JEE Main Preparation Tips - Coaching Vs Self Study
When students decide to go for higher studies in technical and professional courses like engineering and medicine or prepare for administrative exams like UPSC, parents, as well as students, fall under the trap of confusion that they should opt for a coaching centre or do self-study, we will talk about the pros and cons about both types so that the students can have a detailed overview and chose his/her option of preference wisely and judicially.
For students, it is normal to get inclined for coaching institutes and the student may feel like they need some extra support for cracking the examinations. This is justified as the JEE Exams are known as one of the toughest entrance examinations in the world. However, there are people who, on their own efforts have not only cracked the JEE Mains but also cracked the JEE Advanced examination.
There is nothing wrong or ethically incorrect in choosing between any two of the study methods, this is a question of comfort and efficiency of study a student can have. Some students may prefer coaching institutes and some may prefer studying at home.
Studying at home also has its own benefits as it has now become easier to get assistance from the internet and web-learning websites who come to pretty good help and save a lot of money.
In metro cities, it has been seen that the people who crack JEE have a large number of people who do self-study. From the chart mentioned below, it becomes clear that even both has some distinguished pros and cons, both aim towards the same thing,
Zone/Region | Self Study | Coaching |
---|
All India | 52% | 48% |
Kanpur | 54.8% | 45.2% |
Guwahati | 61.4% | 38.6% |
Bombay | 52.6% | 47.4% |
Roorkee | 55.1% | 44.9% |
Madras | 39.4% | 60.6% |
Delhi | 47.1% | 52.9% |
Following is soare of the advantages and disadvantages of both methods to help a student have a clear idea about the two.
Advantages (Pros) of JEE Main Coaching
For subjects that demand high technicalities like physics and mathematics, going to coaching is a very good idea. Following are some points which will tell you the advantages of coaching centres for JEE Main studies.
Direction
Coaching centres can help one to understand the focus of studies required to crack the JEE Examinations. Coaching centres generally have experience coaching students for the examination and they have a clear idea of all the formats with the nitty-gritty of the examination. It can guide the focus of the student in his/her studies and elaborate on the focus portions of the examination.
Competitive Environment
Going to the coaching centres give you exposure to some of your peers who are also studying with the same aim. In coaching centres, students get exposure to other people and learn about their strengths and weakness and thus the candidate can reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses in particular subjects. Coaching centres open a door for peer learning. Students get a free environment to hold discussions on the subjects with their peers.
Access to Teachers
For timely solutions to doubts and confusion regarding a subject, the coaching centres help a lot which is an issue in the self-study method. The presence of teachers makes it easier for the students to quickly clear a doubt which is a timely research process for a self-studying student.
Disadvantages (Cons) of JEE Main Coaching
Some factors make up a set of cons or disadvantages for JEE Studies in Coaching centres. Due to the disadvantages, many people prefer self-studying even though coaching centres have their benefits. Following are the cons of studying for JEE Mains in a coaching centre:
False Assurance
In coaching centres, students are showered with the false assurance that they will clear the examination at ease because certain institute trains him/her and they show their success stories covering up the failures. The students who understand that they are false assurances know that true success can only come with one’s own merit and hard work. Coaching centres are just there to guide.
Pace of Learning
As the coaching centres run with a lot of students, they go with a ‘One size fits all’ strategy. They conduct their studies in a very rapid manner and it is true that not many students can cope up with the flow, coaching centres show a very little effort to give an extra push to students who are lagging behind.
Expensive
For people belonging to the lower-middle-class and economically weak categories, affording coaching centres is a dream for them as they can be pretty expensive. One coaching class can charge up to 1 lakh rupees per month for JEE examination coaching.
Extensive Pressure on Students
Coaching centres are infamous for burdening their students with an extra burden for which, many students suffer from depression and cannot enjoy their young flavours of life. For example, Kota, Rajasthan is known as the hub of JEE coaching centres but on the other hand, the statistics have shown that 15 student suicides have taken place alone in 2018. The pressure of studies becomes so high on them adding the pressure from families that the students chose the unwanted path.
Still, students who have a good merit level and hardworking skills and want to be in a competitive environment can opt for caching centres as good coaching centres guide the students if they dream of obtaining a good rank in JEE Mains. However, students should understand that they have to have a clear idea of their family’s financial conditions before pressuring parents for admission to coaching centres for JEE Mains.
Is Self-Study a Better Option for JEE Main ?
The statistics show that the people who crack JEE Mains mainly prefer self-studying and it has all the valid reasons. Self-studying is a very beneficial method as it gives a student enough scope to reflect on and self-assess his/her own problems and take steps accordingly. People generally study in high flexibility in Self-study mode for JEE Mains. Some distinguishable benefits of Self Study in JEE Mains are as follows,
Self Authority
The feature of self-authority builds with a sense of realisation that you are your own master when you opt for self-studies. A candidate is free to follow and study at his/her own will and make their routines according to their convenience and also bring a change in study pattern if the candidate feels that he/she would be more benefit. The candidates have authority over their own studying style which is a good thing for people who are independent-minded. In this method, students do not have to depend on any external involvement for their studies.
No Pressure from Peers
Not all people can perform well under pressure. The self-study methods relieve the pressure of peers which in coaching centres a candidate gets directly or indirectly. In coaching centres, a candidate can be tensed if he/she feels that his/her peers are performing better than him/her. This adds up to an extra burden of pressure on the students and students become likely to lose focus on their studies. With the power of self-assessment which the Self-study method grants the student, students can remain free from any kind of pressure where the student only competes with self and pushes his/her own limits. This is a fun and efficient way to study according to experts.
Time Management
As mentioned before, self-study allows a student to manage his/her own time. Where the coaching centres follow a rigid schedule and format, many students find it hard to cope with the pace an institute is conducting studies. As mentioned above, students end up losing their valuable time at a young age in coaching institutes but in the self-study method, a student according to his/her will can make time for any kind of extracurricular activities, following hobbies and more.
Disadvantages (Cons) of Self-Study for JEE Mains
Every method is made with some cons as well as pros, similarly, the self-study method for JEE Mains also has a set of disadvantages. However, the disadvantages that come with self-studying methods are easily addressable in Self-study methods.
Doubt Clearing
Doubt clearing in the self-study methods consumes a lot of time. Where coaching centres can do it straight away, students studying in self mode have to rely on textual and online resources. It is indeed true that there is nothing that cannot be found online, but that too takes minimum time for research depending on the complexity of the topic.
No Competition
Self-competition is not everyone’s cup of tea but it can come to huge benefit if one expertise it. Many people perform better in competition than independent workers. For those kinds of people, self-study cannot be considered a reliable method. An environment with no competition can be too laid back for some students to actually invest some time in studying.
From the detailed description of the pros and cons of both coaching centres and self-study, the student can now get an idea for choosing what will be better for him/her. This would be wrong to quote that one is better than the other one, this is totally applicable to the individual preference of the student.
The student, depending on his ability can choose any one of the above methods of study for JEE Mains examinations. We, at CollegeDekho, wish you the best of luck irrespective of whichever path you choose to follow.