There are several people who emerged out of the Indian Institutes of Technology and have established milestones in various fields such as technology, business and startups, bureaucracy and politics. Some of the popular alumni from the IITs are Sunder Pichai, D. Subbarao, Vinod Khosla and Nandan Nilekani, among several others. While many aspirants can afford to study at coaching centres due to their proximity to educational hubs, a large number of aspirants residing in areas away from the limelight of big cities have to study on their own, without any guidance. There is no doubt that studying under the tutelage of an experienced teacher pays rich dividends and increases the chances of selection into the IITs. Nonetheless, aspirants who are deprived from such perks don’t need to lose hope as there are several ways in which they can study and set out to achieve their dream of being IITians.
Distance education is one such option. Joint Entrance Exam is one of the toughest exams and candidates have to dedicate months of preparation to clear it. According to a study, more than 50 per cent of IIT entrants don’t attend coaching classes. They study on their own or through distance learning. Here are some tips on how one can crack JEE (Main) without attending coaching classes.
Study material
Collecting relevant study material, expert guide books, JEE study packages, previous years’ question papers with solutions, and so on, should be at the top of the priority list of every student. A hybrid system of distance learning is also provided by some leading institutes where students get exposure to not only study material but also test series, online test series, concept-based teaching methodology, doubt-clearing support, as well as periodic in-person interaction with the faculty.
Choosing a correspondence course is the first step towards success. The following points should be kept in mind:
What is the pattern of study material? Is it concept-based or question bank-based? Is it being dispatched in different planned phases or in one go? |
What is the coverage and number of students appearing for this test series? Are you really getting an all-India ranking and rank potential index for your performance? Is the pattern of this test series similar to that of actual JEE? Can you analyse yourself on all parameters? Can you compare your progressive analysis of all tests? Are you getting online concept tests and JEE tests? |
What is the method of clearing doubts? Online, telephonic or face-to-face interaction? |
Do you get some other facilities such as question banks, old JEE papers, mock tests and so on? |
Is the institute providing a dedicated website and mobile app to check and analyse the results and performance as well as other important information and notifications? |
Time table
Students must sincerely follow a time table to achieve their dream of securing a good rank in JEE (Main). A few things to keep in mind while making a time table are:
Every subject must be paid due attention and a fixed time should be allocated for each subject. |
This time should be divided into periods for understanding concepts and solving questions. |
One must have a target in mind while studying, such as deciding the number of concepts to be covered daily. |
Additional time must be kept for online studies as well. |
Extra hours must be allocated on a daily basis for subjects where difficulty levels are higher. |
One hour per day must be allocated for self-analysis and corrections. |
Most of the questions that appear in JEE (Main) do not follow a pattern, and hence, studying and understanding the concepts is a must for success. Students who have their concepts clear are more likely to qualify JEE (Main) without much difficulty.
Making your own handwritten notes is important. Such notes and comments are helpful during preparation and revision. This can help you save important formulae, tips and tricks in an easy-to-access notebook in your own language and codes, making it easy to remember and memorise.
Neglecting your weak areas can be a big mistake. Work harder and you will see yourself solving the problems you were afraid of. Though it is preferred to have someone to analyse your performance and guide you accordingly, a good distance learning programme which offers an in-depth subject-wise, concept-wise and question-wise analysis can be of great benefit, too. Some of the leading education providers such as FIITJEE and myPAT offer a unique portal where a student can see his/her overall performance in the all-India tests and analyse the same through several parameters, including comparative analysis as well as progressive analysis of all past examinations. This helps students plan their preparation accordingly.
There are some institutes which also provide result-analysis and doubt-clearing sessions for their distance-learning students on a monthly basis. Usually, this is done for one or two days per month at their study centres. This enables students to interact with the faculty face-to-face and resolve their queries immediately. Cracking JEE is not an easy task, but one should always have a positive mindset with a ‘never-say-die attitude’. Believe in yourself, work hard and stay ahead with positive energy.
The writer is national head, FIITJEE – NCRP.
