JEE – What Next?
JEE Main – comes every year with a lot of talk and furor. This year, it has been the same. This year it was conducted between Jan 8 and 12 in two shifts. A total of 11,09,250 candidates registered (9,29,198 for Paper-I & 1,80,052 for Paper II) for JEE Main 2019. This year, the national testing agency (NTA) has conducted JEE Main in fully computer-based test mode (CBT) for the very first time. Students will also get another chance to appear for JEE Main 2019 in the month of April.
The candidates who will qualify JEE Main will be eligible for appearing in JEE Advanced 2019, which is the next level for admissions to Indian Institute of Technology (IITs). Only candidates who will qualify JEE Advanced 2019 will be shortlisted for final admissions to IITs. However, the successful candidates of JEE Main 2019 can take admission in different NITs, GFTIs and IIITs.
The winning ratio
There are 24,000 seats in all in the National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Infomation Technology and other government-funded technical institutes 12,00,000 youngsters sit for the exam. For every 50 students, 1 will get a desirable seat. With these odds at stake, the pressure that can haunt a student before the second attempt can be unmanageable.
How to evaluate your score:
In case you have appeared for JEE Main this year, and are confused about the score you need to be very clear about percentage and percentile.A percentage is simply a representation of a proportion out of 100. To say three out of every six is the same as to say fifty out of every hundred, in other words, fifty percent. On the other hand, a percentile is a statistical measure of distribution. For a given set of data, it is the level below which a certain percentage of the data falls. Percentile scores are based on the relative performance of all those candidates who appear for the examination. It is obtained after transforming the scores into a scale ranging from 100 to 0 for each session of examinees.
Percentile Score shows the percentage of candidates who have scored equal to or below a particular percentile in an exam. It is the normalized score and not the raw scores. After normalization, each topper of a session will get the same percentile of 100 which is the desirable one. Also, the marks between the lowest and highest scores are also converted to the respective percentiles.
The formula used is – number of candidates appeared in the session with a raw sore equal to or less than the candidate divided by the total number of students appeared into 100.
The rank calculated is (100- NTA percentile score ) X no of students appeared /100
If NTA percentile score is 90.70, JEE Main rank will be (100-90.70 ) X 874469/100 = 81325. Now, this becomes a dampener owing to the increasing number of students taking the exam.
NTA has announced that normalization will be session wise so the percentile score you got would be relative to the others in your session. This score denotes the percentage of candidates who have scored equal to or below (same or lower raw scores) in that particular percentile in that examination.
What to learn from your previous score:
National Testing Agency (NTA) declared JEE Main 2019 result for January session on January 19. Now, the question arises, whether to go in for the April 2019 exam. The answer is ‘Yes’. If you appear in both the exams i.e. in January and April then the percentile score for both exam will be compared. The highest percentile will be considered. If you appear in one, the final result will be based on that attempt only.
Revise your strategy
You need to have a biforked strategy this time- one to revamp your preparation and two- the strategy on the day of the exam. It is certainly believed that when you prepare for the second attempt to take the exam, you can adopt better strategies needed for revamp of the preparation. This will help you to possess good chances of clearing the entrance exam in comparison to your first attempt. Besides this, in the second attempt, you can secure a better rank as well.
It will be useful when you first analyze the chapters that you should concentrate on. This will assist you to move ahead as you will understand the do’s and don’ts faced during the first time preparing for the exam. You can tackle the problems in the most efficient way by the method of study adopted. You can also avail the guidance needed from expert faculties throughout your preparation time. It will help you to exercise additional effort required to revamp your preparation for the second attempt effortlessly. The other benefit that you can derive is that you can avail the help of online training programs conducted, and assistance through backup classes. Another strategy is to concentrate on Maths because if there is a tie, the following is kept in mind:
(a) Candidates obtaining higher Percentile Score in Mathematics will get a higher rank.
(b) Candidates obtaining higher Percentile Score in Physics will get a higher rank.
(c) Candidates obtaining higher Percentile Score in Chemistry will get a higher rank.
(d) Candidates older in age will get a higher rank.
On the exam day, you must remember that you have done everything you could have. Try and relax by reading newspaper or magazines etc. Go for a walk in the evening before the exam but avoid eating outside. Stay healthy as this also contributes towards your performance.
Another thought that worries every student on the exam day is about how stiff the competition is. It cannot be predicted whether you make it or not. What you should be thinking at that time is not whether you will make it or not but how to give your best with the preparation you have done. Last but not least, you should not worry about the topics that you could not do properly. There is no need to do anything now that you have not done in the last one or two years. It is best to do revise formulae and scientific names that you have done in the past.
Student Speak
“I think taking the January attempt has equipped me well to show up better for my final attempt in April. It also gave me a fair idea of how can I better manage my time during the exam without being flustered like how I was in my first attempt. The PCM percentile has helped me realize where I should focus my energy to improve my overall score.”
Saksham Verma
M.G.N. Public School, Jalandhar
While we have covered all the hows, we should not forget the importance of your ‘why’. The reason why you persevered for the last two years is not just to prove that you are better than your peers in physics, chemistry or mathematics; the why is much deeper. It might be going to your dream University or making your parents proud. I would recommend every student who has taken this exam to sit with their score from the first attempt in solitude and ponder over why they had started. Once you have your ‘why’ write it down and affirm it every single morning before you start your preparation.
At the end of the day, the stress pertaining to your parents, competition or coaching institutes won’t fade away just like that; you will have to find a way through it. Find your ‘why’ and let it fuel the journey you are on.
