How I handled ups and downs of JEE preparation: Moin M Nargund

In the 10^th standard, I was a student who would study throughout the night during the exams and managed to get good marks. This ability of studying at night came in handy later.

I hated Biology the most, and Maths too wasn’t  too dear to me. I basically hated studying. I somewhat liked Physics and could tolerate Chemistry. So I decided, to appear for JEE.

Tuition, Yes! Me too!

And off I went to tuition classes in no time. Admitted to an academy in a decent batch (not the top one), the teachers there were very good.. It was a good institute to study at and I still thank those teachers.  I got a good bunch of hostel mates. We studied well. And as soon I was in the top batch, still struggling to get into the top hundred (Yes, the batches had more than 100 students), something strange happened.

The Turning Point, The Second Best Thing

On the test day, I went with my usual preparation, with the aim to get into the top 100, (even 99 would’ve sufficed). And guess what, I got a spot in  top 10 . I started believing in myself. I started to dream big (I mean a good JEE rank, that’s all).

I studied harder. I worked on my Physics, and I started to love Mechanics. I solved HC Verma, Irodov and stuff, and studied Chemistry too. I mostly ignored Maths. I did my homework religiously. This went on for a few months. I couldn’t repeat the wonder again, but I became stable in the 50-70 region. I started to loosen up, and I started to have a lot of fun. I was no longer regular in my homework, but I still maintained my rank. Thus, the tenure of 11^th standard ended.

My Downfall

12^th class is where I became  complacent. Being comfortable in my 50-70 slot for the first three months, I got carried away. I started neglecting my studies more than ever. I hardly did my homework, and I didn’t even solve HC Verma, leave alone Irodov. I hated Electromagnetism. As a result, I stooped to an all time low in October.  I couldn’t bounce back to even into the top 200 by the time my classes finished on Christmas. Interestingly, in the final test of my institute, I reached an hour and a half late because I overslept. That was my condition. Although I  studied during the entire December, I managed to get a 240 odd rank.

New Year, Another Turning Point

Then came a new year. I asked mu mother to come and live with me for the next three months, which was the best thing that happened to me during those two years. I can’t thank my parents enough for such a huge decision. Deep inside, I thought I owed it to them. I studied hard, and I studied regularly.

I solved an infinite number of questions during those three months. I solved previous years’ papers, previous years’ test papers from my institute, and the study materialthey provided. I studied for 5 to 8 hours a day, except for Sundays. I studied for 2-4 hours on Sunday, watched movies and went out with friends. I kept short goals and weekly targets, and I chased them of course. My mother took good care of my studies and my diet. It paid off, but not so soon.

Mathematics

Meanwhile, I did a smart thing for Maths, which I didn’t like to study much as I couldn’t solve the problems with the material that my institute provided. I solved problems from a book which contained previous 35 years’ problems from JEE and didn’t waste a mini-second on a problem from my sheet that I thought was “beyond the JEE level”. I realized that by doing so many problems of the “JEE level”, I would be prepared well enough to score decently in Maths, which was holding me back a little bit.

Final Stages

During Mid-February, I was a bit depressed as I could not solve many tough questions and I couldn’t do well in the tests that I took for myself. My mother and my friends, not to forget, helped me get through this. It was tough. Almost a month later, during the Boards, my exams were going good . But more importantly, I started doing well in my tests. The tests were similar to JEE papers. I followed the 3+2+3 hours time-table. A week before the big day, I was scoring too well. I was very confident, well-prepared and focused. And luckily, I didn’t make too many mistakes during the exam.

Result, Year 2015

I got a decent rank. My marks in individual subjects differed by a mark each, the best being Maths, and the worst being Physics (Yeah, you read that right).

Something for my juniors

Luck is an important factor, but it will not always be on your side. You have to work hard. Hard work might not show it’s worth very early, but it will pay off. In my case, it took months. Keep studying, and hang in there.

On the other hand, if you do get carried away, you won’t realize the ill-effects soon. For me, it was a full year before I had the reality check. . Don’t loosen up. And, it’s important to have some fun as well. I have watched as many movies during those 2 years in tuition classes as I could, and that includes the year in my college too. So  study well, study smart, keep short goals, and most importantly, have fun.

About the Author:

My name is Moin M Nargund. I am pursuing BTech (Electronics and Communication) at Jain College of Engineering, Belgaum.