Abstarct: Success in the English section of the university admission test depends on candidates’ breadth and depth of written skills, especially vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension and developing these areas mainly depends on the learners’ awareness and appropriate use of appropriate learning strategies. Since many of these strategies are idiosyncratic in nature, this study aims at exploring the strategies university candidates use in preparing themselves for the English section of the university admission test. To this end, twenty candidates who showed a mastery level of 85% or higher were purposively sampled to participate in this study. The strategies they used were then uncovered through open-ended qualitative interviews. Candidates’ perspectives were then transcribed verbatim and then thematically analyzed to uncover the strategies they actually used in preparing for this high stake test. Thematic analysis of the participants’ perspectives revealed several down-to-earth techniques and strategies. The findings have clear implications for all stakeholders, especially candidates who are preparing themselves for this high-stake test since their awareness of these strategies will greatly contribute to their performance in the test and their future course of study.