A guide to get a top 50 rank in JEE
Contents of this minibook
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How to use this minibook?
How to gain motivation to crack JEE Advanced with a top 50 rank?
Coaching institute v/s self-study
How to gain self-confidence?
How to manage time?
How to decide the right set of books?
How many hours do top 50 JEE rankers study?
How to make use of technology?
How important is theory?
How important is problem solving?
How are top 50 rankers different?
How to avoid distractions?
How to revise the covered syllabus?
How to manage board exams?
Which test series to join?
What is the best paper solving strategy?
What are some gotchas?
What are some final day tips?
How to use this minibook?
Minibook is a new concept introduced by JEE Ambl. A minibook is a short
book that is meant to give a sudden boost to your preparation. A minibook
is typically composed of a few tens of pages of informative content that
you can read anytime. It is meant to serve as a guidebook which you can
use for your JEE preparation. The idea is to help you utilize the ‘free’ time
that you have while traveling or when you are not in a mood to study.
The best way to use a minibook is to take out a print out of the book,
staple it and keep it in your bag. Also, if you own a smartphone, keep a
copy of the book on your smartphone. This way, you can read it when you
don’t have a hard copy. We would also suggest keeping a pen or a
highlighter with you. You should underline (or highlight) important points
that you feel are applicable to you and will help you improve your
productivity.
The following steps will help you extract the most out of this minibook:
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Read the topics in the sequence in which they are present in the
minibook
● Highlight important points that you feel are helpful
● Watch out for tips that you feel will be best applicable to you
How to gain motivation to crack JEE
Advanced with a top 50 rank?
Before you start working on any goal in life, it is important to be
motivated. Motivation will help you to keep going. Lack of motivation is
the primary reason that only a few thousands of students are able to make
it, while hundreds of thousands of students appear for the exam.
My personal motivation to get a top 50 rank in JEE was to get into IIT
Bombay Computer Science and Engineering and make my parents proud
of me. I always wanted to ‘choose’ the branch and not the other way. I
wanted the rank that allows me to decide what branch I will study and in
which institute. I had heard a lot about IIT Bombay Computer Science and
Engineering program and I felt that being a part of it will give me the best
opportunities. I was well aware that I need to be among the top 100 JEE
rankers to get an admission at IIT Bombay CSE. Thus, I started my JEE
preparation with the aim of getting a top 100 rank.
You should decide what is your motivation
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Do you want to make your parents proud?
Do you want to compete with the best students of the country?
Do you want to get your name and photograph printed in
newspapers?
Do you want to shut the mouths of those relatives of yours who told
your parents you were useless?
Do you want to earn a fat salary package?
Do you want to get the best career and research opportunities?
Do you want to pursue a masters in your dream Ivy League
University?
Do you want to be respected in society?
Do you want to start your own big company with an excellent
cofounder?
Make a list of things you ever want to achieve in life. If an IIT tag will be
helpful in achieving those things, then you should definitely prepare hard
for JEE. You should fix in your mind that you are settling for nothing
worse than a top 50 JEE rank.
Aim for the stars and don’t fall on the moon. Make it to the
stars!
Talk to your parents. Tell them that you want to make them proud by
achieving a top 50 JEE rank. Tell them that you have started this journey
and you will certainly make it. Feel the hungry lion inside you – a lion
who will settle only for the best meat!
When I started to aim for a top 100 JEE rank, no one trusted me. Not even
my parents. No one thought I can make it. I was just another normal
student. I have no education in my ancestry. My parents are hardly
educated and so is most of my family.
It’s not about your genes, it’s about your hunger
Not being born in an educated family is not an excuse to escape. By that
logic, your future generations will remain uneducated forever! In fact, if
your parents are not much educated, they will be really happy to see you
fulfil their dream of education.
Losers think of excuses; winners think of ways to win
Your performance in JEE will be pretty much perpendicular to your
current academic standing. You can achieve a top 50 JEE rank even if you
got a 7 pointer in your high school. Indian school education focuses a lot
on memorization skills. JEE is more about problem solving abilities. If
you underperformed in your board exams because you were unable to
remember where Bauxite is found in India, you can still get a top 50 JEE
rank!
My main aim is to let you know
That you can achieve a top 50 JEE rank irrespective of your
present academic status
Coaching institute v/s self-study
Since you are aiming for a top 50 rank, it is important to be very
systematic. A lot of top 50 JEE rankers join coaching institute because
coaching institutes provide specialized study material that helps you stay
on track. They also provide you ample of theory material, problem sets
and test papers, which will help you evaluate your learning.
Should I opt for a coaching institute?
If it is possible to join a coaching institute, you should definitely go for it.
Even if your coaching teacher is horrible, he/she will surely be able to
provide you some theory material, problem sets and most importantly, a
timeline for syllabus completion. Having a timeline in front of your eyes
helps a lot. It ensures that you are always geared up and you don’t stop
moving.
For various reasons, it may not be possible for you to join a coaching
institute. Are you at a loss? Should you forget your dream of top 50 JEE
rank?
A big NO!
You can still score a top 50 JEE rank. You are at no loss provided you work
smart. You should try to find an alternative. For instance, you should build
your own timeline – cover General Organic Chemistry by the end of
August this year, cover fluid mechanics by mid-April, etc. You should
basically build your own calendar. If it is hard for you to build an annual
calendar, don’t worry. You can go for a monthly calendar. But make sure
that you aim to cover enough topics per month so that you cover the
syllabus well on time.
Above is attached a sample calendar that you can fill every month.
It may be hard for you to decide the time you will take to cover a
particular chapter. In order to do that, I would strongly suggest taking a
look at JEE Advanced 2016 official syllabus. The syllabus remains almost
the same every year. This is how you should try to populate your calendar:
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Decide a chapter you want to focus on
Read the JEE syllabus for that chapter from the attached link
Depending on the number of topics, try to populate your calendar
For instance, consider the topic on quadratic equations.
This is what JEE syllabus has to say: Quadratic equations with real
coefficients, relations between roots and coefficients, formation of
quadratic equations with given roots, symmetric functions of roots.
Typically, each chapter might take as many as 40 hours to complete.
Follow this rule:
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Study theory for 10 hours
Solve easy problems for 5 hours
Solve medium problems for 10 hours
Solve hard problems for 15 hours
40 hours is something that one should be able to take out in a span of 2.5
weeks. Assuming today is Monday, I will typically aim for completing:
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Quadratic equations with real coefficients by Thursday
Relations between roots and coefficients by the weekend
Formation of quadratic equations with given roots by next Thursday
Symmetric functions of roots by next weekend
Spend the remaining half week in practicing a lot of problems from
different sources
Rule of thumb: spend about 40 hours per chapter and about
3 days per topic in that chapter
I hope you should have realized by now that not being able to join a
coaching institute is not a really big problem if you are smart enough.
Should I move to Kota? Why did you not go to Kota?
No, you should not blindly move to Kota. I never moved to Kota because
my parents felt that I was too young to stay away from home and manage
things myself. They were partly right. I would have been swayed away by
Kota life. I would say that it is better to not go away from home at this
stage. You should consider Kota or Delhi coaching only if you have
extremely poor facilities in your area (for instance, you cannot even
purchase books).
Since we are talking about coaching institute, I should also add that if you
are not getting a good coaching facility, you may also consider joining a
correspondence course. There are plenty of them available and I
personally feel that Resonance material is the optimal one. You can also
consider FIITJEE.
How to gain self-confidence?
You gain self-confidence by achieving more. The general cycle goes like
this:
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Aim for a target
Work hard and achieve it
Your self-confidence will increase (because you achieved
something!)
● Aim for another target
So, the best way to improve self-confidence is to set small goals and
achieve them.
If you are in the top 20 of your class, try aiming for a top 10 position.
Work hard. Settle for nothing worse than top 10 rank. Once you get a top
10 rank, you will feel more confident about yourself. You can then set
higher goals (top 3 rank). This is how you will eventually reach the goal of
a top 50 JEE rank.
Always quantify your aims. ‘I will give my 100% in the next exam’ is a
poorly quantified goal. ‘I will secure a top 10 rank in the next exam’ is a
well quantified goal. Scientific research says that you are more likely to
succeed if you quantify your goals because you clearly know what you
want to achieve!
Put a note on your study table that you will settle for nothing
worse than a top 50 JEE rank and look at it daily
Step by step move ahead by gaining self-confidence and eventually you
will definitely be able to make it.
How to manage time?
Time management is really important when you are aiming for something
as high as a top 50 JEE rank. Students have to deal with school as well as
self-study/coaching institute and if time is not managed properly, life
becomes too hectic.
What is the best strategy to manage time?
The best strategy to manage time is to measure it. Record the amount of
time you are wasting in a not so necessary activity like:
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Watching television
Playing computer games
Hanging out with friends
Spending time in family functions
Spending time with relatives
Playing a sport
Spending time on your girlfriend/boyfriend
It is fine to take out some time from your schedule for personal recreation.
But it is not fine to end up compromising your studies for these things.
You should try to cut down distractions. The best strategy to do that is to
plan your next day.
Before sleeping every night, make a plan of what you will do the next day.
A typical plan for me looked like this:
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Study arithmetic progression theory from RD Sharma
Study p-block elements from NCERT
Solve first 15 problems of laws of motion from Irodov
Play cricket for half an hour
Play GTA for 30 minutes
This used to be a plan of what I will do the next day. I used to decide the
order of these things the next day itself. For instance, if I wake up super
fresh, then I would keep p-block for the morning so that I don’t end up
sleeping (yeah, inorganic chemistry is slightly boring).
Making a timetable generally helps. But I feel that timetables are more
useful for those who have short deadlines. If you are utilizing your time
properly and efficiently, and you are satisfied, then it is fine to not have a
timetable. ‘Planning the next day’ is usually enough to make the day
productive. However, if you feel that your productivity is too low, I would
suggest making a timetable. A word of advice – if you plan to build a
timetable for yourself, better stick to it. There is no point in creating a
timetable and not following it.
How to decide the right set of books?
For a top 50 ranker, the choice of book is really important. You should
study a concept from that book which explains it the best. You might end
up purchasing a library of books, but then nothing comes for free. If you
want a top rank, you have to study like a topper.
Physics:
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Concepts of Physics Volume 1 and Volume 2 – arguably the best
book to get a good start
Mechanics Part 1 and 2 by DC Pandey – This book will really boost
your preparation level to a top 100 ranker
Optics and Modern Physics by DC Pandey
Waves and Thermodynamics by DC Pandey
Irodov – If you are really aiming for a top 50 rank, you should
definitely solve this book
Resnick Halliday – The best book for theory
New pattern JEE Physics by DC Pandey – best for problems of JEE
level
Chemistry:
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OP Tondon Physical Chemistry – the best book for physical
chemistry for JEE
RC Mukherjee – the best book for physical chemistry when it comes
to problems
LG Wade – the best book for organic chemistry. You cannot get a
better book for organic chemistry
JD Lee – the best book for inorganic chemistry. If you are aiming for
a top 50 rank, you should definitely read this book
NCERT – obvious
Mathematics:
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RD Sharma class 11th and class 12th – best book for starting
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Arihant Coordinate Geometry – excellent problems and theory
Arihant Differential Calculus – the best book for calculus
Arihant Integral Calculus – really good problems and theory
Arihant Algebra – great theory!
TMH – best book for challenging problems
For trigonometry and Vector and 3D geometry stick to RD Sharma
These are the books I myself used besides FIITJEE study material. Most
students I know who got top 50 JEE rank refer to these books. Solving
these books will give you a solid understanding of theory as well as a good
experience of problems. If you solve these books seriously, at the end of 2
years, you will be in a stage where you can be sure of your selection with a
good rank. With a slight more push, top 50 rank won’t be too hard. I might
be sounding too weird (top 50 rank won’t be too hard), but trust me, this is
how I did it and this is how everyone else who gets a top 50 rank does it!
You need to put this in your mind that it is not that hard to get a top 50
rank. If you keep on thinking that it is hard, you will never make it. The
day you realize that you can do it, you will surely make it!
How many hours do top 50 JEE
rankers study?
Top 50 JEE rankers study really hard. 8 hours a day is something very
normal, unless you are super smart. I personally wasn’t that smart and so,
I believed that the only way I could make it is by hard work. So, I used to
spend a lot of time in my studies. Since I was a student of a non-attending
school, I had enough time.
My typical schedule looked like this:
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Wake up at about 6.30 AM
Getting freshened up and breakfast by 7.00 AM
A continuous study session from 7.00 AM to 11.00 AM
Bathing and lunch break from 11.00 AM to 12.00 AM
A continuous study session from 12.00 AM to 2.00 PM
Relax a bit from 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM
Another continuous study session from 3.00 PM to 5.00 PM
Relax from 5.00 PM to 6.00 PM
Last and final session for the day from 6.00 PM to 8.00 PM
Dinner and family time till 10.00 PM
Sleep at 10.00 PM
As you can see, my total study hours were about 10, which I believe is
enough. On coaching days, I had to redesign my schedule, which wasn’t
too hard.
If you attend school, you will have a tight schedule. I would suggest that
since you are aiming for a top 50 rank, your school percentage will be
irrelevant. You should try utilizing every bit of time you get in school to
prepare for JEE. For instance, you can keep a list of problems that you
were unable to solve. You can then use your class breaks to think about
those problems. This may seem too much to do, but don’t forget that you
want that top 50 rank which eventually only 50 people will be able to
achieve. To be among those top 50, you have to walk that extra mile.
Sometimes, you will have to spend more than 10 hours a day. I remember
when JEE was about 2 months close, I used to spend over 14 hours a day in
practicing problems. I used to just sit and solve problems and read theory.
The schedule was simply – wake up, solve problems, sleep. Life became a
bit monotonous at that time. But, the results were totally worth.
How to make use of technology?
Almost everyone these days owns a smartphone. If you are aiming for a
top 50 JEE rank, you should definitely make use of this amazing device.
An excellent strategy is to record inorganic chemistry lectures in your
smartphone and play them during your free time. You can use
headphones/earphones so as to not disturb people around you. This may
seem to be a trivial idea, but trust me, it is magical. If you play those
lectures daily, they are sure to get etched in your memory. This strategy
helps a lot in avoiding memorization. It also helps you utilize your free
time.
If you are interested in maintaining a study timetable, you should consider
downloading My Study Life android app. My Study life also has a web
application and it ensures syncing your data across your devices.
How important is theory?
Some students tend to ignore the theory portion and they directly jump in
to problems. And when they are unable to solve problems, they lose
motivation. This is clearly the wrong way to do things. The right way is to
read theory and side by side solve simple problems to ensure that you
understood the concept. Once the entire chapter has been covered, you can
move to advanced problems. But jumping to problems without knowledge
of theory is the worst you can do!
Note that theory is important, but at the same time you should keep in
mind that you are probably not gaining much by reading the same theory
from multiple books. Most books essentially contain the same theory with
a few minor variations. The little knowledge you gain by reading theory
from an extra book is not worth the time you will spend in reading the
whole theory again. So, generally it is a better idea to stick to just 1 theory
book. Usually books by foreign authors are very good when it comes to
theory. For instance, Resnick Halliday has excellent theory when it comes
to Physics. Initially, when I felt that I was not too strong at mechanics, I
picked up Resnick Halliday and read its theory in great detail. I also
ensure that I have solved all the ‘in-text’ problems. I realized that I was
now more confident and I was able to reach the solution faster.
How important is problem solving?
What will you be doing on your JEE day? The only thing you would be
tested on is your problem solving ability. No question will be of the form –
‘explain what do you understand by blah’ (unless they switch to subjective
pattern). In fact, if you look at past year subjective papers, you will realize
that even in subjective pattern, such questions were rare. The JEE paper is
flooded with numerical problems. Eventually you will be tested on your
problem solving skills. So, you need to have excellent problem solving
abilities. What does that mean?
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When you look at a problem, you are not freaked out
You are able to figure out the chapter from which the problem is
You are able to approach the problem logically
You are able to recollect relevant equations that will lead to the
solution
● You are able to solve the problems without making any silly error
Problem solving abilities aren’t built overnight. They have to be built with
continuous practice. It needs a lot of patience to be good at something
which is so challenging. You don’t have to be born smart to have those
skills. All you need is hard work, patience and dedication.
I start early, and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it
took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.
How are top 50 rankers different?
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They are motivated and determined
They believe in themselves
They are patient learners
They rely on self-study
They are able to avoid distractions
They are able to manage time properly
They are well aware of their goal and they know they can do it
Most of my friends (who are top 50 rankers) possess these qualities. I
personally feel that self-confidence is the most important quality that one
needs to achieve a top 50 JEE rank, or for that matter, anything in life. You
really need to have faith in yourself irrespective of your past academic
record.
How to avoid distractions?
A key quality that is present in nearly all top JEE rankers is that they are
able to understand their priorities and avoid distractions. They know what
is important and what is just noise. They are able to filter out distractions
from their study life.
The following are major causes of distraction:
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Boyfriend/Girlfriend – A lot of students end up making a
boyfriend/girlfriend in school, which I believe is a huge distraction.
Trust me, you will have plenty of time in college to do all of this. At
present, focus only on studies. Leave these things for future.
● Social Networking – I wouldn’t say that you should deactivate your
Facebook account. A better option is to track the amount of time you
are spending on Facebook or for that matter, any other social
networking site. There are hundreds of chrome extensions and
Android apps available that will help you track your time spent
(wasted?) on Facebook. Install one of those apps and measure the
amount of time. Only then will you realize why you got less marks in
your last exam even after studying for hours.
● Family gatherings – Tell your parents that you are serious about the
exam and you won’t be able to attend that family function. A typical
family function in India means a waste of at least 2 days. Don’t
forget that while you are enjoying the function, your competitors in
Kota are studying hard to get ahead of you.
● Television – Well known as idiot box. Do you really care about the
news? You can always ask a news summary from your mother/father
at the dining table. Ask yourself – will the winner of that favorite
reality show of yours matter more than your JEE rank?
The best way to avoid distraction is to ‘measure’ them. Always keep a
track of where your time is going. This will help you realize why things
are going bad.
How to revise the covered syllabus?
Revision I believe is as important as reading theory and practicing
problems. Revision is especially important when it comes to chemistry.
Physics:
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Read your notes periodically. You can speedily browse through them
anytime you are free. You should make sure to revise once in 2
weeks. You should really revise all of your notes periodically. You are
sure to forget crucial points if you don’t revise. I used to mention
important points at the top of my notebook in order to highlight
them. This way, I ensured that those points are definitely covered
when I am revising. I would not suggest revising theory from books.
It will be too much of an overhead. However, if you feel the need to
do so, go ahead.
● Solve problems periodically. Since you have already solved problems
and covered theory, you should be able to solve hard problems while
revising. Whenever you fall short of problems, buy a new book.
Remember to solve new problems. Solving same problems won’t
help at all. You can also purchase specialized revision packages.
FIITJEE GMP is something worth trying if you can afford it. It
contains really challenging problems and since you are aiming for a
top 50 rank, you should definitely solve it. I personally would
recommend FIITJEE revision material for those who are aiming for a
top 50 rank. Reason being that it is hard, above JEE level – that is
something you want! Sometimes they go out of syllabus and
sometimes they contain wrong problems. I used to ignore such
problems. Make sure to stick to syllabus.
Chemistry:
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Chemistry needs a lot of revision. Especially inorganic chemistry.
For inorganic chemistry, read NCERT daily. That will be about an
hour of time, but that is generally fine. This is something every top
ranker has to do to fix those inorganic equations in mind. I used to
maintain my own notebook in which I had listed fancy inorganic
chemistry reactions that have been asked in JEE in the past and are
hard to memorize. I use to read that notebook daily. With time, all of
those fancy reactions were fixed in my mind. Some students struggle
with organic chemistry as well. I would suggest revising key
mechanisms from LG Wade for revision of organic chemistry.
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Physical chemistry generally takes minimum time to revise. There
isn’t too much of theory involved. You are better off practicing a lot
of problems of hard difficulty level. RC Mukherjee is the book I
would recommend for this. There is no clear book for revising
organic chemistry problems. Generally, past year JEE papers are
good. You should solve papers from 1978 onwards and you are sure
to get a lot of problems.
Mathematics:
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I used to maintain a bundle of A4 sheets. Each sheet contained a list
of important formulae for a particular chapter. These lists were
maintained over the course of time and they came very handy when I
had to revise mathematics theory.
● For practicing problems, TMH is the best book. It is just perfect for
JEE. It contains enough problems of varying difficulty. You should
solve this book cover to cover for revision.
How to manage board exams?
Since the JEE pattern is changing every year, it is important to score well
in board exams. Generally, you will have 5-6 subjects to study. 3 of them
will surely be Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
Managing Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics:
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If you have prepared well for JEE, you can sit back and relax. You
will be able to breeze through the board exam questions
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Make sure to learn to write. JEE aspirants are used to ‘ticking’.
Understand that in board exams, they are not really concerned with
the final answer. They want explanation of each and every step. Make
sure to mention the formula you are using before substituting the
value. Also make sure to clearly mention the theorem/result that you
are applying to solve a problem.
● Consider purchasing guide books for boards. You can use these books
to get to know past year problems and the pattern of paper
Managing other subjects:
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If you have prepared well for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics,
you should be able to score above 90 in each of these 3 subjects. So,
if you don’t do exceptionally well in non-science (non-sense?)
subjects, it should not be a big issue. 80+ score in each subject is
absolutely fine – you will end up getting above 85%, which will be
more than enough to not stop you from qualifying for JEE.
● Definitely purchase guide books for the other subjects. Board exams
have a lot of repeated questions and you are sure to find them in the
guide books. These books are meant for quick review of the subject
and will save a lot of time of yours.
At least in CBSE, it is really easy to score 90% marks. Make sure to solve
past year papers, more than 50% paper will be from past year papers!
Which test series to join?
A lot of good students appear for FIITJEE and Resonance test series. So,
these 2 are your best bets. FIITJEE as usual is exceptionally tough. The
FIITJEE All India Test Series is way above JEE level. As a student who is
aiming for a top 50 rank, you should definitely give it a try. I personally
believe that my level changed from a top 100 JEE ranker to a top 50 JEE
ranker while preparing for AITS. I took FIITJEE AITS seriously and I
started preparing harder to perform better in AITS. I knew very well that
AITS is tougher than JEE level. But then I thought that it would be a good
opportunity to raise my level significantly and it indeed helped!
Scoring top 50 ranks consistently in FIITJEE’s AITS boosted my
confidence. Seeing those 99.9 percentile scores made me confident that I
can perform similarly in JEE as well.
An important point that most students miss out is the analysis of test
paper. Most students simply appear for a test, get marks and are done. I
believe that analyzing your mistake and ensuring that they do not happen
again is more important. You should definitely go home and see what went
wrong, what were you able to solve and what you weren’t. This will help
you uncover your weaknesses, which is important. As a top rank aspirant,
you should be well aware of your strengths and weaknesses so that you can
tackle the paper accordingly.
What is the best paper solving
strategy?
A good examination temperament and paper solving strategy are crucial to
your success on the examination day.
Examination temperament:
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Stay calm. If you have prepared hard, you will definitely be
rewarded. Don’t expect a particular paper pattern else you are sure to
be surprised. Don’t think about your friend who seems to be too
smart. Don’t think about anyone else. Just think about yourself – the
hard work that you have put in during all those years. If you won’t
get paid, who else will be paid? Don’t overthink. If paper is hard, it
will be for everyone. If it is easy, again, it will be the same for
everyone else. Your primary focus should be on giving your 100%.
Paper solving strategy: it varies a lot from person to person.
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I was strong at Physics and so, I always used to start with Physics
because I knew that I would be able to handle it even if the paper was
tough. At the same time, I knew that I might have to switch to some
other subject in case Physics portion is exceptionally tough. It is
generally a good practice to start off with the subject with which you
are most comfortable. This is because at the beginning of the paper,
you are fresh and not exhausted and you can always give your best in
your favorite subject.
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The second subject generally used to be Chemistry. Chemistry
generally takes lesser time as compared to Physics and Mathematics.
Solving chemistry as the second subject gives you a confidence that
you have 2 subjects done and you have enough time for the third
subject. I think it is more of human psychology. I would have been
freaked out if I spend 45 minutes in Physics, 1 hour in Mathematics
and then I am left with 1 hours and 15 minutes for chemistry. Why?
Because my mind will say that I have a whole subject remaining and
just 1.15 hours remaining. Also, it often happens that I have some
problems in Physics that I have marked as ‘to be done later’ because
those problems may need rigorous calculation, but are eventually
doable. I think it is better to have time for those problems. Seeing
1.15 hours remaining will only scare me that I won’t get time for
those problems. Again, it is pure psychology. If you can manage it
well, feel free to change the order of subjects.
● The third subject used to be mathematics. I used to finish Physics in
45 minutes, Chemistry in about half an hour. That mean I have 1 hour
and 45 minutes for Mathematics, which is generally enough. Also,
Mathematics used to take no more than 1.15 hours (normally), which
means I have 30 minutes to go back to some calculative problems.
I feel that the order of solving is something you should figure out yourself.
What suited me might not suit you. The optimal strategy I believe is to
solve your favorite subject first, followed by others.
What are some gotchas?
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Don’t ever get overconfident, even if you are performing way better
than your batch mates
Always be ready to help your class mates. You will learn a lot by
helping others
Don’t ignore NCERT textbooks, especially chemistry
Make sure to solve subjective problems in all subjects. They may not
be a part of latest JEE pattern, but they will teach you a lot
Don’t ignore theory in Mathematics and Physics thinking that these
subjects just involve numericals
Don’t ignore problems in Chemistry thinking that it is just theory
Don’t rely on your coaching institute for spoon feeding you. They are
there to guide you, not to spoon feed you. Self-study should be your
top priority. Don’t complain if your teacher is bad. Just go and study
yourself. It is your career after all
Don’t use calculator while solving Physical chemistry problems. You
won’t get one on JEE day
Be ready to accept your weaknesses. If you feel you are bad at
something, put in efforts to be better at it than just delaying it
Don’t maintain backlogs. Sacrifice other activities to cover up
pending topics
What are some final day tips?
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Arrive at your center well before time. Keep some buffer time for
any unforeseen circumstances
Carry enough water with yourself
Carry something to eat. Maybe a packet of biscuit
Sleep timely the night before the exam. Turn off mobile phones the
night before the exam to avoid distractions to your sleep
Don’t overthink, don’t take too much pressure. Don’t let negative
thoughts win over your years of hard work
Relax after paper 1 is over. Drink water, eat something. Avoid paper
discussion with friends
Final words
I hope this minibook helps you fulfil your dreams. Remember, IIT JEE is a
journey. Enjoy it. I hope that the pointers mentioned in this book will help
you achieve a top 50 JEE rank and I would be happy to see you at IIT
Bombay as my junior!
Here are some motivating quotes:
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The expert in anything was once a beginner
One way to keep the momentum going is to constantly have greater
goals
There is no substitute for hard work
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra
To be like sun, you need to burn like sun
You are capable or more than you know
If you feel motivated to crack JEE with a top rank, but at the same time
you feel that you were not able to utilize your past few months very
efficiently, you should definitely consider reading this article.