Introduction

Hey there, folks! I guess I’ll have to keep things a bit mysterious and go anonymous for now. However, before we kick things off, let me just give you a teensy glimpse of my background so that we’re on the same page. I wouldn’t say that I was the best student in my school, but I usually found myself among the top 5 in academics and after receiving my ICSE board results, I’d decided to pursue engineering (because let’s just say biology wasn’t exactly my forte). And naturally, once you’ve decided to be an engineer, you can’t know about JEE Mains, India’s largest engineering entrance examination. Hence in this article, I’ll be sharing my take and experience, shedding light on my strategy and preparation for this exam. So, before I dive more into my journey, you might wonder: am I qualified enough to talk and give advice about this exam? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I’ve indeed been admitted at a decent NIT (NIT Agartala, if you’re curious) with a respectable branch (ECE), but have failed to crack JEE Advanced on the other hand. Do I regret it? Nope! Not in the slightest! I may not hold the title of being among the top AIRs to offer you advice, but one thing you’ll likely resonate with this blog is the shared experience of facing distinct challenges as an average student. So without any further delay, let’s begin!

The First Attempt:

So, our first attempt was in January 2023, amidst the world slowly recovering from the pandemic of COVID-19. With just six months of offline classes under my belt, my preparation for the exam was far from complete, and deep down, I knew I wouldn’t perform well. Also, my friends and teachers had contrasting views about the first attempt, which initially left me confused as well. My teachers insisted that the questions were much easier in the first attempt, and there was less competition for freshers writing the exam, making it possible to score well with minimal preparation and secure a decent percentile if one completed the entire syllabus thoroughly. They specifically mentioned that newcomers and freshers have a better chance of scoring higher on the first attempt, as opposed to droppers who may need more time in their drop year to prepare for the exam. However, on the flip side, some of my friends believed that the first attempt served as a “trial” to analyze the test format, while the second attempt was considered the “real” attempt, where one could perform better with improved preparation and understanding of the exam pattern. For some reason, I found myself leaning towards the second reason (partly because my preparation was incomplete for the first attempt and I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete the whole syllabus in such a short period, and partly because my best friends endorsed it). However, it turned out my intuition was completely off and ignoring my teacher’s advice ended up costing me dearly. The first attempt, as predicted by them, was indeed easy, and with some effort, one could have easily achieved high scores. To me, my first attempt was nothing short of a disaster.

My second mistake during this attempt was solely focusing on theory and neglecting to practice any questions. I understand that students like often succumb to FOMO, fearing that if they practice questions, they might miss some important theoretical concepts. That’s why I ended up watching one-shot videos and lectures online instead of solving the previous year’s questions (PYQs) and practice problems. When I faced the exam paper, I found myself completely blank—not because I didn’t know the formulas for solving the questions I had gone through short revision notes and had all the formulas memorized by heart, but because I lacked the practice and knowledge of some useful tricks that would have helped me solve those problems. I won’t dwell much on the pattern since it’s widely known; but just to recap, we had to attempt 75 questions in total: 25 each from physics, chemistry, and maths. Among these, 20 were single correct multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and the remaining 5 were numerical that we had to attempt out of 10 provided (there was a change in exam pattern during our time). All I could rely on was my memory to cobble together answers for some chemistry questions, thanks to my father, teaching me some important topics beforehand (he’s a chemical engineer and takes more interest in my studies than I do, for which I’m truly grateful). Unfortunately, I found myself struggling with physics and maths, and before I could solve more than 7 problems in each, I’d run out of time. Surprisingly, I’d managed to score 95%ile on my first attempt, which might seem like a good number at first but for a General Male category student, let’s just say it won’t get me any good college (I was getting Food Engineering at NIT Srinagar with my expected rank and while some may argue that it’s still an NIT, in my defence I am least interested to do something like Food Engineering). I wouldn’t say I was heartbroken and disappointed because I thought my paper went much worse. However, I wasn’t happy either, knowing that these marks wouldn’t secure me admission to a good college. So, like any determined aspirant, I started preparing for the second attempt.

The Second Attempt:

What I learned before my second attempt (thankfully) was that the JEE was not only an exam of Physics, Chemistry, and Maths but also a test of mental and emotional strength. After reviewing my first attempt paper, I realized that there were many questions that I could solve back at home, but under the pressure and tension of the exam hall, I felt like these questions were beyond my capabilities. Part of it was because I knew my preparation was inadequate which had affected my confidence negatively. So, this time, I’d decided to take my studies seriously, realizing that if I didn’t, I would end up suffering the consequences in my later years. I dedicated most of my time to solving previous year’s questions (PYQs) and mock tests, and here’s a pro tip: Whenever you solve a PYQ, don’t just glance at the solution and move on to the next question. Take some time to search for the answer in the NCERT textbooks (I repeat, NCERT must be your bible for JEE) and read about the incorrect options as well, trying to understand why they were not the correct choices. Additionally, explore the scenarios or contexts in which those incorrect options could have been the correct answers. This approach will help you gain a deeper understanding and mastery of the subject matter. In mathematics, it’s also beneficial to solve previous year’s JEE Advanced questions, as sometimes they are repeated verbatim in certain shifts. Focus more on 12th-grade topics in Physics, such as Current Electricity, Optics, and Modern Physics, as you can score maximum marks in these topics with minimal effort. Additionally, during my shift, the paper seemed to place more emphasis on 12th-grade chapters, and I believe this is a general trend in the exam. Therefore, prioritize completing your 12th-grade syllabus before revisiting 11th-grade topics. Also, don’t overlook inorganic and organic chemistry, as they can be very scoring. While it can be challenging to memorize these concepts, there are many great teachers on YouTube (such as Sakshi Vora, Unacademy, and PhysicsWallah) who provide interesting methods to memorize them. So, give it your best shot!

One more important thing I learned during my preparation was not to be too affected by the marks obtained in mock tests. They are meant to challenge you and help you improve your performance in the actual exam. I scored very low on mock tests (I had taken the online mock test series of Allen), but they significantly enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the types of questions asked. Thanks to my coaching being tied up with my school, I didn’t have to attend many classes during the second half of the semester, allowing me to dedicate more time to my JEE preparation. With the support of my family and friends, I committed to studying for at least 3 hours every day. In just 2 months, I was able to create concise notes and develop a solid understanding of the topics. Finally, D-day arrived, (my exam was on 6th April – Shift 1, the first shift itself) and I remember being unable to fall asleep the night before the exam due to nervousness and tension. After trying for some time to sleep, I realized it wasn’t happening. So, I spent the night doing some last-minute revisions and ultimately decided to leave the rest up to fate. The rest was history, with me performing well on some questions and getting stuck on others. However, I managed to attempt around 50 questions, a significant improvement from my previous attempt. I felt satisfied, confident that I would easily score 98%ile + and happily went home. However, it was later revealed to me that my shift was relatively easy, leading a good number of students to attempt many questions. Consequently, when the results came out, I was a bit disappointed to see that I had achieved a 97.5 percentile with an AIR of 28290. While a jump from 95 to 97 percentile may not seem like a significant improvement, trust me, I gave it my all, and I was still pretty satisfied with this outcome. I would also like to emphasize that while your efforts can certainly influence your results, your results are never entirely within your control. I’ve seen friends who were better than me in studies but faced unexpected challenges, like falling ill before the exam, which affected their performance. So, while it’s important to give your best effort in every exam, don’t become too disheartened if you feel like you didn’t meet your expectations. There are many factors affecting your results that are not directly related to your hard work and effort. Therefore, don’t lose hope and keep fighting!

Conclusion:

So, as we approach the conclusion of this blog, I’d like to summarize the entire article into Do’s and Don’ts to make it easier for readers to grasp and take away some helpful tips:

Do’s:

1. Prioritize scoring well in the first attempt if you are a fresher, as it’s easier to score when most aspirants are underprepared.
2. Complete and prepare your 12th-grade chapters before revising the 11th-grade ones.
3. Treat your preparation as a marathon, not a sprint. Study consistently daily for fewer hours rather than inconsistently for longer hours.
4. Consider opting for coaching and school tie-ups to reduce the burden if it’s a viable option. The board doesn’t matter much (I did my higher secondary from ISC and there wasn’t much of a difference from CBSE or State Board).

Don’ts:

1. Don’t leave any chapter unattended. Cover the basic formulas at least, as direct questions often come from there.
2. Don’t study from too many sources and books. Stick to NCERT for JEE Main and previous year questions.
3. Don’t prepare for JEE Main and Advanced in the same style. They are different exams and require different preparation strategies.
4. If you don’t score well, don’t think it’s the end of the road. JEE is not everything, and many successful people didn’t qualify for JEE as well. Just give your best effort and don’t panic.

Hopefully, you found this article helpful. Thank you for reading it here. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours. Goodbye!