Tuesday 6 May 2014

Mental preparation for JEE Advanced

Around 20 days are left for the exam you have been waiting for since the past few years. I assume that your syllabus has been completed by now.
This post will focus on "the" day. How to mentally prepare yourself for the exam. I will try my best to expose to you every inch of my final day so that you can get an idea of how it goes.
Firstly I will be describing my thoughts during the last month.
Then I will be talking about "the" day

The last month was a bit rigorous. JEE was on the head and the sun as well. Scorching heat. Can't imagine a life without an air conditioner. But wait!!
"You won't get an AC in the examination hall" - I said to myself.
So, I remained in my room with AC switched off. I always tried to keep the AC off so that I don't face problems on the final day.
Next - my study methodology during this month.
I mainly focussed on past year JEE problems. I was enrolled in FIITJEE AITS but I stopped giving it during this month. It is extremely hot outside and it's better to stay at home and do some self study. The test centre was more than 10 kms away from my home so I preferred not to go there. I stayed at home and practised a lot.
For chemistry, I did the complete FIITJEE archive once again.
For those who don't know what an archive is - It's a collection of past year JEE problems from 1980 onwards. You can purchase it from the market if you don't have one. It's extremely important to give at least 1 try to the past year JEE problems. I assume that you are not in the crowd. You are a bit ahead of the crowd.
For maths and physics , I focused on subjective problems of the past years. The idea was to solve the subjective problems and try to frame objective questions from it - this is what they will do in JEE as well.

My study hours were increased to as high as 14 hours a day!
It's tough to maintain that. But there was a driving force - A hunger to study in the top college of India - A greed to "choose the branch" and not "be chosen by the branch".
Just think it yourself - A month more ; rather less than a month more to go. Why not be a true warrior ? Don't accept defeat. Fight till the end. JEE main marks have come now.
If you have got less marks - accept it as it is, and try to do better in JEE advanced.
If you have got good marks - take it as an achievement and try to do well in JEE advanced as well.

Mental scenario : The fear , the anxiety , the nervousness , excitement. I also had to bear all that. Same thoughts went onto my mind - 
what if maths section is tough ? 
What if I make a bubbling error ? 
What if I go completely blank ?
What if I am not able to do well ?

Well I had one plus point - A huge plus point indeed. I was discussing it with my friend yesterday ;) . My parents never bounded expectations from me. They never "hoped" anything. They always motivated me - told me not to take any pressure. They never expected a 2 digit rank from me. Never told me - "we expect a lot from you" or any other thing like that. And that was very important for me. I didn't have any burden on me.
Father always said - "don't take any load on yourself. Your father's business is always open for you."
This way , JEE preparation was fun for me. I enjoyed it.
Just stay focused and motivated.

Now, I will be talking about "the" day

June 2 , 2013 was the day for me.
June 1 , 2013 - it was a beautiful day. It rained slightly and we all were happy that the weather is not that hot.
By evening, I had packed my bag with all the relevant documents , pens , etc.
Next, I went to sleep at my usual time - 10.00 PM
I felt restless.
Couldn't sleep at all.
Something scared me - something was going in my mind - something that didn't let me sleep at all.
I became worried - "what if I am not able to sleep now and what if I feel sleepy tomorrow during the exam ? "
I Explained the situation to my mother who was still awake.
She told me to mentally read "Hanumaan Chalisa" and told me that I will fall asleep if I read it.
I tried it but still couldn't sleep.
Meanwhile I realized that it's 12 and I am still awake.
Finally don't know how, but I fell asleep.
At around 1 o'clock, the phone rang - I was extremely irritated. It was my uncle who wanted to wish me best of luck for the next day. I was frustrated a lot - "why on the earth did he call me NOW. Didn't he get any other time ?". Anyway , I talked to him - ended the call - murmured something to my mom (I was angry because she didn't put her phone on silent mode).
Finally I had fallen asleep.
Next day I woke up at 6.30 or something (I don't remember exact time).
It was a horribly hot day - sun shining brightly right on the head.
It was so hot - I was sweating already.
We were worried because today was "the day".
I got ready within half an hour or so. Left home at 7.15 with my father (Keeping some time extra in case car breaks down or something unexpected happens).
Reached within 30 minutes to the centre because it was a Sunday morning and there was almost no traffic.
I was practically the first student to reach there (there were a few although).
It was so hot - I was sweating. Father gave me his handkerchief as well (besides my own).
Finally after a lot of wait , it was time to enter the examination hall.
Went inside.
Prayed to God to make the things go well.
I remembered all my past achievements - in order to gather strength - the mental strength to boost my confidence.
I was a bit scared by now.

But then I thought (I am putting the exact words) - "You have worked hard - extremely hard. You cracked those olympiads. If you are scared today , then who the hell isn't scared. Come on man - you have fared well in the toughest of the FIITJEE's tests - you can do it. Do it for your mother and father - make them proud man - come on."

Yes!! these were the exact words (in maybe a jumbled order) - I still remember them.
Speaking all these to myself gave me a lot of confidence - A LOT OF CONFIDENCE indeed.
Meanwhile the invigilators started distributing the papers. We were instructed not to break the seal of the paper until instructed to do so.
I completed the OMR (personal details). 
Realized that it was a 180 mark paper with negative marking everywhere - that scared the hell out of me !!
"MORE THAN ONE CORRECT QUESTIONS WITH NEGATIVE MARKING"!! - What the hell is this!!
Any ways - Started with physics - Did quite well - couldn't do 1 integer type question because it needed some sort of series expansion and I couldn't figure it at that instance.
Physics went well.
I had left a few questions though.
Moved on to chemistry - "TOUGH", I said to myself - it was indeed very tough for me - all theoretical questions with negative marking everywhere - it was difficult to do.
Anyway, it went on
I was sweating like anything
I had 2 handkerchiefs.
By now both were soaked with sweat.
I realized that maybe OMR gets damaged if sweat falls on it.
So, I safely kept it in the desk provided.
Paper went on. After some 1.30 hours, physics and chemistry were over.
Time for maths - "WHAT IS THIS ??" - it was very tough for me - I wasn't that strong a maths - Paper seemed to be slipping from my hands.
Any way - the painful 3 hours ended.
I came out
soaked in sweat with 2 wet handkerchiefs - maybe stinking (Yes - I literally seemed to be in a beggar like state).
The paper banged me - heavily
My face was down.
Then I saw my father.
Seeing my face my mother said - "Was the paper bad ? Will you get IIT Kanpur CS at least ?"
I said nothing - didn't have words to explain.
My parents then realized that I have screwed the paper - screwed it badly.
I was taken to the car.
My mother gave me cold water - poured some drops of gulabjal into my eyes.
She sat on the back seat of the car and I lied on her lap - disheartened.

Then my father came to me - "Son. Listen. I know the paper was tough. I can read it on your face. But do remember that the paper was tough not only for you - but for everyone - if you cannot do it , no one would be able to do it. Your score might go down but your aim of an under 100 rank will go nowhere. So relax. You are a TOPPER my son."

Those words gave me immense strength. I realized the importance of his words. Each and every word was indeed true.
I haven't screwed the paper. It was tough but I didn't screw it - everyone must have done badly. So, I kept calm.
Meanwhile mother took out the tiffin and gave me my lunch.
Then, she gave me some fruits.
I felt relaxed. We got some cold drinks and finally I was back in the race.
I realized that I should keep calm. I should not do the same in the second paper. I should not lose my calm at any cost.
Finally, I entered the hall once again for paper 2.
Again attempted in the same order but this time a bit more careful.
Again the negative marking in the multiple correct questions bowled me completely.
Physics and chemistry were over.
Came to maths.
Clean bowled.
Made 1 bubbling error as well.
Chemistry was tough - now maths again!!!
Scared I was completely.
Next comes the interesting part
2 minutes left
Stuck on a paragraph in maths
Bell rang
Paper collection begins
High pressure and heat
Fortunately I was sitting in the corner seat and it took time for the examiners to collect my paper.
In those 2-3 minutes, I managed to get that paragraph - "CORRECTLY"
Well , this way ended a journey of 2 years.
Paper 2 went way better than paper 1.
Although I was disheartened a bit.
Came out - met my father.
Finally went back home.
I realized that my rank may go beyond 500 - Trust me I never thought that I would end up with what I got.
Then when I reached home , my sister was present at home.
I was sad - my parents and sister cheered me up.
Finally I got a call from my friend Kartikeya asking me how I did.
Then my sir called me up and asked how the paper was.
I mailed him the photograph of the copy of my OMR sheet.
I explained him that the paper went bad.
Extremely sad and depressed - But finally it was over so I was relieved a lot.
I remember I didn't eat anything that evening - "I was crying - literally crying alone" - "What have you done ? You have completely spoilt the paper. Forget your dream. Forget IIT Bombay - forget CS".
Believe me - there were tears in my eyes at that time. Yes I was crying!!
Somehow ate something and slept.
My parents didn't say anything to me - I told them to leave me alone and they know that when I am sad, I need some time with myself - Only myself.
Got up next day. By that time, my sir had checked my answers and also got reports of how other students performed. I was still asleep.
Woke up - saw that my father is extremely happy - I was shocked!!
He told me - "Manoj sir called us. He is saying that you have done very well with respect to others. Under 50 rank is sure under any circumstances". 
I didn't believe him - he must be saying that to make me cheerful.
Then I called my sir - He told me all the statistics which he had gathered.
Aaahhhh - sigh of relief. He told me that my score would be in the range 290 - 300.
I didn't expect a good rank with that score but then he went on - "I got reports of very few (fiitjee) students who are scoring that much. You have done very well. So keep calm".
That statement made me feel happy - I felt relieved. I talked to my friends and found that indeed I had performed very well with respect to others.
Any ways - It was all over and I was convinced that I am in the top 50s for sure.
Played
Enjoyed
And cherished the moments when the result came
IIT JEE is a beautiful journey - a journey that will leave a mark in your life - an awesome journey that will teach you a lot - patience , motivation , confidence , perseverance , accepting defeat , fighting spirit and many more good qualities that will help you throughout your life.
You won't experience another such journey in your life.
Enjoy it now.
All the best.
That was my story.
Feel free to post all kinds of doubts

60 comments:

  1. Hey Aman..thus NCERT teach all concepts required for Metallurgy, Chemistry in Everyday life and Polymers...??

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  3. I have 230 in mains and my concepts are almost clear but lack of practice can i get 3 digit rank if i work very hard in these 19 days...please reply fast

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  4. I am from kanpur. I am is class 9 icse(mercy memorial)
    I am thinking of joining fiit jee(4 yr integrated school program)
    I am very much confused . what is ur opinion for it .should I change my school and join cbse or should i forget all this and concentrate on my boards .is it too early for me to think of all this .
    did u at this age faced this problem............please help me

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    Replies
    1. Well it's not too early
      It is very good that you are concentrating on jee preparation from now
      itself
      All i would say is focus on concepts of class 9th and 10th
      Do well in board exams and come back and talk to me after 2 years
      No need of explicit coaching
      Just make sure that you are not "memorising the things", you are "understanding" them
      If you still feel unsatisfied, join some coaching

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    2. you can prepare for NTSE

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  5. During your 11th-12th class holidays, how long did u study on average? Did you play/waste time. Were u perfect with your 11th syllabus by then, or did u study 12 class syllabus?

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  6. Hi Aman I am new to your blog I have
    only one question ie, Did u read ur 11
    the class physics lesssons twice
    before doing numericals of that
    lessons Because If I read a lesson I
    remember it for long time but forget
    some concepts even without revising
    it.And did u read pradeep references
    r they good and for u how much u covered syllabus in 11th class summer holidays.

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  7. This first hand experience was very very nice!!!! i too, am aiming to get iit bombay cs this year,i wanted to know that about how much percent is needed to get it because i think that 80% is quite sufficient to get a top 50 rank.and u should have been happy when u were scoring 290-300??

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  8. Really nice post .... I have to ask u smithing
    1)you had always been a topper (kvpy Olympiads school fiitjee tests etc) then how did you prevent yourself from getting overconfident
    2) did u fill the ORS simultaneously with solving questions or at last

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Well yes
      I became a prey to overconfidence in some junior class(5th or 6th)
      But then my parents taught me how to get out of it
      Since then, I have never been a victim of this disease
      Yes I Filled the omr simultaneously

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  9. How much marks you secured in paper 1 and paper 2
    Also please tell me the marks in each subjects

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    Replies
    1. P 113
      C 89
      M 91
      I don't know marks in paper 1 and 2 separately

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  10. how did you mailed OMR to your teacher, because that examiners take after exam.

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  11. Please tell how you did error measurements/general physics?

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  12. Do you really feel that solving archive again during this time is important or is solving gmp better considering the fact that it offer a great variety of new questions. Please give us the strategies of ur friends as well.
    Also what would u recommend for maths, considering the kind of paper that came last year.
    PS. I have already solved archive once

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  13. One's again fantastic post .Well I have only one doubt i.e. how to make self notes apart from coaching notes and school register.Is it necessary or really help full to make self notes and from where to make it whether from ncert or refrence books.Please make some comment on self notes.

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  14. Aman, can you comment on the level of FIITJEE RTPF?

    Say, if JEEAdvanced last year was given a difficulty rating of 7/10 what would be the score for a typical RTPF mock test?
    BTW , truly inspring post .

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  15. Hey, if any one wants full dc pandey solutions mail me at
    advitiyabrijesh@gmail.com

    :)

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  16. how much did u attempt in the paper///...

    it must have been above 320 which is huge for advanced, even then , how could someone be nervous and feel the paper as a tough one...??

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    Replies
    1. Well 293/360 was nothing if you consider percentage wise and then predict the rank according to jee 2012 statistics

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    2. Which book did you use for error measurements and general physics?

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    3. Aman, do you mean that the 2013 paper was much harder than previous year papers?

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  17. During your 11th-12th class holidays, how long did u study on average? Did you play/waste time. Were u perfect with your 11th syllabus by then, or did u study 12 class syllabus?

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  18. hi....im a serious JEE aspirant :)
    well ill b giving my JEE advanced this year n i got a score of 210 in Mains(due to tremendous silly errors)
    so my question is
    1.How do i improve my accuracy? its like at home if someone gives me the question paper as a question bank ill do 70% correct while in exams i barely do 50-60% correct...after the test i realise that i made such stupid errors....im really scared that i would make such error in jee and lose out on my rank! what do i do?did u face the problem??i think instead of studying more i should first focus on this mistake....it happedned in mains n i dont want to repeat it...
    2.MULTIPLE CORRECT-MORE THAN ONE! this is such type of questions where i lose on marks...i solve 3/4 correctly but end up with a -1....i thing it happens coz of carelessness and want to rectify this as well any suggestions?
    3.(not relevant)
    these days during the last sprint race i m feeling tired....probably as i have slogged a lot in the two years? im too saturated n want a break which is not possible....how do u want me to rectify this?


    Lastly, i showed this post to mommy n she said "God bless this boy(you)....plz make me proud as he made his parents"btw a lovely post seriously....if im into iit this year bombay i shall treat u :P

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  19. For In-Organic i NCERT sufficient for an average student ??

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  20. aman can you pls tell me your rank potential index in the first phase test of fiitjee?

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  22. Hey Aman, I'm a JEE '14 aspirant. I'm facing a serious problem. Please help me out.
    My jee prep was going well till main and I scored 252. But after main there's a sudden dip in my performance. My scores in FIITJEE AITS nosedived (I used to be among the top in my batch before main) and I'm nowhere near the 90 %ile mark.
    I study nearly 14 hours a day ( including fiitjee classes, I'm in the integrated program ), but still it has no effect on my performance.
    Please help me identify my problem yaar. I'm clueless on what to do. I really dont want a slump in my performance just before advanced. Really looking forward to your reply. Thanks in advance.

    PS: I'm not scared or nervous about THE day, so its not my attitude thats hampering my performance

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  23. hi I live in kanpur . i prepared hard for jee in kakadeo but unfortunately got only 182 in mains due to my weak perfomance in physics.
    guide me how do well in bitsat exam.
    till now i have revised math,chem(in depth) but in physics i know only the basics(but have covered the full course) and have solved past 4 yrs resonance bitsat papers
    also pls tell me WHAT LEVEL QUES ARE ASKED IN BITSAT

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  24. Please answer this
    I always get confused in physics from which book to study because I have a hell lot of books with me which are available in the market H C Verma,DC Pandey 5 book series ,resnick halliday and fiitjee module.whenever I go to study physics I get confused which book to pick whenever a new chapter is done in my coaching.please advice me .
    Jee 2015

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  25. please tell do they allow us to take mobile phones in the examination hall?

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  26. well, you not even allowed to take a scale in the examination hall forget mobiles

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  28. That was a wonderful post. :) One small doubt, Is it really necessary to be a topper in 10th boards to Excel in JEE and to Strive for AIR1 or to get a CS in IITB ?!
    Sorry if it was a irrelevant one. Please do reply if it's worth replying.
    Thank you :)

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    Replies
    1. JEE advanced 2016 topper was Aman Bansal.he was in my school till tenth and was just an avg student.in fact he hadn't even decided which stream to choose in 11th!Very few people knew him until the results.fyi he barely got second rank in Allen tests,always the first!He had a high spiritual quotient

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  29. Hi aman....what were your ranks in fiitjee aits full tests....I want to know where I should stand so as to get a top 100 in JEE

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    Replies
    1. I used to be in top 10 mostly

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    2. Can you use some of your precious time in replying to my question below so that I can save my time by not opening your blog again and again.

      I'm not acting rude . But it is not the time for me to do such things instead of studying.

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  31. I gave JEE Main 2015. I attempted large number of questions, as it seemed easy, but many went wrong, and I scored only 244.
    I mainly did calculation mistakes in 4 ques. in Maths, 3 in Chemistry and 4 in Physics.
    I feel I had prepared well for about 300-310 marks and I also used to get 260-270 in FIITJEE AITS(JEE Main).
    I wanted your help on in which direction should I work hard to increase my performance and avoid these silly calculation mistakes in JEE Advanced?
    Please help within appropriate time.

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  32. I never expected to clear jee mains. In fact the result that I cleared it while my topper friends couldn't was a big surprise.
    I hardly study but manage to get my answers correct.
    But I m having difficulty in handling advance's pressure.
    Can I have some guidance on how to tackle it.

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  33. Aman this is Addhyan have Dropped 3 years now doing B.Sc from l.u. never really Got the Chance to Exclusively prepare for jee ...I read UR post and I'm motivated a lot to give the best fight for CMI & ISI entrance paper ...Thanks for Quenching all my Queries about iit jee ..I passed 12 with 87 in 2012;& never Gave Iit jee Exam but wanna Be a Scientist

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  34. Hi Aman,
    I am currently in class 9, and I want a under 50 rank in JEE. should I start studying for it from now. or should I focus on my board exams.....?
    reply please bro..

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  36. Pretty inspiring, thx, helped me to motivate myself ;)

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  37. Please reply me bro....
    I got 160 in mains 2017 and feeling very demotivated as i made some too silly mistakes in marking and in calculation because of speed.
    How can i overcome my these silly mistakes ?

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  38. Are fiitjee books enough for jee

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  39. What was your rank in jee
    Aman?

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  40. What was your rank in jee
    Aman?

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  41. Hello Aman
    I m thinking to join fiitjee from class 10
    Which program should I prefer.....school Integrated or classroom integrated???

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  42. Thanks for sharing this kind of useful information addmengroup offers best service.
    For More Information. Click here

    ReplyDelete
  43. Dude.. Listen... I got low rank in jee main 2019...and i'm from sc... What should be my expected score in jee advanved 2019 to get any of the total IIT's... And if i only try to solve last year questions from now. .Coz only 25 days left.. And I'm so depressed.. So.. Will it be ok??? To solve prev. Questions... Coz according to my mentality.. I would get to know method and types of questions.. Plzzz tell me? ?? I found this thing useful.. Which u wrote here!!

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