2, specifically, it depends on everyone's foundation, what school to apply for and the efficiency of preparing for the exam. If you apply for a prestigious school, you'd better start preparing early, but if you apply for our school, it's not too late to start after your junior year.
3. Don't start preparing for the exam too early. Generally speaking, freshmen and sophomores only need to study foreign languages, politics and other public and professional basic courses seriously, because this is also the content of the initial test.