'Failing in IIT JEE is not the end of your world'

The IIT JEE is coming up on April 11 and we asked readers who have taken the test in previous years to share their tips on how to score well in the exam.

Here we publish some of the responses we received.

First, Sanjay Gupta shares his advice:

I have not appeared for the JEE since I did my engineering from NIT 25 years back but I have several tips which can benefit young people putting their serious and sincere long efforts for cracking JEE.

These tips are based on my experience with my son who not only appeared for JEE but cracked also with high rank both in JEE & AIEEE and is currently studying at IIT, Mumbai.

• First, the key is patience and keeping one's cool under pressure. It is not necessary to be a master on all subjects but it is very important that whatever you do is correct. Most students who appear for the JEE have worked hard for 2-4 years only for JEE but only a few get success, some people term this as 'luck', but I 100 per cent disagree with this. It is not luck, but their temparament that has brought them success because they know how to prepare and perform under pressure. Because of staying calm whatever they did, they did correctly within the given time.
• Second, practice as much as you can and not individual subjects but all three together. Preparing one by one is okay, but when you appear for the JEE all three subjects are in one paper, so your final practice must be based on a test paper that comprises all subjects. That's the reason test papers have lot of value and why a student going to a coaching centre is getting more success than student preparing on his own, quality and quantity of subject matter does not have much difference but solving the paper correctly with speed is the key. You may be knowing and doing very well while solving test papers at home alone, but you never know how quick the other guy's are. This is possible only when you are practicing in a competitive environment with large number of students appearing for same test paper at same time.
• Third, always give emphasis to the basics in all three subjects. Some students think if they do well in any two papers, they will crack the JEE, but that is not the case. One must be thorough in all three. A thumb rule is if you do all three papers with over 65 per cent marks, you can be in the top 100. If you do two papers well and score 55-65 per cent you could be through but 500-3000 rank, if only one paper was good and two average and you score 45-55 per cent your rank will be anywhere from 3000-5000 or lower. So never take any topic / subject casually, but always ensure that whatever you are attempting in the paper is correct keeping time limit in mind.

Finally, I will repeat that more than 4 lakh students appear for the JEE but only about 5,000 are selected, not because they are far better than the others. I think it is safe to safe that at least 100,000 are of almost the same level -- same efforts, same knowledge -- but the 5,000 are selected because they are capable of solving the paper under pressure.

All the best!

'Failing in IIT JEE is not the end of your world', says Getahead reader Akshat Gupta

IIT JEE 2010 is on April 11 and by now most of the aspirants must have finished their JEE syllabus. However, the most crucial period begins now. With only 3 weeks left for exam, lot of anxiety and expectations kicks in.

JEE is one of the most competitive entrance exams for admission to undergraduate courses at the university level. What sets JEE apart from other exams is that JEE always focuses on the concept and tests the candidates' ability to deeply understand the basic concepts of physics, maths and chemistry and then to apply them to solve a variety of problems. It is very rare to see direct formula based problems in JEE and problems involving lengthy calculations.

Success in any competitive examination in dependent on two things. First is the intellectual capacity and understanding of the subject matter and second is the mental preparation for the exam and test taking strategies.

Most of the students take outside help like specialised coaching or tuition to develop their understanding of subject matter. However, their is not much help available for mental preparation.

Here are few tips which I believe will be helpful to JEE aspirants. From my own JEE experience and the experiences shared by my fellow mates at IIT, I can say that these are general but very effective tips.

1. Identify your strength and weakness in each subject and try to focus more on your strengths in the last few weeks. It will be very difficult to build expertise in your week areas now, so don't waste too much time on them at the moment.

2. Try to solve as many problems that you have solved previously in your JEE preparation throughout the year. This will be a feel good factor.

3. Take care of your heath. Eat proper meals and take proper rest.

4. Do not unnecessary worry about the outcome of result at the moment. Be positive and put your best foot forward. Failure in JEE is not the end of world, therefore do not panic.

5. Develop a proper revision plan. Ideally one should revise the entire syllabus three times. First revision should be exhaustive and should last for 3 to 4 weeks. Second revision should be short and should be completed in one week and finally the last revision just a couple of days before the exam which should be completed in one day.

6. Take 6 to 10 full length tests on JEE pattern in these 3 weeks to develop your own test taking strategies.

7. Try to align your body clock to the JEE test timings. It means your brain must be most active between 9 am to 5 pm. Therefore avoid taking naps in the afternoon.

8. Everybody has a unique way to approach the test. Therefore stick to your own plan and do not get confused by what your fellow students say.

9. Finally before the day of JEE 2010 do not study, if you are not feeling confident about your preparation till this day then not much can be achieved now.

10. Also go and check the location of your JEE test centre. Relax and unwind before the JEE day. May be one can go for a movie, listen to music or take a walk in the park. Do whatever relaxes you the most.

Most important key to success is self belief. Believe that you can compete with the best and brightest in the country and can come out with flying colors.

'Do not rely on tuitions or coachings' says Getahead redaer Vivek Pateshwari

I cleared JEE in 2005 and passed out from IIT Kharagpur in 2009. The best way to crack JEE is to believe in yourself.

Do not rely on tuitions or coachings, however they are important for clearing out the concepts. As the date is approaching, all the aspirants get tensed and try preparing hard for it. My advise to all of them: Just relax.

Don't mug up anything now.

I would rather advise, complete all your mugging stuffs in a week, set a target for that and don't start any new topic. Just go through all the topics covered till now, and just relax. After a week, when your mugging target is achieved, start giving out mock tests daily and analyse the mistakes that you might do. This will help you to adapt to the JEE format and will help you a lot. At least, it helped me.

So, All the best to everyone ! And believe me, cracking JEE is easier as compared to our times. Just Believe in yourself.