Sooraj Srinivasan (18), a student from Chennai, who has secured 99.99 percentile at the prestigious JEE Main 2020 examination believes that hard work and a lot of practice is what students need to crack this exam. He scored 285 marks out of a total of 300. Sooraj, who is a student of Pragati Public School, is now preparing for the JEE Advanced which will be held on May 17 and June 12, 2020.
The JEE Main Examination for BE/BTech was conducted by the National Testing Agency between January 7 and 9, 2020 in two shifts per day across 233 cities in the country and abroad. A total number of 9,21,261 candidates had registered for BE/BTech in the exam. Speaking to Edex, Sooraj shared the details about his preparation strategy for JEE, the driving force behind his dream to pursue engineering as a profession and other essential tips that helped him ace the exam.
Excerpts:
What was your daily routine like while you were preparing for JEE Main?
I studied for pretty much the entire day before the exam. Otherwise, I began studying three months before the JEE Mains, six to seven hours per day. I put in equal amounts of time for each subject — Physics, Chemistry and Maths, two hours each subject. I used to focus not just on the JEE Main syllabus but on the CBSE board curriculum as well as most of the questions are based on the NCERT syllabus so you are basically studying for your board exams and for JEE thus optimising your time effectively. I solved a lot of question papers before the exams, wherever I made mistakes I noted them down. And then worked on how to avoid the mistakes the next time. Any concept that I was doubtful about, I got it cleared immediately from my teachers. I also solved the previous year's question papers. It gave me a feel of how it would be to write the exam, the exam temperament because if you practice at home, time yourself then it won't be a lot of pressure at the exam hall. Pressure can lead to a loss of focus, make you forget concepts, confused and worried about your performance which is not ideal.
What was your exam preparation strategy?
I solved as many question papers as possible, practice, tried to increase my speed and accuracy when I was solving. The JEE paper has 20 objective questions and five numerical questions. In the numerical questions, your answer is supposed to be accurate up to two decimal places, even if you miss a single space your answer could be entirely wrong. It is important to keep this in mind. I was mainly focusing on two aspects — speed and accuracy and tried to improve both before the exam.
Should every student attend coaching classes, are they necessary?
For me, coaching classes at Aakash Institute helped me a lot. They provide expert faculty and great study material. Regular testing patterns such as the term exams, which helped me not only to prepare for the JEE Main but also for the advanced. All the materials you need to prepare with are well put together at coaching classes, which makes it beneficial. However, coaching is not necessary for performing in your examination but it will be an advantage while you are preparing. If you choose not to go for coaching you can still get a good rank provided you work hard.
What is your favourite subject? And which one was the toughest paper to solve?
I did not have a specific favourite but I prefer Physics and Mathematics over Chemistry. I feel Chemistry is more fact-based, you can't just use your own logic to solve the questions, you need to know and have read well to answer. In Physics, you have to be clear with your concepts and apply it in the exam correctly. Maths needs a lot of practice.
Where do you want to study after this?
I am currently preparing for the next level of JEE, which is JEE Advanced, if I get a good rank I will apply to the IITs. I have a preference for Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, however, it does depend on the rank I get.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My parents have always been my inspiration. My father is a hardware engineer and mother is a homemaker. My father helped me with the studies, encouraged me to focus on Physics and Maths, made me solve problems each day in order to make sure that I am well prepared for the exam. When I was young he used to teach me new concepts so that I had an edge over other students. My mother had studied Chemistry in her college days so she helped me with the subject.
What is your Success Mantra?
You need to work hard and practice a lot. Then there's no reason you can't be successful.
What advice would you give to future JEE aspirants?
They should manage time properly, study every chapter, not get panicked and confused before the exam for which they need to practice and solve more papers. They should not be struggling during the exam but be mentally prepared before it as to how they are going to sit for the exam. Clear any doubt about topics beforehand as it creates panic otherwise.
How did you de-stress while preparing for the exam? What are your hobbies?
I don't use social media at all. I read novels that help me cope up with the stress that I went through during the long study hours. In school, I used to play lawn tennis, football, and table tennis, however, I couldn't make time to play much before the exam.
