Saturday, the national holiday of the Proclamation of the Republic, this November 15th. While many people are resting, the millions of participants in the 2025 National High School Examination are experiencing the last 24 hours before the second day of tests, this Sunday afternoon (16), when they will face 90 questions, 45 of which are mathematics and another 45 are natural sciences, which encompass the areas of chemistry, physics and biology.
Experts advise that this, the final moment, is the exact time to “Pause” your studies and press the “Start” button on the logistics of traveling and preparing what you will take to the Enem application room. Only then is it time to relax before Enem.
The student from Brasília, João Pedro Pinheiro Oliveira, aged 17, is one of more than 4.8 million confirmed participants in the national exam. João understands that, in the final stretch, it is not time to study anything else in an attempt to learn something. What he had to learn was during the year of preparation.
“I’m just going to watch a video or another that helps me with a final trick”, he explains.
The young man wants to study Business Administration and, despite considering that he did well in the test last Sunday (9), now, for the second day, he says he is even more confident.
Last day before the second day of Enem tests Photo:João Pedro Pinheiro Oliveira/Personal archive
“I have more difficulty in humanities than in exact sciences. I find health sciences more difficult. But in mathematics I’m good. I want to get a lot of successes in this subject.”
As a strategy, when João is face to face with the test booklet, João uses the Item Response Theory (TRI), adopted by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) to score the final performance of each candidate.
“I will try to focus on the easiest questions because of the TRI, always start calmly, breathing and being careful with it.”
Peace of mind for those who studied
For João’s high school classmate, student Sofia Biacchi Emanuelli Hardt, 17 years old, Enem is the main selection process for accessing higher education, mainly because she intends to use her final test score to study outside the federal capital.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been focusing on the subjects that most appear in the Enem and, now, for the last month I only did a specific review and dedicated Friday to a final review of formulas, because I am afraid of forgetting them in the middle of the test. Tomorrow, I’ll be calm,” said the student.
Sofia has not yet chosen what she will study at university, she is only certain that it will be a humanities course. And one of the strategies she adopted to stay psychologically well for the second day of the tests was not to check the official answer sheet for the tests carried out last Sunday (9) and published this Thursday (13).
Student did not choose the course Photo: Sofia Biacchi Emanuelli Hardt/Personal archive
“I didn’t even correct the first test, because if I did poorly or worse than I think I would go to the second test with regret. But, I’m confident because I think I did well in the first test and the second is not the one I need to do better. So, I’m calm.”
Word from someone who understands
At the school where they study, João and Sofia were guided, among others, by the chemistry teacher, Samuel Ribeiro, who knows well the routine of good preparation throughout high school until the day before the two days of the Enem.
For teachers, the priority should be rest, as highlighted by the two high school graduates.
“The candidate should not forget to rest before the test to arrive less anxious and with a calmer mind to take the test. Don’t arrive too rushed”, preaches professor Samuel Ribeiro.
“Survival kit”
Saturday is the day for candidates to separate at least two black pens made of transparent material, the official and original document with photo and plan to arrive at the test location with ease, the same as on the first day of the tests. The tips are on Inep’s social network.
The objective is to avoid any type of unforeseen event or have enough time to resolve possible last-minute problems.
It is also recommended to take the printed Registration Confirmation Card. The document has the address and the correct number of the testing room.
The candidate must also pack light and practical snacks and a bottle of water in transparent material, without labels, to hydrate themselves. Student Sofia chose chocolate and grape and orange juices as a source of energy to dedicate herself fully to answering the test.
“On Sunday morning, I will be completely relaxed to go to the test calmly. With a pen, document, chocolate and a delicious juice”, she says confidently.
On the eve of Enem, participants must confirm the travel time to the test location and calculate a good safety margin, after all, the gates will be closed promptly at 1 pm, Brasília time, in all test locations in the country. Therefore, the advice is to arrive early!
Faced with 90 questions
The chemistry teacher, Samuel Ribeiro, declares that, inside the Enem exam room, in front of the test booklet, it is not a time to despair. Recognizing the subjects that the candidate is most familiar with will help to reassure the candidate during this five-hour exam journey.
“Remember to take a quick look at the test and see what questions you already know how to ask. This is already a good point to reassure yourself.”
Another strategy is to prioritize those questions that are easier to ask to speed up the resolution of the issues.
But be careful: “Not always those questions that the candidate knows how to ask will also be the quickest questions. Therefore, you also have to have a specific strategy for this”, draws the professor’s attention.
Finally, the golden tip is to always read the questions very carefully. “There are many questions there, mainly statistics, which is the case of chemistry, which bring up some issues that we can explore in the text relating to the issue.”
Enem 2025
This Sunday, the gates open at 12 pm and close at 1 pm, Brasília time.
The tests begin at 1:30 pm and end at 6:30 pm (half an hour earlier than on the first Sunday).
Participants will be allowed to leave from 3:30 pm, without the test.
Those who wish to take the question book with them will be able to leave the test site at 6pm, 30 minutes before the end of the regular application.
