What should IIT-aspirants expect from distance learning programme?

Even while studying in grade 9 and 10, most of the students start contemplating their dreams and career aspirations. This is the time when they begin to take ownership of choosing the right career path to fulfil their dreams. Engineering still continue to be the most sought after career choices for the students.

When it comes to enter into prestigious IIT, the JEE not only tests the students for the hard work they have put in but also for their contingent intelligence.The primary purpose of JEE is to filter candidates with right aptitude for the Engineering profession. So, the initial question which very often emerges in the mind of any serious JEE Aspirant is: “HOW TO CRACK JEE?”

There are several distance learning programs available in the market but in this era of cut throat competition, an ideal distance learning program that can sail you through the gruelling tests and take you to the doorstep of success shouldbe a mix of various aspects of coaching and should comprise of the following:

• Concept Based Study Material- A serious JEE aspirant has many challenges like coping up with his own studies while preparing for JEE and matching his preparation with the unpredictable pattern of JEE Exam. The answers to these challenges is a true concept based study material which includes objective as well as subjective problems of varying degrees of difficulty levels of JEE to strengthen problem-solving skills.
• Fine-tune with a student’s pace of learning and preferences-An ideal distance learning program facilitates the student in order to enable him/her combine board exams and JEE preparation without having to squeeze in scheduled classes to an already busy life.
• Practical Assessment of all fundamentals- The student should be able to study the material at home along with regular online and offline feedbacksto enhance the competitive performance of the student.
• Complete coverage of theoretical parts- A comprehensive coverage of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics is essential to build solid fundamental foundation.
• Graded levels of assignments -After having finished the concept based study, exercises, solved examples and additional set of problems are essential to demonstrate concepts with pre-planned time limits for completion of the same.
• Regular conceptual doubt clearing sessions-Studying at home sometimes is not sufficient as the student may be having certain doubts and difficulties which can only be clarified in the physical presence and interaction with the faculty. This is essential to seal the loopholes in a student’s JEE preparation.
• Mock Tests in simulated JEE environment-to enablestudents develop better time management skills andhelp them identify their weak as well as strong points. These mock tests can give ample practice as they teach the students to respond promptly to tricky questions and manage speed and time.

Effective Test Analysis-After every mock test, student need to analyse his/her relative performance among the large pool of students as well as identify improvement areasalong with remedial suggestions and tips to improvement strike rate. All this should happen in the presence of faculty so that a realistic and practical picture can be painted to each student.

Benchmarking-Among a group of Several Lakhs of serious JEE aspirants the benchmarking of the performance enhances the chances of a student to be successful.

This comprehensive analysis apprises students to analyse their mistakes, shortcomings in terms of concept, pattern and difficulty level and improve their score to the maximum potential. It also includes subject-wise analysis of marks based on difficulty level of problems and types of questions along with multi-level pie charts that give students a fair idea of what they have scored, what they have lost and most importantly what they could have secured by avoiding silly mistakes.

In addition to the studies and academics, the students also need to maintain the true JEE temperament in order to succeed. A Right study program banded together with a structured self-study plan can make accomplishing your IIT dream easier. Here are the few tips to inculcate in your preparation for JEE.

• NCERT Textbooks-Don’t ignore your board exam syllabus and NCERT textbooks since the same form an integral part of JEE (Main & Advanced).
• Practice more and more problems-Solve at least 50 numerical problems of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics daily to get a better understanding of the subjects.This should be a daily habit.
• Time Limit-Setting time limits on questions will help to improve upon speed.
• Formulate a Strategy- and prioritize the subjects in terms of your strong areas and weak areas.Start with hardest concepts and work your way to the easier ones, keeping separate notes for the difficult sections.
• Previous Year’s JEE Test Papers-Solve previous year’s test papers on daily basis to increase your speed and accuracy levels. Analyse the mistakes which you often make and slow you down.
• Analytical Approach-Since problems in IIT-JEE are not direct application of a concept, mere learning of a concept does not suffice. Hence it is essential to develop your analytical skills to apply various concepts simultaneously in solving tricky problems step-by-step.
• Day-to-day Progress-Don’t quit before achieving your daily target. Improvements made on daily basis gives a strong ground to face any contingency on examination day.

Any student seriously preparing for JEE knows that every step toward this goal should be conjoined with meticulous thinking, hard-work, exceptional premeditation and perseverance. Like every apple in a basket is not same, in the same way every student is not the same, so in order to begin your JEE journey on the right foot,before signing up for just any distance learning study program, be sure to fully comprehend not only the best suited option of the study program that aligns withyour interests and goals but also its fringe benefits which will add value to your JEE preparation.

By: Amit Bansal
The writer is National Head of FIITJEE NCRP