JEE Main Preparation Tips and Insights from Toppers

JEE Main Preparation Tips and Insights from Toppers

To aim for a seat in the IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs, the first step would be to look at how to prepare for JEE Main. A clear study plan is the key to success in any exam especially JEE Main which happens to be the largest and most competitive undergraduate engineering exam in the country.

The right JEE Main preparation plan includes overall strategy, hours an aspirant should devote to studies, books/study material, quality mock tests, and previous year's JEE Main papers. Some students start preparing for JEE Main in Class 11 or 12 while other students start earlier in Class 9 or 10. However, this article will help you understand the various important things for JEE Main preparations no matter when you started preparing. 

UPES B.Tech Admissions 2023: Ranked among Top 100 Universities in India by NIRF, 100% placement, Top Recruiters: Royal Enfield, L&T, Hyundai Apply Now

LPU B.Tech Applications 2023 at Lowest cost:: Boys- Rs.300 & Girls- Rs.200, Apply Now

This article will help students to get a fair idea about strategies to adopt, books/study material, and mock tests, directly from the JEE Main 100 percentile scorers. 

Some important points for JEE Main Preparations are as follows:

Books and Study Material

One of the most important things while preparing for any examination is the books and study material a student uses. JEE Main Preparation requires diversified books for each subject to focus on every topic. As recommended by all toppers, NCERT/CBSE books for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics are a MUST. 

While NCERT books are good to cement your base, it’s advisable to move to specialized books on JEE Main.

The first question that arises in the mind of JEE Main aspirants is about the best of the books that they need to pick to prepare for the exam. Selection of the best books for JEE Mains preparation is the initial step towards successful exam planning.

A sound exam preparation largely depends upon the books you study from, so take a look at the list of best books for JEE Main:

Physics

A proper understanding of the fundamentals is required by candidates while preparing for Physics for JEE Main. Fundamental principles are the key to solve the complex numerical in Physics. Special attention is to be given to Electromagnetics and Mechanics.

*(Zenith Malhotra, Siddhant Mukherjee, Ranjim Das - 100 percentile scorer in JEE Main 2021)

Chemistry

Chemistry for JEE Mains is subdivided into Organic, Inorganic, and Physical. Usually, Chemistry is considered to be easier but some students find it tedious because of the formulae, theory, and calculations.

Mathematics

Mathematics for JEE Main is often considered the most challenging subject. To be able to crack the JEE Main exam, the aspirant needs to have a better understanding of concepts and also thorough the theorems.

Zenith, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main March session - "NCERT is supreme. For Chemistry and Physics, NCERT is the ideal resource. However, for Maths NCERT does not hold much significance. It should still be done, but you need to do more challenging problems than that to score very well in JEE Mains. I personally used my coaching sheets and modules. Concepts of Physics in Physics and SL Loney (trigonometry and coordinate geometry) are the extra books I used."

Siddhant Mukherjee, 100 Percentile Scorer in February Session - “Chemistry- NCERT- the single most important book for JEE. As I said before, it is important to study line by line."

 “Besides this attend all the classes and take help from teachers for any guidance in JEE Main preparation. Also, follow NCERT class XI and XII books for each subject preparation” - Ranjim Prabal Das, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

Previous Year Papers and Mock Tests

One of the pivotal JEE Main 2021 preparation tips includes solving the sample papers and the question papers. The aim to solve the JEE Main question paper is to enable the candidates to know the level of their preparation. Candidates will be able to figure out how much they are taking in solving each question in each subject, whether they are able to manage their time appropriately or not.

Previous year's question papers are a good place to start to know what the actual exam will be like, types of questions, and difficulty levels. Ease with the exam environment, time management is some benefit of practicing with mock tests or sample papers.

By extensively solving the JEE Main sample papers, candidates will get to know different aspects of the exam paper such as the questions which are extensively difficult for them and those which are either moderately difficult or are easy.

Taking the mock test at a time when the actual exam takes place is also part of JEE Main preparation tips. Hence, the candidates are advised to attempt JEE Main mock tests from 9:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m and from 2:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m. This will make the candidates comfortable on the day of the JEE Main entrance exam as by regularly taking the exam at that particular time, they are able to accustom themselves and will not face any problem on the day of the actual exam.

Rohit Kumar, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main March session - "I started solving Mock Tests nearly one month before the exam to analyze my speed and accuracy. This helped me overcome stress and be confident"

Zenith Malhotra, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main March session - "Giving papers is only helpful if you have already prepared the theory very well. If you give papers just because others students are doing so, it's not beneficial. Then they serve an excellent purpose and aid your preparation immensely. Also, remember to make sure you analyze your mistakes in the papers and work on them, or the papers are useless."

Mridul Sharma, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main March session - "Previous Year Questions and Mock Test are very important. JEE Main asks a set pattern of questions so if one is habitual with Previous Year Questions one can very easily crack the exam. If someone’s preparation is not going well and less time is left, I would suggest, just doing Previous Year Questions and making self-notes. Mock tests are very important for increasing speed and accuracy."

Preparation Strategies

Preparation leads the road to success and it requires a certain strategy. Therefore the next step in answer to how to prepare for JEE Main 2021 would be the formulation of a good study plan that incorporates exam pattern, syllabus, mock tests, practice, and more.

 “I first made sure that I was perfect with the basics in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics and followed NCERT thoroughly. But reading and referring to NCERT is not enough for JEE Main exam. I found Physics to be easier than Chemistry and Mathematics. I focused on weak points and then moved to easier topics.” - Ranjim Prabal Das, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

“I solved nearly 30 past papers of JEE Main and identified the topics with higher weightage or the ones that needed more extensive preparation. For Physics and Maths, it was sufficient to focus on minimizing mistakes by analyzing the patterns in them if their conceptual foundations are clear. If not, it is best to focus on that first. For Chemistry, NCERT books are sufficient to cover all the questions in JEE Main. My advice would be to focus on all the fine points in the books such as the trends given or have a general idea of the data in the tables.” “I had been preparing for JEE Advanced in a goal-oriented manner since 11^th standard. In the last 2 months before the mains exams, I shifted my focus to mains. I then proceeded to curtail mistakes and cover the weak points in my preparation both theory and time-bound questions.” - Siddhant Mukherjee, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

“I used to study around 10 hours a day for exam preparation. One thing I used to do is not to study a subject for more than two hours. After that, I used to take a small break and start studying the other subject. To keep myself fit I used to walk a minimum of 45 minutes daily in the evening. It also helped me relax and energized my brain for the next day's studies.” - Anant Krishna, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

“I referred to the NCERT books and followed the teachers in my coaching institute - Allen Kota. The school and coaching helped me to manage well between board exams and JEE Main 2021 preparations. They provided me with books to study for each of the subjects (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics).” -Guramrit Singh, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

“I attended coaching classes regularly from 11^th and followed ALLEN study materials and teachers’ guidance as a rule. My focus was only on JEE Advanced from the beginning which helped me in JEE Main preparations. I did regular classes and completed home works on time. I also completed all the study materials that my coaching provided. In addition to that, I studied from JEE Advanced books. I focused on all three subjects - Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics equally. But I am a little inclined towards Physics.” - Rohit Kumar, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.

“I started my JEE prep from class 11th when I took admission in Allen Kota. So that is when I started preparing for both JEE mains and JEE advanced. I believe regularity is the most important factor in JEE preparation. Everybody starts full of fire and enthusiasm in class 11th, but not many last 2 years. I used to do whatever we were told to do by Allen, around 4 to 5 hours a day. I gave out the last month before my February attempt just for JEE mains though, in which I solved all the JM 2019 and 2020 papers and also read all NCERTs.” - Zenith Malhotra, 100 Percentile scorer in JEE Main February session.