How to pass JAMB UTME: a study plan that matches the real exam

1. Know the paper you are sitting. The UTME is a computer-based test of 180 questions in 2 hours. Use of English has 60 questions and each of your three other subjects has 40. Every subject is scored out of 100, so your total is out of 400.

2. Study from the JAMB syllabus, not your school notes. JAMB sets questions only from its own UTME syllabus, which is on JAMB's IBASS portal. The WAEC and NECO syllabuses are close but not the same, so tick off each JAMB topic as you cover it.

3. Train for the clock. 120 minutes for 180 questions is about 40 seconds per question. Answer the ones you know first, flag the hard ones and come back. A blank answer scores nothing, so never leave one empty at the end.

4. Do not neglect Use of English. It carries 60 questions, more than any other subject, and it includes questions on the prescribed reading text. For the 2026 UTME that text was The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba. Read it fully, not a summary.

5. Practise on a CBT screen. Many candidates lose marks because they are slow with the mouse, the calculator or moving between subjects. Take full timed mocks so the real exam feels familiar.

6. Fix your weak topics. After each mock, look at the topics you missed and practise those, rather than repeating what you already know.

7. Check what your course needs. Make sure your four UTME subjects match your course's JAMB subject combination, and know your university's cut-off and Post-UTME screening before you register.

Start practising: AdmitMe has free JAMB questions with explanations and full UTME CBT mocks in the same 60/40/40/40 format.