How you write your exam depends on a few parameters - subject knowledge, your preparation levels and a few external factors. One external factor, namely the exam environment, has a higher influence on how you fare in your tests and that’s exactly what we’re dealing with in this article. So…what does your IOE exam venue look like?

Let me prepare you beforehand for what to expect on your IOE exam. Before your exam, you need to  chart-out your schedule  and the date of your IOE exam, which will be mentioned in your admit card. The exam is conducted for a week at the campus with three slots  - morning, noon , and evening. The exam center might make you feel intimidated,  but hopefully this “heads-up” article can put your mind a bit more at ease.

Let’s take the ICT Building of the Pulchowk Campus for instance. As soon as you enter the  campus, there will be a massive crowd of students who have come for the same purpose - to crack the IOE exam. (You will have to show your admit card to the concerned authority) Your admit card will be verified before you enter the building. Then, follow the queue and wait for the announcement with your symbol number. Following that, you will be taken to your exam room which will have approximately 30-40 students depending on the room's capacity. You will have to leave your bags and other belongings in front of the classroom.  Each student will be placed with one computer. You will  be given a passcode along with an A4 paper. You should use the passcode to login into the exam. Before the exam starts, the invigilator will provide instructions regarding the rules and regulations that should be followed in the exam hall. Make sure you listen to all of them and follow them to the dot. If these rules aren’t followed, the concerned student will be expelled from the exam hall. For the entire exam hour, you will barely hear any noise which can help you to concentrate. It is suggested to take a pencil and eraser as you will be given an A4 size paper for scratch work. You’re allowed only ONE A4 sheet , so use it wisely. You can take your water bottle and calculator with you. Scientific calculators like Casio 991EX Classwiz, Casio 991ES, Casio 911W are only allowed for the exam. The  exam software shows the list of unanswered questions at the top that you can revisit & solve if you have enough time left towards the end. 
Important Note: IOE exam holds 10% negative marking…so sometimes it is safer to skip the doubtful questions & move on to the ones that you are confident about

10 minutes before the exam ends, you will be given a warning. In exactly 2 hours, the Computer Based Test (CBT) shall be ended and submitted automatically. You can then leave the classroom and head out.