While cracking JEE or NEET may be one path to success, there are many other paths.Pressure isn't always worth it, former Kota students say
“I thought my life would be over if I didn't get into an IIT. I was so wrong.”
At 16 years old, I thought I was invincible. I was one of the top five students in my class, my teacher's favorite, and good at debate, music, and sports. I thought I had everything I needed. And my eyes were set on IIT. But everything changed when I arrived in Kota in 2015 after my X-Class. I had a sinking feeling that I was already late, as students start studying for her IIT-JEE exam as early as Class 5.
I was in Kota for a year and every minute was like being part of a crazy rat race. Students were locked in their rooms all day. No one was interested in making friends. I'm an extrovert and love the outdoors, so I felt very stifled in that environment during my first two months with him. But when I looked at my colleagues, they all seemed to be okay with being locked up. All I could do was keep my head down and study. But it didn't help. I started getting low scores on tests. I lost so much confidence that I started smoking and drinking. I was spiraling down.
My score continued to drop. Eventually, my symptoms got so bad that I could barely pass my class 12 exams at the end of my two years. After the results came out, my parents took me back to their home in Bhopal. At this point I was so devastated that I couldn't face anyone, not my neighbors, friends, or family. I felt like a loser and isolated from everyone. I had completely lost confidence in myself. From top level players to those who barely managed to pass their 12th board exams, it was very embarrassing for me.
It took a year before I got my second chance. I enrolled in a local college in Bhopal and graduated. I completed my MBA from a top B-school in India. I gradually regained my confidence. I started my first job in 2022. Now I work in a private bank, earn enough money, have friends… everything I wanted in life when I was young.
Looking back on my time in Kota, I think what I did to myself was completely unnecessary. I thought my life would be over if I don't graduate from IIT, but that's not the case. In fact, I'm glad my life is over.
“I went from being a complete wreck to a happy engineer.”
I am from Dharanwala village in Firozpur district of Punjab. I had heard a lot about Kota when I was a student. We were told that Kota is the best place to go if you want to get admission in IITs and other top engineering institutes. It became my dream too.
Currently, I am a software engineer with a wife and kids in Pune. I'm happy to have friends. Would you believe me if I told you that I had considered suicide at some point?
I moved to Kota in 2007 and spent two years there. I was an insecure and introverted student, but here, every second student was at the top and the competition was fierce. Coaching classes in Kota will divide the batches according to the performance of the students. There are regular tests and students are assigned to groups based on their scores. After I started coaching classes, I could see my rank dropping steadily. Every time I took a test, I was demoted to a lower group. This took a huge toll on my confidence level. I started thinking that I might not be able to clear the JEE exam anymore. There was no one to tell me how to improve my score.
The problem is that Kota teachers don't have time to interact personally with students. They are always in a hurry, rushing from class to class. I felt very demotivated. My parents told me not to worry too much. They assured us that we had farmland and that even if he didn't get into an IIT, he would be able to live a financially comfortable life. But nothing they said changed. Maybe I was just immature at the time. I didn't pay attention to them and continued to fall further into depression.
So I asked a counselor for help. She made me realize that passing IIT and other competitive exams is not the end of her life. Somehow what she said made sense. Thankfully, that was the first and last time I had such thoughts. It was a very stressful time, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. You can be under pressure at work, but it's nothing compared to what I felt when I was a young aspirant.
After Kota, I joined Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT). I work in a private company and have been in Pune for the past 13 years. I have a family, I have a son. I like my life here…Today he is my contemporaneous, IIT people. In hindsight, I see that there is no difference between us.
“Kota taught me to value my physical and mental health.”
I dreamed of becoming a doctor and fortunately I am now a doctor. I am from Katni, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, where educational opportunities beyond class 10 were very limited, so I had to go to Kota. Getting there was the hardest part of my journey. Ironically, MBBS was also not as tough as the Kota days. In fact, my medical school years were the best of my life.
Kota attracts the best students in the country, and the atmosphere is so competitive that you can't really understand until you experience it.
I went with my cousin and she had better grades than me, so we managed to pass the medical entrance exam on the first try. I had to drop a year. I felt a lot of pressure because of that.
It was a busy schedule. After six hours of coaching, I crammed into the night. One day flowed into the next. There is no concept of celebrations, festivals or weekends. Students just sit in their rooms and continue studying. Looking at everyone else, I felt that I too had to spend a lot of time studying. I sat at a desk for 12 hours a day.
However, the tension and stress took a toll on my health. I got sick in the first 15 days. Later, I developed other health problems due to constantly sitting and studying. My menstruation has become irregular.
But somehow I got through it. This experience made me realize how important it is to maintain a healthy mind and body. Recently, I have been preparing for the PG entrance exam, which requires me to study for a long time, but now I try to make time for physical activity. If nothing else, try to solve some questions as you walk. Kota taught me to value my life.
“I thought my life would be over if I didn't get into an IIT. I was so wrong.”
At 16 years old, I thought I was invincible. I was one of the top five students in my class, my teacher's favorite, and good at debate, music, and sports. I thought I had everything I needed. And my eyes were set on IIT. But everything changed when I arrived in Kota in 2015 after my X-Class. I had a sinking feeling that I was already late, as students start studying for her IIT-JEE exam as early as Class 5.
I was in Kota for a year and every minute was like being part of a crazy rat race. Students were locked in their rooms all day. No one was interested in making friends. I'm an extrovert and love the outdoors, so I felt very stifled in that environment during my first two months with him. But when I looked at my colleagues, they all seemed to be okay with being locked up. All I could do was keep my head down and study. But it didn't help. I started getting low scores on tests. I lost so much confidence that I started smoking and drinking. I was spiraling down.
My score continued to drop. Eventually, my symptoms got so bad that I could barely pass my class 12 exams at the end of my two years. After the results came out, my parents took me back to their home in Bhopal. At this point I was so devastated that I couldn't face anyone, not my neighbors, friends, or family. I felt like a loser and isolated from everyone. I had completely lost confidence in myself. From top level players to those who barely managed to pass their 12th board exams, it was very embarrassing for me.
It took a year before I got my second chance. I enrolled in a local college in Bhopal and graduated. I completed my MBA from a top B-school in India. I gradually regained my confidence. I started my first job in 2022. Now I work in a private bank, earn enough money, have friends… everything I wanted in life when I was young.
Looking back on my time in Kota, I think what I did to myself was completely unnecessary. I thought my life would be over if I don't graduate from IIT, but that's not the case. In fact, I'm glad my life is over.
“I went from being a complete wreck to a happy engineer.”
I am from Dharanwala village in Firozpur district of Punjab. I had heard a lot about Kota when I was a student. We were told that Kota is the best place to go if you want to get admission in IITs and other top engineering institutes. It became my dream too.
Currently, I am a software engineer with a wife and kids in Pune. I'm happy to have friends. Would you believe me if I told you that I had considered suicide at some point?
Expanding
I moved to Kota in 2007 and spent two years there. I was an insecure and introverted student, but here, every second student was at the top and the competition was fierce. Coaching classes in Kota will divide the batches according to the performance of the students. There are regular tests and students are assigned to groups based on their scores. After I started coaching classes, I could see my rank dropping steadily. Every time I took a test, I was demoted to a lower group. This took a huge toll on my confidence level. I started thinking that I might not be able to clear the JEE exam anymore. There was no one to tell me how to improve my score.
The problem is that Kota teachers don't have time to interact personally with students. They are always in a hurry, rushing from class to class. I felt very demotivated. My parents told me not to worry too much. They assured us that we had farmland and that even if he didn't get into an IIT, he would be able to live a financially comfortable life. But nothing they said changed. Maybe I was just immature at the time. I didn't pay attention to them and continued to fall further into depression.
So I asked a counselor for help. She made me realize that passing IIT and other competitive exams is not the end of her life. Somehow what she said made sense. Thankfully, that was the first and last time I had such thoughts. It was a very stressful time, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. You can be under pressure at work, but it's nothing compared to what I felt when I was a young aspirant.
After Kota, I joined Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT). I work in a private company and have been in Pune for the past 13 years. I have a family, I have a son. I like my life here…Today he is my contemporaneous, IIT people. In hindsight, I see that there is no difference between us.
“Kota taught me to value my physical and mental health.”
I dreamed of becoming a doctor and fortunately I am now a doctor. I am from Katni, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, where educational opportunities beyond class 10 were very limited, so I had to go to Kota. Getting there was the hardest part of my journey. Ironically, MBBS was also not as tough as the Kota days. In fact, my medical school years were the best of my life.
Kota attracts the best students in the country, and the atmosphere is so competitive that you can't really understand until you experience it.
I went with my cousin and she had better grades than me, so we managed to pass the medical entrance exam on the first try. I had to drop a year. I felt a lot of pressure because of that.
It was a busy schedule. After six hours of coaching, I crammed into the night. One day flowed into the next. There is no concept of celebrations, festivals or weekends. Students just sit in their rooms and continue studying. Looking at everyone else, I felt that I too had to spend a lot of time studying. I sat at a desk for 12 hours a day.
However, the tension and stress took a toll on my health. I got sick in the first 15 days. Later, I developed other health problems due to constantly sitting and studying. My menstruation has become irregular.
But somehow I got through it. This experience made me realize how important it is to maintain a healthy mind and body. Recently, I have been preparing for the PG entrance exam, which requires me to study for a long time, but now I try to make time for physical activity. If nothing else, try to solve some questions as you walk. Kota taught me to value my life.
