Stat Check

Monday 15 July 2013

JEE Journey: The Andhra Factor

Two years ago, I made a decision.
I would get admission into one of the top-rated Andhra coaching centers, and reap the benefits 4 years later. I'd go with determination, and come back a hero.

You want to take on me? Seriously? Stupid mortal.
Luckily, my grandfather stopped me from going there, and I joined FIITJEE in Chennai instead. But then, how could I possibly handle the Andhra competition? I barely study for 3 hours a day...4  if I have an exam the next day. Compare this to 7 or 8 hours a day.
Yes, we all know it-- they treat children like prisoners, but I only realized now, to what extent they are willing to agonize poor students to get ranks. If you can, take a moment to read this.

My physics sir told us that day why we should sympathize with AP-Students rather than be scared of them.
According to that blog post, students are given 15 minutes in the morning to do their duties, and the rest of the day is scheduled for classes and study hours, with limited breaks here and there. The food isn't exactly appreciated either: rice and curry for 362 days a year, and nothing else. A student gets two trips to home per year, and one visit from his/her parents on his birthday. Students are allowed to go out of the campus only once a month- for 45 minutes, to get a haircut.

Some centers even leak exam papers beforehand. They give the question papers to their students, along with the solutions, and make them memorize the answers. This happens especially for the state board exams. With the JEE Mains having a 40% 12th score as a factor, aren't the honest aspirants cheated of their hard work? The most corrupt coaching center wins. 

And the worst part is: The students who come out of those factories don't repent about it either. The intense cruelty they face probably becomes routine to them-- and when they do go to college, they become free birds, and implode.

JEE is not the only insanely competitive test that students fry their brains for-- they face the same amount of competition even for local engineering colleges and even medical seats. Some coaching centers boast of armies in all three. Those students who don't take coaching are, well-- forced to. So we can't blame the students, nor their parents. They all will probably realize one day that not all kids will/want to become engineers and doctors.

If you're a JEE aspirant and you're not from Andhra, don't be scared about your rank. As a famous Pandit once said, studying in a cramped environment only hampers the learning process; it makes your brain mechanical. Studying in a free environment improves you all-round thinking/learning skills, and you'll probably notice that once you join college.

Still pessimistic? Let me tell you how to actually gain the upper hand over them:

  • Study for 7+ hours a day. The topper in my centre has a schedule like this: Study from 5pm to 11 pm, and wake up at 3 in the morning to have an extra 3 hours of study. That makes 9 hours.... it makes me feel kinda stupid right now, writing about it...
  • Follow our math(s) sir's advice: Study for 10 hours a day. Oh, wait. Have I already mentioned that? My bad. 
  • Stop all distractions: Yeah, you guessed it. If you're really that passionate to beat the AP-dudes, just click once on the little red cross at the top-right corner of this page and open your book. Also, no TV, no Music, no Hanging out with friends, no Phone, no Junk food. And if you're a XII F1 guy, NO HAND CRICKET.
If you're not able to do those, then just stop worrying about it and relax. Watch this. And anyway, 500 students from Andhra were sent back from counselling because they failed to come in the top 20% of their board. So there'd be much less competition.

P.S: I urgently need an editor. Yes, I understand this blog is small and pathetic and that I'm overly pessimistic and sarcastic, but I've been driving up an excellent revenue (About 7 rupees so far) from this website, and having an editor would surely drive up the cash. Email me if you want to sign up!

P.P.S: Also, all the best for the PDT tomorrow. It's our first Reshuffling test!


Saturday 6 July 2013

A Day in the life of a Careless Schoolboy

Morning, 6:00am
I wake up, groggy eyed. As I brush my teeth, I wonder: Why can't they give us a day off, at least to prepare for the math exam? The quarterly exam's tomorrow, and I haven't studied a bit yesterday, so that leaves a lot to prepare today. Since only the FIITJEE section is working, I decide to wear sandals to school- nobody's gonna care anyway, right?

7:15am
I wait in the auto (which takes me to school,along with Saiduth and Rohit) and whistle to myself. Saiduth comes out, with his math textbook in hand. I glance at him and smile.
Auro:"You've become quite the nerd, haven't you?"
Saiduth:"Look who's talking! So you studied anything yesterday?"
A:"Didn't open the textbook. Why, you finished? Gonna relax today, huh?"
S:"Yeah, I finished because we have an exam today."
I laugh.
A:"Don't start pulling my leg now. We have full-day FIITJEE today!"
S:"No, we have a test, and then FIITJEE!"
A:"Serious. Are you kidding me??!?"
S:"No! Ask Rohit if you will!"
5 minutes later: (Rohit enters)
A:"Dude, we really have a test today?"
Please say no.
Rohit:"Yes, obviously... why, you didn't know?" *hee hee*
A:"Wha.... but... I thought today was only FIITJEE?"
R:"No, I checked the timetable too."
S:"Auro, lol, you're dead meat if you're not bluffing.."
A:"Give me that book!"
I snatch the book from his hand, and he kindly does not take it back.

How I felt whilst writing the paper

7:45am
My mind is chaotic, and is overflowing with formulas and equations. I check my time. 15 minutes to go! I go through my check-list: Good chapters, finished. Boring chapters, almost. Wow-- the human brain's really efficient under pressure! This is literally mind-blowing! I should write about this on the blog some day... hey, wait a minute, I've wasted a minute! Curse you, brain!

8:15am
I'm sitting in my room, with my eyes focused on the text book. I hear someone whining about studying only for 2 hours for the exam. I chuckle, both at him and myself.
The teacher walks into the exam room, shouts at us to arrange the benches, and distributes the papers. She tells us to start the test.
I look around. Sagnik is studying the paper, and most others are frantically writing. I look at my question paper. A string of thoughts flood my mind:
Trigonometry. Parabola. Ellipse. Formula? Write. Meow. Question 6 easy. Bzzzzzzzzz...
I sit in static for 5 minutes. I take a long, hard look at the paper, and lift my pen. I'll do the easy questions first, and somehow manage the paper...

10:00am
Turns out the questions are easier than they look. Either that or I'm not doing anything right. For each problem, especially trigonometry, I spend a good 5 minutes on R&D, and then proceed to answering it. Also, considering that I have only about an hour left, I try to get faster. I still can't believe my carelessness.

11:00am
I finish the exam. I'm not too happy with my performance, but not very depressed about it either. I walk at snails' pace to my classroom, discussing the answers with my peers. A chilling thought enters my mind, as I sit in my place. What will I say to mom at home today? As I ponder over the alternatives, MP walks in.
He slowly comes over to my place, and asks (with that scary sober face): "How was the paper today?".
I smile.

Fellow classmates, let me end the story over here, as what happened after this is not very pleasing to hear.

Note: Yeah, it is a true story. Half-yearly Exam, Class 11, 2012. Here's my excuse for producing such a boring article-- time constraints do not permit creativity.
So long, till next week!