The IIT-JEE is quite unlike any other examination. It is conducted at two stages, and is taken every year by about 1,35,000 candidates of which roughly 15,000 get past the screening test and around 3000 finally find their way to the IITs - clearly, one of the most challenging endeavours for any engineering aspirant.

This analysis has been divided into two sections. The first section makes a critical assessment of the IIT-JEE while answering a number of frequently asked questions. The second section seeks to address a vital issue - is there an ideal way of preparing for the IIT-JEE?

It is our fervent hope that you find the information contained herein useful in your preparation for the IIT-JEE. There is nothing more that we want than for you to succeed.

The IIT-JEE - An Overview

What does the IIT-JEE lay emphasis on?
The course work that a student undergoes at the IITs is rather rigorous. And the standards the system wants to instill in its students demand nothing less. There are eight semesters that a student needs to go through before being awarded the degree. Each semester, less than five months in duration, requires the student to study at least five courses in addition to labs and workshops. Not that life at the IITs is only studies. The system also encourages all-round development of students. Each of the IITs has a well-developed infrastructure that supports a variety of sporting and cultural activities. Also, in addition to the courses in applied and engineering sciences, the students are required to clear courses in Humanities. However, whichever be the course taught, a lot of emphasis is laid on developing deep analytical and application skills. This is understandable, for wanting in of these skills one is hardly expected to excel in the field of engineering and technology.

It is this foundation of being able to understand and apply basic concepts that the JEE seeks to identify. Fundamentally, the IIT-JEE is an instrument that is calibrated in such a way that it sifts candidates who are strong in their analytical and application skills from the ones who are not so strong in these skills.

What process is followed in setting the JEE question papers?
It is no wonder that the JEE relies heavily on application based problems and questions which are unique every year. In fact, for the 40 years that it has existed as an entrance examination, there has hardly been any repetition of questions. No authentic documentation is available to support this, but it is said that the process of setting question papers involves the confinement of question setters, (drawn from each of the IITs), for a period required to prepare a few alternative papers. We understand that the brief given to this team is to include, as far as possible, original questions in the papers. The final paper is randomly chosen by the JEE committee hours before the actual printing.

This system has obviously worked very well for all these years. There have been speculations about the various sources that the question setters have been using for their purpose of preparing the question paper. In our opinion, such speculations are ill founded. For one, there is hardly any book or any other source that has questions quite like the ones that have appeared in any of the past JEE. Secondly, we believe that the faculty at the various IITs is quite capable of creating new questions, year after year. This competence springs from the very nature of the work they engage in during the course of teaching and research. It is a competence developed and groomed over the years.

How prepared does one need to be to get through?
It will not be wrong to say that the extent of originality of the questions, and the applications that these are based on, is such that the chances of a student qualifying as a matter of chance are extremely slim, if not nil. There are quite a few checks and balances. First, the examination itself is a two-stage process. Even if a student manages to hoodwink the screening test, although the chances of this itself is small, it is an impossible task for the student to get through the mains as well unless he or she is adequately prepared. Then there is the question of securing the minimum qualifying marks in each subject. In common parlance, these are called 'cut-offs.' What this means is that a student who gets below the 'cut-off' in any subject is summarily rejected even if his total marks, in all the subjects taken together, is high enough to secure him a place in the merit list. An ill prepared student is not likely to get through the IIT-JEE.

How difficult is the JEE?
We all know, and believe, that the IIT-JEE is a difficult examination. This statement, however, deserves a closer scrutiny. What exactly do we mean by 'difficult'? Does the level of difficulty affect our chances of getting through? Had the JEE been an 'easy' exam, would our chances of qualifying improve?

Very unlikely.