JEE in the Times of COVID-19
The sword has been the quintessential companion of fabled warriors for the majority of post-civilization history. The secret behind a legendary sword? Hours & hours of forging. The more heat & pressure you put on a sword in the forging houses, the more lethal it becomes on the battlefield.
Human wisdom does not work very differently. The more uncertainties and challenges one lives through, the sharper one’s mind gets, and the better-prepared one becomes to face life’s harsh realities in the future.
Samurai Jack couldn’t have taken on the ultimate evil Aku had his sword not been forged well.
Picture Credits: Flickr
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the environment around us is full of uncertainty, and daily life is indisputably challenging for everyone. Combine that with the intense pressure that competitive exams like JEE typically entail, and it becomes evident that JEE 2020 candidates are in for a remarkably testing time.
However, there exists a flip-side perspective on the current situation as well. Just as a sword emerges sharper from a higher-intensity forging house, 2020 batch students will surely come out of the crisis with unique and meaningful life lessons. For goal-oriented students, there needs to be a three-pronged approach for handling the COVID-19 crisis effectively: Plan, Process, and Mindset.
The first pillar, a plan to revise the entire exam syllabus, should be both well-thought and fluid for this year’s candidates. Students should ignore all kinds of date/pattern change rumours and only follow the official JEE body’s announcements. As of now, JEE Advanced is scheduled for 27th September 2020, with no declared change in the syllabus or exam pattern. In the run up to JEE Advanced, students should focus more on consolidating the concepts that they are already comfortable with rather than sweating over their weakest spots. No source of revision could be better than one’s own notes for revision and hence, students should center their planning around notes coverage during this period.
The second pillar, process, should prioritize both physical and mental health of the candidate. That is where parents need to step in and take charge of their child’s well-being. Social isolation and health concerns are already adding up to incredible stress for everyone — especially teenagers, who have been exposed to unprecedented challenges at a young age. Parents should avoid stressing out their children further with exam-performance expectations. The second central piece of process should be ample focus on rigorous practice. Given that the exam has been postponed multiple times, most serious IIT aspirants would have undertaken tens of JEE mock tests already this year. However, students should remain patient and not give in to the temptation of skipping practice-tests right now. In the final 3–4 weeks before JEE Advanced, students should attempt a full 6-hour mock test at least two times a week. Every mock test should be followed up by at least 2–3 hours of post-exam analysis to identify and fix gaps in preparation / exam-performance. Sticking to such a process of iterative learning will build desired levels of confidence by the time actual JEE comes.
The third and final pillar, mindset, needs to be developed by thinking of crises as learning opportunities. It is easier said than done, however. For example, I remember how relieved I was to get done with JEE 7 years ago. Personally, the sense of closure was stronger than the joy of securing even AIR-1. 2020 is challenging because the potential feeling of closure for this year’s candidates is being pushed further and further into the future. Crises like the current pandemic teach us that closure is not easy to achieve in real-life, and an adaptive mindset is needed to navigate the world’s uncertainties. Results in JEE 2020 will turn out to be wonderfully positive for students who embrace uncertainty as a fact of life and can work calmly around it.
If this batch’s students do end up absorbing hard life-lessons from the current crisis, they are set to be notably patient, confident, and self-aware custodians of the nation’s future. My best wishes for the incredibly brave batch of 2020!
The author was AIR-1 in JEE Main, AIR-66 in JEE Advanced, 2013 & Gold Medalist for All Round Achievement from Dept of CSE, IIT Delhi’2018. He also recently released a self-help book on planning for JEE exams titled “A Plan That Actually Works”.
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Views expressed are personal.