JEE - BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.

Hello everyone. Good to see that brilliant has created a separate JEE tag. Now that JEE 2014 is pressed and folded, and that i have been one of the candidates, i would like to draw your attention towards some essential factors which decide your success. These points, on which i will further elaborate, are born out of my own experience of preparing for JEE for 2 long years. Let us have a look at some DOs and DON'Ts which you must keep in mind during your 1 or 2 years of preparation.

1) NEVER NEGLECT BOARD LEVEL TEXTBOOKS.

It is a common myth that board level textbooks are useless for JEE and most of us tend to ignore them. If you are one of this category, then i must warn you! you are doing a great damage to yourself. Let me share with you my own experience. Until the time 3 months prior to JEE, i too used to neglect NCERT. Then, when my boards approached, i picked up NCERT , and to my utter amazement, all those topics in which i was not strong (like inorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, optics, probability, etc.), became crystal clear upon having a reading from NCERT, followed by solving in-text examples and problems. So, focus on NCERT from day 1 itself. It will help you to strengthen your fundamentals. I would suggest that whenever a fresh topic is taught in the class, you should have a reading of that topic from NCERT before the class commences. This practice will make your classes a lot more interesting and you will be able to grasp the concepts with a greater ease.

2) NEVER STRETCH YOUR CAPACITIES.

By not "stretching your capacities", i mean that you should not force your body to study beyond its capabilities. Say, for example, i have seen my batch mates who used to force themselves and used to study till 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. and also took very less sleep (5-6 hours approx.). On the other hand, i used to go to bed at 11 p.m. and used to take a hearty 8 hour sleep. More than often, i used to end up doing better than them in the phase tests. I am not boasting off, but the logic behind my reasoning is simple enough. Studying with a totally fresh mind is better isn't it? At the same time, if you find that 5-6 hours of sleep is enough for you and you find yourself fresh in the morning, then i would suggest you to continue with your habits. My only point is that never extend your body beyond its capability. That's it.

3) NEVER DEVIATE FROM BASIC LEVEL BOOKS FOR THEORY.

Now this is quite important. I have seen lot of students (including me) running after fancy foreign author books like RESNICK HALLIDAY AND WALKER, MORRISON AND BOYD, PAULA BRUICE, S.L. LONEY, etc. I mean, studying these books is a great thing, but very much time consuming. The only difference between these books and other basic level books is that these books cover the theory part in a really great depth, which is a good thing but not really required for JEE. To tell my own experience, i used to flatter myself by bringing books like J.D. LEE, UNIVERSITY PHYSICS, MORRISON AND BOYD, SOLOMEN AND FRHYLE, I.A. MARON, HALL AND KNIGHT etc. I used to enjoy thoroughly reading these books. But, at the end of the day, i used to realize that i have wasted my time. I could have scored better in my JEE, if, instead of spending time in reading these books, i had solved a few more problems from the same topic. So, my friends, i would strongly suggest that read your theory from basic books and still if you feel unsatisfied, you can just "REFER" these books. But never "READ" them whole.

Let me list some good books for theory and problems.

Note - This is my personal opinion for best combination of books. If you feel satisfied with the books which you are using, do not go for the below mentioned books. However, if you are in search of some good books, i assure you that below mentioned books can suit you greatly.

PHYSICS - THEORY

a) NCERT

b) Your coaching notes, otherwise read D.C. PANDEY (set of 5 books, arihant publications)

Note- It is my personal observation, that D.C. PANDEY, in terms of theory portion, is better than H.C. VERMA, because D.C. PANDEY is specifically designed for JEE only.

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY - THEORY

a) NCERT

b) Your coaching notes, otherwise refer O.P. TONDON for additional points.

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - THEORY

NCERT only.

Note- As far as JEE inorganic chemistry is concerned, if you take a glance at past 10 year's papers of IIT-JEE, you will recognize the fact that nothing much is asked beyond NCERT level. HOWEVER, there are some topics like COORDINATION COMPOUNDS, EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY and QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS which demand some reference apart from NCERT. For these topics, you can refer some standard coaching module. (ex. - RESONANCE, FIITJEE, BANSAL, etc.)

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - THEORY

a) NCERT

b) Your coaching notes, or notes from standard coaching module.

Note - If you do not have access to standard coaching modules, then i would suggest you to buy some good book like MORRISON AND BOYD / SOLOMEN AND FRHYLE. Again, i am warning you that do not waste time in reading the whole book. Just look up those reactions and mechanisms which are not given in NCERT but are given in JEE syllabus.

MATHEMATICS - THEORY

Hurray!!! Not much theorizing here!!! Math is a subject which is mostly based on application. Here, i would say that just go through the major formulae, understand the logic and derivation of the formulae, and then just practice loads of problems from the topic. Maintain a small diary and jot down all important formulae of math in that diary. You are done.

PHYSICS - PROBLEMS

a) H.C. VERMA - OBJECTIVE 1, OBJECTIVE 2 AND EXERCISES.

b) Your coaching material.

c) D.C. PANDEY, including solved examples.

d) Previous year problems (1978 onwards, with special emphasis on subjective problems and "true or false" problems)

e) I.E. IRODOV (Optional, only go for it if you are able to solve 95% or more problems from other sources.)

f) In last 3 months, start solving revision packages. (one provided by RESONANCE is most appropriate in my opinion).

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY - PROBLEMS

a) NCERT in-text problems and exercises.

b) Your coaching material.

c) O.P. TONDON - solved examples.

d) Previous year problems (1978 onwards, with special emphasis on subjective problems and "true or false" problems)

e) In last 3 months, start solving revision packages. (one provided by RESONANCE is most appropriate in my opinion).

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - PROBLEMS

a) NCERT in-text problems and exercises.

b) Previous year problems (1978 onwards, with special emphasis on subjective problems and "true or false" problems).

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - PROBLEMS

a) Your coaching material.

b) Conversion problems from NCERT.

c) Previous year problems (1978 onwards, with special emphasis on subjective problems and "true or false" problems).

d) Once you are done with all these, and feel confident in organic chemistry, you can try "ADVANCE PROBLEMS IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY BY HIMANSHU PANDEY".

MATHEMATICS- PROBLEMS

a) Your coaching material.

b) Previous year problems (1978 onwards, with special emphasis on subjective problems and "true or false" problems).

c) Arihant books (especially "NEW PATTERN IIT-JEE MATHEMATICS BY S.K. GOYAL)

d) Any other good source which you may find. Just make sure you practice thousands of problems from each topic)

e) In last 3 months, start solving revision packages. (one provided by RESONANCE is most appropriate in my opinion).

Note- i) Math is an art. You wont be able to master it in 2-3 months. I have seen people who kept on delaying math until they failed miserably in the end. So if you are one of those who think that "I will look after math later", Then i will just say one thing- "WAKE UP!!!".

ii) You don't have to start solving problems from above mentioned books randomly. I have listed them in order, i.e., the one at the top has to be solved first. Also, when making a transition from one book to another, keep a considerable time interval (1-2 weeks) in between.

4) ON "HOW TO MAKE NOTES"

I am one of those who believe in "STUDYING BY WRITING" methodology. It is extremely helpful way of studying. You tend to remember more stuff for a longer interval of time, if you have a habit of making your own handwritten notes. However, if you feel that you can retain things easily by reading, i would recommend you to continue your habit. This one is for those who wish to know "How to make notes". Math doesn't involve note making so following steps are in concern of physics and chemistry (especially).

a) Have a reading of NCERT prior the topic is taught in the class.

b) While sitting in the class, just concentrate on what is being taught, and don't make fair notes at that time. Just jot down the points which you find important in a rough notebook.

c) After returning to home, again go through the concepts taught in the class, recall all the explanations, and then write them down in a separate notebook in a clear, lucid and neat and clean manner.

d) Highlight the points which you find important. Also, you can refer a standard book parallely to aid the note-making.

e) Apart from these mainstream notes, i would recommend you to maintain a separate notebook for "SHORT-NOTES" , containing a brief summary (important facts, formulae, tricks, etc.) of each chapter. Make sure you don't make it too long. This will help you for quick reference at the time of revision.

5) ALWAYS HAVE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR HOBBIES.

You should always spare some time everyday for yourself, your friends, your hobbies etc. Devote some 2-3 hours to these everyday. I used to study a good deal everyday, but also, i used to go for long walks and cycling with my best mates every evening, to keep myself in good health and good spirits. Also, i used to make sure that i give fair time to my guitar and my keyboard. Remember that good music will help you to maintain positive vibes around you. Occasionally, i used to go for a classic movie, or for a game of cricket or for a dinner at a restaurant. These things will freshen you up and will prevent you from living a monotonous life.

And finally, do spend time on BRILLIANT!!!

Feel free to comment you views and to ask any kind of doubts..

More to follow......!!!!!

EDIT 1 - Hey guys.. thanks for liking this note. I am having vacations right now, and besides coding and reading some novels, i have nothing much productive to do. So, if you guys would be kind enough to give me some suggestions on further notes which i can write on JEE, i would be extremely obliged to you all!! Thanks again!

EDIT 2 - Hello everybody! It has been almost 3 years since I wrote this note. I have not been on brilliant since then, as my life changed radically and took some very unexpected turns. I just visited the website today to have a fresh air of nostalgia and was overwhelmed by your responses.I would like to ask you guys a question : How are you? How have you been doing? How is JEE going on? Feel free to comment and I will love to read your thoughts and stories:) If you have any questions, then shoot! I will try to answer as much as possible.

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JEE - BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.

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