"There is no single strategy which will work. You should figure out what works best for you."
"Go through the entire paper and solve only the easiest questions at first."
"Try to answer 30-35 questions in the first 1 hour itself."
In an online chat with readers, Zishaan Hayath, co-founder, Toppr.com shared advice on how to crack the IIT Joint Entrance Examination 2015.
Nearly 13 lakh students appeared for the IIT Joint Entrance Exam in 2014 competing for just over 9,500 seats across the 17 IITs in India.
That pretty much explains the competitive nature of the test and the rigour it demands.
The offline (pen and paper) Joint Entrance Examination will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2015.
The online (computer-based) Joint Entrance Examination will be held on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11, 2015.
To help our readers prepare for the exam, Rediff.com had organised a webchat with Zishaan Hayath, co-founder, Toppr.com, an online preparation platform for entrance exams in India.
Those who missed the chat on December 12, check the transcript below:
Sukhvinder Agah: Besides JEE what other exams should I prepare for?
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Sukhvinder, besides JEE you can prepare for BITSAT which is quite competitive and BITS Pilani is quite a reputed institute.
You should also focus more on JEE Mains if you are targeting NITs and IIITs. For getting into colleges in your region you should also give CET, WBJEE based on where you are from.
Nitya Shetty: I am in class 9 and algebra is my favourite subject. I want to get into IIT Delhi. Please guide me.
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Nitya, glad to see that you are aiming for IIT Delhi.
You should start giving competitive exams and excel at them so that you are prepared for JEE.
There are a lot of exams like NTSE, MTSE, KVPY and others which are quite competitive.
We have a foundation course which you can have a look at to prepare for these exams: http://rediff.ly/3wmsx
Seema Dutt: Can I get admission in IIT-Bombay with a good CET score?
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Seema, you can get an admission into IIT Bombay only if you get a good JEE rank.
Admissions to all IITs are only through JEE Mains and Advanced. CET scores are not valid to get an admission.
Simon Xavier: Sir what questions to attempt first?
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Simon, it's best to attempt the easiest questions which do not require a lot of calculations first. Anything which is consuming for than 2 mins to solve should be left for later.
Gajanan Bose: What are the scoring chapters and how to prepare -- please share some tips
Zishaan Hayath: Students find different chapters easy or difficulty based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Some chapters involve a lot of conceptual application while some require calculations based on a few formulas.
So, if you are preparing for the exam, you need to focus on chapters which you find relatively easy.
Amol Dhurve: Pls share some expert tips and strategies to crack the JEE 2015.Sir how to balance board exam preparation and JEE?
Zishaan Hayath: Few days ago I wrote a guest article on Rediff on tips to crack IIT JEE. You can have a look at it here: http://rediff.ly/3ut9cAlso, using online platforms like Toppr helps you improve accuracy and time when you start completing goals on our platform.
Time is extremely crucial during exams and hence it makes sense to try and save as much time per question.
Ashish Gupta: Where can i find mock papers and past exam question papers for JEE?
Zishaan Hayath: We will soon be launching previous year papers on Toppr.com which would include previous 5 year papers. You can sign up now on our website so that you get notified when it is up.
Jaipal Sahani: Will students be given some time to read the paper before they start answering? What is the time limit for the exam?
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Jaipal, unfortunately the exam starts as soon as you open the question paper.
You wouldn't be allowed to see the questions before.
The time limit for each paper is three hours.
In order to manage your time properly it's important you practice giving mock tests or test series.
Shikhamani Sharma: When is the JEE exam? Does anyone know?
Zishaan Hayath: JEE Mains Offline Exam: 4th April, 2015; JEE Mains Online Exam : 10th, 11th April, 2015; JEE Advanced: 24 May, 2015
Nitin Badesha: Hi Zishaan sir, can u pls tell me how to manage time and score more?
Zishaan Hayath: There is no single strategy which will work. You should figure out what works best for you.
Go through the entire paper and solve only the easiest questions at first.
Try to answer 30-35 questions in the first 1 hour itself which will fetch you enough marks.
Go through the paper again and attempt the difficult ones later.
See AIR 1's strategy here: http://rediff.ly/3wlo9
Kartik Dhadda: Is there negative marking in JEE?
Zishaan Hayath: Negative marking is there in both JEE Mains and Advanced.
For JEE Advanced, the marking scheme varies according to the question type and also varies every year.
For JEE Mains, it's 4 and -1
Meghan Yeragi: How to memorise formulas in chemistry?
Zishaan Hayath: Make a chart sheet of all chapter wise formula mainly important ones.
Get the print out and paste it in your room.
Read everyday at least once.
It's a very easy way to remember formulae in chemistry.
You can also use relevant mnemonics to remember stuff.
Such things are available on internet, and in the "Cheatsheet" section of each chapter at http://rediff.ly/3wlny
Mayank Mehta: My son is in class 11 science. He wants to pursue a career in artificial intelligence but hasnt joined a coaching centre for JEE or CET.
Could you pls advice what is the best thing to do for him?
Zishaan Hayath: Hi Mayank, AI is quite an upcoming field and for pursuing a career in AI, your son needs to study computer science from a reputed engineering college.
Joining a coaching should help with preparation but more importantly he should study hard to crack JEE and CET.
There are good prospects in US and abroad for AI and going for a masters degree would certainly help.
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Photo Courtesy: Sahil Salvi
