Passion in the Process
“When I was young, I did not have a career goal; nobody does. It is only later that I realized I was good at Maths and Science, and that studying in an IIT could be interesting. I took up Computer Science in school and I was sure that I would take it up in college too.
Yes, cracking JEE is considered to be a very big achievement in this country. When I meet my other friend’s parents, or even my parents and their friends, they all have a different attitude towards me. They put me on a pedestal and give a ‘you-have-your-life-figured-out’ kind of treatment. People ask my dad to give them my number so that their son or daughter can get advice from me. The point is, I don’t mind helping anyone, but I am a student too, it is not like I have figured everything out. JEE is just an exam to get into a college. The competition is what makes it so glorious. I cracked JEE in my first attempt and got AIR 68. One thing I did in those three years was that I didn’t miss a single class. But eventually the truth is, even after you get into an IIT, there is a lot of effort that needs to be put in and a lot of things could still go wrong.
I never felt low if I did not perform well. I always try to see the silver lining in everything. Let me give you a small example. Once I scored very low in a HIT (prep test) where I usually rank in the top 20s. That should have made me sad, but it did not. Instead, I made a list of the questions I got wrong and figured out the reason for each of them. It felt like solving a crime scene — did I mark the bubble wrong, did I solve it in a hurry, did I not know the concept and was I just guessing. This self-analysis of mistakes was a great learning technique. I knew that if I make a mistake then, I would never make it in the JEE. There is a lot of passion that goes into the preparation and you cannot force somebody to do it. It has to be your own choice to go through it. If there is no passion or drive, then it is impossible.”
Top Tips:
1. Do not look for a formula to crack JEE.
2. Studying excessively hard is not the solution. It is about how much confidence you have in the subject.
3. Never be stressed about anything during your preparation time because the prep test scores do not count, what happens on that final day will count.
-Mayank Sharan | AIR 68 | 3rd year Computer Science | IIT Delhi
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