every chapter of both of your +2 physics books.
2. Try remembering formulae from every chapter, you don't need to and may not be able to remember all of them but be sure to remember the basic ones and the rest you can just derive from the basic ones.
3. Go for the short MCQs(1 mark). You need not worry if you don't have MCQ books, you will get MCQs at the end of every chapter in your physics books.
4. Now, go for the numerical questions. You don't need to worry if you can't get them correct, just look at the solutions. You might need an MCQ book or just can solve the numerical from the old is gold.
* CHEMISTRY
1. I know you don't have an idea of what is going on in this subject. So just don't focus on this subject that much.
2. Go for chemical arithmetic which actually gives you the most marks for the time in the whole chemistry if you are like me and had no idea about chemistry. Just don't forget that one gram equivalent of every substance is equal.
3. For organic try remembering the main reactions for the preparation of the substance and the IUPAC names.
4. And about the rest of the course, I am not sure what can be done because I personally did not study those, hell I just went with arithmetic.
* MATHEMATICS
1. Look at each chapter specified in the IOE syllabus and peek into the derivations of the formulae, trust me they will help a lot.
2. Then just remember the formulae and go for the questions in your basic math.
3. Be sure to find some shortcuts on either YouTube or the books you buy. I am not talking about literal formulas for shortcuts but the ones that actually help cut your steps and make you calculate faster.
4. Know what your calculator is capable of doing because it can do a lot that you didn't expect😉. These are not shortcuts or calculator tricks but the functions given in your calculator to use. Many questions of math can be solved without pen and paper. But do not go all the way and depend on calculator tricks, I am just asking you to know how to use the functions given in your calculator. The tricks most of the time make the calculation more time-consuming.
*ENGLISH
1. All 2 mark questions come from passage so don't need to worry about them.
2. For the one-mark ones, if you have time and money get an old e-PCM or PEA English book, or if you are like me who did buy the books but did not study just go with what sounds the best.
One important thing is don't straight go to solving the question sets. First, finish studying individual subjects and then approach the sets. This way you won't feel depressed if you get low scores.
Subjects :
Physics - ( 45 marks )
Chemistry - ( 25 marks )
Mathematics - ( 50 marks )
English - ( 20 marks )
Total Marks = 140
Total Time = 120 minutes
( Note: There is no negative marking in the entrance examinations. Until 2075, there was a 10% negative marking. )
Eligibility Criteria:
Education: Intermediate Level (+2/A Level/Diploma in Engineering) with Physics, Chemistry, and Maths (or Extra Maths in case of Biology students)
Score: Minimum 45% or ‘C’ Grade in all subjects.