Tuesday 24 February 2015

Its all about the right planning

Few months to go and you'll be facing a row of competitive exams.
Its very important that things are well planned in order to make maximum use of the precious resource - the time.
What exactly does it mean to plan the things ?
Well, firstly there is no single plan that works for everyone. Each student is different and so will have a different plan.
I will list down a few guidelines for you so that you can make the optimal use of your time.

Firstly make a list of topics at which you are weak
Note that the list should be as concise as possible.
A possible example of a list :

p-block elements : Nitrogen family
Fluid Mechanics : Surface Tension
Permutations and Combinations : Derangement
...
...
...
...

The list should clearly specify the chapter name and the sub-topic.
Now update your list in the following way :

p-block elements : Nitrogen family - NCERT
Fluid Mechanics : Surface Tension - HC Verma
Permutations and Combinations : Derangement - RD Sharma
...
...
...
...

The idea is to mention the suitable resource with which you are going to cover the topic.
Note that choosing the resource is an important step. Choose a wrong book and you are screwed. Its generally a good idea to decide your level of comfort with the topic and then decide the book. Do not think that you are absolutely blank and so you should start with scratch again. The end result in this way would be that you learnt nothing. So start with something tougher. Maybe you can choose to pick up JD Lee for p-block elements because you feel that you have done NCERT once but are still not fine with Nitrogen family part.

Now once you are done with making this list, here comes the crucial part : prioritizing the list.
For this, you need to to decide 2 things :
The order in which you'll cover the things
and the time you will devote to each topic

Both of these things are equally important so you should spend plenty of time to decide this based on your level of preparation and your intelligence/aptitude.
The next important step is - executing!
This is where most people fail
Just sit down, open the books and start solving the problems!
Many people wonder what to do ? Let's bother seniors and ask what they did. Let's google it. Let's post a useless quora question
Shut down the damn computer, open the books and start reading with a pen and paper in hand to solve problems!
Do it and I assure you that in the end you will be comfortable with that topic and will clear JEE with flying colors
All the best :)

Friday 20 February 2015

Time for Board Exams

As we all know, the time for board exams is approaching. It becomes very hectic to manage competitive exam preparation parallel to board exam preparation (I am not considering board exams in the set of competitive exams).
By now, JEE 2015 aspirants must be aware of their potential - the rank which they can get in JEE.
So, depending on what you feel about yourself, you might fall into one of the following categories :

1.) Absolutely a noob : Heard of JEE only a couple of months back. In this case, sit back and relax. Appearing for JEE Advanced will waste your pocket money. Prepare hard for board exams and try to do as good as possible in JEE Main. Just NCERT, and nothing else

2.) Aiming for JEE main, but not JEE advanced : In this case, stick to NCERT. Make sure that you are well versed with the book. You don't need any other book but make sure that you have solved past year papers. It is very easy to strike a balance between JEE Main and CBSE preparation. Just study NCERT hard, keep practicing - ensure that your speed is maintained and you'll clear JEE main with flying colors

3.) Struggling to clear JEE Advanced : You are almost on the same line as that of a student aiming for JEE main. However, it is good to practice past year JEE papers (at least JEE 2008 onward). Study hard for board exams. If you are unsure of your selection in JEE advanced, JEE main might serve as a good backup to get you a decent NIT.

4.) Sure of clearing JEE advanced : In this case, you can decide not to devote much time to board exams preparation. Note that you should never be over-confident about yourself. It is always good to consult teachers and only then decide this. Keep practicing problems, studying from NCERT, revising coaching material and standard textbooks, test series papers, etc

5.) Sure of clearing JEE advanced with at least a 3 digit rank : Sit back and relax. Don't give a damn to board exams. In the worst case, you might end up with at most a 4 digit rank which is still fine to get you into an IIT. Start preparation (for board exams) a couple of days ago. Focus solely on JEE preparation - books, notes, revision packages, test series papers. Keep practicing and never give up. It is always good to try harder problems than your level.

All the best to everyone