He won silver medal in International Physics Olympiad and also won
He says he didn't follow any particular plan to emerge as the topper of one of India's toughest exam. He followed an integrated curriculum for Physics, Chemistry and Maths from Class 11 and spent 6 hours in coaching class everyday – 2 hours each for Physics, Chemistry and Maths. He dedicated another 6 hours at home for practice. Once a month, he would take a full-length 3-hour mock test. Having completed his syllabus in August during Class 12, he discontinued coaching classes and studied for 9 hours at home for revision and practice. Immadi also increased his frequency of taking mock tests from once a month to once every week. He took as many as 30 mock tests to track his preparation level.
Well prepared, he didn't feel anxious while appearing for the exam. Here's his tips to everyone else appearing for competitive exams on how to beat anxiety and fear:
MOTIVATION is key
Coaching classes may teach you how to do things, but there is one thing that none else can teach you - Why do you want to clear JEE or get in one of the best engineering colleges of the country? If you have a clear answer for this, you will always be charged and there will be no setbacks that can stop you from trying harder and harder till you get it. It’s that same WHY that will ignite the fire in you. For someone it can be his/her parent’s dream, while for others it can be the brand IIT. It can be anything. So, try finding your reason and it will be your motivating factor.
Concentrate on your studies, don't worry about what others do
Once you have your reason, an effective planning will always help you stand out in the crowd. There are lakhs of students studying day in and day out to achieve the same dream. This fact might scare you, but I will show you a different angle which helped me. I had developed a mentality that I would solve as many questions as I could and try to score maximum marks. I never bothered how many students I was competing with and I gave my exams with peace of mind. As na result, I did not make any silly mistakes in nervousness and achieved what I deserved.
No need to rush into solving the paper
Many of my friends had the habit to start writing the paper from the first question as soon as they received it. My advice to you is to take a few minutes to have a thorough look at the paper and pick up easy questions first. Presence of mind is very important and smart work pays more than hard work.
Every topic is important
There often exists a question - what topics you should work hard on? Well it’s JEE and so the entire course matters. I had a very strong hold on my favorite topics and practiced them so well that I answered almost all the questions in JEE. Your favorite topics are the ones that will set your score high. Practice them to perfection. But don’t give up on other topics. Everything is important and you never know what will come up in JEE. So your devotion of time to to all subjects is important. Give adequate time to all of them. Plan your schedule effectively. Note down your daily activities and analyze them. This way you will also come to know the number of hours per day you are dedicating to your preparation. Noting down your daily activity will give you a proper insight into your activities and will help you in improving step-by-step every day.