How can I prepare for IIT JEE by self-study?

This is one of the most common questions we come across. There has been a myth since ages that the biggest ingredient required to crack IIT JEE is coaching from a reputed online coaching platform or any institute that provides in person. It is true to some extent because we get to hear of students cracking IIT JEE from those institutes and platform.

While many have the affordability in opting for IIT JEE coaching in order to crack the nut, a majority of families can’t afford it. Does that mean, self-study can’t help one of being successful? Let us not forget that there had been students who couldn’t crack this highly competitive entrance even after running after coaching because they were completely reliant on the classroom either online or offline and paid no attention to hard-work that has to be the part and parcel of the plan.

On the other hand, there have been examples where students with or without coaching paid more heed to self-study and accomplished the task at hand of clearing IIT JEE. Coaching gets more weightage when a sum or concept gets tougher to understand. In such scenario, you need an expert to help you out but what after that? It is the labor that you put into your study and that is termed as self-study. If you are up for it, with all your determination poured, here are a few tips that you can follow religiously.

Tips for self-study to crack IIT JEE
While IIT JEE coaching from a reputed and result oriented institute is necessary, you can’t assume that it is the only way to outsmart other aspirants. There can be two aspects of it; Self-study with coaching and self-study without coaching.

Pointers for self-study with coaching

• Revision: The biggest mistake a student makes when going to a coaching centre is that he or she thinks studying in the classroom is enough and no revision is required. Mind you! Nothing can be retained in mind unless revised and practised several times. Same applies here. Dedicate two to three hours in revising what you had learned in the coaching. While you are revising, you can try the technique of underlying the concepts that are important. This was whenever you see the underlines, it will ring a bell that you need to revise. In this case, the phrase “practice makes a man perfect” holds absolutely true.
• Study Material: While a particular book will be followed in your coaching group, you can always look for the best study materials for a better understanding of the concept taught already. You will have more examples and more extensive study. Follow NCERT, R.D Sharma Objective for competitions (Volume 1 and 2) for grabbing the upper edge for Mathematics. Together with the study material, try hands on graphs too.

For Inorganic Chemistry, once again follow NCERT, and the questions that are frequently covered in the entrance.
For Organic Chemistry, NCERT again is a must together with Morrison and BOYD.
For Physics, refer to H.C Verma, Understanding Physics Series and of course, the frequently asked questions.

• Organised habit: Ensure that your notebooks are meant for a specific topic. You can differentiate them by keeping a separate one for formulae and technical notes like chemical formulae etc while you can keep theory notebooks for that purpose only.

Pointers for self-study without any coaching
By taking the decision of not taking admission in any of the IIT JEE coaching centres, you have proved your confidence and the determination to work harder. You are a few steps away now to crack one of the highly esteemed entrance examinations in the country. The steps are mentioned below.

• Focus, Focus and Focus: Now that you have already decided on doing the self-study and not relying on any other source, you have proved that you can do it. Trust me! Many have cracked IIT JEE in the first attempt through self-study. Remain focused, no matter what comes your way.
• Follow your routine diligently: There is no short cut to success and it has been rightly said by someone. Prepare a routine from morning to evening and a few hours at night. It is never enough time when you want to crack something as difficult as IIT JEE. Focus is the mantra. Adhere to the time allotted for each topic and revise thoroughly because that is how you will be able to cover all the topics within a stipulated time and also have time to revise later. You can devote 60% of your time for theories and 40% for practice. This will enable a better understanding of any concept.
• Study Materials: When you have the pressure of self-studying, be it for any reason, you need the study materials that are relevant for the entrance. While it is true that in order to crack IIT JEE, buying NCERT books on the subjects and topics stated will help at a large scale, you may take reference from solved question papers of the past few years. Question bank has helped many in preparing extensively for the entrance. You might want to try it too. Questions banks help you if you try solving each of the questions in a way you are preparing for your real exam. This way you will know how much time you are dedicating to complete a set of questions.
• Interact or watch videos of students who cleared IIT JEE: It is advisable to follow the footprints of the students who had cleared in the past without coaching. You will know the strategies they had applied. You can mix and match those strategies as per your style of learning because everyone’s method of learning differs. You will get an extensive idea of dos and don’ts for self-study. They will definitely prove to be beneficial for you.
• Don’t ignore your Meals: While you are in the tunnel vision of preparing, you may ignore your meals considering it to be least important. Don’t fall for that mistake because if you don’t eat well to gain energy and drink well to hydrate your body, you may fall prey to diseases. Your productivity and rigor will deteriorate as your body and mind won’t be in a healthy state of mind.
• Meditate and exercise: Well, meditating benefits your overall and exercise keeps your body fit. As they say “health is wealth”, you need to dedicate a specific time for meditation and exercise. This will also help you rejuvenate from hectic schedule of study.

While these are the ways one can prep himself or herself well for the upcoming IIT JEE, you can keep yourself motivated by learning the fact that there is an approximately equal number of candidates clearing IIT JEE without a coaching and with coaching. The choice is yours and definitely, the result depends on your preparation.

By: Aditya Singhal