Students should take their preboards very seriously. A serious attitude towards the pre-boards can help you score high in the boards," says Sonali Sen of Sanskriti School. Once you finish your syllabus before the pre-boards, it is just the revision that you are left with. So, a month or two that you have between your pre-boards and the Boards can be dedicated only to revising and re-revising your chapters, formulae, diagrams and, more importantly, the questions.

It does not pay to turn a deaf ear to teachers and parents who constantly urge you to study. If you think you can go through the entire course in the last few months and pass, you are wrong. You could barely pass, and getting a good score will be next to impossible.

If you have not been studying regularly, it is the time for you to gear up. Certainly, those who have been studying all through the year have an edge over you, but you still have time. It's not late enough to lose hope. "With the new pattern in place from the last year, it will be easier for the students to score well. The questions will be very accurate and the answers are expected to be crisp and to the point," says M C Sharma, Controller of Examinations, CBSE.