Pitfalls

Four common ones

Reading cut-off scores without the subjects; hoarding materials; saving past papers for the end; no checkpoints, so the early pace is loose and the finish collapses.

• Read cut-offs together with subject difficulty
• Finish one set of materials before buying another
• Start past papers in round two
• Cut revision into four-week blocks with a self-test each

Avoiding them

Write the plan down. Each week check one number: what share of it you finished. Below sixty percent, shrink the plan rather than stretch the hours.