Rising before the sun, shooting for the moon: The story of every JEE aspirant

JEE (Main) is conducted for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes at NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded technical institutions, and institutions or universities funded or recognised by participating state governments. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Eighteen-year-old Sumit Kumar used the ‘Pomodoro technique’, a time management method that breaks his rigorous study time into intervals followed by short breaks, usually sipping tea with his mother, providing him some respite from studying hundreds of formulas.

However, everything changed when the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that session 1 of the JEE (Main) examination will be held in January. “It was just 40 days from my board exams and the syllabus was complete,” Kumar says.

Still, he gathered himself for the attempt. “It did not go well due to lack of practice, he frowned, adding, “but I have decided to do well in my second attempt.”

Kumar’s challenge is a glimpse of students’ ordeal while preparing for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). JEE (Main) is conducted for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes at NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded technical institutions, and institutions or universities funded or recognised by participating state governments. It is also an eligibility test for JEE (Advanced), which is conducted for admission to IITs.

loans, peer pressure, rigorous study routine and the constant feeling of not making to the list. Last year, more than 10 lakh students applied for JEE (Main) and only 2.5 lakh qualified. The number was around 41,000 for JEE (Advanced)." width="935" height="708" /> (Sumit Kumar, a JEE aspirant)

The journey is hard. Loans, peer pressure, rigorous study routine and the constant feeling of not making up to the list. Last year, more than 10 lakh students applied for JEE (Main) and only 2.5 lakh qualified. Further, the number was reduced to around 41,000 for JEE (Advanced).

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“Students, as well as parents, are now more serious and focused on cracking the competitive exams and preparing for them. In previous years, they were more focussed on cracking the board exams,” Srinivas Konduti, Director, Sanjay Ghodawat IIT & Medical Academy, Maharashtra, told Moneycontrol.

Ready for another challenge

After completing 12th last year, Sumit Kumar tried his hands in major national exams, like the NDA, CUET and JEE, but did not qualify for any due to “lack of direction and focus”. Next came the decision to enter an engineering institution. However, a private college was not an option due to the high fee.

The only way was to re-prepare for JEE through coaching centres but the money situation was tight. “We borrowed from our acquaintances, and it took us two months to submit the fees,” Kumar, who is based in Madangir, Delhi, told Moneycontrol.

He dedicates 18-19 hours for studies –from 5 am till 8 am. After a one-hour break, he leaves for a five-hour-long coaching session and comes back to again sit for self-study, and, finally, goes to sleep around 11 in the night.

“The recent attempt was not good. However, I am ready for another. Whenever I feel demotivated, bhakti songs make me cool,” Kumar says.

Experimenting their ways

As a student preparing for IIT JEE, 19-year-old Anupam Kumar has faced several challenges, especially during COVID-19 -- from the lack of in-person classes and limited access to resources. With schools and coaching centres closed, it was difficult to get the guidance and support he needed to succeed.

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A resident of Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand, Kumar experimented with a variety of edtech platforms. “Since they were all live-streamed classes at first, there was no method for me to ask doubts, and I also couldn’t afford it,” he said.

Kumar’s father, a crane operator at the Bokaro plant, is the family's sole bread-winner. “My father played a crucial role in helping me meet all of my needs. He borrowed money from the bank and donated all of his savings for my academic pursuits.”

(19-year-old Anupam Kumar, a JEE aspirant)

Kumar also tutors young children to earn extra money. Nevertheless, he began studying independently by watching free online videos that were available on YouTube.

Studying online has advantages and disadvantages. One gets frequently distracted and he received poor marks in his 11th grade examination. He quit social media and decided to take a one-year break after class 12 to focus on IIT JEE preparation. Now, self-study is in focus.

“To keep motivated, I reminded myself of my ultimate goal. I focused on my future and visualised myself as an IIT graduate and the impact that I could make in the world,” he told Moneycontrol.

If he doesn't qualify for IIT JEE, he is confident of several career options to choose from. “I have been considering studying engineering at a different institute or exploring other fields such as computer science, statistics, or finance.”

“This journey has taught me that success is not determined by the obstacles we face but by our attitude towards them,” he adds.

Choose your method

Adamya Vikram Singh, a 16-year-old resident of Pandara Road in Delhi, has been preparing for JEE for the last two years and he has learned that the key is to follow a studying method of one’s own.

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“A lot of times, students tend to adopt timetables of those scoring well, while, in reality, the methods working for them don't need to work for you, too,” he says.

For instance, Singh’s schedule includes getting back from school and attending his online classes from 4 pm to 6 pm. After one hour of break, he again dives into five hours of self-study, divided by a one-hour break during dinner.

(16-year-old Adamya Vikram Singh, a JEE aspirant)

“Sometimes, I am really tired due to the hectic schedule of my life. The only motivation I have is to imagine making my parents proud,” Singh says, whose Plan B would be to pursue courses related to the JavaScript language.

Getting familiar with the patterns of competitive exams is one of the major challenges students and parents face, says Konduti. “While the board exams are more content-based, competitive exams are more concept-based and getting familiar with choice-based questionnaires is the major challenge that students face.”

“Competition is very fierce and it is obvious that not everyone will get through. But even when they do not get into premier colleges, many do get into very good institutes, Konduti says, adding, “the journey is more important than the destination.”

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