By- Vijay GarG
Should one register for all four attempts?
Yes, students should register for all four attempts. When the time comes, a student can take a refund for the attempt he/she is not appearing for.
Note: Fees for all four sessions can be paid at the same time. In case a candidate does not want to appear in any session for which the fee has already been paid, it will be refunded by NTA, provided the request is received during the application process of the session from which the candidate wants to withdraw.
Can the first attempt be considered as a mock test/practice test?
Remember every attempt is as important as the other. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that the first attempt can be taken lightly, as there are three more in the row.
Flashback: In JEE Main 2020, students gave January Attempt as a mock exam; with a mindset that they will perform better in the September Attempt. Students then worked very hard for the next seven months in the hope to give their percentile a boost. Unfortunately, the September Attempt turned their hopes upside down. And their percentile took a huge dip and ultimately their January percentile was counted for the Merit List.
So, never take any attempt lightly. Even if you are going forward with all the attempts; focus on all of them equally.
In which attempt should every aspirant appear?
Appear in the February Attempt and May Attempt, the first and the last one to be precise. Your Board Exam might clash with the second or the third attempt, so just register for both of them, and decide which to appear in later.
Let’s talk about what to do after the February Attempt
Thoroughly assess your mistakes and what topics you missed, in the five days after you appear in the exam (the result of every attempt will be announced within five days). The benchmarking of all four attempts will be the same; as per the basic information available. So you need to overcome those weaknesses in the second/ third attempt. Let’s keep the decision for later, you can decide which one should appear in after the February Attempt.
Give your 100% in the February Attempt, and you have to definitely give the May Attempt- this is for both JEE Main and JEE Advanced Aspirants. In 2nd/ 3rd just work on overcoming your weaknesses.