Is preparing for the IIT-JEE without coaching worth it?

 

IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology’s Joint Entrance Exam),is one of the toughest entrance exams for students wishing to pursue an Engineering career. Thousands of students appear for the entrance exams every year, but only 1% of them on an average make the cut.

It takes immense amount of self- discipline, support and networking to obtain the right kind of resource if you want to prepare for the IIT-JEE without coaching. Most of the students go in for coaching classes because the tuition they receive in these coaching classes provides them with a systematic framework for the entrance exams. One needs to have clear concepts, need to learn time management, have regular assessments, practise drills – all of which becomes very difficult if you are preparing for IIT-JEE on your own, along with the preparation for the board exams.

Besides mastering these concepts, coaching classes help one manage time better. They help you by providing tips on handling stress and setbacks in a better way. Amongst their experience and data aggregated with the help of regular tests they know the areas you need to work on. They can give you customized attention with right kind of practice tests. They help you get into the right frame of mind for the tests.

Generally students who take coaching classes do well. It doesn’t mean that you cannot pass the IIT-JEE without the help of coaching classes. There are hundreds of inspirational examples of IITians who cleared the entrance exams on their own steam, practised at home with the help of right kind of training material, without really going for the coaching. There are also examples of students who did not prepare for IIT-JEE; they did not clear the IIT entrance but earned laurels in their respective fields of study and occupation after studying in non-IIT institutes. Venkatraman Ramkrishnan who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 was not from IIT. He failed to get an admission into IIT but instead went to a non-IIT college and took the opportunities that came his way and ended up with a Nobel Prize.

If you opt to study on your own, you need to chalk out a very good timetable to manage the complete syllabus. You need to be focussed, self -disciplined and would need to monitor your progress. The students who want to prepare for the entrances on their own must have contact with other IITians and other helpful resources if possible.

Many a times brilliant students who decide to sit for the entrance exams are worried about the English language. The coaches understand this and ensure that the student doesn’t lag behind in any way. They provide the language coaching too.

One of the advantages of coaching classes is its competitive environment. Students study in groups and the discussions between fellow students and experienced teachers touch several interesting aspects of subjects that help in cracking the exams. Students who do not go to coaching classes miss out.

The bottom-line is that although preparation of IIT-JEE exam without coaching is possible, it can be a lot easier if you attend a coaching class.