JEE (Main) Session 1: ‘Aim higher and work harder is the mantra’

Every year, lakhs of aspirants across India set their sights on one of the country’s most competitive entrance exams, the Joint Entrance Examination Main. Popularly known as JEE Main, it serves as a gateway to prestigious institutions such as the National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology and several top engineering colleges. For school and college students with dreams of becoming engineers, the exam represents not just an academic test but a journey of dedication, discipline and resilience. Months of preparation, countless mock tests and unwavering determination define this path, making JEE Main both a challenge and an opportunity to shape a promising future.

Ambition, perseverance and relentless preparation define the journey of these students appearing for the Joint Entrance Examination Main. Meet Rishit Srivastava, Ishita Adya, Arnav Vyas and Kartikeya Agarwal, who scored 99.9, 99.68, 99.59 and 99.1, respectively.

Speaking about his preparation strategy, Rishit said, “NCERT books were extremely helpful, especially for Chemistry. Along with that, I relied on my coaching material and previous years’ question papers. Mock tests played a huge role. I treated them like the actual exam and analysed them afterwards.”

Ishita practised as many questions as possible for two years. “I practised around 100+ questions for each chapter. Second, as Physics, Chemistry and Math are all practical subject concept clarity is very important. My mentors helped a lot in that part. During the last few months, I gave many mock tests and analysed them. Those analyses helped me realise my mistakes and gaps and work on them. During the last week, I mainly focused on learning Inorganic Chemistry.”

And how did they balance the pressure of the Boards and JEE? “Since my school syllabus overlapped significantly with JEE topics, I tried to integrate both instead of treating them separately. During exams at school, I temporarily shifted more attention to school preparation to maintain good academic performance,” Arnav shared.

Kartikeya added, “I did not follow a very strict or fixed timetable. In the last one and a half months before the exam, I realised I had some backlog to cover. So instead of focusing on fixed study hours, I set clear daily targets. My goal was to complete at least two chapters every day, along with practice questions. This target-based approach helped me stay productive and track my progress effectively.”

So what about plans for further reattempts? “Yes, I will be taking Session 2 of JEE to improve in the areas I lacked. However, my main focus would be on the Boards and JEE Advanced. Though I am satisfied with my JEE Main performance, my current primary focus is JEE Advanced. I believe I can push myself further and perform even better. At this stage, I want to give my best attempt in Advanced before making any final decisions,” shared Ishita and Arnav in conclusion.