Insider Meetup 2026 - Blog

The evening before the WU Vienna entrance exam, around 30 applicants who prepared with BBE Insider met with Insider EdVentures co-founder Nicolas Olsa for one last Q&A. They talked about how long they prepared, what they struggled with and how nervous they were. We filmed the conversation. Nobody in the room knew their result yet.

The full recording is above. Here is a summary of what came up.

How long they prepared

Nicolas asked for a show of hands. Preparation times ranged from one month to more than six.

• Several prepared alongside their final school exams and had to fit study time around them.
• One applicant prepared for six months and talked about accepting the outcome either way.
• Another prepared for one month, working only with the mock exams.
• Some moved to Vienna for the exam, and some prepared in a language that is not their first.

What they found hardest

Two subjects came up again and again: maths and English.

• Finding time to study next to school.
• Maths, especially for applicants from other fields. One applicant switched over from architecture.
• English questions worded in unusual ways.
• Not knowing what the exam would look like when they started preparing.

Many said preparing changed how they study. Several also mentioned the support they got from other applicants, even though they compete for the same places.

Nicolas's advice for exam day

Nicolas told the group he was shaking on his own exam day. Then he went through his final tips:

• Revise the topic you fear most. One last look tonight is worth more than another pass over what you already know.
• Push hard tasks to the end. Collect the points you can get quickly first.
• Plan your time per section. Decide in advance how much time each part gets.
• Don't get stuck on one task. Move on and come back if time allows.
• Tick the answer sheet as you go. Don't leave the transfer for the last minutes.

Why WU

Near the end, one applicant shared why they chose WU. The evening closed on one line: "There is no failure if you tried."

Thank you to everyone who came, and good luck with your results.

Preparing for the next exam

If you are applying to WU, you can try real exam-style tasks for free with the Free Sample Paper.