No shortcut to success
From giving up on favourite shows to eating outside food, the JEE toppers had to make changes in their lifestyle to taste success. Preparing for JEE can be exhausting and managing school and coaching classes together can be extremely taxing. Here’s what it has taken them to crack the code
For almost two years, Md Sahil Akhtar boycotted the avenues of entertainment to concentrate on Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2023. The DPS Ruby Park, Kolkata student scored 99.98 percentile and wants to do research in the field of physics and astrophysics. Most of the JEE Main 2023 toppers inform Millennium Post that though they failed to follow a fixed routine, they didn’t sacrifice their sleep and also avoided junk food before the mega exam.
“Eating healthy, especially home-cooked food, and a good 6-7 hours of sleep helped me concentrate better,” said Amrutanshu Mohanty of SAI International School, Bhubaneswar. Mohanty secured a 99.97 percentile and wants to pursue computer science at IIT Bombay.
Attending schools regularly during JEE preparation might seem quite daunting for most students. However, for JEE Main 2023 toppers, the school has proved to be a strong foundation that prepares them well for the exam. Though most of them took study leave, the toppers unanimously agree that their teachers were available 24x7 to help them out.
“Today, the JEE Main syllabus is related to the CBSE. Yes, we need to study a few chapters extra for JEE Main, but it is not much of a problem,” said Arjoe Basak of DPS Ruby Park. With his eyes set on JEE Advanced 2023 preparations, Basak, who got 99.86 percentile in JEE Main, wants to pursue computer science from a top IIT.
Dhruv Agarwal, a student of Class XII from The Heritage School, Kolkata, scored 99.87 percentile in JEE Main. It wasn’t an easy task for him to balance both school and JEE preparations. “One has to keep pace with school studies to score well in the ISC exams. Simultaneously, we need to prepare for the JEE, which is also undertaken to get admissions to premium IITs. Whenever I used to go to school, I was back by 3 pm and then used to study till 7 pm. Post dinner, I used to listen to the recorded lectures given by my teachers from 8 pm till midnight,” he said.
Mohanty gives credit to his teachers at SAI International School for his incredible achievement. “Though it’s tough to balance school and JEE preparations, my teachers helped me out with the school curriculum so that I could concentrate on JEE. And they were available at odd hours too,” he said.
Basak echoed similar sentiments and said how teachers at DPS Ruby Park helped the Class XII student with extra information and notes.
Akhtar, meanwhile, was a special case. “I informed the school about my medical problem. Also, I had to go to an international event. Hence, I couldn’t attend many classes this session. Also, a lot of my friends took permission and the teachers have been very helpful in this matter. They understood our priorities,” said the Class XII student of DPS Ruby Park.
Joyoti Chaudhuri, principal, DPS Ruby Park, Kolkata also stressed the importance to attend school regularly. “Regularity gives discipline in life. It helps students to understand and practice time management better. The school lays the foundation for JEE. We emphasise clearing the concepts of all topics. If the students grasp the concepts well, solving analytical questions for JEE becomes easy. Since competency-based questions have been introduced by the CBSE in Board question papers, more stress is given in classrooms to solve such questions. This helps in JEE preparations immensely,” she said.
Pradip Agarwal, CEO, Heritage Group of Institutions, Kolkata, acknowledged the hard work and tireless efforts of the teachers to help students score well in JEE.
Ask the toppers about their success mantra and they said attempting mock tests, previous-year questions and NCERT books did the job.
[Clockwise: Dhruv Agarwal, Md Sahil Akhtar, Arjoe Basak and Amrutanshu Mohanty]
Akhtar, Mohanty and Basak swear by the NCERT books especially when it comes to chemistry. Dhruv, whose dream is to get into IIT Bombay, recommends the materials given by teachers and coaching institutes. “The class notes also helped me a lot. I used to read books by HC Verma and DC Pandey for chemistry,” said the Heritage School student. Akhtar, too, recommends books by HC Verma for physics.
Meanwhile, the stress during exams takes a toll on students. Mohanty talks about experiencing similar conditions just before his JEE Main because he couldn’t revise the subjects well.
Debarati Pathak, a Social Science teacher at South Point High School said students can make a proper timetable and allot slots to each subject and topic to ease the pressure. She also mentioned how proper rest and healthy food habits help to cope with exam anxiety. “Since the syllabus is huge, last-moment studies can sometimes lead to stress. A well-made timetable can be of much help as a child can cover every topic and devote time to each subject. Also, proper sleep will not only help a child to concentrate well but also assist in grasping the topics better. Weary eyes can hardly retain anything as the student is struggling to keep awake and study,” she said.
Both Chaudhuri and Pathak also emphasised setting realistic goals and then making a blueprint to achieve them. “Time is the most important asset in one’s life and its management is a skill that you need to enhance to succeed. If you have not adopted any shortcut, you need not fear,” Chaudhuri said.
