IITs are the most prestigious technical schools in the world. IIT Alumni are running companies such as Google, IBM, Flipkart, etc.
If you want to do engineering, there is nothing better than IIT.
How to get into IIT?
Students are admitted to IIT based on their ranks on IIT-JEE (Advanced). Getting into a particular IIT entirely depends on your rank.
How do you prepare for IIT-JEE?
Preparing for IIT-JEE required hard work, perseverance, and dedication. The entire process is a marathon and you should be prepared to spend 2 years of your life.
What is the ideal time to start preparing for JEE?
You can start preparing for JEE from class 11. 2 years of preparation attending regular classes is more than enough for JEE.
Shall I join a coaching class?
You are recommended to join a good JEE preparation institute. There are many aspects of problem-solving that can not be found in books or study material. An experienced teacher can guide you to be efficient in problem-solving and how to solve problems fast.
JEE is all about problem-solving, and most importantly how can you solve a problem. Given enough time most of the person can solve a given problem. But JEE wants to select only those who can solve problems much faster.
How to solve problems faster
First, you have to understand the basics of the topic you are trying to solve problems. if your basics are clear you can certainly solve any problems on that topic.
To solve problems faster, apart from a good understanding of the basics, you will need to develop tricks to come up with a solution in seconds. You will not have more than a minute to come up with the solution, writing down the solution to get the final answer will take the rest of the time.
Experienced teachers in good coaching institutes can help you with good tricks to solve many problems.
Practice makes a student perfect. To solve problems faster you have to practice as many problems as you can. While solving practice problems, in your brain create an exam-like environment and set a timer. Suppose you want to solve 30 problems in 20 minutes, set a timer for 20 minutes and start solving.
What happens when you are stuck in a problem?
If you are in an examination hall, don’t bother and skip over to the next problem. Every second is important during the exam and you don’t want to mess up your mind struggling with a problem you probably can not solve. Once you have finished up solving all problems you can solve fast, you can go back to the problems left out previously. Doing this will increase your confidence, as you already have solved many problems.
In case of your usual practice, even after spending more than 30 minutes if you are still not able to solve the problem, follow the followings steps
- Go back and reread the related theories.
- Try to divide the problem into multiple smaller problems if possible, and try to solve smaller ones and combine the results.
- If steps 1 and 2 failed, you can proceed and solve other problems, then retry solving it again
- If all the above steps fail, you can go ahead and look at the solution, and try to understand the approach thoroughly, how the author has applied the related theory to solve the problem. Then you design few problems related to this on your own and solve those using the same techniques.
How to read problem solutions?
If you are stuck in a problem for a long time, you can read some expert solutions on the same. If you can try reading more than one solution from different authors. Analyze the approach followed and try to connect those with the related theories and note those down for future references.
Try creating a few similar problems and solve those problems following the concepts you have learned by reading the solutions.
How many hours to study?
You should attempt to study/solve problems in between 6 to 8 hours every day excluding the time you spend on school and coaching classes.
If you don’t have school or coaching classes try spending 12 to 14 hours every day reading theories and solving problems.
Clearing doubts
Always discuss with your teacher, if you didn’t understand a topic. Discussing with another person can help you get more depth on the topic.
Mock tests
It is very important to take mock tests in a similar environment. Solving mock tests will help you manage time and be comfortable with the test pattern. You can subscribe to coaching institutes online/offline mock tests.
Balance life
There is no easy way to balance life during JEE preparation, You have to keep your attention focused sharply on your goal, you should not look away from your goal even for a second.
It is recommended to completely avoid social media and emotional involved relations.
Take care of yourself
Finally and most importantly take care of your physical and mental health. Don’t get depressed if you are stuck or not able to solve problems. Whenever you feel stressed, take a break and do something that will help you relax and take your mind off the troubling things.
Remember IITs are not the end of life, There are many other good institutions from where you can study engineering and be successful.