JEE is an exam which requires a high level of perfection in all respects - particularly in memory, logic, speed, and quantitaive analysis. Such perfection requires constant practice. Here, I would like to provide tips which may help my friends clear this exam.

Disclaimer: Though I have got a good rank of 96, my beginning (from X) was pretty ordinary - so I expect this guide to help the majority of students. Also, since I'm not a qualified instructor, I can only give my personal point of view.

Books:

Maths - Any good book will do, just as long as it has thousands of problems (I'm serious). But here are some of the books I know and have used:

NCERT, Tata McGraw Hill, G. N. Berman, A. I. Prilepko, Hall & Knight, S. L. Loney.

Physics - Just three - NCERT, H.C. Verma and I. E. Irodov. If you want really challenging problems, try the Krotov.

Physical Chemistry - NCERT, P. Bahadur, N. Avasthi and V. K. Jaiswal

Organic Chemistry - This one has a huge list, but here are some good ones:

NCERT, Paula Bruice, Peter Sykes, I.L. Finar, Morrison and Boyd, M. S. Chouhan, etc.

Inorganic Chemistry - NCERT, J. D. Lee, N. Avasthi and V. K. Jaiswal, Vogel's Qualitative Analysis.

Dos and Don'ts

Dos:

1] Regular homework and studies. I mean, really regular, as in never-failed-to-complete-my-homework-on-time type regular.

2] Relaxation and timepass. Yeah. Really. All study and no play makes Jack a nut-case. But don't overdo it - 1 hour at the maximum per day.

3] Isolation. The more friends you have, the more possibility of you getting distracted. Keep a safe distance, avoid most parties and hangouts. The lesser, the better.

4] Taking tests. Join a test series, maybe two, or as many you want - I recommend FIITJEE. Constant tests help you practice and prepare your mind for the JEE pattern. If the tests are to be given at home, do them at the proper time in an isolated room.

5] Finish your syllabus by January, if you are a fresher. If you are dropping, do make sure you complete the syllabus.

6] Keep a positive attitude. Approach new topics with interest, not with an another-topic-to-mug attitude. Do some research on wikipedia, try to find applications in day-to-day life. This will help create interest in the topic and improve your understanding as an engineer.

7] Mental and physical exercises, like meditation and yoga. For further details, contact spideyunlimited.

AND FINALLY, THE MOST IMPORTANT:

8] Attend all lectures, as in perfect 100% attendance. Quite a no-brainer, this one.

Don'ts

1] Overstress - the deadliest killer is sighted often among JEE students.

2] Procrastinate. As in, put off tomorrow what you can do today.

3] Hang out and waste time.

4] Worry too much. This is a major problem I've seen. People worry so much about classes / test series/ correspondence / teachers / batches / quality / notes / books / college / friend / girlfriend / food / hostel / accomodation .. u get the point... If I were to say it bluntly - just shut up, open the book, and start doing the damn problems!!

5] Lose confidence, or be over confident. IF you lose confidence, go to the forums, we can help you. If you are over confident, just contact me  Just joking... Remember that there may be (will be) students out there smarter than you. This applies even if you are the topper of any institute.

6] Sleep less / eat less. The body is like any machine, and needs proper rest. Regular sleep of atleast 7 hours is a must.

goIIT and JEE

This is quite a weird and dangerous combination, like a double-edged sword. Many students have asked me whether goIIT has helped me or inhibited my studies. In my case, goIIT was helpful. Stuck as I was in Kota with a cellphone connected to the net and no other means of entertainment, goIIT was my only source of entertainment (which was to solve problems). It helped me to get out of the rut of a particular chapter I was studying, and helped me remember chapters I had studied long ago. The questions and challenges kept me practicing constantly.

But that was because on my cell, I could not view pictures or videos, or participate in thread-games. Those who have a PC can easily be distracted by these relaxation avenues. Being an educational site, even parents don't mind children sitting on the PC all day long. My advice: stay away from them. Browse only the academic forums and the community shelf when it's study time. And yeah - don't browse any other non-academic websites.

Particular points to take note of:

1] In mechanics, many books / professors teach methods and shortcuts to solve certain "types" of problems. Sometimes, even terminologies are given to them! Like recently, I heard a term called "extra tension" which I have never heard before. My advice: stick to the basics. Choose the inertial/non-inertial frame, co-ordinate system, select the body, draw a FBD (include any pseudo forces if necessary), and resolve the forces. This formula never goes wrong.

2] In organic chemistry, always solve problems by GOC. Resort to guesswork / any other tricks only if all else fails.

3] In Inorganic Chemistry, learn till you reach your limit. Learn the colours of compounds, their reactions, as much as you can. They may seem to follow a pattern, but there are too many exceptions and it would be better to instead learn everything.

4] Since the paper is objective, learn all types of tricks and techniques to solve it. Accurate guesswork must be resorted to sometimes - but be prepared to lose 1 mark in negative marking. In certain cases, the question maybe derived from the answer eg. A question of indefinite integration with 4 options. (If the integral is difficult)

5] Although this is a matter of personal choice, try to study at dawn instead of late in the night. Go to sleep at 11:00, and wake up at 6:00. I find that I am able to study thrice as fast in the early morning than in the night.

6] A particular question is quite common - which coaching is the best? My personal opinion - Bansal. Other good ones are Resonance, Career Point, Narayana, FIITJEE, Brilliant, VMC, etc. Don't get scared of packing your bags off to Kota if you have to - if you get selected for IIT you'll most probably have to leave your city anyway!

7] Enrolling into a good correspondence course helps sometimes. I recommend Brilliant, for their immensly helpfull YG Files and their Mock-JEE tests.

8] I'm free to help you anytime - just nudge me!

All the best to my friends! May you succeed, and that this article contributes a little to that success.

Comments and suggestions to improve this article, as well as constructive criticisms are welcome.

Edit Log:

1] Added point to remember on Inorganic Chemistry