Every year, thousands of students spend huge amounts of money attending tutorial centers because they believe it is the only way to pass JAMB. I also believed this at first. But due to financial reasons, I realized I didn’t have ₦25,000 for the tutorial center everyone in my street was going to. My parents said “we’ll try,” but I knew we were broke. So I decided to try it on my own. No tutorial, no expo, just my phone, free resources, and a number of past questions.
Here’s exactly what I did.
1. I Got the Syllabus and Past Questions First
Most people start by reading textbooks randomly. That’s a waste of time.
I downloaded the JAMB syllabus for English, Maths, Physics, and Chemistry from JAMB’s official site. It’s free. That document told me exactly what topics JAMB could ask.
Then I got 10 years of past questions for each subject. Not to cram, but to see the pattern. You’ll notice JAMB repeats questions with small changes. If you solve 500 past questions, you’ve basically seen 70% of what they’ll throw at you.
Where I got them: Myschool.ng, ExamGuide app, and some Telegram channels. All free.
2. I Used YouTube Like a Free Tutorial
Paying ₦25k for a teacher to explain quadratic equations made no sense when Khan Academy and Schooling Online on YouTube explain it better in 10 minutes.
My routine:
Watch a 15-min video on a topic like “Chemical Bonding”
Pause and solve 5 past questions on that topic immediately.
If I got less than 3 right, I rewatched the video
Channels that helped me: Schooling Online, Unilag Video Lecture, and ExamGuide TV. All free, no subscription.
The key is not to binge watch. Watch, pause, solve. That’s how it sticks.
3. I Made a Study Timetable That Fit Hostel Life
I wasn’t going to wake up at 4am like those “motivation” videos say. I’m in school. I have lectures.
My timetable looked like this:
6:30-7:30am: English vocab and past questions before lectures
4-6pm: After lectures, one science subject + 30 past questions
9-10pm: Review mistakes and read summary notes
Total: 3-4 hours daily. Consistent beats intense. I missed days, but I never went 3 days without touching a book.
4. I Did CBT Practice Every Night for 2 Months
JAMB is CBT now. If you’ve only practiced on paper, you’ll waste time clicking during the exam.
I used the ExamGuide and JAMB CBT apps. They’re ₦0. The first week was painful. I was scoring 40%. By week 6 I was hitting 75-85% consistently.
This also fixed my time management. JAMB gives you 2 hours for 180 questions. That’s 40 seconds per question. CBT practice trains your brain for that speed.
5. What Didn’t Work
I tried reading 5 subjects in one day. Burnout in 2 days.
I tried joining a WhatsApp “expo” group. 90% fake answers, and it stressed me out.
I tried studying without past questions. Felt like I was studying for WAEC, not JAMB.
The Truth
You don’t need a tutorial if you can discipline yourself for 3 hours a day. Tutorials help, but they’re not magic. Most of the people I knew in tutorial were still scoring 180 because they went to sleep in class.
JAMB tests pattern recognition more than genius. If you solve enough past questions and understand why the answer is what it is, you’ll be fine.
I’m not saying it’s easy. I had days I wanted to quit. But ₦0 spent in the result made it worth it.
What’s your biggest problem with JAMB prep right now?
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