Achi news desk-
For science students, it is the most crucial time of the year as they sit down to attempt the second session of the Main Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Among the most competitive exams in the country, candidates hoping to join the technical fields juggle between practice tests and last-minute revisions. Now, a recent post on X, showing a JEE candidate’s schedule, has gone viral (over 655K views) and raised questions about the arduous preparation – involving 16 hours and 45 minutes of studying, leaving only 4.5 hour for sleeping alongside short naps. and meal breaks. Are these patterns productive or harmful? IIT Delhi alumni and medical experts weigh in.
Tales of aspirants
“My preparation for the current exam cycle has also been quite thorough. I have been self-studying for over 12 hours a day,” said Tanmay Krishna, a resident of East Kidwai Nagar, adding, “I took a year off so that I didn’t have school work or boards to worry about. Before the first session of JEE Main, I took coaching and had classes six days a week, between 8am and 7pm, and followed that with some self-study. Now, I wake up at 6am and study for four hours aside, then from noon to 4pm, and again from 6pm to 10pm.”
But, not all candidates think that following such a schedule is sustainable in the long term. “Aise padai karenge i jeeyenge kab?” opines Ishita Arora, a resident of Kailash Colony. Just done with her board exams, she feels, “I have been studying for eight to 10 hours a day and sleeping for a full eight hours. I also spend time with my friends between study sessions. Only in OTT movies or shows do we see such a tight schedule being followed. In fact, it takes some socializing and downtime to heal.”
An alumni perspective
Kshitij Morodia, an IIT Delhi alumnus of 2019 batch, shares, “It doesn’t matter how many hours in a day you study if you’re too burnt out to remember. You need to use the time wisely. Back when I was preparing in 2011-12, I kept weekly and monthly checkpoints instead of a very strict daily schedule, which changed according to the timings of school classes and training. This (the timeline in the viral post) is an extreme case. ” Morodia, who works as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, added, “You can’t throw hours at something and hope magically [get into IIT]. You have to do it efficiently. “
Shivam Khare, a senior software engineer at X Corp who graduated from IIT Delhi in 2016, says, “I used to study for about 12 hours a day when I was in class XI and XII, and that included school classes and coaching centers . In the last months of class XII, it was limited to revision for about four to five hours… I always tried to study when I enjoyed it, so I used to be relaxed. But now, the competition seems to be higher, so naturally, the JEE would be tougher. Still, the schedule shared online looks extremely rigorous. “
Doc Council
“I would advise against following such a schedule,” says Vandana, a clinical psychologist at AIIMS, Delhi. She explains, “Maybe it’s possible that some kids study that way, but it’s also possible that the schedule is designed to get preferences and traction. [on social media]. We often see some exaggeration when seeking approval… For a young mind that is still developing, it is crucial to give it time to rest and recuperate. If a child doesn’t get enough sleep, they won’t be able to retain as much information, leading to a constant cycle of worrying, studying and forgetting. A minimum of six to eight hours of sleep a night is essential at this stage of development, for both mind and body.”
