HOW TO PREPARE FOR IIT JEE (Main and Advanced)

Every year lakhs of students appear for this prestigious examination, with a dream of securing a seat in top IITs and NITs. Out of these, about only 3 percent finally manage to get what they aspired for, at the beginning of their preparation phase. Putting it in simpler words, 3 out of every 100 get selected, what did these 3 do right that others didn’t? We will be trying to answer that, through this article.

Before getting into the actual preparation phase, there are few things a student should focus on. First is, pondering over the mode of preparation (online or offline) he/she wants to choose for getting into the race. And, Secondly, selecting the right faculty, who will guide them through this preparation phase is also equally important. Now, getting back to the question stated in the first few lines, what preparation hacks or what sort of strategy, you should opt for cracking the exam?

You can call it rules or hacks or tricks, but do go through it with the utmost attention. Don't forget to introspect about these points simultaneously.

10 GOLDEN RULES

• KNOWING ABOUT THE EXAM PATTERN AND SYLLABUS - Many aspirants miss the importance of reading about the exam, its pattern, and syllabus. Going through some articles about the exam or watching some interviews of successful students surely helps in working out the strategy, a student would like to follow.

We have entirely mentioned about JEE Main and JEE Advanced syllabus, pattern, important dates, etc.

JEE Main Paper 1 exam pattern

 JEE Main Paper 2 exam pattern

 Total time is 3 hours for paper 1 as well as paper 2

JEE Advanced pattern 

• MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY AND BEING FLEXIBLE AT THE SAME TIME - Aspirants usually jump into the preparation phase, with full enthusiasm and after 2-3 months, find it difficult to study with same throttle. Maintaining consistency is the key. Self-motivation and self-analysis play a vital role in that. As they say, preparing yourself for a 100 METRE SPRINT IS DIFFERENT THAN RUNNING A MARATHON. The pace has to be maintained. Just not consistency, flexibility for trying out different strategies, during the preparation phase is equally important. If the direction, you are working on is not giving you results, be flexible about trying a new one.

• MAKING A PROPER STUDY PLAN AND ABIDING BY IT - This is the most important of all, putting hard work is not sufficient alone. Out of those 100, approximately 70 percent do work hard, but still, they don’t get through. Hence, it becomes crucial to prepare smartly and efficiently. In simpler words, maintain a proper study plan and stick to it. If your problem is in execution of the study plan you design, you can keep weekly targets and then reward yourself after achieving it.

• FOCUSING ON RIGHT SOURCE OF LEARNING RATHER THAN PRACTICING EVERY BOOK AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET - Many aspirants make this mistake, which eventually turns out to be a blunder, if not corrected. Going through some interviews and consulting with the faculty can help you choose the right source of learning for your preparation phase. CHOOSE RIGHT BOOKS TO FOLLOW. We are mentioning some books below, following these will be more than sufficient for the exam.

Best Books for Physics

1. NCERT Textbooks for Physics 

2. Concepts of Volume 1 and 2  by H.C Verma

3. Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick and Halliday

4. Understanding Physics (set of 5 books) by D.C Pandey

Best books for Chemistry 

1. NCERT Textbooks for Chemistry

2. Physical Chemistry by P. Bahadur

3. Organic Chemistry by M.S Chouhan or Morrison and Boyd.

4. Inorganic Chemistry by J.D. Lee.

Best Books for Mathematics

1. NCERT Textbooks for Mathematics.

2. Skills in Mathematics for JEE Main and Advanced by Arihant Publications.

3. Mathemics by Cengage.

4. Advanced problem in Mathematics by Vikash Gupta and Pankaj Joshi.

• ENJOYING THE PREPARATION PHASE - Students generally start preparing without even knowing, if they actually want to do it. Some jump in the bandwagon, following their friends, some because of relatives and family members. One need to know about the persistence this exam requires, and that can only be there if you want to prepare full-heartedly for the exam. So, START ONLY IF YOU DON’T WANT TO STOP.

• FOCUSING ON EACH SUBJECT EQUALLY - Generally, students start liking any one subject in particular. And, start investing time in it, more than that’s required, resulting in altering their original study plan. It’s okay to like one subject more, but it shouldn’t be taking the time you meant to devote to some other subject.

• PRACTICING QUIZZES AND MOCKS ON REGULAR BASIS - Clearing JEE is not just about hard work, it’s equally about the temperament you show during the D-day. It’s essential to train your mind for that, knowing the questions that need to be skipped and not letting the ego take over, which might result in investing too much time over one question( this skill can only be . Treat it like the time, cricketers spend in nets before the actual match to get familiar with the pitch. Practicing regularly is the only quality, that can make an average student clear this exam.

• FOLLOWING THE RIGHT REVISION STRATEGY - Preparing notes plays a vital role; it helps to make the revision process more comfortable and efficient. Good notes are easily comprehensible even after you go through it after months (mention even the slightest point). If you can make your notes making game strong, you can clear any exam easily. Plan your revision strategy in such a way that you go through the whole syllabus atleast twice before the exam date.

• FOCUSING MORE ON WHAT’S GOING TO BE ASKED - There are some specific topics, which carry more weightage in the exam than others. Getting to know about these topics, from analyzing previous year papers and devoting more time to it will surely be beneficial. Not just this, but also knowing about the topics that are not usually asked in the exam is equally important. INVESTING TIME IN RIGHT TOPIC IS THE RIGHT WAY TO GO.

MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR JEE 

• FINDING TIME FOR YOURSELF, FUN ACTIVITIES - Watching movies or doing anything that relaxes your mind, once in a while is okay. Don't forget we are not Robots; taking break is vital. Avoid OVERUSAGE of the brain at a stretch, don’t study for long hours, rather study with taking breaks in between.

The another common question among aspirants is, when should they string? Is starting in 11^th better than starting in 12^th or afterwards or is it the other way around? Answer to this question is a bit ambiguous. Some aspirants fail, despite preparing for two years. Some succeed, even after preparing just for a year. Logically, it should be better to start preparing from 11^th. But, it depends largely on the time management skills of a student. Surely, the strategy has to be different for both types of aspirants. Let’s try to talk over the difference in strategies and what’s the right way of going for the examination for both types of aspirants.

ASPIRANTS STARTING FROM 11^th ONWARDS

PROS

• They have more time in understanding the exam pattern, syllabus, and choosing the source of guidance.
• There is no pressure of coping with the boards exam in same year, that prevents the dilemma.
• They get ample amount of time for covering the whole syllabus.
• They can start steadily, with devoting less time in a day(3 hours a day) and then pace up.
• They get more time for revision and working on weaker areas.

CONS

• More the time, more difficult it is to remain consistent with the studies.
• Have to keep yourself constantly motivated and high chances of becoming lenient with the schedule.

ASPIRANTS STARTING FROM 12^th OR AFTERWARDS

PROS

• Sometimes, having a lesser time is tricky but if used properly, can do wonders. Need to stay consistent for lesser time than students preparing from 11^th
• Familarity with the 11^th topics surely helps and can be managed by devoting lesser time in that.
• As they are one year or two year ahead in academics , management skills are better by this time and are also habitual with studying for long hours.

CONS

• First problem is getting over the dilemma, will it be possible to cover the syllabus in 1 year?
• Managing the boards exams and JEE preparations can become hectic, if not managed properly (for 12^th appearing students).
• Have to study for long hours from starting.
• Lesser time for revision.
• Students generally drop preparing for 15-20 days, before boards examination. This gap or irregularity, sometimes hamper the flow, which a student has to cope with in last days (for 12^th appearing students).

TO SUMMARIZE IT ALL IN SOME ONE POINTERS

• Time doesn’t matter (1year or 2years of preparation),time management does.
• Hard work alone is not enough, it has to be gelled with proper study plan and right execution.
• Hard work is important, but it’s actually your temperament on D-day, which decides whether you will be in or out.
• Understanding the power of practice, it does make an average student get through. (Notice the mention of does, in place of can).
• Choose the faculty and the books you befriend very wisely.
• Proper sleep is very important (7 hours a day).

SOME DON’TS

• Try avoiding befriending too many people, specially the negative ones.
• Never become irregular with studies, backlog is not easy to manage.
• Don’t spend long hours on TV and Internet.
• Try avoid studying late night.

Last and the most important trait of a ranker is, PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITY. A student needs to develop it, over the time in preparation phase. The best way to go about it is, never put a problem in your doubt section, before you have tried all methods possible for solving it, that you can think of. Reach out to faculty, only after you have given it your all. This will help you in becoming more flexible, while approaching a problem.

Try indulging the said points in your preparation phase, the result will surely be positive.

Happy Preparing