AIEEE 2012 Exam, Blunders, Analysis

The offline version of AIEEE-2012 was held across the country on Sunday April 29, 2012. The day proved to be hectic both physically and mentally for both the candidates and their parents who accompanied them to the test venue.

This year about 1 lac candidates were to appear for Online version. But due to lack of awareness regarding Online tests, a sense of fear due to non- familiarity with computer based tests, many of the students who had the online version available in their cities, booked a seat for offline version at a nearby center. Kolkata, Nagpur and Mumbai are some such cities, where candidates chose Durgapur, Amravati, Thane as their offline test centers. Due to the unprecedented rush of students in such nearby cities, the transportation & lodging system crumpled. The parents and students suffered in the process.

At many centers it was reported that the students were not given any extra time to fill their details in the OMR sheets. As the answer sheets(OMR) were inside the question paper, hence once the paper was distributed, the invigilator started the exam. Further due to video footage being filmed during the exam (the students were asked to pose before the camera while giving the exam) concentration of the students was disturbed. Such activities if required, must be done in complete secrecy, and taking care about not disturbing the students. Many students have reported a loss of atleast 10-15 mins collectively.

With a huge competition with 11 lakh students the least a student wants is a wrong questions asked in the paper. But unfortunately this did happen in on the last Sunday of April-12. Two questions in the Physics section were having some or the other mistake.

• In one question, a diatomic molecule was assumed to follow Bohr's rule of angular momentum quantization. The answer to this question comes out where a term of :  ; must be present in the denominator. But in no option, such a term was present. The closest answer was

• In another question, the mass of neutron was given wrong. Using the data given in the question, the mass defect comes out negative. No option was having a negative sign for the energy released.

About 25 questions out of the 30 asked in Physics, were from the syllabus which is common to AIEEE as well as IITJEE. Further with a good preparation of IITJEE, a candidate must have found the AIEEE paper on the simpler side. Some of the questions were asked in the previous IITJEE exams.

Chemistry paper was simple and all the questions asked were from the NCERT text book. This has always been the trend with Chemistry paper.

Mathematics was a bit moderate, but again as some questions were from previous IITJEE's , a student with a good preparation for IITJEE, must have done 20-25 questions correct.

A score above 200 will fetch you a seat in NITs. For being in the top 3000 ranks, the score must be beyond 280.

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AIEEE success mantra

Before going into the details of the preparation aspect in the coming 8-9 days for AIEEE-2012, we need to understand that AIEEE is an unpredictable exam in terms of the number of questions asked in a certain subject and the marking pattern followed. In 2011, 30 questions were asked in each subject with a marking pattern of (+4/-1). The topper in the exam scored 345 marks out of a maximum of 360, and the cut-off marks for General category candidates was 48 marks. Scoring anything above 180 marks (about 50% of the maximum marks) would surely give you a good branch in a good college for such a paper. Hence, the 1st two mantras are:

1. Read the instructions carefully and devise a strategy. If the paper has sections of no negative marking, then do attempt questions from that section. Remember that the exam tests your understanding of concepts as well as speed to solve numericals.
   
2. Try and attempt atleast 50% of the questions correct: Glance through a page of the paper for few seconds and choose the questions to attempt, read a question maximum for 2 times and move on to the next one if the question is still not clear. For online examinees, if you feel that you can come back and attempt the question, mark it for review.

For the preparation part, your Board Exam preparations will come handy here. If you had slogged for you Board Exams and are confident of scoring above 85% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Maths, you surely have a good chance in AIEEE. Further, with IITJEE-2012 happening on April 8, about 90% of the AIEEE syllabus would be revised. For topics, which are not there in IITJEE syllabus, you should refer the NCERT Text book. Thus the mantras are:

3. Refer NCERT text book for topics which are extra in AIEEE as compared to IITJEE
   
4. Give atleast one AIEEE Mock test (online/offline) every alternate day for two reasons:
1. Building Speed and Accuracy
2. Getting yourself accustomed
   

If Mock Tests are not available, you can attempt previous years AIEEE papers.

Before, the D-Day, ensure that you have your admit card ready, if still not received then take its print-out from the AIEEE website, and carry 2 passport size photographs along with it to the examination center.

Remember, Don’t worry about what you have not prepared, but be confident about what you have prepared. This will surely sail you through AIEEE-2012.

All the Best.

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The new JEE

Further to my post on March 30,2012 , a few important updates which will finally put an end to all speculations for the proposed JEE (or ISEET, named earlier) to be conducted from the year 2013 to all CFTIs(Centrally Funded Technological Institutes)

1. The Examination is named as JEE ( keeping up the brand value of IITJEE)
2. The JEE will consist of two papers:
• Mains: Objective Paper to test the foundational understanding of a candidate in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The paper will be of 3 hrs. The paper will be designed not only by experts of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, but can also involve experts in Psychometry.
• Advance: Conducted on the same day, this paper will test the problem solving abilities of candidates, besides the skills of problem formulation and incisive thinking.
3. Board Marks - The JEE result will specify the Board Marks. The percentile rank of a student in the science stream in the Board, he or she appears in, will be the marks out of hundred for the Board marks component. The rank will be given up to 9 decimal places to enable tie breaking. The formula to be used for the percentile rank is to be
                                            (cℓ+0.5ƒi)/N*100
   where cℓ is the count of all scores less than the score of interest, ƒi is the frequency of the score of interest (the number of students with the same score), and N is the number of examinees in the sample.
   The percentile rank of students are to be based on the scores obtained from adding
   the marks obtained in the Board examination in the following subjects: 

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics
• One language subject
• Best subject among the electives taken by the student.

Example: 

Student Alok passes from Board B1 with a percentage of 88%. His rank in B1 is 2000 out of 5,00,000 students who have passed in the Science stream. By the above formula, his Board score will be 99.6001. Alok gets 94 in the main test and 94 in the Advance test. 

His total score will then be 96.2404 (40% of 99.6001 plus 24% of 94 plus 36% of 94).

Board Score Calculator

Rank                        

Number of candidates 

Frequency,f (default =1)

Percentile Board Score

The above details can be found on the website of the HRD ministry of India. The excerpts of the report are available here.

As per the report, the JEE-2013 will be announced on Monday, April 16, 2013 after a Joint IIT council and NIT council meeting on April 14,2013. 

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Changes in HSC science Maharashtra

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education circular sent to colleges in mid-March states the following changes in HSC -Science from the coming Academic Year 2012-13. This is part of the syllabus up-gradation process followed to make it on par with the national core curriculum and prepare them for the 2013 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET for medical colleges) and the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET for engineering colleges), which is proposed to put weightage on the class-XII scores as well.

The process was started last year for class-XI and in this year will be implemented for class-XII. The HSC Board examination for science students will be conducted based on this upgraded syllabus. The features of this upgrade are:

1. Out of a minimum of 35% marks required to pass a subject, a student must score a minimum of 25% in the Theory paper of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.
2. Only ONE paper (of 3 hours duration) for Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics instead of Two papers happening till this year.
3. Physics, Chemistry & Biology will have 70 marks of Theory and 30 marks of Practical out of a maximum marks of 100.
4. Mathematics will have 80 marks Theory and 20 marks of Practical out of a maximum marks of 100.

For other details you can visit Mahrashtra Board website.

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IITJEE-2012..The Last IITJEE !!!

With the proposal of ISEET by the Union HRD ministry of India, IITJEE and AIEEE will in all probability breath their last this year. The engineering entrance exam preparation will undergo a huge change due to this shift. Let's compare the 3 exams comprehensively to understand this change.

IITJEE	AIEEE	ISEET
No. of seats: 10,000 apprx	About 30,000 in NITs, IIITs and other Government colleges.	Almost all the engineering colleges in the country will be admitting students through this exam
Pen and paper based exam.	Online in some cities this year, and offline in the rest of the country.	Proposed to be online
Questions are based on Physics, Chemistry and Maths and require a good conceptual understanding of the topics.	Similar in nature to IITJEE as far as the subjects and conceptual understanding is concerned, but the type of questions asked are not much difficult for an average student. A good preparaion for Board exams and a focused study of 2-3 months is usually sufficient for securing a good rank.	Proposed to be conducted with 2 papers. One is the "Mains", which is a Aptitude Test for engineering, no subject questions will be asked, whereas the second is the "Advance", where questions based on Physics, Chemistry and Maths will be asked for securing admissions to IITs, NITs and other top colleges.
The preparation usually begins from class-XI, which helps in building up of the concepts in the Two year period.	With many of the students appearing for this exam, also appear for IITJEE, they prepare from class-XI for IITJEE and this suffices for AIEEE preparation too. All in all, the preparation begins in class-XI for this exam too.	The preparation pattern will change here as with Board exam marks also counted, the performance in Boards will become crucial. A huge number of students will focus on this aspect more and the Aptitude test. A focused lot of students will also prepare for the "Advance" exam.

The proposed structure of ISEET is:

1. Minimum 40% weightage to Board Exam performance. Although it is still not clear that this percentage comprises only of P,C,M marks or aggregate.
2. The combined percentage of Mains and Advance paper will be not more than 60%.
3. Individual institutes are free to decide about the weightage of Board exams, Mains and Advance scores, under the conditions mentioned in above 2 points.

Due to the general confusion prevailing in the minds of the parents , students as well as the teachers, they are going to enroll in some private educational institute or the other, considering that to be the safest way out. Although one of the motives behind this proposed exam was to cut short the dependency on the private educational institutes or classes, and promote the study to happen in schools, but this is far from happening in immediate future. Only after the ISEET is conducted 2-3 times,  this confusion will removed and a better picture will come forth regarding the exam pattern and its preparation.

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Difference between B.Arch and B.Planning

B.Arch [5 Year Program]

An Architect is a professional who designs buildings and built environments, and acts as the leading coordinator for the entire construction project from conception to completion. Architecture is the “art and science of building”– hence an Architect’s education needs to be a perfect

balance between art, science and technology.

As an architecture student, one is encouraged to develop one’s creative talents and artistic skills, as well as hone one’s analytical aptitude for building science and technological innovation. The role and importance of an architect in society has been acknowledged since time immemorial, and assumes special significance in today’s world when buildings and spaces serve complex and diverse functions and need expert monitoring and coordination during planning and construction.

Architectural education equips a student with basic design and visual arts skills, as well as a thorough knowledge of building materials, methods of construction, structural principles and innovations and other related technological aspects of building (like air conditioning, acoustics, illumination and intelligent systems). The student is also exposed to hardcore construction issues such as construction project management, professional practices, specification, estimation and arbitration. There is a strong emphasis on practical training, whereby the student works as a professional apprentice in an established architectural firm for almost the entire ninth semester. The final semester consists of a complete real-life architectural project handled single handedly by the student which is a true simulation of entire scope of works, responsibilities and liabilities of a practicing architect.

Scope & Opportunities

On completion of five years of education, the Council of Architecture (India) offers a professional license to the architect for independent practice in the profession. With the growth of urban life & growing economy, well trained Architects are in demand for developing the infrastructure. Opportunities lie both with public enterprises & private construction companies.

B.Planning [4 Year Program]

Planning, development and management of human settlements is becoming an increasingly important task. As a result of technological advancements and integration of societies and economies of the world, planning of cities and regions has become very complex. Professionally trained town and country planners are therefore needed in order to evolve new options for the development and management of human settlements. This applies not only to the planning of metropolitan areas but also to small cities, towns and villages.

School of Planning and Architecture took lead in instituting the first ever Bachelor of Planning programme in the country in 1989. Students admitted to this four years intensive training programme are provided with broad knowledge and skills necessary to plan for integrated and balanced development of human settlements and areas of varying sizes.

Scope and Opportunities

Upon graduation the students are recruited as professional planners in town and country planning offices throughout the country.

Holders of the Bachelor of Planning degree are eligible for admission to master’s programmes in Indian and foreign universities. These include specializations such as housing, landscape architecture, transport planning, architectural conservation, environmental planning, urban design, etc. This degree also serves to widen students’ professional options after graduation. In terms of securing employment, both public and private sectors offer a range of jobs. Graduates work in organizations providing services in the fields of urban and regional planning, housing, transportation, urban design etc. Some of the past students are also working in the United Nations and World Bank, and few have become self-employed consultants.

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IITJEE Reforms: A step towards Fairness

Students appearing for the highly competitive entrance examination of the Indian Institutes of Technology this year can for the first time see their answer scripts after evaluation and compare their scores with their answers. The IITs will place on the net scanned copies of answer scripts of each of the estimated 4.85 lakh students appearing for the IIT Joint Entrance Examination on April 11, IIT Kanpur director Sanjay Dhande told HT on Friday. IIT Kanpur is in charge of organising the IIT-JEE this year.
The move is among three dramatic admission process reforms the IITs will formally announce, possibly on Saturday, to regain any loss of faith in the IIT-JEE, ravaged by repeated controversies since 2006. “The answer scripts can be accessed by a student-specific password,” Dhande said.
Apart from making answer scripts available, the IITs will announce the correct answers to all questions in the IIT-JEE within 48 hours of the test, Dhande said. Students at present have to rely on coaching centres in the immediate aftermath of the IIT-JEE for answers to questions.
Each student will also receive marks at the time of result declaration — irrespective of whether the student has qualified, he said. Only students who qualify receive marks at present, and that too much after the exam results are declared.
Together, these measures will for the first time allow reach student to evaluate his or her own performance and point out any problem in their marking by the IITs before the admission process is over and it is too late for corrective action. The reforms will also enable students who do not qualify to identify areas of weakness, and whether they are close enough to qualifying to appear for a second time next year.
The IITs failed to explain the cut-offs they used for the JEE in 2006 till last year. They offered three explanations for the cut-offs — including on oath to the Calcutta high court —that they subsequently changed, once it was exposed that the explanations cited did not yield the cut-offs used. Close to 1,000 students suffered.
Errors worth several potentially decisive marks in question papers over subsequent years, and errors in last year’s Hindi question paper triggered criticism from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and in Parliament.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times 26 Mar 2011. Find Article here
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