My story of cracking the 2nd toughest exam in the world
Top 10 unique lessons learned from the journey
Just google “toughest exams in the world” and you will find JEE-advanced (Joint entrance exam) at #2 on most of the search results. Every year over 1 million engineering aspirants in India appear for engineering entrance exam and only a fraction makes it to the merit list of JEE Advance. And yes, I was one of them who made it and yet I was devastated.
The gravity of the exam
Clearing the JEE-advanced is your ticket to getting into the most prestigious engineering institution in India: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Getting into IITs in India (there are multiple of them) is not just getting into an IVY league college, it’s an emotion, it’s the undeniable sense of reputation for students, their parents, their uncles, their aunties, their neighbors, their friends and much more.
Obviously, not getting into IIT is not the end of the world and many people, I believe, will do better in their lives than going down that path. However, “IITians” are undeniably one of the smartest minds in the world and you will find them excelling in any field they venture into and not just engineering.
For example, most of the Indian-origin CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies have studied at IIT once during their lifetime. Of India’s 108 unicorns (startups with a $1bn valuation), 68 were founded by at least one IIT graduate.
So, is it that studying at IIT equips them with some unique qualities that help them excel in any field they go? Yes indeed! Imagine being surrounded by super smart people with great work ethics in an environment that further stretches your capabilities for 4 years; you are bound to do something impactful. However, I believe, a lot of the foundational skills and capabilities are built while preparing for the exam.
The grind for the exam
Right after the 10th grade, around the age of 15, aspirants go through rigorous exam preparation for 2 years (and 3 years if you take a drop year). It is an accepted fact amongst the aspirant community that if you want to clear this exam, these 2 or 3 years will have to be completely dedicated to the exam. Now there are arguments for and against this obsession of getting into IIT, but I will keep it away for the purpose of this post.
My Story
It has been more than 15 years now. Like many other aspirants, obsessed with getting into IIT, I also chose JEE. I loved physics and a bit of math so; it was a natural choice for me.
I was in love with the exam, and for 2 years I went through the ups and downs. I worked really hard, studied some all-nighters, obsessed over physics, played with math, repelled from chemistry, and wasted some precious time with distractions.
Result day and alas, no surprise, I did not make it to the merit list!
I was broken, but still appeared for other entrance exams and got decent ranks which would help me go to other respectable engineering colleges however, I knew I had made mistakes, and I couldn’t settle for this.
I decided to take another year to prepare for the exam. Once again for 1 year, I worked really hard, studied many all-nighters, slept with physics, danced with math, forcefully married chemistry, and went through some burnout phases, but this time wasted lesser precious time with distractions.
Exam Day
I came back from the exam with mixed feelings. I went back home and matched my answers with the online answer key. Q1, Right, yes! Q2, Right, yes!! Q3 Oh my god right, yes!! Q4, wrong Q5, wrong, Q6 wrong Q7 wrong and so on.
Soon the question paper turned moist and my mind numb as I sat in my room with a nightmarish realization that may be the dream of getting into IIT was broken.
But wait..
Result Day
In my evaluation, I was not clearing the cut-off (minimum marks needed to make it to the merit list), but I was not sure if I was able to recollect all the answers I had ticked. So, there was an element of doubt. On the result day, I sat on the computer and entered my details. Disgustingly slow internet and then the moment flashed:
“Congratulations, you have qualified in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE-2009). Your all-India rank is 7875”
Tears of joy!!
Made it to IIT and yet not made it to IIT
Now although the above words “Congratulations….” did bring pride and tears of joy, I knew that this rank would not get me the desired stream of Engineering and desired IIT campus. However, I had scored very well in another competitive exam which got me into another top 10 engineering college in India with the engineering stream of my choice. Finally, I made the decision not to go to IIT. And I am not alone in this story. Many aspirants made it to IIT and chose not to go to IIT.
Lessons learnt
This 3-year journey of troughs and crests was an enriching life experience and have positively shaped a lot of my attitude and decision-making process in life.
Here are the top 10 lessons from the journey:
- Fall in love with the process. The process builds your fundamentals.
- You must be obsessed with the goal. Obsession with the goal makes you love the process.
- You must also learn to do the boring part of following your passion with the same rigor as for the interesting part.
- Aim so big that your failure is above average.
- Go all-in. Half-hearted effort and regrets go hand in hand.
- Even genuine reasons in your mind could be excuses. When you go past that phase of telling yourself comforting lies, the real learning happens.
- Believe that every problem can be solved. Most problems in life are solvable.
- Outcome is not always directly proportional to hard work.
- Learn or read about science even if it is not part of your career choice.
- Always have an experienced mentor who is at least 10–15 years ahead of your journey.
I will be expanding on each point in my next few posts so that I can do justice to each learning without making the articles too long to read.
I am sure you would have also gone through a process of rigor to achieve something in life and would have had your share of failures and successes. I would love to hear about it in the comments below or through any other medium you prefer.