Cracking the IIT-JEE

Have you ever wondered what the ‘secret’ of topping IIT JEE is? How to prepare for IIT JEE like a topper?

To answer these questions and more, ConceptOwl founder Rajan Singh, Prasoon’s senior from IIT Kanpur, sat down to chat with him.

Question (Rajan): Did you expect to top IIT JEE? Is getting All India Rank 1 all about intelligence or more than that?

Answer (Prasoon): No, absolutely not. I did not expect to top IIT JEE. I was doing well in the mock tests and was expecting to crack JEE but I was far from 100% confident. In fact, I wrote four other engineering entrance exams (e.g., Roorkee (it had a separate test in 1990's, West Bengal JEE) before the IITJEE results came out.

Cracking IITJEE or topping it is NOT just about intellect. Many people have the intelligence required to crack IIT JEE. What really matters is how you master the fundamental concepts.

To do that you need:

• A solid preparation methodology
• Consistent and balanced study routine
• High concentration

Everything else will take care of itself.

Question: Tell us how you prepared for IIT JEE and what you did differently.

Answer: I kept things simple and had a singular focus – understanding the fundamentals extremely well.

Remember, it is NOT about the number of questions you solve or how many hours you study. It is about concept clarity.

Which means, I did not rush to just solve questions but invested time to grasp the theory. In Physics, I would read Resnick Halliday very carefully, and give it as much time as needed to fully absorb the concepts.

I maintained a very regular schedule. I would give the credit of my success to:

1. A steady schedule: studying everyday regularly
2. Focus on understanding concepts extremely well
3. High concentration while studying
4. Some smart study techniques, which I will talk about

Question: Ok, please give us some tips on how to crack IIT JEE. What techniques did you find most effective?

Answer: Here are a few things I did which really helped:

• I spent much more time on theory than most people do. Put a lot of emphasis on reading good books like Resnick Halliday and S.L. Loney. You really don’t need any fancy books.
• Before attempting problems, I would understand the theory and write it back in my own words to fully absorb the concepts. It is a simple but amazingly effective technique.
  • I did this not just in chemistry, which has more theory, but also in physics and to some extent in math.
  • I would read multiple times if needed. Give time for concepts to settle down.
• Solving quality problems: e.g., I would solve all the problems in Resnick Halliday in each chapter. [The 2ndedition had 30-40 questions in each chapter. Newer editions now have 60-70.]
• Give time to all subjects. I was more interested in Physics and Maths, but I deliberately gave sufficient time to Chemistry as well. It made a huge difference.
• Where possible, try to solve the same problem using different concepts.
  • g., in Physics, if I had solved a ‘mechanics’ problem using laws of motion, in a later chapter I would try to solve it using energy.
  • When you see how different concepts connect with each other, it gives you immense clarity.

Question: Give us some tips on the methodology that you followed and what worked for you.

Answer: Here is what worked for me:

• A step ladder for mastering concepts:
  • Initially master each concept and solve problems relating to that concept. I did that in Maths and it worked amazingly well for me.
  • Later solve problems involving multiple concepts across a chapter
  • Then solve questions covering concepts across chapters
• Learning by ‘Cheating’ :
  • When I could not solve a whole bunch of Irodov problems, I would look at the solutions of one or two problems, and see how they applied the concepts. Often that would give ideas on how to crack other problems. Let us call it ‘cheating’ (the good type of cheating)!
  • But don’t go and see the answers to all the questions. Just look at one or two, and then try to solve others. Trying to solve problems you are stuck at makes you think hard and helps solidify concepts.
• Relationship among chapters: when you read a new chapter, think about how relates to what you have studied earlier. E.g., how conservation of energy can solve the problems solved using newton’s second law.

Question: How many hours did you study?

Answer:  I did not study very long hours but I had a very regular schedule. During school days I would study 5-6 hours after school. I took breaks between study and would sleep at 10 PM without exception.

Some people study without any break for long hours. I would not recommend studying late in the night and cutting on your sleep. It will badly affect your efficiency, and ability to absorb and learn the next day.

Question: If you did not study long hours, you must have done something to make your preparation so effective?

Answer:  When studying I would be in a very high concentration zone and would be completely absorbed in it. I could do that because I was genuinely interested in understanding the subject and was not studying only to crack an exam.

That helped me truly master the concepts, which I was able to apply in JEE even when questions were difficult.

Because I understood the concepts really well, I got the 5th rank in West Bengal JEE, though its syllabus and pattern was very different from that of IIT JEE.

Question:What are the biggest mistakes IIT JEE aspirants make?

Answer: There are quite a few. Here are some mistakes I can think of.

• Many people ignore some subjects (especially Chemistry) and focus on subjects they love. That is a huge mistake.
  • Even liked Physics and Maths more, but I put equal effort into Chemistry and ultimately started liking it just as much.
• Some people try to guess the exam pattern, and focus on ‘important topics’ and ignore others, especially difficult topics.
  • This is dangerous since IIT JEE pattern can drastically change year to year.
  • I studied all topics instead of focusing on so-called ‘important’ topics. E.g., Mechanics was supposed to be hard and I mastered it really well. It helped me a lot since many questions in JEE were from Mechanics.
• It is a big mistake to cut down on sleep and study very late in the night. It reduces your effectiveness the next day and hurts your preparation badly.
• Not balancing your schedule: e.g., if (God forbid) you have a tuition at 6 AM, don’t study till midnight. Plan to wrap your studies by 9 PM.
• Often people focus on solving large number of problems instead of solving quality problems,which deepen your concepts. IIT JEE needs depth;it does not matter how many problems you have solved.
• When revising, most students just solve more problems without visiting theory again. This can be a mistake.

Question: What were the mistakes you made in IIT JEE preparation and what would you do differently?

Answer:  Looking back, these are some of the mistakes I committed.

• I made notes of key formulas and concepts, but never referred to them while revising. I used to read the books all over again. This slowed me down a lot.
  • As a result I could not fully revise the class 12th
  • Take notes and use them to revise. Notes are powerful tools and you should use them well.
• I did not have a study circle of friends for group study. I think it would have really helped if I had done that. In 1993, 34 students cleared IIT-JEE. 33 (all except me) did a classroom training under RN Singh. Though I did not have a circle, but I could focus more on self-study.

Question: Many students feel overwhelmed and panic. Any advice?

Answer:  You should take your time to understand the concepts and there is no need to be far ahead of the syllabus. E.g., when I was in class 11th, I was not able to solve even one problem from Irodov. And that is okay.

Only in 12th did I start solving Irodov problems. Even then, I did not do all the problems till the very end.

So my advice is to not panic if you have not done all the problems you had targeted. If you have understood the concepts well, you will do fine.

When revising, find time to revisit theory and not just solve problems.

Question: Tell us about the day when you heard that you had topped JEE. What was your reaction?

Answer:  The memory of that day is absolutely fresh – I was traveling back from my village and I heard the news when I reached Bokaro. It was totally unbelievable. In my heart of hearts, I wasn’t even 100% confident cracking IIT JEE! Hence I was planning to write all the other entrance exams. Topping IIT JEE was something I had never imagined of.

So my advice to all aspirants is that don’t worry if you have self-doubts. Stay focused on learning and you will do fine.

Question: Did you participate in math Olympiad and would you recommend it?

Answer: I never participated in math Olympiad. We did not have that exposure in Bokaro Steel City for the same. It is good to try it but not at the cost of losing focus on mastering the fundamentals.

Question: Have you ever considered teaching for IITJEE or do something in that field? How do coaching classes help the test preparation?

Answer: Teaching a topic is very different from knowing it. As of now, I would love to focus on computer science, which I truly love.

Coaching classes like Bansal’s were created by very well known teachers and would have created a very solid learning methodology. One can see the results in the large number of successful candidates they have produced.

I had taken the 1-year Agrawal Classes course, which had succinct notes at the beginning of each chapter, which I found very useful. I am sure the quality of material available today would be even better.

Question (Rajan): Thanks Prasoon for taking the time.

Answer (Prasoon): It was great talking to you and I hope this is of use to the IIT aspirants. Success in IIT JEE needs hard work but you don’t need to study crazy hours – just focus on basics and be regular. Finally, you need a bit of luck. On that note, my best wishes to all your readers!

Short Bio: Prasoon graduated with B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur and works as a software professional in Bangalore. For him software is a tool to solve interesting problems, which is what he loves doing. He is an amazingly down to earth person, who is very kind and approachable.