The matura is not always a sufficient ticket to your dream studies. Medicine, law, SGH, art schools: many universities organise their own entrance exams or aptitude tests.
Which universities have their own exams?
Medical academies, a test in biology and chemistry, often in multiple-choice form. Film and art schools, a practical exam and a portfolio. Military and police schools, fitness and psychological tests. SGH, a test in maths and a foreign language (papers from previous years are available).
How early to start preparing?
At least 3–4 months before the exam. For medicine exams, where competition is huge, it is worth starting a year earlier: especially if you did not take biology or chemistry at the extended level at the matura.
Papers from previous years
This is your most important tool. Every university with an entrance exam publishes or makes available historical sets. Solving them in conditions close to exam ones (time, silence, no help) is essential.
The tutor’s role
A tutor with experience in preparing for specific exams knows the types of questions, the examiners’ traps and the topics that appear regularly. That significantly shortens preparation time compared with studying on your own “on general principles”.
What if I do not pass?
A failed entrance exam is not the end of the road. Many universities allow you to sit it again the next year. It is also worth considering alternative courses or universities that recruit solely on the basis of the matura.