MTG : Why did you choose Engg. stream?
Achin Bansal : I have doctors and advocates in my family. Still I
always thought an engineer s job would be very fascinating. I am of the view
that the life of a doctor is always difficult as he is supposed to attend
emergency calls at odd hours. I wanted to do something different. I would try
my luck in Civil Services exam too.
MTG: What other exams you have appeared for and
what is your rank in these exams?
Achin : I appeared for the following exams
IIT-JEE AIR 1
AIEEE AIR 47 (Score 322)
BITSAT Score 372
MTG : Any other achievements?
Achin : Merit holder in standard 8th and 10th.
MTG : How many hours in a day did you study to
prepare for the examination?
Achin : I used to study 8-10 hrs. I devoted more time to Chemistry
MTG : On which topic and chapters you laid more
stress in each subject ?
Achin : In Physics I laid stress on Mechanics, Chemistry - Inorganic
and in Mathematics - Vectors and Permutation & Combination.
MTG : How much time does one require for serious
preparation for this exam ?
Achin : 2 years of sincere preparation is sufficient to score a good
rank.
MTG : Any extra coaching?
Achin : I joined Bansal Classes, Kota.
MTG : Which subjects/topics you were strong/weak
at ?
Achin : I was strong at Optics, Calculus and weak in Inorganic
Chemistry.
MTG: Which books / magazines / Tutorial /
Coaching Classes you followed?
Achin : H.C.Verma, S.L. Loney, I.E. Irodov, Hall & Knight, Preliptro,
Burman, Mathematics Today, Chemistry Today, Physics For You and Bansal Notes.
MTG : In your words what are the components of
an ideal preparation plan?
Achin : Only hard work, preparation without tension, practice and
concentration can bring the desired result in any competitive examination.
Never be tense during the preparation. Always ensure that if your input is
about 10 hours, your output should also be about 10 hours. I studied for about
10 hours a day. The preparation were being done with single minded devotion to
be among the first 10 successful candidates of the IIT-JEE 07 and that too in
the first attempt.
MTG : You belong to a small town Kotkapura in
Punjab. Did this factor ever effect you during your preparation for
prestigious IIT-JEE and AIEEE exams?
Achin : When you have got relevant material for the preparation of
any competitive exam, apart from coaching from the best teachers available,
then you are not lacking in anything and every competition become a level
playing field for the students belonging to different areas and different
strata of society. However, looking at the standard of education and other
facilities available in government run and a large section of private schools,
it could be said that the students of such institutions would be lacking while
taking such prestigious exams and hence they would require extra coaching to
compete.
MTG : What role did the following play in your
success ?
(a) parents
(b) teachers
(c) school.
Achin : They timely motivated me to achieve the goal and stood by me
through thick and thin.
(a) Parents took care of my health,
education fee, made suggestion to the problems, were with me at every stage to
motivate me.
(b) Teachers showed me the path.
(c) Sada Ram Bansal Memorial School, a school affiliated with
the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) was set up by my grandfather. It is a
temple of learning, helped me a lot as one learn most of the things one knows
from school.
MTG : Your family background?
Achin : My Grandfather Sh. Satpal Bansal is a Taxation advisor.
Father: Dr. Rajinder Bansal (Doctor)
Mother: Mrs. Geeta Bansal and
Sister Shifa Bansal is pursuing an information technology
course.
MTG: What mistake you think you shouldn t have
made?
Achin : No mistake were made.
MTG : How have MTG magazines helped you in your
preparation?
Achin : I was a regular reader of Mathematics Today, Chemistry Today
and Physics For You. The full length practice tests in these magazines helped
me a lot. I used to practice by solving the questions of all the three
subjects Physics, Chemistry and Maths repeatedly to increase my speed.
MTG : Considering other hot careers today for eg.
Infotech, Information Technology, why do you still want to be an engineer?
Achin : As I have now topped IIT-JEE. I will take up computer
engineering at IIT-Mumbai.
MTG : Was this your first attempt?
Achin : Yes, this was my first attempt.
MTG : What do you think the secret of your
success?
Achin : Lot of hardwork and disciplined study aimed at understanding
the subject by not cramming. Recitation of Hanuman Chalisa.
MTG : What do you feel is lacking in our
education/ examination system? Is the examination system fair to the student?
Achin : Unfair system of evaluating a child. This system stresses on
Cramming.
MTG : What advice would you like to give our
readers who are PET aspirants?
Achin : My advice to ail these students who have been putting their
best to get a berth in engineering colleges by getting through such
competitions, is that they should prepare with devotion and without tension.
They should have deep understanding of each subject and must keep themselves
away from the cramming pattern.They should have that level of confidence,
where they must feel. Yes !
they can do it.
TOPPER S TIPS
* Study the recommended NCERT books
* Try to understand the concepts. Don t depend on learning by rote. The JEE-IIT is designed to test your analytical and comprehensive capabilities.
* Pay attention to data given in question and realise whether it is sufficient for the answer. - Questions are tricky, not tough.
* Solve papers from previous years.
* Don t panic on seeing changes in the pattern of the examination, only the presentation has changed.
* Re-read the question if you do not arrive at the options given. The questions cannot be wrong.
* Preparations for IIT is not different from other exams. It is just a detailed and in-depth study of concepts one has learnt.
JEE - THE TWISTS & TURNS
* The IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) has evolved considerably from its initial days when there were four subjects including an English language paper.
* In 1997, the JEE was conducted twice after the question paper was leaked in some centres.
* From 1999 to 2005, the JEE also had a screening test in addition to the JEE main examination in order to reduce the load on the JEE mains.
* In September 2005, the HRD ministry set up a special committee under the chairmanship of Professor CNR Rao to change the pattern of the exam so as to reduce stress among students.
* Some of the major changes included doing away with the screening test and the minimum score of 60% in HSC or its equivalent for eligibility and also reducing the number of JEE attempts to two.
* Accordingly, JEE-2006 consisted of a single objective test, replacing the earlier two-test system. Three papers of Maths, Physics and Chemistry had to be attempted in a day.
* JEE-2007 was further cut down to two papers with a mixed bag of questions from the three subjects.
Achin’s mantra of success is disciplined study aimed at understanding the subject. In science, it is not cramming but indepth understanding of the subject which Pays -
“I am never tensed during the preparation, but I always ensure that if my input is about 10 hours, my output should also be about 10 hours.”
“Students must have deep understanding of each subject and keep themselves away from the cramming pattern. They should have that level of confidence, where they must feel yes ! they can do it.”