Students’ Speak: What to do after the first failed JEE attempt?

By: Swapnaneel Bhuiya

Many students who crack the JEE Advanced in their first attempt do not realise the risks associated with the decision of throwing away seats for a second attempt. Generally, students feel that skipping one year will enable them to study harder for the next one year, get a better branch or a better-ranked IIT.

To be able to make an informed decision, you must be aware of the consequences of your decision. Taking such a risk may pave the way to below-mentioned repercussions:

• You may be bored, sad or depressed revising the same syllabus once again.
• There is a chance that it could be just a bad day for you. Sickness, accident or just plain bad luck can ruin your day and also the chance to get your current position.
• You will be under a lot of stress next year as this will be your last chance to crack the IIT JEE (Advanced) exam.

What can you achieve in your second attempt?

Case 1: Desired IITs

Computer Science Engineering and Electronics & Communication Engineering are the two most sought after engineering branches in any engineering college. In fact, if you get admission in these branches in an IIT or some of the top NITs, then you have a better chance to do better than students of Mechanical, Chemical, Metallurgical or Mining branches.

It is a good idea that you can achieve in terms of your studies and career goals than being stuck in a particular college. Just make sure that college is good for you to have enough resources.

Desired Engineering Branch or Stream: You do not need to lose a precious year to get the engineering branch of your choice. In all IITs, if you do well in the first year, you can change your department in the second year!

Don't worry about the pay package yet. The fact is that the best salary packages are offered by tech and IT companies that largely absorb computer science students. Next in line are finance, consulting and investment companies that hire students from all branches who have excellent analytical skills and number crunch ability.

Therefore, regardless of the branch you choose, you will always have a chance to try for finance and investment jobs.

Case 2: Cracked JEE Main with good rank but failed to crack JEE Advanced

After JEE Main, you have a good chance of getting admission in some top NITs and other good engineering colleges. You can try to crack BITSAT and join BITS Pilani, which has a good reputation.

It is safe to have a seat in other engineering colleges. This saves you a year and creates a definite career path for you rather than an uncertain future. A survey indicates that many NIT students have outperformed many IITians.

Can't find a branch you want? Like IITs, most engineering colleges allow you to change your department after the first year based on your academic performance. Therefore, instead of sitting at home and preparing for JEE Main again, you can join college and work hard in the first year to get good marks and change your department in the second year.

In short, consider your options well, before you let go of the seat you offer. Try JEE for the second time, if it should be in full.

Case 3: First attempt failed to crack JEE Main

Know the reasons behind your failure. I can give you hundreds of reasons to take a drop with absolute certainty that you are not going to lose anything.

There may be a negative thing on your mind about this decision that you will end up wasting one year if you do not get admission in a good college even after that drop. But also keep in mind that you are not wasting years, but you are investing it to increase yourself, your abilities, your thoughts, your knowledge, your understanding and how to deal with many difficult situations. A year's time matters nothing in front of such experience and knowledge.

As time progresses, it becomes really important for students to know exactly what they are doing in this situation — either taking classes at a major coaching institute or enrolling in a state entrance engineering college, etc. You still have many other options to develop your future with a sound decision today.

Don't worry if you have already appeared in JEE Main, but 100 marks or less are safe. You can still make it to any of the 32 NITs, 18 IIITs and 18 GFTIs based on your All India Rank (AIR). There are around 23,000 seats in these 68 JEE institutes in total.

Some of the various reputed private universities and institutes where you can get admission if you have appeared for their entrance exams, such as BITS Pilani, VIT University, SRM University, and Manipal University are BITSAT, VITEEE, SRMJEEE and MU OET respectively. Some of the top-ranked private universities and colleges are equipped with good infrastructure, quality education and faculty, etc.

If you have some financial constraints and going to a government college is your option then don't worry! Seats through various state level entrance exams such as UPSEE, COMEDK UGET, Karnataka CET, MHTCET, KEAM, etc. offer graduate engineering seats in some of the premier institutes in India which have good engineering value. On one hand, you can still manage to get admission in a good government engineering college. While on the other hand, they also provide you an opportunity to stay in your domicile state during your studies. Therefore, if you have appeared in any of the entrance exams, you can get a dream seat in the aforementioned premier college, meeting the prescribed domicile criteria.

After considering all the possible options, if you feel that IIT is the only floor that you want to see further, there is no need to worry. If you are not able to secure the score required to appear in JEE Advanced 2019 but are confident enough to crack JEE in the next turn, don't listen to anyone and try again next year. There are many cases of unsuccessful students in the first attempt and to crack the JEE Advanced in the next attempt for admission to IIT.

However, this decision is completely yours and do not hold anyone responsible later. You are the only one who can understand the importance of waiting and preparing for JEE for one year. Keep calm and think wisely. You can think of spending another year on hard preparations filling the voids and appearing next year. According to the CBSE, a candidate can appear for JEE Main for a maximum of three times. If this was your first time, then analyse your performance based on JEE Main Syllabus with Weightage and take another chance.

Remember, a new full year of preparation also brings some pressure and stress in relation to career, so think wisely.

Having an edge

A full year of preparation for the next year is combined with your test-taking experience. This year will give you an edge over your competitors next year. If you have already taken coaching classes, then focus heavily on practice, consistency, study hours and punctuality. Go through JEE Main question paper regularly. You can opt for group study and sometimes seek help from experts or your mentor for doubts. This will help you strengthen your weak subjects.

Selection is sometimes interrupted due to the favorable nature of the exam. So hit the shot this time. If you appeared in the exam on the basis of self-study only, then you should go for SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. If possible, get help from some mentors.

Remember, the top engineers in the country are not completely IITans. Getting admission is not the only gateway to a good engineering career. It is your hard work and righteousness in your work, learning and understanding that will determine the shape of your future. Not getting a seat in IIT is not the end of the world.

About the Author:

Swapnaneel Bhuiya is a fourth-year mining engineering student at IIEST Shibpur. He appeared for JEE exam in 2016 and scored 140 marks in the first attempt.