The Final Stretch

The Beginning:

The transition to online learning causes students to have less peer interaction due to their outlined micro-study spaces and vast distance from teachers, which can lead to a lack of motivation and self-management, thus negatively affecting academic achievement....

Leveraging Online Resources

The net is now my most precious asset. I took part in various educational platforms which included courses, video lectures and practice tests and thereby helped me in preparing for JEE. For Physics and Chemistry, “ Alakh Pandey Sir” and for Maths ” Neha Agrawal Mam” and various other YouTube channels hosted by experts in the field of education became my virtual classrooms. This feature of the online classes – the possibility to pause, rewind, and rewatch the tough concepts was a big plus over traditional classroom learning....

Adaptive Study Strategies

The pandemic likewise showed me the necessity of adaptation in the study methods. With the JEE syllabus being huge and requiring a lot of discipline, I decided to use the topic-wise study method. This enabled me to concentrate on one subject at a time, thus, the knowledge of the subject I was studying was well understood before I moved on to the next one. The completion of regular self-evaluation tests and former years’ papers gave me the ability to monitor my progress and ascertain the weak areas....

Overcoming Mental Hurdles

The uncertainty of the exam dates and the fear of the virus were the most worrisome mental barriers that the students had to face. To confront the stress and to keep my mental well-being, I included mindfulness practices such as meditation and regular exercise in my daily life. These tasks were the means to keep me upbeat and to sharpen my concentration....

The Final Stretch

With the exam date getting closer I stared intensely at my revision, concentrating on the high-yield topics and often going back to the hard concepts. I did not succumb to the temptation to learn new topics at the very last minute, instead, I concentrated on a detailed revision of the things I had already been studying. Management of the time during the practice tests was a key factor in building the stamina and speed which in turn was the basis for the actual exam....

The Result

Later, when the results were out, I was among the top ten, having scored 85 percentile. Although it did not belong to the top rank, it was a great success considering the unusual situation. It was proof that I had worked hard, and adapted to the new conditions and my family and friends had been with me all the way....