Year 2

If you've been sincere so far, you must be accustomed to certain ways of efficient learning by now. Stick to them, and make them even better, so that you continue to grow. Keep doing the topics that you couldn't pick up in Year 1, and regularly revisit the ones that you could. You've now reached a stage when you need to flex your muscles and put your vehicle in the next gear.

Now you'll need to spend more time on Math than on Physics. Calculus is probably the most interesting field of Mathematics, and, if understood properly, can do wonders almost everywhere. PRACTICE A LOT. Once again, I would recommend Cengage Publications' book, as it has a huge variety of question types, levels of difficulty and formation of problems. Probability and Permutations and Combinations are exciting, but can get confusing too. Probability in particular, requires time, and a lot of practice. 

Keep learning Organic Chemistry. Don't lag. Put in your inputs, and watch it flow seamlessly from the books to your brain and lift you to the next level. Consistent revision is the ultimate key to unlocking an enviable grasp of Organic.

Establish links between Gravitation and electrostatics. Between mechanics and electromagnetism. Physics can be approached efficiently in this manner. Explore the connections already made, link them with existing topics, and use these links to solve numerous problems. Make it a point to study Modern Physics properly - it is easy to ignore. But if you become good at it, it's a guarantee of substantial marks in the exam. Optics is one of the easiest topics in the whole of the syllabus. Go ahead and master it.

In the midst of all this, don't forget Units and Dimensions. You'll be glad you did it.

 

One more advice - do school work regularly, not just because everyone wants you to do well in Board exams, but also because it helps later on. Your sincerity in science practicals reflects in later life, as well as a few questions in almost every entrance exam. Practice from NCERT opens your doors to stronger grasp of the formulas, and familiarity with the most common question types. Needless to say, NCERT Chemistry is the backbone of the chemistry question papers in all entrance exams.

Year 1 Continued...

Patience, persistence and practice - those are the essential ingredients to success in this scenario. So, let's move forward.

When coordinate geometry knocks at your doorstep, open the door and embrace it with both hands. Yes, it is a guarantee of marks in almost all competitive exams. At first, you may feel flabbergasted by the number of equations and variables you have to deal with. You'd be wondering how geometry took this shape. But don't recoil yet, because this geometry is far better than the Euclidean one. It has variety, but in a limited scope. I would recommend Cengage Publications' Coordinate Geometry for practice - it has a lot of variety and is very engaging. You'll love the topic after going through it.

I was personally not very fond of trigonometry. Nevertheless, it is useful. A fine grip on trigo can take you places in calculus. Give special attention to trigonometric equations, because it has many uses in other topics. Solution of triangles is a tricky topic to deal with. If you don't get it first time, don't be disheartened, because you'll get a lot of time to learn it again. If you get it first time, that's great. Keep it in your head and go ahead.

Now is usually the grand opening of Organic Chemistry for most of us. 11th class Organic Chem could be a little boring, but don't take it lightly. General Organic Chemistry is the backbone of the topic, so read it many times before going ahead. I would suggest that you start practicing questions from "Advanced Problems in Organic Chemistry" by Himanshu Pandey. It is an excellent book with loads of variety and proper coverage of all topics.

Physics should be relatively easy now, once you're done with mechanics. Waves and thermodynamics are easy to grasp, so do them properly this time so that you don't have to spend much time on them later. Thermodynamics constitutes a good proportion of questions in JEE, so sound concepts in this field will pay huge dividends.

All the best for the coming year!

A Moment of Reflection

You may be enjoying the ride. You may be just hanging on. You may have not yet begun.

Relax. You have just gone through the initial phase. The subjects have just started revealing themselves. The masks are being lifted. The bridges are being built for the rest of the journey. First, let's pause and reflect.

Are you having fun? That's a great sign. Keep exploring more and start doing huge varieties of questions. The more you adapt yourself to innovative problems, the better. If you have a book like Cengage or Arihant, practice the various styles of questions. See a few video lectures to strengthen your concepts. Don't rush. Give time to absorb concepts.

Are you just hanging on? Things not going the way you thought? Spoiled some test? Okay. Calm down. If you are enjoying even a bit of what you are studying, you'll accomplish more in the times to come. Sometimes, we just don't have the right temperament to tackle a test paper. It's fine. The ability to handle pressure develops with continued practice. Right now, focus on building strong concepts, and don't brood over your marks. For motivation, listen to the title song of "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag".

You haven't yet begun? See, if you want to do engineering, you need to seriously consider being sincere, buddy. I tell you that regret is a very bad feeling. If you've set your mind on engineering, don't waste your time. Your efforts must match your resolve. Stop reading this, and start off. You can do whatever you want, even now. Keep faith in yourself and your will to succeed.

When the Journey begins - Year 1

For most engineering aspirants, the journey begins in class 11. You may have done foundation courses before, but you also know that those were peanuts against the vastness of the course that awaits you in the final two years.

Most of us start off on a high - we are highly motivated to give our best and secure awesome ranks at the end of two years and land at one of the premier engineering institutes of the country. We know we have the potential to do so, and we resolve to unlock it and use it to the best of our abilities.

So we begin.

Generally, the first two months are fine, being holidays. There are two types of students - those who don't study in that period, thinking "we've just given the (mammoth) 10th class exam. Let's relax for a while", and those who study with utmost enthusiasm, who fit the description stated in the previous paragraph.

For the first type, there's one thing I'd like to say. 10th class exams are not that big anymore. They are a cakewalk for almost anyone who studies properly for the last two weeks.

Oh wait, there's another thing I want to tell them. Big results demand big sacrifices, and studying throughout your vacation is not a sacrifice by any standards. If you really want to pursue engineering, this is just the first rock you have to scale - the summit is thousands of metres away.

But the first type still need not worry. The journey has just begun, and there's ample opportunity to reach where you want to.

In the initial stages, focus on building strong mathematical concepts. As H.C.Verma Sir has mentioned in his book, "Concepts of Physics - 1", mathematics is the language of physics. Soon, physics will greet you with problems involving calculus, trigonometry, and coordinate geometry.

Robert Kiyosaki has written in his book, "Rich Dad Poor Dad" that every great salesman knows that rejection is inevitable and only 2% acceptance is good enough. So, be prepared to be rejected by the questions in mechanics. It will haunt you in your dreams why that particular question doesn't have that particular solution, but be patient. Mechanics requires practice - as much as all the rest of the JEE physics. Most of us struggle here, but remember that greats are born out of the hardest of times.

In the initial stages, Chemistry is relatively easy, so you can spend more time on Math and Physics. Once you enter the domain of some real physical chemistry, increase your time spent on practicing it. Regularly practice ionic and chemical equilibrium. Do thermo-chemistry properly once - it will stick around in your memory for a long while.

That's it, right now. Next few posts will cover the rest of your first year.     

Which school / coaching should I join?

The first question that comes to one's mind while thinking about his / her career in middle school / high school is, "which stream should I take?" Unfortunately, that's something I can't answer.

That's because simply saying, "choose the stream of your interest" doesn't work in our country. Firstly, our education system doesn't provide us enough experience in all the different fields to figure out which one is our field of interest. Still, most of us are pretty clear about what interests us more, maybe not to the extent that we'd wish for, but certainly more than other subjects. That's a good head start.

Secondly, all streams haven't grown at the same rate. Some may provide ample job opportunities, and some may not. So, I won't go on to suggest what you should take. Listen to your mind, figure out your interests, talk to your family, and come up with the answer.

So, if you've chosen engineering, the next question is the one in the title of this post. I'll try and answer that.

Choose a school that has compulsory attendance policy - that is, it's not a dummy school. But make sure it's not famous (or infamous) for burdening its students with too much work. This may seem contradictory to many popular beliefs, wherein a dummy school is considered the best choice for preparation for JEE. But I choose to differ, because:

1. School brings regularity to one's life like nothing else can. You won't wake up everyday at 6 am if it were not for going to school.

2. It also helps in destroying the monotony of the sedentary life that many IIT aspirants live. 

3. School teachers and NCERT textbooks always have something good to offer.

As to the coaching, I would suggest one to join a place which has regular classes, and which also provides enough time for self study. Both these are equally important for learning the concepts and proper practice. Preferably join a national level institute so that you are regularly tested at that level, and have an exposure of what a national level exam feels like.

In the end, what matters more than your school and coaching is your dedication and commitment towards your goal and the subjects. If you love studying Physics, Chemistry and Math, you'll enjoy the ride no matter where you study. 

JEE Preparation - General

Since the day I cleared JEE Advanced, some young engineering aspirants have asked me to advise them on the best ways to prepare for the same. I am humbled by the kind of importance people seem to attach to the views that I hold. Thanks for the same.

This was due from a long time - I always wanted to share my experiences of this journey and help other students as much as I can. I hope these blog posts can be of help to those who wish to derive motivation from it, and to those who are confused about various aspects of the preparation - which books to read from, importance to be given to each subject, number of hours to be studied every day, and so on. I also hope that I don't start preaching anywhere through my posts - stop me when I do so.

This blog never has been, and never will be, solely for the engineering aspirants. It is for anyone who is interested in reading my views and experiences.

Finally, I thank some of my seniors whose blog posts helped me a lot while preparing - Raaz Dwivedi and Aman Goel. I will essentially be addressing similar questions to the ones that you have answered, so I hope you will not mind if similarities pop up. If you think there are way too many, please let it be known to me, and I'll remove that content right away.

I think many more such highly successful people should contribute by these means, as it is an added motivation to the aspiring students when they feel low, or when they are perplexed due to the vast variety of options.