The question of how to balance Boards and JEE together has been bugging every engineering aspirant in the country for a long time now. Can you choose to neglect one or the other? The answer is no!
No matter how hard it is to balance, it is of paramount importance to give due diligence to both the exams. If you are an aspirant, you will need a well-defined strategy to efficiently prepare for both.
Why are Boards equally important?
There have been many cases where a candidate has cracked the Joint Entrance Examination but couldn’t meet the desired eligibility criteria required in the board’s exam, costing them their seat in the prestigious engineering colleges.
If JEE is in your radar, here is the important eligibility criteria for you to get a clear picture on why boards are equally important:
‘Candidates should have secured at least 75% in 12th Board exam. For SC, ST and PWD, the minimum required marks is 65% in 12th.’
So, if you don’t fulfill the criteria above then no matter how well you prepare and perform in your JEE exam, everything will be for nothing.
Also See: How to Prepare for JEE Main and 12th Boards Simultaneously?
Tackling Boards and JEE
Still, confused on how to go about it? Here are some pro tips:
- Concepts and theories: If you are a CBSE student and a JEE aspirant then you are in for a treat as the JEE syllabus is based on the NCERT class 11 and class 12 books. If you focus in school and understand the concepts well, then you have a lot of work cut out for learning JEE fundamentals and shift your attention to problem-solving. NCERT is a must while preparing for JEE, so you might as well read it thoroughly and get sorted for JEE too.
- Planning according to the new NTA JEE Main: As you are already aware of the fact that JEE Main 2019 will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in January and April. The exam in April is in close proximity to the board exam’s date. So, what you can do is you should focus on cracking the JEE Main exam in January, which will give you ample time (2.5 months approx.) to prepare for your boards in March 2019. Focus more on Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry till December end and then shift your focus on to other subjects in the rest of 2.5 months.
- Reference books: You must know by now, that for JEE just NCERT books won’t do. You will need reference books to further improve your knowledge of the subjects. Once you start reading these reference books you will find that your understanding of the concepts is getting better. Reference books will help you in your preparation for the boards.
- The smart trick while making notes: When studying for JEE and boards there will be a lot of concepts in the syllabus which will overlap. Note those topics for future reference and this will help you cover the important topics of both the exams with ease. These notes will come handy in while revising as well.
- Mock tests: Mock tests are the key to success when it comes to JEE, but they will also help you to prepare for your board’s exam. How? The numerical problems in JEE are way difficult than the ones in the board exam. If you take or have been taking JEE level mock tests from the beginning, you will find the numerical problems in the board’s exam simpler.
Conclusion
Balancing both the exams isn’t necessarily as hard as it seems. It’s all about hard work and dedication but most importantly smart work.