JEE : The decisions I regret

" The only person who has never committed a mistake, is one who has never tried anything at all."

In my previous blog I recollected the correct decisions I made. Today I would like to share the mistakes and the wrong choices I made. I hope others may learn from these and will be smart enough to not make these same mistakes again. Also, don't make fun of me if you feel my mistakes were stupid ;-). ( This list is probably longer than the previous one :-P).

1. I Started Too Late : I didn't even know what JEE is in class 10. Need I say anything more? My dad would always tell me that he had finished the entire syllabus in 11 and throughout class 12 he revised ( This story would seriously scare me :-P) I completed my syllabus a few months before mains.

"Start as early as you can because the competition is increasing at a pretty fast rate. That doesn't mean that if you start late you don't stand any chance, but then you will have to work harder in lesser time. If you have elder siblings or good teachers to guide you there are a few things that you can start early."

2.  I Never Paid Attention at School : Okay, I don't really know if this was good or bad for me. My teachers were always shouting at me for having non-course books on my lap ( I was made to stand outside the class on more than one occasion :-P). While On one hand I missed most of my school lectures and had to do it all again at home, On the other I used that time to solve higher level problems which probably helped me in Advanced.

"At school, if the discussion is about a topic you have not studied before, pay attention to it. If you have already studied it, spend that time in school solving maths."

3. Give Equal Attention To All Subjects : This was my biggest mistake. I absolutely hated chemistry! (And I probably still do). I started studying organic around September in class 12*. I left quite a few topics in physical chemistry completely. And in the end chemistry pulled me down.

"All three subjects are equally important to get a good rank. If you are weak in one subject, start giving that subject more time before its too late. "

4. Have A Schedule : At one time, (I was really crazy about physics) I used to wake up at 2 in the night, study till 4 and go back to sleep. While studying at night is recommended, studying at odd hours used to make me sleepy at school and Prerna. Don't turn yourself into a maniac ( pagal k jaise padhne ki jaroorat nhi hai ).

"Study as much as you can, but do follow a schedule  Don't study 6 hours one day and take the next day off because you are too tired."



These are the main mistakes I remember I made. Apart from these, a few mistakes that I see others making :

1. Suppose you are unable to integrate a function. You can ask your teacher and he will tell you a particular substitution. Once the path is known 99% of the people leave that question and move on. Don't do that, solve each question till the end.

2. Regarding the above point, don't ask someone your doubts till they have been with you for at least 24 hours. Try the question different ways, look up the texts, keep thinking about that question till you have your Eureka moment! And if even after one or two days it remains unsolved, then ask for help.

3. The Board Dilemma : Trust me, the most convenient thing in the world is to blame others for your own losses. Your school doesn't matter that much and neither does the board ( ICSE/CBSE). If you did not crack some exam it is your and your fault alone. Don't run around blaming your situation and your luck.

4. Watching television is not refreshment. It will occupy your mind and you won't be able to study the same way again. Similarly, FIFA or Facebook is not the right break in between studies. Exercise is the best thing to do, or even doing some house work ( or plain old sleeping :-P).

This is pretty much all I can remember right now. You can comment if something else comes to your mind. Don't make these mistakes which I did and you'll be on the right path.

The more you try, the more mistakes you will make and the more successful you will be. So keep trying.

Note: I get this feeling that quite a few of the points I have written here have also been mentioned before in my blogs. If that is really the case, then those points are extra important ! (:-P).



*I don't know how but KK Mishra Sir singled me ( and Priyam ) out for being exceptionally poor at Chemistry but being good at Physics and Maths. He used to call us for a sort of an extra class every Saturday. That really was the turning point in my relationship with Chemistry. Without that extra help, I wouldn't have been anywhere today. Thank You Sir :-)



How I cleared JEE

This is a short story ( I'll try to keep it short :-P ) about me. About the last two years of my life and the most boring topic in the world, studies ( It really is so boring that my roomies won't let me blog about it! ). But then it is also important ( We've all heard this before right! ). So without wasting any more time, I'll start with my story.

I didn't know what JEE was before class 11. I began preparations in class 11 ( before that I was pretty casual about it all ). I joined Prerna Classes because all my friends were joining ( I hadn't even heard about Vikas Tank!! ). After that, it was two years of hard work, studying like mad, going to sleep tired everyday and trying to balance studies and television and Fifa all at the same time.

Did I do everything right? Surely I didn't b
ut a few of my right decisions were :

1. Joining Prerna Classes : In Jamshedpur Prerna has the best faculty in A0 batch so that is the place to be in if you want to clear JEE ( You can clear from other coaching institutes also but, you'll have to work harder). I didn't go to any other tutions ( my friends were going to many places but I didn't want too much load), just school and Prerna. I had wonderful teachers at school too ( but still I would study other books at school ;-)).
2. Studying Regularly : This is really the most important thing. I wasn't the type of person who would study before the exams and after the exams do other stuff. My studying patterns were independent of the exam schedules.
3. Setting small goals : ( This point is a bit long because I think it's important). I have been asked at least a thousand times how many hours should you study to clear JEE. In my opinion, if you have this approach you are on the wrong track. After school got over I drew a schedule according to which I would study 10 hours everyday! Guess what, from January to May, there were only two days when I could actually do it! No one should ever set a target to study 'x' hours everyday. What will happen is, you might end up sitting at your table for 'x' hours, but you won't be studying for all that time ( double loss:- 1. you haven't studied much, 2. you think you have studied). My strategy was to set small goals for myself everyday, and to not go to sleep till I achieved my goal. Try this, it really works.
4. Exam practice (credits : My dad ) : For at least one month before JEE Advanced, I used to study for 6 hours everyday at the exact same time as the JEE Exams.  Your body is not a machine, but if you follow the same pattern everyday, the body will be at its peak during those 6 hours that matter.
5. Enjoy what you do (:-P) : If you don't enjoy something you'll never be good at it. But then again, as an engineer you'll hardly ever get what you like, so get used to loving what you are doing. I personally liked the feeling of satisfaction I got when I could solve a pretty tough question. Don't hate studies, you can't truly love studies but try and be in a 'complicated relationship' with studies.
6. Practise : I believe this is the most important ingredient. Practise so much that just by looking at the question you know which direction to proceed. Practise so much that you cover each and every type of problem. I used to practice by writing and solving lots and lots of questions. I made my own notes, just reading used to make me fall asleep so I used to write down everything. Also I was weak in integration, I've actually solved the solved examples of Arihant twice ( with a few weeks gap ofcourse :-P).

These are the positive things that helped me, and will surely help anyone else who applies them to achieve their goals. Also for the people confused about which books to study, these are the books I covered :

1. New Pattern Physics and Maths, Arihant (Complete single choice questions of all chapters, multiple correct of only a few chapters).
2. HC Verma ( Almost completely, there are so many questions that it would get boring sometimes).
3. Maths , Arihant all theory books ( Almost all solved examples in the chapter, not the hard ones at the end).
4. Organic Chemistry, Ranjeet Shahi ( Almost completely, I left the last few chapters because it really got boring).
5. Physical Chemistry, Prerna Classes course book (:-P)
6. Inorganic Chemistry, theory from NCERT ( Questions from past papers of coaching, etc.)

Anyways it doesn't matter which book you choose. Whichever book you have, make sure you complete it thoroughly. There are many other good books available like the ones from TMH, DC Pandey, O.P. Tandon and so on. Entirely upto you where you want to study from.

"Success depends only and only on your hard work."  

I normally try to post on Wednesday and Sunday each week, but I could not post anything new due to midsem exams. 

Picture By Ambuj Saxena (Own work) [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Why can't you Succeed?

Ever had to deal with failure? Ever been left wondering what you did wrong ? Why could all the other guys go through when you couldn't ? Are you weak, or was it just the situation?

And in case you are wondering, I assure you that you are not the only one who has been through this feeling. Everyone has been through it numerous times. The most successful person you can think of has probably gone through it many more times than you have. What was the difference between him and you? What did he do to emerge victorious?

This Saturday, I was in Jamshedpur, and a random thought came into my head. I was wishing for something and i was saying to myself I would do anything if only this could come true somehow (Deja vu?).

" Bas ek baar wo dila do, uske baad jo bologe wo kar k doonga"

I'm sure everyone has had this feeling at some point, where they wish for something and they would give everything if only the wish would come true.

Well, have you ever really given it everything?

 This is how a winner will plan : I am going to give my everything so that I will win.

And if your thought process is : I would give anything if only i could play like Roger Federer...
This is where you will end up: 

A lady once said to a famous musician : " I would give my life to play music as you do."
His reply : " I did give my life for it."

To be successful, you really have to put in all your effort with absolutely no guarantee of getting the result you want. There is a risk factor involved, all your efforts might go in vain, but if you don't put in the effort then you'll never know what you could have achieved.
Don't be scared to take the next step. Believe in yourself and take a leap of faith. You may fail, but you won't have to live with the regret that you never even tried. Anything is possible, you've just got to give it your all. Everyone has the potential to be great. But not everyone has the courage to do so. Do you have the courage?


Everyone is free to comment their experiences and views. ( For the shy people, you can comment anonymously )
My next post will be on Sunday. Email me if you have any suggestions. (mak1910@outlook.com)

Image Credits:
By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands (Depressed  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Boss Tweed from New York (Roger Federer wins the US Open 2008) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Ben Newton from Australia (24) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Dropping a Year : No Problem

Anyone having these regrets?

• I should have studied a little more, I wasted too much time on the net.
• If only I had better opportunities like that other guy..
• If only I didn't have to go to school every day like the people in Kota :-P
• Everyone kept shouting at me so I couldn't study.
• I should have been an SC\ST :-P

For all the people living with these issues, who have taken admission in colleges who's names they had never heard of, or who are studying at home after somehow convincing their family that they'll give their best this time, remember, One entrance exam can never decide how intelligent, or in some cases, how foolish you are.

"Believe in your image of yourself and you'll be a winner, believe in someone else's image of you and you'll be doomed for life."

My own quote :-P

The biggest disadvantage/advantage of life is, it only flows one way, you can't go back. So it's better to look ahead. Make the best of whatever you have and above all, never listen to what others tell you. They don't know you or the sacrifices you made. No one understands you like you do. Give yourself a second chance and don't be too harsh on yourself.

If you have already taken admission at some college, but are not satisfied, factor two important things before you decide to answer exams again.

Case 1: If you are studying Electrical at a college like BIT Mesra, and next year you get Ocean Engineering at IIT KGP, stay at Mesra. Don't waste a year just to study an unheard of branch at a better college.

Case 2: If your college is so unpopular that even you did not know of its existence in class 12, answer the exams again and take whatever you get at a better place.

People often sacrifice the stream for a better college (read : for the iit tag) and realise too late that they have no interest in their chosen branch. Don't end up like this after dropping a year :

Source : Quora

If you've finally decided you'll give the exams again and are wondering where to start, try and follow these points.

1. If you have one full year, don't leave any topic. Don't repeat the mistakes you made last time.
2. If you have less time, start with the topics you never really could understand.
3. Keep studying organic chemistry once every few days (It demands constant and repetitive effort ).
4. For Maths, Physics and Physical Chemistry practice mostly questions (you already know some of the theory, questions will help you revise).
5. Try and solve at least single option questions from Arihant's New Pattern (Physics , Chemistry and Maths). These books are sufficient.
6. And from which topic should you start? Varies from person to person, 6 months before the exam, study what you are weak at. 2 months before the exam, concentrate on your strengths.
7. Imp: Don't waste too much time on trigo, many a times you can eliminate and guess the answer.
8. Be thorough in calculus (specially integration and differentiation { #double emphasis}).
9. In chemistry, practice physical and organic as regularly as you can and ignore inorganic as long as you can.
10. For physics, just practise questions from the book i mentioned earlier, you'll be revising the theory too by analysing the solutions at the back (That's what I did).
11. Practise is the only key to success.
12. There is no such thing as an important topic. All topics are important, question can be set from any topic. You just have to do your best.

All the Best. Keep yourself motivated.

(Note: A few points are repeated in different words. That has been done on purpose to lay special emphasis on those points.)