Do you know you can actually pass JAMB without studying like crazy or expo?
See how to pass JAMB without studying hard but smart, right from your preparation to writing the exam and afterwards, plus real-life experiences of former JAMB candidates.
- ALSO SEE: HOW TO REGISTER FOR JAMB EXAM THIS YEAR
Let’s begin with…
Is JAMB difficult to pass?
No, JAMB is not difficult to pass.
JAMB exam is all objective questions and only in (4) subjects — unlike WAEC which include theory (even practicals) and in 8–9 subjects.
But again, it depends on how well you apply the smart ways in this guide on how to pass JAMB without studying hard.
Preparations for JAMB
Let’s start with the smart ways to prepare and pass JAMB without studying hard or cheating.
1. Choose your course wisely
The course you choose in JAMB is the first determiner if you will pass JAMB without studying hard or not.
Here’s why.
Your course determines your subject combination and the aggregate of your scores in each subject determines your JAMB result.
How then can you choose a course that does not have your favourite subject in its combination and expect to pass JAMB easily?
For example.
Your favourite subject is “Agric” and you struggle with calculations but you want to choose Mechanical Engineering.
JAMB subjects for Mech. Engineering are English, Physics, Chemistry and Maths.
- Your favourite subject is not in the combination.
- Physics and Maths have lots of calculations.
Can you see how hard you’ll have to study to pass (if you will even pass)?
What if you chose to study (let’s say) HORTICULTURE which requires your favourite subject — Agric — as one of its combination?
First.
You won’t need to study too hard to score up to 80 and above in Agric. because you are already good at it.
Second.
That course which requires your main favourite subject will also require your 2nd favourite in its combination.
For example.
HORTICULTURE requires English, Maths, Agric or Biology and Chemistry.
And if your favourite subject is Agric, how hard will Biology or Chemistry be for you?
In summary.
Choose a course that has more of your favourite subject(s) in its JAMB combination because you will score higher in those subjects even without studying them too hard.
2. Target a higher JAMB score
JAMB score of 200 is the official cut-off mark for admission into any tertiary institution in Nigeria.
But here’s the trick…
Most Universities (especially Federal) divide JAMB scores mercilessly to determine their departmental cut-off mark.
For example.
UNILAG divide JAMB scores by (8) which means as a UNILAG aspirant with 200 in JAMB, divide that by 8 and you get 25.
Imagine what you will have to score in Post UTME plus your 25 to meet UNILAG cut-off mark for that your course.
Can you see how even the JAMB (200) cut-off mark can still be risky?
In summary.
Target a JAMB score higher than 200 so that even if you later did not hit that target, you’ll never fall below 200.
3. Split your target score
After targeting a high score, what comes to your mind when you imagine that score?
- “Is this my target not too high?”
- “…maybe I should reduce it a bit.”
And you are right.
The JAMB score you targeted is indeed high but there’s a smart way to make it look smaller and easier to achieve.
You have (4) subjects in JAMB, right?
Take that score and divide it by 4.
For example.
You target to score (312) in your JAMB, i.e. (312 ÷ 4 = 78): which means you only need to score 78 in each of your (4) JAMB subjects.
As our Agric. guru
| JAMB SUBJECTS | SCORES |
|---|---|
| English | 78 |
| Maths | 78 |
| Chemistry | 78 |
| Agric or Biology | 78 |
| TOTAL | 312 |
Still big? Then break it even further…
Take out some scores from those subjects you are not too good at, and add it to the subjects you are very good at.
Our Agric. guru again.
| JAMB SUBJECTS | SCORES |
|---|---|
| English | 76 |
| Maths | 69 |
| Chemistry | 80 |
| Agric./Biology | 87 |
| TOTAL | 312 |
In summary.
Break your target score and share it among your JAMB subjects based on your strength in each subject.
4. The earlier. The easier.
Your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is to start studying early.
Remember those Friday assignments in school that you often did on Sunday nights or even Monday morning?
Remember how bad your handwriting was during that assignment rush and how you even failed questions that you would have answered correctly on a normal day?
Exactly.
Dying minutes come with unnecessary tension and preparing to pass JAMB under such tension will make you study hard with frustration because there will be just too much to read in too little a time.
You can reverse this case.
Start studying for your JAMB as early as now to cover more of JAMB SYLLABUS with ease and even have some free time to relax during the rush-hour of dying minutes.
In summary.
Devote 1 or 2 hour(s) study time a day from now because the earlier you start, the easier it will get and the lesser the tension.
5. Don’t read WIDE!
After deciding to start studying now, your next step to pass JAMB without studying hard is to not read wide.
Take English for example.
You likely did about 10 topics in SS1 English (1st term).
Add that to the next 10 topics in English for your 2nd term in that SS1 and the next 10 in your 3rd term
- 30 topics in English for SS1 alone.
Now add that to the next 30 topics in English for (SS2) and the next 30 in your (SS3).
- 90 topics in English ALONE!
What if you add the other 270 topics in your remaining (3) subjects in JAMB?
Mah brain wan blowww!
This is why JAMB gives subject syllabus which contain selected topics where all your JAMB questions will come from.
In summary.
Instead of reading wide, read SMART to cover only those topics in their JAMB syllabus for your subjects.
6. Get JAMB recommended textbooks
These are textbooks recommended by JAMB for you to read on each of your subjects.
JAMB only recommended these textbooks because they were confirmed to contain quality explanations on all the topics in the JAMB syllabus for that your subject.
You only need just ONE of those textbooks.
But how can you get it?
- Buy from a nearby bookstore.
- Purchase from an online bookstore.
- Or borrow from your friend, teacher or school library.
In summary.
Study with the JAMB recommended textbook(s) but if you have a different textbook with good explanation but not on the recommended list, that’s also OK.
7. Study at your best time
After getting the JAMB textbook(s), your next step to pass JAMB without studying hard is to study at your own best time.
Once upon time.
A young undergraduate decided to follow his friends to all-night reading.
Long story short.
He kept dozing off and waking up to read the same line of the same page on the same book over and over again till dawn.
The dozing even continued during the day because the night was wasted.
- The young man was Sam.
- Sam was not smart.
- Don’t be like Sam.
Some students are night readers, while others read better during the day (like Sam).
And even during these day or night times, there are different periods (early morning, late morning, afternoon, evening, midnight) for different students.
In summary.
Read for JAMB at your own best time because it increases your ability to understand better. Even those frustrating topics will look simpler at your best reading time.
8. Study your favourite subject more
After deciding your best time to study, your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is to …
Focus on your strength, not on your weaknesses.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Remember our step (3) where you shared your targeted high JAMB score among your four subjects?
Good.
The scores you assigned to each subject is the amount of time and focus you should devote to that subject.
Take this example.
Favourite subjects of our Agric. GURU
| 1ST | Agriculture |
| 2ND | Biology |
| 3RD | Chemistry |
JAMB subjects for the HORTICULTURE of our Agric. GURU
- English
- Mathematics
- Agriculture
- Chemistry
From the above.
Which of the JAMB subjects should our Agric. GURU read more on to score high in JAMB?
You might want to suggest that our Agric. GURU should improve on his main weakness (Maths), right?
Wrong!
If he was never good at Maths, studying that subject more will not make him any better but frustrated.
Your best option is to focus on your strengths (not your weaknesses) because it is easier to get better at what you are ALREADY good at, than trying to improve on what you were NEVER good at.
In summary.
Not that you should not read your weak subject(s) at all but devote less time to them and read more of your favourite subjects.
9. Blast the English
Use of English is a compulsory subject for all JAMB candidates, no matter your course or school.
It may not be your favourite subject but JAMB English is one of the easiest to score high in if you know their format.
They always have questions from:
- JAMB novel.
- Comprehension.
- Lexis and structure.
- Oral forms.
Since it is compulsory and quite the easiest, a high mark in English can shoot your overall JAMB score to the skies!
Do you need help with this step?
- SEE HOW TO SCORE HIGH IN JAMB USE OF ENGLISH THIS YEAR.
10. Past questions are expo
Your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is to study past questions.
History repeats itself.
George Elliot
JAMB has been conducting UTME for over (42) years now and has accumulated more than 2000+ past questions on each subject so far.
So if you have ever thought that JAMB repeat questions, you are absolutely right!
Although.
These repetitions are NOT word-for-word but reframed, or with the options reshuffled.
Either way.
JAMB repeats 70 percent of their past questions every single year.
This means that 30 out of every 40 questions in the your JAMB has been asked before in the previous JAMB exams.
- So while JAMB syllabus gives you the 1st expo on the exact topics that your questions will come from.
- JAMB past questions give you the next expo on how those questions will look like and how often some questions on a particular topic are repeated.
Here’s a smart way to prepare for their repetition this year.
Pick (at random) 5 years of JAMB past questions from every 10 past years.
- 5 from 1978 – 1988
- 5 from 1988 – 1998
- 5 from 1998 – 2008
- 5 from 2008 – 2018
Study these 20 years of JAMB past questions and you will get their trick.
In summary.
Study JAMB past questions on your subjects to understand their pattern and pick out the frequently-asked topics to read more on.
11. Practice JAMB CBT
After choosing to study past questions, your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is to practice CBT.
Practice makes perfect.
John Adams
JAMB gives only 2 hours to answer a total of (at least) 200 questions.
Let’s break it down.
- 2 hours for 200 questions
- 1 hour for 100 questions
- ± 30 minutes for 40 questions
Which means that you only have about 30 minutes to finish each of your subject.
Let’s break it even further…
- 30 minutes for 40 questions.
- 15 minutes for 20 questions.
- 0.8 minute for 1 question.
Which means for the 2 hours to be enough for all your 200 questions, you have to answer each JAMB question in (8 seconds) — less than 1 minute.
But how can you be this fast?
- Practice JAMB CBT.
What is JAMB CBT?
CBT is an acronym for “Computer Based Test”.
Thus.
JAMB CBT means that all the questions in your JAMB exam will be asked and answered using a computer.
Cool, right?
There is just one major disadvantage of CBT method, and that is, the time is automatic and every second that passes can NEVER be gotten back.
No extra time.
No “abeg”.
Practicing JAMB CBT will help you master how to manage your 2-hour exam time efficiently.
How to practice JAMB CBT
If you have a smartphone, download JAMB Prep — it is an offline and free JAMB CBT practice app.
Take note.
Other CBT app may ask you to pay a fee to access some features but we found JAMB Prep to be completely FREE OF CHARGE.
If you do not have a smartphone, here’s how you can practice JAMB CBT without a phone or app.
- Get JAMB past questions on your subject.
- Get a timer (wristwatch or wall clock).
- Open the past questions to the year you wish to attempt.
- Give yourself 30 minutes for each subject.
- START PRACTICING!
Remember that the goal of practicing JAMB CBT is to perfect your time management skill.
So whichever option you choose to practice with, try to finish the questions on or before the required time.
If you do not meet up with the time while practicing, you can always try again and again, until you get faster.
12. Go for CBT training
As you already know, JAMB exam is Computer-Based and so it is essential that you know how to use a computer.
Take note.
Practicing JAMB CBT is not the same as CBT training.
AcadaCity
This is because your phone has a keypad and screen, but it does not have a MOUSE which is an essential part of the computer that you will use for your JAMB exam.
Howeverrr.
You do NOT need to learn about Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or CorelDraw in your CBT training.
Just the basics on how to use the computer mouse, keyboard and screen.
SUMMARY
If you already know how to use the computer, KUDOS! But if not, attend a CBT training where you live or get JAMB CBT Training online on how to use the computer for your JAMB.
13. Consider JAMB lesson
After deciding your level of computer usage, your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is to consider JAMB lesson.
Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help and brave enough to ask for it.
Ziad K. Abdelnour
Studying on your own is the best.
But sometimes you may encounter those stubborn topics that will prove difficult to understand on your own.
What do you do then?
You can either consult a friend who is better in that subject or find a teacher and ask for help.
A teacher is often your better option and one of the best places to find your JAMB subject teacher is in JAMB lesson centres.
Take note.
All JAMB lesson centres will require a fee which may vary depending on your area.
How much is JAMB lesson?
The amount charged for JAMB lesson near you depends on the school or tutorial centre and their location.
Secondary schools often charge a lesser per lesson day while Tutorial Centres may charge more, especially for compulsory subjects.
Howeverrr.
If you prefer online JAMB lesson (on compulsory subjects), join our JAMB lesson on WhatsApp for English and Mathematics now.
In summary.
Consider JAMB lessons, especially if there are many important topics that you are struggling to understand in your JAMB subject(s).
14. Join JAMB study groups
After considering JAMB lesson, your next step in the smart ways to pass JAMB without studying hard is join study groups.
Together, Everyone Achieves More!
Full Meaning — TEAM
Once again.
Studying on your own is the best but studying with others is FUN and your brain will remember fun faster and for long.
The fun of friends will keep your memory fresh on those discussed topics.
Studying in a group also helps you cover more of the syllabus because you will be exposed to areas that you may not have read yet.
In summary.
Many JAMB groups exist on social media. Join only the relevant ones — which we also have.
15. Go for JAMB mock exam
JAMB mock exam is held a week or two before your main JAMB exam.
This is done to prepare you on some of the smart ways we have discussed earlier.
- PAST QUESTIONS
- PRACTICE CBT
- CBT TRAINING
Many JAMB mock questions are drawn (at random) from the previous JAMB questions.
This means that you will be exposed to past questions which are likely to be repeated in your main JAMB exam.
JAMB mock exam is also done with all the features of JAMB CBT and this will provide you with a “safe” environment to test your Time Management Skill.
And due to its CBT nature.
JAMB mock exam provides you a firsthand experience on how to use the computer for your main JAMB exam.
In summary.
Go for JAMB mock, especially if you have not finished the past questions, could not go for CBT training or did not practice JAMB CBT.
But if you are unable to go for the JAMB mock, no problem.
There are no punishments for JAMB mock exam absentees, just remember to go for the main JAMB exam.
16. Visit your centre beforehand
On your JAMB exam slip, you will see the centre or venue assigned to you for your exam.
Visit your JAMB exam centre before your exam day to get familiar with the following:
- directions to the exam centre.
- which bus or street to take.
- the time it takes to reach the centre.
In summary.
If your centre is far from where you stay, find a 1-night accommodation closer to your JAMB centre and pass the night before your exam day there.
NOW, THE NEXT STAGE…
9 success tips for writing your JAMB exam
On the day of your JAMB exam.
Here are the smart tips to improve your chances of scoring high in JAMB.
1. Do not forget your exam materials
Especially your JAMB exam slip and pencil.
The original (coloured) copy of your exam slip will be required at your centre.
JAMB may be 100 percent computer-based but you will still need to sign your attendance or even solve some complex calculations by hand.
An on-screen calculator will be provided on your computer. So do not go with any calculator or sheet of paper (except your exam slip) to avoid implicating yourself.
2. Reach your exam centre on time
Arriving on time will reduce exam tension and give you more time to revise or get familiar with your exam environment.
It is better to be too early, than to be too late.
3. Focus 100 percent
Once you click “Start Exam”, your time starts counting. Pay FULL attention to your own work and nothing else.
Your bestie (or any other person) can wait until you are done with your own questions.
4. Start with your favourite subject
You have already mastered your favourite subject and that makes it easier for you to answer fast.
Finish your favourite subject fast enough to save more extra time for the remaining subjects.
5. Do subject(s) with calculations last
Unless Maths, Physics, or Account is your favourite subject, choose to answer them after you are done with the other subjects.
This is because starting with calculation will slow you down and take too much of the time meant for the other subjects.
It is better to calmly finish the subjects that you are good at and rush the remaining than to spend too much time on other subjects with little or no more time left for your favourite subject.
6. Skip questions you don’t know
When you do not know or cannot remember the answer to a question, skip it and come back later.
What is the point of wasting your limited time on a question that you do not know when there are many other questions that you know but yet to answer?
7. Crosscheck your answers
Before you submit, the computer screen will show you the total number of questions, both answered and unanswered.
Click on the unanswered questions that you might have skipped on purpose or by mistake and attempt them all.
8. Guessing is better than blank
If (at the end) you still do not know or cannot remember the answer to that stubborn question, pick any of the options as your answer.
Your guess (at least) has a chance of being correct but if you leave the question blank, that chance is Zero.
9. Submit ONLY when you are done
Once you click on that “SUBMIT” button, there is no going back or trying again.
So be 100 percent sure that you are done with all your JAMB questions before submitting.
NOW, THE LAST STAGE.
What to do after your JAMB exam
Once you are done with your JAMB exam.
The next thing is to patiently wait for the results to be out.
You will be able to check your JAMB result after a week or two of your exam.
Howeverrr.
Beware of fraudsters both before and after your JAMB exam. They will come in form of JAMB expo dealers and JAMB result upgraders.
Anybody can sit at home, write (1. A 2. D 3. B 4. D… 50. C) from nowhere and call it expo.
JAMB questions are different for every candidate, so how did that expo dealer know the correct answers to your OWN particular questions?
Conclusion
Shun all malpractices in JAMB because you will most likely be caught.
Those JAMB exam centres were accredited for many reasons and one is that, those tiny CCTV cameras in their halls are working.
How else do you think JAMB gets the list of candidates whose results were cancelled due to malpractices every year?
You don’t have to commit exam malpractices to pass JAMB 2026 nor do you need to study like crazyyy.
Just study SMART instead by following the above steps and your legit exam success is guaranteed!
GOOD LUCK.
Do you have something to say on these many ways to pass JAMB without studying hard? Comment below and get a reply soon.
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