Friday 9 October 2015

An article by a junior

Hi guys, my name is Karan Trichal. I was AIR-2791 in JEE-Advanced 2015, currently a freshie @ IIT-Bombay, Metallurgical Engineering and Material sciences Dept. I am a KVPY fellow, and have done decently in JEE-MAIN as well.

As you are aware, JEE-Advanced is gateway to the premier tech institutes in the country, the IITs. But as portrayed by Master Dante (Dan Brown enthu anyone? :p), the road to heaven passes through hell. Why, I am talking of course about the journey you guys have already embarked on, or are thinking of taking up- the 2 years of JEE preparation. 
Now, a journey is never considered well-rounded if you don’t meet different kinds of travelers right? So people, hello again. I used to be a fellow traveler on this path that you tread, only my way was fundamentally different to most of yours. 
Guys, I have come through on the basis of SELF-STUDY. Probably my rank was quite affected by it, but the journey was an enriching experience for me, as I hope it will be for you.
To begin with, I am from a small town in Maharashtra, Amravati. While I was preparing, there was no good national level coaching class in Amravati, and due to some constraints, I couldn’t leave home to go to Kota or Hyderabad or wherever you are supposed to go to have a decent shot at a top rank. I did join a local center though, and guess what- we were without a maths teacher 3 months after the beginning of our prep!
Next earthquake- chemistry prof leaves!
Anything else remaining, I thought :P.. Hell yes, came the reply! Physics prof leaves 1 year into the preparation!
It was as if the Gods were spitting in the faces of the four kids who were unable to go to the coaching factories in the north and south of India.
Now, I’ll be honest- I did get quite a bit of help from our physics professor before he left. He finished up our physics syllabus in 8 months, and I will forever be grateful to him for that. But the rest is another story.
I prepared Maths ALL BY MYSELF. Read the theory, solved problems madly. Some things were understood easily, some took a lot of time to click. But eventually I did manage to figure them out by myself. Same went for chemistry. Prepared physical and inorganic chemistry ALL BY MYSELF. I had one prof who would help me with some of the intricate problems in organic chemistry, rest again I figured out by myself. In the midst of all this, life got marred by a personal tragedy.
Everything, it seemed, was pulling me down. But I guess I have that child in me who always wants to violate the tradition :p. So I just kept doing my hard work, with utmost conviction, and finally I did manage to land up here at IIT-Powai.
Guys, times were quite stressful and frustrating. We would sit for demo lectures with profs and it’d turn out that they knew lesser than we did. Sometimes a concept would be quite maddening to understand. Some things, especially exceptions in chemistry, would leave me in tears. The situation at our coaching centre would leave me tearing hair out of my head. But I don’t know how, I managed to keep putting one step in front of the other. A big part of that is due to my family.
So people, whichever situation you are preparing in, whether you do self-study or have good coaching, whether you have financial or any other sort of constraints in your home- JUST DON’T EVER GIVE UP.
Coming back to all of you, that is what the JEE is technically designed to do- test your nerves and perseverance. Take this year’s paper for example. The problems WERE tough, but workable. People lost out on speed and accuracy ( even I did, on accuracy). 
Out of the three independent variables- speed, accuracy and toughness- one will always be in your favour, as per the choice of paper setters. Of the other two, you can master one in your preparation. But mastering both is what makes students like Aman different from the rest.
Guys, put in everything you can in these 2 years. The reward you eventually get will be sweet enough to make you forget the pain of the past years.
So driving home the point, coaching Junta, just keep your heads together, do the necessary hard work, keep your wits, and you will excel.
 Self-studying Junta, just keep up with your hard work, solve as many varieties of problems as you can, stick as closely as possible to the syllabus prescribed, and you too shall succeed. In the face of extreme adversities, I did manage to achieve something on a moderate scale  so why can’t you?
Remember, self-studying Junta- ‘All those who wander are not lost!’ You guys are the Riders On The Storm, and you have as much probability of succeeding as those in coaching classes!
Hope to see ALL of you reading this article next year here at IIT-Powai!
Cheers, 
Karan.

Thursday 8 October 2015

The much awaited article on time management

Lots of students ask me about time management and so, I decided to dedicate an article to this invaluable skill. I am presently doing a course on Psychology and we have been taught the skills of motivation, time management and goal setting in detail.

What exactly is time management?
Not complicating the things, time management is simply the ability to do the right thing at the right time in a way that you end up getting time for everything you want to do!

What is goal setting?
Goal setting is a key ingredient of time management. Deciding a target and working for it is termed as goal setting.

How are goal setting and time management useful (for a JEE aspirant)?
Innumerable ways! You are able to study efficiently. You are able to spare time for your friends and family. You can get time to play a sport and still be a topper!

How do I manage my time effectively?
Well, that's a good question. Having studied in IIT for 2 years and dealing with lots and lots of deadlines, I feel that time management is a skill which is learnt from doing. As I mentioned, goal setting is a key ingredient of time management. So, I believe that to manage time properly, one should be able to set effective, achievable goals.

How do I set effective goals?
So, here are a few tips with regard to goal setting (pardon me if I am going a bit psychological):

  • Set specific goals. Psychology says that setting specific goals results in better output. "I will work on this" is a vague goal, while "I will finish this in the next 30 minutes" is a more specific goal. Studies have found that those who chose the second goal got more output. Also, studies say that maximum effort is not aroused under a 'I will do my best' goal. The ambiguity in the goal specification (I will do my best) allows people to give themselves the benefit of doubt in evaluating their performance.
  • Set difficult goals. Those who set harder goals tend to perform better than those who set very simple goals. Note that the toughness of goal is a subjective term and will vary from person to person.
I strongly believe that setting specific goals helps a lot to manage time properly. For a JEE aspirant, it could be as simple as 'I will solve the first 10 problems of Rotational Mechanics in the next 1 hour'.

You can also make use of appropriate technology. I am sure many of you use internet. You can use the brilliant tool by Google - Google Keep for managing your goals. Writing your goal clearly gives motivation to achieve them.

That was mostly about goal setting. What about time management?
Time management and goal setting are related terms. Set effective goals and you will surely be able to manage time properly. However, there is yet another thing I would like to mention. Students should keep a track of the time they waste in a 'not so important' activity like - Facebook, Television, friends (yes, I believe that spending a lot of time with friends during JEE days is an unimportant activity), etc.
Another important factor which greatly affects your time management is the presence of 'girlfriend/boyfriend' during JEE days. I strongly believe that its a waste of time to be committed during JEE days. I have seen lots of smart friends of mine getting ruined purely because of their girlfriend. Understand that you are merely in class 11th/12th. Life has a lot to offer to you ahead. Presently it is the time to create your identity - an identity as an IITian. It is the time to make your parents proud of you. It is the time to show your relatives what you are! Don't fall into this trap of 'girlfriend/boyfriend' thing, it is merely a waste of time at your level. Do not be sentimental about this issue. Use your brain and not heart, and be logical. Life is not just about a girl or a boy. It is about creating an identity of yours. It is about creating an impact in the society!

I hope this article helps you. Feel free to ask doubts. I would strongly discourage comments seeking advice on 'how to make a timetable'. Do it yourself because no one knows you better than you, yourself!