Were IITians toppers in primary and secondary classes too?

This post has been taken from one of my Quora answers (link): 

I was born and brought up in the city of Kanpur
Kanpur does not have a decent academic background. Most of the people here are illiterate.

I joined a school near to my home. It was an average school and I was a not so good student.
I remember getting 7th rank in class 1st and 13th rank in class 2nd.
In class 3rd, a new section was created and I don't know how, but I managed to get 1st rank. The same continued in class 4th. However, I became over confident in class 5th and I got 8th rank.
Seeing my academic potential, my mother wanted me to get admitted to Dr. VSEC, (probably) the best school in Kanpur.
Now comes the big deal
In the admission interview, the principal told my mother:

Getting a top 10 rank in an ordinary school is no big deal. Let's see how he fares in our school

Well, to my surprise, I ended up with some 70 % marks in class 6th, standing 23rd in my section (there were 3 other sections).
I was very disappointed. I did not take any coaching/tuition. My elder sister used to teach me.
I wasn't much into academics at that time.
However, slowly and steadily, I progressed getting 13th rank in class 7th followed by 6th rank in class 8th.
Next comes class 9th.
I remember in the first term exams, I got 4th rank and missed the first rank by just 7 marks out of 1100.
That was it.
I worked hard day in and day out and managed to top all 4 sections by a margin of 14 marks right in the second term examinations. Since then I never looked back, I kept on moving.
Class 10th board exams result: 97.4%, topped my school.
My mother went with me to principal madam and she told her:

You had told my son on the interview day that topping in an ordinary school was easy, but by your blessings and his hard work, he topped your school as well.

Well, but this victory was not a victory for me.
I was ranked 3rd in the city and the topper was just 2 marks ahead of me.
Why ? Because I made a silly mistake in the mathematics exam. The question demanded calculation of simple interest and I took the time to be 1 year instead of 2 years.

Never mind.
I started my JEE preparation soon after class 10th.
The city topper guy (who is not a good friend of mine) was also in my batch.
The toppers of all major schools were in the same batch as that of mine.

Learning from my mistakes, working hard and being patient finally worked out.
June 21st, 2013: JEE Advanced results announced and I got an All India Rank of 33 :)

The first week in Germany

19th November 2014, my 19th birthday gave me one of the most exciting gifts ever - a summer internship at Germany!
The placement and training cell at IIT Bombay allows second year students to apply to universities for a summer internship at the end of the second year. I also applied for TU Braunschweig, Germany in the month of October. Having a decent resume, I was among the 10 people who were shortlisted for the interview. On 10th of November evening, I was interview by Professor Sandor Fekete on Skype. The interview was good and at the end, the professor explicitly mentioned that he was impressed with me. I was overjoyed hearing this.
19th November : It was my birthday and going by the usual tradition of IIT, I was held to the wall and my bums were bombarded with slippers. Ah, that was painful. Nevertheless, it was over. Pheww. I was chatting on fb with my aunty (she was awake at that time to wish me). At 12.40 AM in the morning I received a mail saying I and another peer have been selected for summer internship at TU Braunschweig! Woah!!! I was shocked and amazed! I confirmed with the internship coordinator and yes! I was selected! Friends tried to bang my ass again, but they left because it was exam time. (Sigh of relief for me). I was so delighted that I called my mother at 1 AM in the morning to tell her that I got the intern!

Fast forward 6 months.
8th May, I landed here at Frankfurt Airport, 1.30 PM local time. Ah! Seemed like real life GTA :P
The airport was so big that it took 15 minutes for the aircraft to taxi from the runway to the gate! It was a long flight and finally - Germany!
We were 3 of us (2 boys and 1 girl). We took a train from Frankfurt Airport station to the Frankfurt main station. We had to go to Braunschweig. The ticket from Frankfurt to Braunschweig was price 92 Euros!! That's like 7000 Indian Rupees!
Well, there was no alternative. But there was a problem. German train drivers were on a strike on that day! How badly we managed to stand for an hour in the train. But finally, we arrived at the destination!
Professor's secretory and her husband had come to pick us from the Braunschweig railway station. We reached our apartments - Studentenwerk as they call it.
We were handled the keys and utensils for cooking - all thanks to Ute (Professor's secretory).
Our rooms - simply brilliant. We have a refrigerator, an electric stove, a microwave, central air conditioner, cupboards, attached washroom and big windows to look out from 7th floor!
Here are a few pics :

Here is what I explored in Germany in my first week :

More to come soon :D

Weak at maths ? Here is what you should do

Firstly identify where are you going wrong

Are you forgetting formulae in exam ?

• Make a sheet enlisting all important formulae.

Are you making silly mistakes in the questions you already know ??

• Make sure to learn from the silly mistake and ensure that you do not repeat it.

Are you not able to solve certain types of questions ?

• Make sure to do ample of questions of that type.

Are you not able to solve problems of a particular chapter ?

• Make sure you saturate yourself with all possible problems of that chapter from all available standard textbooks.

Are you not able to solve questions fast ?

• Make sure you do regular revision and practice questions with a clock beside you to time yourself.

I hope that will help you
The idea is to analyse every paper you solve. Analyse your mistakes. Think of questions like

1. Where did I go wrong ?
2. Did I make silly mistake ?
3. Is there a particular chapter whose questions you weren't able to do ?

These questions will surely help you find the issue and you are sure to do better.

All the best for JEE advanced :)

Mentoring not just JEE aspirants

I have been mentoring a number of JEE apirants through my blog.
At the moment the blog has received some 443k page views.
The concept of the blog was started to help JEE aspirants. But soon I realized that I personally love mentoring and guiding students.
So, in my first semester, I applied for a TAship.
For those who don't know who a TA is : 
Well, a batch of 42 students is allotted a TA (Teaching Assistant) who works under the professor to solve tutorial problems and discuss doubts. We are paid for being a TA by the institute.
I am supposed to take 1 tutorial session of 1 hour every week in which I solve some 10 tutorial problems.
In my third semester, I took the TAship for MA105 (the basic calculus course).
Currently I am the TA for Electricity and Magnetism course which is a mandatory course for all the departments.
TAs are selected on the basis of their grade in that particular course.
Under me are 42 students, almost equally divided into CS and Chemical.
That is, I have under me, some 20 CS students and 20 chemical students.
It feels great to help them.
Here is the feedback that I received as a TA in my semester 3
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RUSZFMQg2PrhIwxkug-CEv1vNpyU3xqcnwD5v0B_ZhQ/edit?usp=sharing

The students under me are simply brilliant. Some of them have better JEE ranks than me. My rank beta (rank son) is also my tutee (tutee = student). He secured an AIR of 33 in JEE 2014 and so, he is my rank beta. My own rank baap is also in IIT Bombay CSE (3rd year). He got an internship at GOOGLE!

Enjoying the work of mentoring, I also applied for DAMP mentorship.
DAMP stands for department academic mentorship programme.
In IIT Bombay CSE, some 6 students of second year are allotted a DAMP mentor who is generally a 3rd or 4th year student.
Having good academic record and good peer reviews, I have been selected for DAMP mentorship as well. In my third year, I will have 6 second year students under me to mentor.
I hope to see you people as well in IIT Bombay.
All the best for competitive exams.

Importance of self confidence

Self confidence is a very important aspect of JEE preparation

From the day 1 of my JEE preparation, I was motivated to get an under 100 rank. Why ? Because I wanted IIT Bombay CSE. Soon I came to know that IITB CSE closes at ranks close to 60. I was shocked! But then I had a confidence that I can do it!

I remember putting a paper saying - target under 100 rank in my cupboard.

In the first all India Test of FIITJEE, my score was 153/240. I was indeed the topper of my center but at all India level, I was nowhere. 2 people had score 232/240!

That was a big big score!

Again, I had the required trust in myself. I knew that I could do it! I knew that I can fulfill my dreams!

I worker day in and day out.

A key aspect was self confidence.

You should always believe in yourself. However, you must never be over-confident.

Let me tell you an incident that happened with me.

In class 1st, I got 7th rank.

In class 2nd, I got 13th rank.

In class 3rd, my section was changed and a new section was created.

I got 1st rank in class 3rd and 4th.

I was too confident in class 5th - rather over confident is a better term.

I got 8th rank. My friends went ahead of me. I realized my mistake.

In class 6th, my school was changed to Kanpur's best school.

In my interview with the principal, she told my mother that I can top in a "not so renowned" school easily, but she will believe my potential only if I can top her school.

Well, I performed terribly in class 6th - ending up with a rank of 23rd (70.77%).

But I knew that I had to potential to do better.

I got a rank of 13th in class 7th.

In class 8th, in the second term, I got a rank of 4th. There was this girl G ahead of me (she got a rank of 3rd). I told her that next time, I will get 3rd rank and she taunted me by saying - uske liye padhna padta hai (for that, you have to study).

Well, those words pinched me indeed.

Anyway, I ended up with 6th rank in class 8th.

Next comes class 9th, term 1 - rank 4 and the topper of all 4 sections was just 7 marks ahead of me - ah! That did hurt - just 7 marks !!

Well, this time I made my mind that I will bridge this 7 mark gap.

Class 9th, term 2 - Topped all 4 sections with a margin of 14 marks.
Class 9th finals - Topped all 4 sections.

In the certificate distribution ceremony, the girl G was standing beside me and she asked me - yaar Aman kaise padhte ho itna sahi? (Aman, how do you study so well?). Well, that was a victory for me.

After that I never looked back. Just moved ahead, on and on and on.

I had realized my potential very well. I knew that I can really do anything if I work hard, trust myself and remain patient.

Class 10th - secured 97.4% and topped the school with a rank of 3rd in the city!

It has always happened with me that initially I don't perform well (as you can see from me school profile). But later on, I pick up and work very hard - having 100% faith in myself.

School - started with 23rd rank in class 6th, ended with topping school in class 10th.

JEE - started with 153/240 in the first test, ended with 293/360 in JEE Advanced (AIR 33)

B.Tech - started with 5/10 in first quiz, ended with a CPI of 9.86 in the first year

Well, to motivate you, here is my resume in this link which captures all my academic achievements so far. This was the resume that helped me to get a summer internship at Germany!

Home page : http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~amangoel/

Resume : http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~amangoel/resume.pdf

This summer (2015), I would be going to Germany for my summer internship. Candidates were shortlisted on the basis of resume and final selections were made on the basis of a personal Skype interview.

After my summers, I will surely write about my experience in Germany.

Till then, stay motivated, work hard, be patient, enjoy studies.

All the best for the upcoming exams :)

Hard Work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard

Yes, you read it right.
I will tell you my own story here.

About me - I am a B.Tech Second year, Computer Science and Engineering undergraduate student at the prestigious IIT Bombay - a place where many aspire to go, but only some get through.
Well, just like you or any other student, I was also in the same place 2 years back - JEE on the head! Back to back exams - Boards, Olympiads, JEE Main, JEE Advanced, BITSAT and what not!

We as the quote suggests, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
I was a very average student in school - just to tell you, I got 23rd rank in school in class 6th. I was not a topper until class 9th.

But I had faith in myself - I knew that I can do anything I want - I knew my potential.
I was not at all "born intelligent by birth". I don't have a super high IQ or a super huge memory. I am just an average student just like anyone else.

Now that must be bothering you - JEE 2013 AIR 33 saying that he is an average student! How come ???
Well, then let me tell you about myself.
I spend hours and hours studying a topic. It takes me approximately twice the amount of time to learn something which someone else can do in a small amount of time.
Well, you might think that's weird, but really, it was the case that I had to spend endless time to learn something which my friends did quickly!
So what to do now ?
Talent seems to be failing here right ?
Work hard ...

Hard Work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard

Its really true.
I have seen it and experienced it. What I am today is not because of any inborn talent, but solely because of my hard work, commitment, dedication and patience.
For a JEE aspirant, getting a rank in top 50 is a dream come true.
I managed to fulfill my dreams solely with my hard work.

Even here in IIT Bombay, I have seen super intelligent people - who can understand absolutely anything in a single shot!
On the other hand, it takes me hours to figure out what's happening!
But, in the end, we are all level. Why ?

Hard Work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard

So, go ahead, dream big, achieve big, and most importantly, work really hard!
All the best for JEE Main

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 :)