Many Passages to a Single Destination

Sarath Syam
Some study engineering because they have a passion for the science others take up the discipline simply because they consider engineering as a path to a glorious career. Nevertheless, in the Indian education scenario, those who wish to acquire an engineer tag need to go through a screening called �The Entrance Exam.� To fulfill the purpose, institutions, state education boards and national universities across the country provides enormous number of entrance tests.

From the plethora of entrance exams, JEE Main, JEE Advanced and BITSAT (Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test) are three tests, which have been given a separate slot by the candidates. It is obvious that performing well in these exams will lead the students to any one of the top ranked engineering institutes. Preparing for such tests will help students to improve their confidence levels to attend any other exams. More than that, facing questions that are prepared by top class authorities will be a challenging experience.

For engineering aspirants and their parents, the whole knowledge is concentrated on three big alphabets � PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). Many educationalists from the engineering education sector also agree with that belief. According to them, the curriculum of engineering is complex and only a student who has passion towards engineering subjects and strong fundamentals in PCM can excel in this grueling program. Elimination of 98 percent of applicants in JEE every year shows that cracking the best quality entrance exams is not an easy task.

Cracking the test is not an Easy Task

It is a widely known fact that engineering entrance exams are one of the toughest tests to clear. If 12th exam is a test of memory, then entrance exams add the test of speed to it. Those who are passionate and fascinated about engineering should start necessary preparations from the high school level and the doors of good engineering institutes will open up for them.

In this scenario, the destination is more evident and it is imperative to understand the starting point. Students need to understand their strengths and weaknesses for any test preparation. They can be strong in Mathematics, average in Physics and clueless in Chemistry. Understanding this will help them in creating a concrete plan to turn their weaknesses into strengths from an examination standpoint. Nobody can undermine the importance of planning when doing any important task, and if it means preparing for exams like JEE, students should be even more careful. The study plan should be created in such a way that they should able to complete their syllabus on time.

More than analytical abilities, engineering entrance exams are a test of nerve. What do students need to do the day before the exam?

Many people may suggest a checklist of to-do items. The crux of every suggestion is about keeping calm. Nobody can resist thinking about the big day but just as too many cooks can spoil the broth, too many of thoughts can ruin the confidence. Going for a walk and talking about the exam with somebody who has supported well enough during the days preparations will help the students to relax and find better focus. Finally, make sure that every tool like pen, pencil and eraser are ready and keep them in safe position before going to bed.

While the whole preparation will come to the climax on the day of the exam and it is important to give the best performance in those couple of life-deciding hours. As per the analysis of many entrance question papers, majority of them follow a single pattern; 25 percent easy questions, 50 percent average questions and 25 percentage difficult questions. Experts say it is better to attempt theoretical questions first and then questions which require calculation. Spending some time on filtering the questions according to the difficulty level will save more time than attempting them in the serial order given in the question paper. Most importantly, bear in mind that the best of anyone comes out when they are calm and composed. Approaching each question without distracting the mind is the best trick to crack any of the entrance exams.

The existence of entrance exams to professional degree is a much-discussed topic in the education sector now. There were many points to argue for both the sides who were supporting and opposing this state of affairs. Let the discussion continue in closed walls and rolling chairs. The undisputed fact is, entrance exams are one of the sources of knowledge and a scenario that teaches students to calculate faster. It does not matter whether the student secures a good seat at any engineering institution or not, the preparations always help them to hone their knowledge in science. Above all, they are one of the challenges to hurdle in the early stages of life. Nothing can substitute other than intense and well-concentrated preparations, as there are no shortcuts to success.

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