It is one of the toughest exams you will sit for and because of the stigmas and stress that surrounds that entrance exam, scoring a 300 or above seems impossible. Yet, year after year students from all across the country score well in this exam. All the top rankers have a score in their 300s.
Do they have some special kind of books that only they know about or are they just “smarter” than everyone else? That certainly is not the case. You don’t know the kind of effort and hard work they have put in for their exam preparation- the long hours they have solely devoted to this exam or how much they grilled before appearing for Mains. There is no secret to doing well in this exam and the preparation tips are simple as well because you need to follow these guidelines for a long period of time, which is why they are not too elaborate but they will demand a lot from you, which is understandable considering the vastness of the syllabus and competition of JEE.
Preparation Tips to Score 300 and Above in JEE Mains:
Self Study: This is not to imply that you should or should not go for any kind of coaching. You have to see what works in your favour- do you want to join a coaching centre that will have a proper classroom structure where they will conduct lectures, give out assignments and mock tests to you or do you want to join an online course to prepare for JEE. There are students who do not opt for either and still manage to clear this exam on their own. Self- study implies that no matter what you opt for as a guidance that will help you through this journey but the fact that ultimately, it all depends on how much you study on your own. If a concept is introduced in your coaching class, you are supposed to revise it on your own and try to attempt questions on it. If you have any doubts, your teachers are always there to help you through them.
Play to your Strengths- You already know the subjects you are good at and the ones where you need more practise. And that is what will determine how your study schedule is plotted. If you are good at Physics, you are not supposed to study it more than an hour a day. The rest of the time has to be devoted to the other two subjects. Mathematics, of course, would require a lot more time than the other two subjects. Whether you want to study early in the morning or late in the night, the choice is yours but since you will have school and then coaching immediately after that, so it is really that 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm bracket that you have to utilize to its maximum potential. You also need to use the wee hours of the morning, especially when you are starting a new concept because your mind will be fresh and will absorb the concepts well.
Predictive Tests- Your coaching centre will be providing you with a lot of study material and mock tests, these will come handy for your continous revision and the tests are a good way to analyse the level of your understanding of all the concepts you have covered so far. However, towards the end of your preparation about 2 to 3 months before the Mains exam, you should start taking predictive tests.If your coaching is not already providing you with those, you will easily find them online but pease refer to a reliable site. Predictive questions can really help increase your rank because in the final leg of your preparation, you are not studying anymore, just revising and perfecting your concepts, so all your focus needs to there. The more you practise giving these timed tests, more the fear of giving this exam will go away from you.
Concentration- You are not supposed to check your progress by the hours that you studied or how many problems you solved. You are supposed to see if you are on track with your preparation, which would also include seeing whether or not you have mastered the concept because if you aiming for a score above 300, there is no other way than for you to master each and every concept before you sit for the exam. You are supposed to get rid of distractions, which can be anything. If you aiming that high, then you need to make some serious lifestyle changes that can be sustained throughout the duration of your preparation, which is why it needs to be a realistic change and not something that will make you frustrated and burn out within three months into your studies. The basis of all is this is simply time management, there is no other way for you to achieve your goal without it.
Limit your Study Material- Seeing a pile of books stacked up on your study table may give you a sense of seriousness for JEE or it may make you believe that you are studyng for this exam better than your peers but that is not what you are supposed to here at all. You need to ask your mentors for the kind of books you need and there is only a limited set of books you will need for this paper. So, focus on those alone. You don’t have to buy every book available and more than that, it is your same Class 11 and 12 concepts that will be asked in this paper, so you are already studying them in school. You only need to perfect them and practise the kind of questions that will be asked in JEE, which are usually application-based, for which you obviously need a strong base of concepts. This also implies that you cannot ignore your NCERT books because they are what will help you form the base.