IIT JAM Topper shares Prep Tips

Arpan Parichha, IIT JAM Topper

On completing his bachelor’s degree in BSc Life Science from Presidency University, Kolkata, Arpan Parichha appeared for IIT JAM 2016 and secured AIR 6 in Biotechnology paper. However, this is not the only achievement of this young lad as he also cleared other MSc entrance exams such as TIFR JGEEBILS, JNU CEEB (Rank 2), and JNUEE for Molecular Medicine (Rank 8) with flying colours.

Pursuing MSc and doing research was always Arpan’s first choice and he wanted to pursue the course at IISc Bangalore. However, the interesting thing is that when he received an offer letter from IISc Bangalore after 10 days of IIT JAM counselling, he rejected it and chose TIFR to pursue Integrated PhD in Neuroscience. Arpan shares that he took this decision because the course being offered at TIFR was to his liking.

On being asked about his preparation strategy to crack IIT JAM exam, Arpan revealed, “I studied basic concepts from Lehninger’s Biochemistry and Cell Biology by Bruce Alberts and practiced MCQs from previous years’ question papers.” Apart from that, “I also referred Molecular Biology of Gene by Watson and Immunology by Kuby,” added Arpan. He further spoke about how he dealt with his strengths and weaknesses at the time of IIT JAM preparation, by saying, “My strength was Biology so I gave less time to it and spent more time on Maths and Physics and practiced them daily.” He also added, “I studied less but studied daily to crack the exam.”

An extremely focused student, Arpan advises IIT JAM Biotechnology aspirants that, “Do not study too much Biology. Secondly, do not study blindly as there are certain chapters which are important as compared to others. You should keep these things in mind.” Arpan also advises candidates, “Study less but study smartly. And, do not get scared on the day of exam. The worst scenario would be that you do not qualify but life does not stop there.”

Helping other candidates in preparing for JAM is one of Arpan’s favourite hobbies. Regarding the same, Arpan shared, “I make You-tube educational videos to help others. It has a section where I solve JAM questions.”

It may be noted that IIT JAM is conducted in the online mode every year and according to Arpan his experience of giving a CBT (computer-based test) was better than a pen-and-paper based test. For Arpan, among all the sections in the exam, MSQ-type questions are the most difficult as “they carry more marks but all the options need to be correct.” Regarding the negative marking in the exam, JAM 2016 topper suggests, “It is better that you do not attempt a question but do not get negative marking. Guess work is strictly not recommended.”