I had my first Loksewa pretest exam on Ashwin 3 and 4, 2083. I gave the exam from Dhankuta, with the first day's exam center in Hile.
It was my first time sitting for a Loksewa exam, so naturally, I was excited. But I was also concerned about things I had never experienced before: the exam center, the answer sheet, the process, and all the small things that you don't really think about until you are sitting inside the examination hall.
Looking back, the exam itself taught me more than just what I knew from studying.
It taught me how important it is to understand the process before the exam even begins.
Going to Dhankuta
I travelled from Biratnagar to Dhankuta one day before the exam.
I stayed at my relative house, which made the trip easier because I didn't have to worry about finding accommodation at the last minute.
Going a day earlier also meant that I could avoid the pressure of travelling on the morning of the exam.
That is something I would recommend to anyone travelling to another place for an important exam.
Don't make the exam day your travel day if you can avoid it.
There are too many things that can go wrong: transportation delays, unfamiliar roads, traffic, finding the examination center, or simply arriving tired and stressed.
Having a place to stay and reaching the area beforehand gave me one less thing to worry about.
My First Day at Hile
Walking into the examination center felt different from preparing for the exam at home.
Until that moment, it had mostly been preparation, practice, and thinking about the exam.
Now it was actually happening.
I was excited, but I was also unfamiliar with the exact examination process.
One of the things I wasn't familiar with was the answer sheet.
And that unfamiliarity led to the biggest mistake I made that day.
The Mistake I Didn't Know I Could Make
I was focused on answering the questions.
There was a question paper with a KEY, such as A, B, C, or D, and that key also had to be properly marked on the answer sheet according to the examination instructions.
But I didn't do it.
I rushed into answering the questions and completely missed this step.
I did make another mistake while filling in my roll number, but I noticed it and corrected it.
The KEY was different.
I simply didn't realize how important it was.
By the time I remembered it, the exam had already moved forward.
This is the one thing I would especially tell anyone appearing for their first Loksewa exam:
Don't just prepare for the questions. Prepare for the answer sheet and examination procedure too.
Before the exam starts, make sure you understand exactly what needs to be filled, ticked, written, or marked.
A small procedural mistake can potentially matter as much as the answers themselves.
The Frustrating Part
After the exam, I checked my answers and did my own calculation.
Based on that calculation, I believed I could have scored at least around 50 marks, against a 45-mark passing mark.
That made the situation even more frustrating.
The problem wasn't necessarily that I didn't know enough answers.
It was that I may have made a procedural mistake that could potentially invalidate the exam.
And that is a difficult feeling to have after spending time preparing for something.
I don't know what the final outcome will be, but regardless of the result, the lesson is already clear to me.
The Second Day Went Better
The following day was the Level 4 exam.
By then, the environment wasn't unfamiliar anymore.
I knew what to expect.
I knew more about the examination process, and most importantly, I did not repeat the same mistake.
I made sure to properly deal with the KEY on the answer sheet before getting completely absorbed in answering the questions.
The second day's exam went much better from that perspective.
It was interesting how much difference one day made.
The first day was about experiencing the exam for the first time.
The second day was about actually knowing what I was doing.
What I Would Tell a First-Time Examinee
If this is your first Loksewa exam, don't think only about how many questions you can answer.
There are several other things you need to prepare for.
1. Know Your Examination Center
Don't wait until exam morning to figure out where your center is.
Know the exact location beforehand.
If possible, visit or at least identify the route before the exam day.
My first exam center was in Hile, and knowing where I had to go was one less problem to deal with.
2. Plan Where You Will Stay
If you're travelling to another city or district, arrange your accommodation beforehand.
Don't leave it until the last moment.
A nearby and reliable place to stay can make the entire experience much less stressful.
3. Think About Transportation
Know how you're getting to the examination center.
And don't plan your arrival based on the absolute minimum amount of time required.
Leave extra time.
A delay that would normally be annoying can become a serious problem on exam day.
4. Keep Your Documents Ready
Before leaving for the examination center, check everything you need.
Don't assume you'll remember everything in the morning.
Keep your important examination documents and identification-related items ready the night before.
5. Understand the Answer Sheet
This is the biggest lesson I took from my first exam.
Before the actual examination begins, pay attention to the instructions.
Understand the answer sheet.
Know what the KEY means.
Know where and how you're supposed to fill in the required information.
Don't let your excitement to start answering questions make you skip the instructions.
6. Don't Rush
I think this was partly responsible for my mistake.
I was ready to start answering.
My attention went directly to the questions, and I overlooked something important on the answer sheet.
There is no advantage in rushing through the first few moments of an exam if it causes you to make a mistake that affects the rest of the paper.
Take those first few minutes seriously.
The Exam Is More Than the Questions
Before my first Loksewa exam, I thought most of the challenge was going to be knowing the answers.
Of course, preparation matters.
But sitting for the actual exam made me realize that the experience has many other parts.
You have to travel.
You have to find the center.
You have to arrive on time.
You have to carry the right things.
You have to understand the instructions.
You have to manage your nerves.
And then you have to actually answer the questions.
All of these small things become part of the examination.
My First Loksewa Exam Was a Lesson
I don't know yet whether my first day's mistake will ultimately affect my result.
Maybe it will.
Maybe it won't.
But either way, I won't make the same mistake again.
And if you're appearing for your first Loksewa exam, I hope you don't have to learn this particular lesson the way I did.
Prepare for the questions, but also prepare for the exam itself.
Know where you're going.
Arrange where you're staying.
Plan your transportation.
Keep your documents ready.
Reach early.
Leave yourself extra time.
And when you receive the answer sheet, read the instructions carefully before rushing into the questions.
My first Loksewa exam may or may not give me the result I wanted.
But it definitely gave me something else:
experience that I won't forget.
