IS IT TRUE THAT IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE ADMISSION TOO MUCH YOU'D NOT GET IT?

Does “Not Thinking About Admission Too Much” Really Help You Get It?

You may have heard people say things like:

“Relax. Don’t think about admission too much. The people who don’t stress about it are the ones who eventually get it.”

I used to say this as well because I wrote JAMB twice. During my first attempt, I was very desperate to enter the university. This was because, first of all, I didn't write JAMB in SS3 when most of my classmates then were writing JAMB. I mean, I was a stress-free kid. I didn't want to combine the stress of WAEC, NECO, and JAMB preparation. I wanted to learn a skill for the few remaining months before the next UTME. So when it was time for the UTME, I was just so desperate. Most of my classmates who took the exam the year we graduated were already admitted! I didn't want to spend another year at home! For more than a month, after doing my house chores, my father would permit me to go find a solitary place(it was the church at that time) to read for hours. I just didn't want to fail. But guess what? I didn't fail tho' but I wasn't admitted to my choice course. Neither was I even given any alternative! How sad. Those I never saw reading or preparing as hard as I was, got admitted.

The next year came, with this thought in mind, "don't worry about it too much or else you still won't gain admission this year", I didn't bother reading so hard. In fact, I got myself busy with a lot of things, although somehow at the back of my mind, gaining admission was my prayer point. But a month to the UTME exam, guess who was all over YOUTUBE looking for one month survival plan to pass the UTME exam? Me!😂(I mean, who wants to fail?🥱)  Long story short, I got admitted!💃💃💃

(...stay with me. What I'm about to share, I wish someone had told me about this, I wouldn't have written JAMB twice...)

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“Relax. Don’t think about admission too much. The people who don’t stress about it are the ones who eventually get it.”

At first, it almost sounds like a rule of life: the less desperate you are, the more likely you are to get admission.

But is that actually true?

Let’s look at it logically and practically, the way students actually experience it.

The Reality: Admission Is Not Random

Admission into universities in Nigeria (through JAMB, Post-UTME, and school requirements) follows clear factors such as:

⚡JAMB score

⚡ Post-UTME performance

⚡ O-Level results

⚡ Course competitiveness

⚡ Catchment or admission policies

These are the real things that determine admission.

So the truth is this: admission does not depend on how desperate or relaxed you feel.

What matters is preparation and performance.

But then the question remains:

Why do some people who seem relaxed get admission, while some extremely desperate people don’t?

Why “Relaxed” Students Get Admission

Many times, students who appear calm about admission are not actually careless. They are simply confident because they prepared well, even though they try to convince themselves otherwise. That is to say, they think they're not prepared enough, but they somewhat have a knowledge base.

For example:

In my case, for the second UTME attempt, I have already had a first-hand experience. During the exam, most of the information my brain triggered was basically what I studied and retained during my first attempt. So even if I wasn't feeling ready for the exam, I was less disturbed, my brain was calm, hence the ability to trigger old memories.

Plus, my first attempt was a very competitive course but my next attempt, I chose a less competitive course.

So you see, my calmness didn’t bring the admission. My preparation did. The calmness is just the result of a hidden confidence.

Now, let's consider two candidates applying for Medicine.

Student A

🔥 Attended tutorials

🔥 Practiced CBT tests

🔥 Quietly studied

🔥 Strong WAEC results

🔥 JAMB score: 312

This student might be relaxed because no parents anywhere is pressuring them to enter university. They either want to test the waters. Whether they get admission or not, he's not on the loss.

Student B

🙄 Didn’t practice enough

🙄 Was just nonchalantly hoping for luck

🙄 Have no strong foundational knowledge of the subjects

This student, despite being desperate, is not subject to gaining admission.

When Student A gets admission, people may say:

"See? He wasn’t even stressing about it."

But the real reason is preparation and strong performance, not the lack of desperation.

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Why Desperation Doesn’t Guarantee Admission

Sometimes students feel like their entire life depends on admission, which makes them extremely anxious.

But anxiety cannot replace preparation.

For instance:

A student might say:

"If I don’t get admission this year, my life is over."

Yet:

They didn’t prepare well for JAMB

They chose a highly competitive course

They ignored tutorial opportunities

They relied mostly on hope

In this case, the desperation didn’t improve the chances of admission.

Admission systems respond to scores and requirements, not emotions.

You may ask, "How about you, who prepared and still didn't get the admission?" Well, confession time, I went to study with my phone handy. 30 minutes break usually becomes 3 hours of scrolling, after which I'd say, "let me sleep a little. I'd continue when I wake up." When I wake up, I'd go home to prepare meals and keep the house arranged.🫠

That is to say, I spent little time reading and more time was given to distraction, as anxious as I was to gain admission.

The Real Danger of Too Much Anxiety

While desperation doesn’t determine admission, it can still have negative effects.

Too much anxiety can lead to:

🧐 Poor concentration during exams

🧐 Panic during CBT tests

🧐 Lack of clear decision-making when choosing schools or courses

So the real lesson is not “don’t care about admission.”

The lesson is don’t let anxiety control you.

What Actually Increases Your Admission Chances

If you want admission, focus on the things that actually matter:

🔥 Strong JAMB preparation

🔥 Regular practice with CBT questions

🔥 Understanding the JAMB syllabus

🔥 Choosing realistic courses and institutions

🔥 Preparing for Post-UTME

Students who focus on these things often appear calmer because they are prepared.

Final Thought

The idea that “people who don’t care about admission get it” is mostly a misunderstanding.

What really happens is this:

Students who prepare well tend to feel less anxious, and because they perform better, they are more likely to get admission.

So instead of trying not to care about admission, focus on what truly makes the difference:

Preparation. Strategy. And consistent effort.

Because in the end, admission rewards preparation — not desperation.

JOIN THE BEST FREE JAMB CLASS NOW to ace 2026 UTME