Almost 80% of the students face the dilemma every year after the declaration of JEE Main results that whether they should choose from the provided options or go for the other institutes or to drop a year for better preparations. It is obvious that not every student is able to perform his or her best in JEE Main. Considering the fact that a majority aims to crack JEE Main and to qualify for JEE Advanced for admission in the renowned IITs and NITs, it is obvious that a low score does not bring happiness for them.
The idea of Immediate Admission v/s the Idea of Year-Drop:
If we critically analyze both the situations, it can be deduced that both the concepts are correct on their behalf. If we consider the case of immediate admission, many candidates prefer to opt for this option. This is because after the declaration of result for JEE Main, examinees get an idea of the colleges in which they can get admission. According to some, it is better to grab the opportunity which is lying in front of them instead of waiting one or two more years for the purpose of preparation.
On the other hand, if we consider the other perspective of dropping a year or two, to some candidates it appears to be a better strategy to crack JEE Main. If one opts for a year drop, s/he can get ample time to prepare without experiencing any distractions. Sometimes, due to the similar time-lines of JEE Main and class 12th exams, candidates are unable to give their equal efforts on both the examinations, this results in unsatisfactory marks. This probability can be entirely ruled out if a candidate opts for a one or two-year gap.
How to decide on an option?
As we have observed that from both the perspectives, it appears to be feasible. However, one should not neglect the waste of time and resources if he or she opts for a year-drop. As the candidate gets another 12 months or 24 months to prepare, he or she is also resulting in a doubled expense related to coaching, study-materials and much more. Thus, it is best to consider the statistics which will help us to decide whether to take admission immediately after JEE Main results or to wait for a year in order to prepare in a streamlined manner.
- The One-Year Drop:
According to resources, if we consider the percentage and the average marks secured by 7,01,297 fresher candidates, 1,67,352 one-year drop candidates and 25882 two-year drop candidates, it can be observed that only a few students were able to perform better. For example, if we consider average JEE Main marks secured by the general category students, it has been observed that the fresher students secured 60 while the one-year droppers were able to improve that score as they secured 77. However, if we consider the percentage, the fresher candidates were able to bring a wonderful 51% which got reduced to 47% in case of 1-year droppers.
A significant rise was noticed in case of OBC-NCL, where fresher examinees secured average marks of 49 but the one-year droppers were able to secure 66 which is appreciable. In case of the percentage, the freshers brought 36% which got incremented by only 2% in case of the one-year droppers. Considering SC and ST candidates, it was observed that their fresher candidates secured average marks of 44 and 41 respectively which got incremented to 52 and 48 in case of the one-year droppers. If we consider the percentage perspective, it has been checked that there has been no improvement in the percentage of ST candidates, however, SC candidates saw an increment from 9% to 11%.
If we analyze the statistics, it can be said that the students performed slightly better after taking a year gap but their performance was not extremely good to secure them a seat in IITs. Some students were also not able to clear the cut-off for JEE Advanced. Thus, it is recommended that one should not opt for a year gap as there are fewer probabilities that the candidate will get a better choice in terms of college and the branch.
- The two-year drop:
The statistics reveal that the average marks for two-year droppers were 66 while 60 marks were secured by the freshers in general category, the percentage also reduced to 41% from a high 51%. In case of the OBC-NCL candidates, the average marks of the freshers were 49 while the two-year droppers managed to get 64, their percentage faced a rise from 36% to 40%. If we consider SC and ST candidates, the average marks only modified a bit as the two-year droppers secured 49 and 46 respectively while the freshers secured 44 and 41 respectively. Similarly, the percentage of the two-year droppers among ST candidates has not shown any improvement while SC candidates saw a rise from 9% to 15%.
One should reconsider his or her decision of taking a two-year gap as it can be risky in various aspects. In this case, one not only incurs double expenses but the statistics reveal that candidates were not able to perform brilliantly in the examinations after a two-year gap. This is why most of the students do not opt for a two-year drop, UP is perhaps the only state where 42% of the students opted for a two-year gap while all other states have revealed that maximum 10%-15% of their students have opted for this choice. On the other hand, UP and Bihar hold the highest records having their 24% and 14% students opting for a one-year gap.
After analyzing the statistics, it is quite clear that planning for a year gap may not turn out to be that productive as there may be a subsequent reduction in the marks. It is better to save the money and the resources and to opt for the colleges which are available to a fresher as there is no guarantee that the candidate will perform brilliantly after a year gap. Results depend on an individual and one can get several chances to improve the same in the later stages of his or her life. Thus, it is better to analyze every possible perspective before randomly opting for a year gap as it may not lead to a successful outcome.