October 9, 2024 - Nicolas
Most of you probably know that the Bachelor of Business and Economics program is highly sought-after at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU BBE). It's one of a few English-taught bachelor's programs in economics in Vienna. BBE's unique curriculum, combined with WU's excellent reputation among European business universities, attracts about 3360 students each year who participate in BBE's application process. Only 240 students are granted a spot in the program, meaning WU Vienna has to use an application process to find the right students. As you can imagine, they go for the best-performing students – you can find a whole article on what matters in the application process on our website (search on Google for "How to get accepted for WU BBE – Application process myths unchained "). This article is definitely a good read for finding out which parts of the application process determine one's place in the overall ranking. However, here we will tackle the question of when to start preparing for the WU BBE entrance exam.
First, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. It's about the best fit for you and the learning approach you want to pursue. In high school, many students learn for exams starting a week or even just a few days before the exam day. This won't work in the BBE entrance exam (unless you are a lucky genius), as it covers content taught over multiple high school years. Moreover, I am sure you know the feeling a week after the exam when you think about the content like "hell, what did I study for so long… I forgot so much already". I have also been in this situation, and I am glad to have figured out a far better approach to learning. Something that promotes long-term memory – because learning at the university is like a marathon, not a sprint, and you will need the basics repeatedly. Those basic concepts are a prerequisite to working with complex scientific materials.
Consequently, I suggest starting the preparation as early as possible; this paragraph refers to a time frame of 6-12 months before the exam. You definitely don't need to study multiple hours every day right from the beginning. Instead, spend approximately 15-30 minutes a day to understand the content covered in the BBE entrance exam. As the time to the exam vanishes (3-6 months before the exam), you adjust the time for studying as necessary. You can reduce your weekly learning hours, repeat everything, or scale up and work on your weak spots. A well-designed learning strategy would instead lead to the first case! The final three months before the exam are ideal for problem-solving; get your hands on as many practice tasks as possible – the exam requires you to know the theory, and the skills to apply this knowledge is what matters.
The long period used in this approach heavily relies on good learning strategies. One such strategy is spaced repetition, a very potent method I discuss in more detail in the preparation course. It is about understanding and repeating the core principles over an extended period.
This way, you are able to learn in a stress-free environment, which allows for better long-term memory and builds the foundation for more complex methods you will fall back to during your studies. The content covered in the BBE entrance exam and the first part of the study program overlap considerably. Therefore, you will benefit twice from good entrance exam preparation.
Talking with experience from prior years students, those who prepared well for the entrance exam benefitted in all courses in the first year. They got good grades with moderate time spent on preparation for exams, which allowed them to enjoy their student life and do extracurricular activities or whatever they enjoyed. Good grades in the first two or three semesters are highly beneficial for the rest of your studies. They allow you to get into your specialisation of choice (the good ones are very competitive), land coveted internships, or even get a merit-based scholarship, as I did.
… one could also start the preparation just a few weeks before the exam and succeed. I don't say it's impossible – especially with well-structured materials, a clear plan and the willingness to sacrifice inner peace because of the stress most students face when starting the studying process too late. However, I highly advise the strategy outlined above. Start as soon as possible, learn for the long run, enjoy the process and benefit from your whole degree. Learning a little daily is like watering a seed: it may seem small at first, but with time, it grows into a flourishing plant, yielding a rich harvest of knowledge.
If you want to structure your preparation process, check out the BBE Insider Instagram, where you can learn more about topics like this! For students eager to make the most of the preparation process, we provide tailor-made solutions that are adjusted individually to their strengths, weaknesses, and learning types – just write us a message and we will get in touch.
