Paper 1 easier than paper 2, say candidates
With the entrance test going fully computer based this year, candidates neither had prints of the question papers, nor a record of their responses
LUCKNOW: The JEE Advanced paper 1 and paper 2 were conducted successfully on Sunday. This eligibility test is the gateway for admissions to IITs and other premium engineering institutes in the country.
This was the first time the Joint Entrance Examination was conducted online. Till last year, the exam was held online as well as offline (pen and paper version) and students could opt for either of the modes. This year, the entrance was conducted in a fully computer-based manner.
This meant that candidates neither had prints of the question papers, nor a record of their responses. However, post-exam discussions were as energetic as ever. The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K), which conducted the JEE Advanced, took stringent measures to ensure that the examination was conducted in a free and fair manner.
CANDIDATES RATE DIFFICULTY LEVEL
Rating the difficulty level of the exam, many candidates said that paper 1 was easier than paper 2. They also said that mathematics was easy and physics was “relatively difficult”. Most rated chemistry as moderately difficult.
Anmol Srivastava who scored 98.25% in ISC this year said, “I felt that paper 1 was quite easy when compared to paper 2. However, maths was easier for paper 1 and physics was easier for paper 2.”
Another aspirant Manoj Kumar said, “Maths gave me a tough time. The questions were tricky and very time consuming. Some questions were new and challenging. Also, this year, the exam was online. So, we had a virtual keyboard on the screen to type out the answers for the integer-type questions. Rest of the questions were objectives. Chemistry and physics were comparatively easier.”
Candidate Gaurav Yadav, who could not crack the exam last year, said, “This year’s paper is easier than the previous year’s. However, it was on the same lines as the last year’s paper. The pattern was only slightly different.” His friends nodded in agreement. “All questions were within the ambit of the syllabus. And fortunately, there weren’t any ugly surprises,” he added.
Ishu Bhagat was not too happy with the two-hour break in between the papers. “Paper 2 was tougher than paper 1. Also, the two-hour break between papers made me feel a tad bit lethargic. For me, maths as always was the most difficult. Physics was fairly easy, while chemistry was moderate level difficult.”
Taking a view different from the majority’s, Priya Singh said, “I found chemistry to be the toughest. Physics and mathematics were easier in comparison. Also, the second paper went better for me. I am afraid that the first paper, which I found more difficult, may hold me back.”
COMPARISON WITH LAST YEAR’S EXAM
NK Dubey, centre head, FIITJEE Lucknow, said, “The total marks of each paper was reduced from 183 to 180.” Also, the matching type questions had just two columns. Last year, some questions had three columns as well.
Sanjeev Pandey, coordinator of FIIT JEE Lucknow, said, “As the paper was conducted in a computer based mode, neither a print of the question paper nor a copy of the response sheet was given to the students. The general feeling was that this year’s paper was tougher than last year’s.”
EIGHT HOURS OF STRESS
The atmosphere outside test centres was saturated with stress as both students and parents waited for the second paper. “It is a total of six hours of exam -- two rounds of three hours each -- and a twohour break in between,” said an exhausted student.
After paper 2, as candidates walked home, some faces appeared confident while others crestfallen. Many students said they were relieved to finally get the burden off their backs after sitting through the toughest engineering entrance test.