The Indian Institute of Technology is considered to be the finest technical institute in India and they hold premium position worldwide too. It is the dream of every engineering aspirant to study at IIT.

But, the path leading is quite challenging. To overcome such one must plan early in their career, prepare a systematic approach and most importantly adhere to that plan so as to be able to get closer the goal.

But in reality, most often we come across students preparing a half baked plan. Moreover by appearing in IITJEE and Class XII board exam in the same year further adds a new dimension of challenge making things real difficult. The cumulative effect impacts the overall performance and erodes self confidence. Hence it requires developing an attitude to rise from the fall.

Over the years we have seen students who have meticulously planned their goal and are clear of which college to join and which branch to study who are able to crack the IIT-JEE exam effortlessly.

So, does that mean one should begin fresh with a plan and invest one additional year for IITJEE preparation? The answer could be “Yes”. Then, how would you decide if dropping one year for IIT-JEE preparation applies to you? It usually happens due to one and/or combination of many reasons.

It could be due to practice in simulated test environment, lack of effective revision notes, neglected NCERT books and inadequate preparation, or due to high degree of focus on Class XII boards. If you cleared JEE Main, implies that you are good.

But to get past JEE Advanced one has to exhibit superlative performance. By appearing in competitive exams from an early age, it helps to develop IQ, logical and analytical thinking ability, enables to perform consistently under exam conditions, helps in competitive mindset development and boosts confidence.

All of these are essential skills which are required, apart from subject knowledge to do well in IITJEE. The decision to invest one more year preparing for IIT-JEE should be a conscious one and should not be looked as the only option left arising out of failure. In fact one should keep in mind that “Falling does not mean Failing”.

It is the general tendency among students to consult too many study materials and/or test papers as a result they end up studying more than is required. Hence, one should focus only on the syllabus pertaining to IITJEE. Analyse “what” went wrong and “why” it went wrong in JEE (Main and Advanced).

Identify the weak areas and consult an expert faculty. Start fresh and from scratch with requisite focus on Class XI and XII syllabus. Remember, you need a competitive environment while studying so that you get to learn from the peer group.

Look out for such a group or join a coaching institute that offers one. Prepare weekly study plan with study milestones marked. Stick to it under any circumstances. Focus on the fundamental concepts and its application. Try to finish the syllabus by December 2017, so that you could revise appropriately.

Prepare good quality revision notes so that you can engage in quick revision at a later stage. If you are going to re-appear for the boards ensure you are preparing your model answer and notes too. Write sufficient number of standard All India Mock tests to see how you are progressing.

Monitor your percentile in the mocks to see that you are featuring in top category of students consistently. Review it with “Rank Potential Index” —an indicator which enables you to understand the kind of rank you could expect in the actual exam based on the preparation level at the time of writing the mock exam.

Students reappearing for IIT-JEE will always have an edge since they have already gone through the process/experience of writing the exam before. They would exactly know “what to do” and “what not to do” in the second attempt.

Hence, a student should always keep the previous experience of do’s and don’ts in mind. Realising the previous performance and appearing for the IIT-JEE in the second attempt is not a poor decision.

One year of continuous devotion and focus only on IIT-JEE preparation can enable a student to reach their goal.

The writer is centre head, fiitjee punjabi bagh centre