Striking a balance between boards and JEE prep

Hi all. Let us begin by wishing all of you a very happy, prosperous and belated new year :p
Guys, this is a joint post. Myself(i.e Karan) and Dhruv collaborated to come up with this latest piece. So between us all your doubts should be cleared.
We saw a lot of comments asking how to juggle board exams and JEE together. Well, as far as you guys are concerned, JEE and board are like oil and water- totally immiscible; Or are they? This post will guide you through the most turbulent time of JEE prep- the end. I’ll be writing the first part, then Dhruv will pitch in.
First of all, let me tell you this- board marks MATTER A LOT for JEE Main. I secured 255 marks in JEE Main and 90% in boards; My rank was 2166. I have a friend in my division who secured 264 marks and 91%; His rank was around 400. That itsy-bitsy, measly 1% can take your rank from 4 digit to 3 digit. So DON’T TAKE YOUR BOARD EXAMS LIGHTLY. No matter how well prepared you are for JEE, board exams demand of you something totally different; the ability to present what you want to say in a proper way, the meaning of which can be gleaned even by a child reading the paper. That is the intent of board examiners.
Now, on to the intricacies woven by the combination of boards and JEE-Main; How do you tackle both together? Well, guys, fact of the matter is- they are both one and the same thing as far as JEE Main is concerned. Let’s talk firstly about those who will get some time (a week at least) for coming up to speed with their prep after board. For you guys, the drill is simple- keep your head clear and finish up your boards in the best way possible. You can practice MCQs during the board if you want to. If you have prepared well enough, a week should be enough time to get into the feel of JEE Main again. Chill out for a few hours the day board exams finish, then gear up for JEE Main. Also, if you have more than a week, solve a couple of full portion papers. That way you will be well and truly set for facing the actual examination.
Another important thing, which stands true for everyone- JEE Main ALWAYS has some questions pertaining to very out-of-the-way topics, like semiconductors, telecommunication etc. in physics, qualitative and quantitative organic analysis in chemistry, and stuff like Poisson’s distribution etc. in Maths. These things will be given in the best possible way in your board textbooks. I’d suggest you to do these topics with a tad extra seriousness. Read and remember the theory carefully; Questions will be mostly based on the text, nothing fancy will be asked. But students tend to ignore these topics, which pulls down the score by quite a bit. So don’t commit that blunder. Those of you aiming specifically for JEE-Advanced- You guys could use the extra motivation of having cracked JEE Main with an awesome score. And believe me, you WILL get a boost of confidence for Advanced if your Main total comes out to be decent enough.
Now, for those of you who will have less than a week after your boards. Most of you will be from CBSE board. Well, the bad thing is-you don’t get much time to prepare. But the good thing is- you are studying for boards from the GODBOOK for JEE-Main; NCERT. A thorough go-through of NCERT will put you miles ahead of others as far as JEE Main is concerned. Inorganic chemistry learnt in this time will also help for JEE-Advanced. So take heart, and cheer up! You guys also have an edge. Details for you guys are herewith presented by Dhruv:
Thanks a lot Karan! Hey there, guys! I was in a CBSE school.. a 'proper' school with 90%+ attendance (not a dummy), and faced a similar issue for JEE Mains. To put mysef in perspective, I scored 262 in Mains (yes, I know I messed up) and 96.8% in Boards – that saved my rank... 352 eventually.
I'll be focussing on just the CBSE guys here. Say you're done with your course and its February. Plan out a revision schedule; sort material according to difficulty and span. Make sure to devote as much time as possible, and not to stress out at the same time... According to me, you can start off reading up theory and subtle MCQs just tricky enough (and a sample paper twice a week, no more – dont over do anything).. Forget studying wrt Advanced. Devote yourself to GOOD questions (not all easy). All the prep you've done till now would take you through. Keep the real hard questions for the time you're bugged – as a bonus to your conscience. Read through the NCERT thoroughly for Physics and Chemistry. Esp. Chemistry. Your mains is completely covered by NCERT.. Just need to read between the lines, as my teacher said!
Trust NCERT, no matter how trivial it seems... Try to find the insight.. Once your boards near, start preparing for boards entirely and keep the MCQs as your bonus! Stay devoted to boards.. Tell you what: my friend @ 272 in Mains and 95.8% in Boards got a rank of 800s. You see how important CBSE boards are...
During boards, chill out. Dont overdo.. you'll mess up - and that's the worst you could do!
When boards are done, or about to be done, leave tests... leave questions! Most important is to learn from all you've done wrong and not DO AS MuCH AS YOU CAN... not repeating the mistakes is the key. The week that you have, read through the scaries chapters – say, Semiconductors, Waves, Linear Algebra, Inorganic, polymers etc. And make notes for yourself. Brief, all important notes. I made 7 pages of notes, never got time to refer.. but writing helps in referring.! :)
Day before Mains, dont study too hard! Go easy, wach a movie. Play games.! Chill out your mind! Next day – Rock it!
Well.. feel free to post your queries! We wish ou the best for Mains and The Boards.
PS- Guys my friend is from state board, whereas Dhruv's is from CBSE. That made the difference that appears as a discrepancy!