What sacrifice did you make during your JEE preparations?

Too many sacrifices!

• Didn’t have friends. Except for 1 or 2 people, I didn’t have friends in school. Having said that, I made some of the best friends when I joined IIT Bombay. It has been ~9 years of our friendship and the 5 - 6 of us make sure to connect once every alternate week. Having said that, I have a friend from school with whom my friendship began some 15 years ago and we are still the best friends.
• Didn’t attend family functions. Except for the house inauguration of one of my uncles, I didn’t attend any family function during the 2 years of JEE preparation. My mother forcefully took me to the uncle’s function :P. Many of my relatives complained that this was bad behavior on my part. However, as of today, the kids of most of these relatives are preparing for either JEE or some other competitive exams, so now, they are able to empathize with my situation. The good thing is that now I attend ALL the family functions because I have full control of my time.
• Didn’t use social media. On this, I’d say that during my JEE preparation time (2011 - 2013), social media wasn’t as popular as it is today. I am talking about those days when 2G internet cost Rs. 100 per GB per month. Having said that, as of today, I am active on all social media/networking platforms - Quora, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and sometimes on Facebook too.
• No movies. I didn’t watch a single movie during the JEE preparation period. Even today I don’t do that because I don’t like watching movies. I do watch specific series like Air Crash Investigation, and watch YouTube videos - big fan of Abhishek Upmanyu and other stand-up comedians!
• No girlfriend. Somehow I had a perception that a girlfriend would be a distraction. A typical JEE aspirant is 15 years old. So was I. And so, I personally feel that it is a little too early. I am sure there are people who are exceptions to this rule.

I think the end reward was totally worth it. I secured an All India Rank of 33 in JEE Advanced 2013 and joined IIT Bombay, Computer Science and Engineering. My life and career became much easier because of the IIT Bombay brand name. I now have a lot of time to compensate for the sacrifices I made. I travel a lot for leisure as well as work - was in Dubai a couple of weeks back, then in Goa, then to Odisha, then Lonavla, then Jaipur for a friend’s wedding - all within 1 month! So, I am glad that I now have full control of my time today because of the sacrifices I made during my JEE preparation days.

Most importantly - My parents are proud of me.

All the sacrifice seems totally worth when I see my parents proudly telling someone that their son graduated from IIT Bombay.

If you are a JEE aspirant working hard to crack JEE, I’d suggest that work 10% harder - it is totally worth the effort. The brand name of IIT helps you short-circuit a lot of things in life. Eventually, in the long run, your hard work will matter. But in the short run, for the first ~5 years of your career, having an IIT tag will open up a lot of doors for you and speed up a lot of things. Also, the 4 years at an IIT will help you compensate for pretty much all the sacrifices that you’ll make during your JEE preparation.

Talking about IIT Bombay, we have so many amazing facilities and clubs:

Skating

A US Internship

Placements

Snooker (I don’t know how to play!)

Parties!

Hostel Life

The IIT Bombay Degree

People sleeping in the lecture halls

Greenery

Academics (Engineering Drawing)

Festivals

Sports

Fun with friends

Performances

Exhibitions

Exhibitions

Fests

Open Air Theatre

Open Air Theatre

Clubs (Rubik’s Club)

Hostels

Techfest

World Class Lecture Halls

So, all of the hard work and effort becomes totally worth it once you get into an IIT.

If I were taken back in time in 2011 and asked to figure out a way to build my career, I’d probably again for the JEE preparation - I think it is the best bet because the reward is extremely high.

Wishing all the best to the JEE aspirants reading this answer!