JEE Advanced 2013 topper shares tips on JEE Prep

Madiha Jawed | shiksha.com

Grabbing one of the Top 10 ranks was expected but emerging in the Top 3 was an unexpected surprise for Ravi Chandra - the JEE Advanced 2013 second topper. According to him, it was his continued efforts and dedicated focus towards the exam that helped him reach the pinnacle of success. Talking about his preparation strategy, he shares " JEE Advanced was my main focus since the very beginning and I have been preparing for it since my Intermediate 1st year".

“It’s very important to go through all the previous year question papers from all the topics for all 3 subjects. You can accordingly plan your studies by your performance in them”, is what he suggests to the aspirants of JEE Advanced 2014.

I would say studying for ten hours a day starting before two months of preparation would be sufficient provided one has the grip on the fundamentals already. The exact amount of time can obviously not be guessed. The more time one devotes to practice the better result and confidence one gains. For JEE-advanced I started preparing seriously from 11th class. I completed the whole syllabus for MPC in the first year itself and hence I had one whole year for practice. During the last six months of my 12th I took many grand tests which were almost of the same standard as JEE Advance. During the last one month or so I didn’t feel any need for revising or rereading any concepts. So I just spent my time taking tests. Usually one and a half or two grand tests a day that means three or four papers a day.

I sincerely advice the 2014 aspirants to join a good coaching institute to prepare for JEE Advanced. I honestly feel that being a part of a good coaching institute gives you immense confidence as it’s under the guidance of these faculty members, that we are able to clear this exam successfully.

Joining a coaching institute also gives a direction to your preparation. Instead of just reading random concepts you can now focus on those concepts which are absolutely important from the exam point of view. Further you can also make some good friends who are just like you and you can study in a group.

I used to study a subject continuously for three hours and then after a break would switch on to another one.

If one is aiming for the top 10 ranks in JEE - Advance then what counts is not how correct you are but how many wrong answers you have given. To be in the top three you cannot afford to make more than 6 or 7 mistakes per subject (provided, of course, the paper is of usual JEE standard). So, there is no question of leaving any topic or concept. You have to make sure that before atleast 3 or 4 months from JEE Advance you are thorough with all the basics and fundamentals of all the chapters (in all the subjects).

To get confidence in my weak areas, I went through the questions from these areas that were asked in the previous years. Also, I tried to figure out what was necessary in order to crack these questions.

Honestly speaking I did not practice much from any reference books because the assignments given at our coaching classes seemed more than enough and also they kept me occupied for most of my time. However, whenever I felt that I needed extra practice or that I needed more confidence in any area I followed the following books:

• Maths – TMH, Arihant’s New pattern
• Physics -  HC Verma(I can’t say how many times I solved the questions in this book), Irodov ,
• Physical Chemistry : NCERT , OP Tandon , Numericals By P.Bahadur
• Organic Chemistry : WADE(Only As A Reference But Not As A Text Book ), NCERT , Himanshu Pandey
• Inorganic Chemistry : OP Tandon , NCERT

It is very important to go through all the previous year question papers from all the topics for all 3 subjects. You can accordingly plan your studies by your performance in them.

• Make sure that you do not get tensed during the examination. I cannot stress more the importance of staying cool and calm during those six hours. This is what is going to decide your rank. Even if you have practiced for hours before it is not going to help unless you are cool.
• Do not ever try to get your way through by just memorizing the concepts. If you do not understand any concept then there is no way in which you can solve a JEE-level question on it. So understand and apply all the concepts and fundamentals.
• As always practice is going to decide your rank in the exam. There are cases where many smart students are unable to get a good rank due to lack of practice.
• Do not over-study the night before exam. Of course, sleep is very essential for your performance.
• Do not take heavy breakfast on the day of the exam. Don’t roam outside in the sun before the exam and make sure that you do not eat any junk food in that particular week. The biggest suggestion is that take care of your health for the exam.