4 Secret Strategies I Used to Get Into IIT Bombay (And They Can Help You Too!)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Sunny shares four unconventional study strategies that helped him get into IIT Bombay. The first strategy is 'QTN KM,' a diary for emotionally engaging with challenging questions. The second is using flashcards for memorization through repetition. The third strategy involves creating 'solution manuals' for a deeper understanding of concepts. Lastly, 'nonlinear notes' in the form of mind maps are introduced for efficient revision. These strategies aim to make studying more effective and personalized.
Takeaways
- 🧠 Success in competitive exams is not just about hard work, but also about smart strategies and emotional investment in learning.
- 📔 The 'QTN KM' (Questions That Nearly Killed Me) strategy involves deeply engaging with challenging questions to form an emotional connection and better retention.
- 🔍 Utilizing online resources and reaching out to experts for solutions can be a game-changer for understanding difficult concepts.
- 🃏 Flashcards are an effective tool for memorization, especially when information is presented in different forms like jokes or diagrams.
- 🧩 Solution manuals help in developing both intuition and intellect by writing out detailed explanations for solved problems.
- 📚 Nonlinear notes, such as mind maps, can improve the efficiency of studying and revising by making information more accessible and less time-consuming.
- 🤝 Emotional investment in studying, like taking a tough question personally, can enhance memory and understanding.
- 🔑 Repetition and varied presentation of information are key for memorization, especially when emotional connection is lacking.
- 🎯 Balancing the use of intuition and intellect is crucial for accuracy and speed in competitive exams.
- 🏆 Unconventional study strategies can provide a distinct edge and make the preparation process more engaging and effective.
Q & A
What is the main idea behind the video?
-The main idea of the video is to introduce unconventional strategies for exam preparation that can give students a distinct edge, emphasizing the importance of smart studying over merely hard studying.
What is the significance of the acronym 'QTN KM' mentioned in the video?
-QTN KM stands for 'Questions That Nearly Killed Me,' which is a diary concept used to emotionally engage with difficult questions during exam preparation, enhancing memory retention.
How does the video suggest developing an emotional connection with study materials?
-The video suggests developing an emotional connection by taking difficult questions personally, researching their solutions extensively, and treating the process like a detective's quest, which makes the information valuable and memorable.
What role does the internet play in the strategies discussed in the video?
-The internet is portrayed as a valuable resource for finding detailed solutions to tough questions, reaching out to experts, and enhancing learning through platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and educational websites.
Why are flashcards recommended in the video for memorization?
-Flashcards are recommended for memorization because they facilitate repetition, which is key for remembering information when an emotional connection is lacking, and they can be creatively formatted to aid recall.
What is the purpose of creating jokes while studying, as mentioned in the video?
-Creating jokes while studying serves to add an emotional value to the information, making it easier to remember by associating the learning with humor and laughter.
How does the video define the difference between intellect and intuition in exam preparation?
-Intellect is described as a slow but accurate approach to solving problems, while intuition is fast but less accurate. The video suggests balancing both for optimal exam performance.
What is the significance of 'solution manuals' in the video's strategies?
-Solution manuals are detailed, subjective explanations of answers to exam questions, which help strengthen intellect by ensuring a deep understanding of concepts, beyond just intuitively knowing the right answer.
Why are nonlinear notes or mind maps advocated in the video?
-Nonlinear notes or mind maps are advocated for their efficiency in quickly accessing information, reducing reliance on grammar and unnecessary words, and making the revision process faster and more effective.
How does the video suggest using the strategy of 'QTN KM' during exam preparation?
-The video suggests using the 'QTN KM' strategy by maintaining a diary of difficult questions, researching their solutions, and writing them down to create an emotional investment, which aids in memorization.
What is the video's stance on the traditional linear note-taking method?
-The video critiques traditional linear note-taking for being time-consuming, less effective for quick information retrieval, and for potentially promoting passive copying from textbooks without deep understanding.
Outlines
📚 Unconventional Study Strategies for Exam Success
The speaker, Sunny, introduces the concept that exam success is not solely about hard work but also about smart work. Sunny shares four unconventional strategies that helped them get into IIT Bombay. The first strategy, 'QTN KM', involves creating a diary to emotionally connect with challenging questions, which aids in better memory retention. Sunny emphasizes the importance of finding detailed solutions to tough questions, even reaching out to university professors for help, and using the internet as a resource. This approach not only helps in solving difficult problems but also in developing a deeper understanding of the concepts involved.
🔍 Developing Emotional Connections and Repetition for Learning
The second strategy discussed is the use of flashcards for memorization through repetition. Sunny explains that when emotional investment is lacking, repetition can be an effective method for remembering information. Flashcards can be created in various forms, such as bullet points, jokes, or diagrams, to cater to different learning styles. Sunny also shares a personal anecdote about using humor to remember the concept of 'milk of magnesia' in organic chemistry, illustrating how humor can create an emotional value that aids memory. The third strategy involves balancing intuition and intellect during exam preparation, with the speaker suggesting a mix of both for optimal performance.
📝 Solution Manuals and the Importance of Detailed Explanations
Sunny's third strategy is creating solution manuals for practice tests, where they would write out detailed, step-by-step solutions as if explaining to a five-year-old. This method strengthens the understanding of concepts and improves the ability to articulate them clearly. The speaker provides an example of how they meticulously wrote out solutions, including diagrams and step-by-step explanations, which not only helped in reinforcing their own knowledge but also prepared them for the objective nature of competitive exams.
🗺️ Nonlinear Note-Taking with Mind Maps for Efficient Revision
The final strategy introduced is the use of nonlinear notes in the form of mind maps, which contrasts with traditional linear note-taking. Sunny points out the drawbacks of linear notes, such as excessive use of grammar and the need to search through pages when trying to recall a concept. Instead, mind maps allow for quick reference and easy revision, making them more efficient during exam preparation. The speaker shares examples of mind maps they created for organic chemistry and physics, highlighting how these maps cover entire chapters on a single page, making revision faster and more accessible.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Strategy
💡QTN KM
💡Emotionally Invested
💡Flashcards
💡Intellect vs. Intuition
💡Solution Manuals
💡Nonlinear Notes
💡Mind Maps
💡Competitive Exams
💡Revision Phase
Highlights
Success in competitive exams is not just about hard work but also about smart work.
Every topper understands the importance of strategy in their preparation.
It's not about cramming textbooks or solving endless questions but navigating through preparation smartly.
Strategy number one: QTnKM, a diary to develop an emotional connection with difficult questions.
Emotional investment in studying helps the brain store information more effectively.
When stuck on a question, take it personally and seek solutions like a detective.
Use the internet smartly to find solutions to tough questions.
Email professors or experts when you can't find solutions online.
Strategy number two: Flashcards for memorization through repetition.
Create flashcards in different forms like bullet points, jokes, or diagrams for better retention.
Strategy number three: Solution manuals to strengthen both intellect and intuition.
Write detailed solutions for every question as if explaining to a five-year-old.
Strategy number four: Nonlinear notes in the form of mind maps for efficient revision.
Mind maps reduce reliance on grammar and make notes more personal and effective.
Nonlinear notes allow for quick reference and prevent skipping questions during revision.
These unconventional strategies can give you a distinct edge in competitive exams.
Transcripts
millions of students participate in the
same competitive exam using the same
methods practicing the same way how do
you plan to beat millions of people
participating in the same competition
using the same techniques they are using
what if I tell you that your success
doesn't come from how hard you study but
how smart you study every topper that
you have ever heard of has something in
common they understand the importance of
strategy it's not about criming
textbooks or solving endless questions
it's about how you navigate through your
preparation smartly my name is sunny and
today on cinematic we'll dive into four
unconventional strategies that I used
during my preparation that got me into
IIT Bombay these strategies will give
you a distinct Edge in any kind of exam
you're going to appear in these are not
your regular steady tips they are
designed to break the mold and elevate
your performance in ways you might have
never ever heard before strategy number
one qtn km
it's an abbreviation to questions that
nearly killed me it's a diary that I
used to keep during my competitive exams
preparation I build this concept to
develop an emotional corner for the
questions that I'm solving see your
subconscious brain stores the
information only when you are
emotionally invested in it if you aren
emotionally invested in what you are
studying your brain won't store the
information no matter how hard you try
to memorize it your brain stores
something only when it senses a pure
relation between you and that
information
only then it treats that information as
valuable that's why you remember why
Rahul broke his bond with Niha in their
toxic relationship but won't remember
why carbon broke its bond with bromine
during hydrolysis and when I say
cleavage your mind is not even closed to
the cleavage of carbon carbon bond in
beta keto acid during decabox relation
that I'm talking about if I wasn't able
to solve a particular question I used to
take it very personally and then I used
to go on a side quest on the internet to
find the detailed solution to that
question and then I used to write the
detailed solution to that question in
this book while solving questions from
any textbook or any question paper if I
wasn't able to solve that question no
matter how hard I try it I used to
Circle that question then after getting
home I used to go on a side quest on the
internet maybe Kora Reddit or any other
website or any blog or maybe University
lectures on YouTube and then I used to
write my own detailed solution to that
question if I couldn't find the solution
or even hint that solution anywhere on
the internet I used to email University
professors and the reply that they used
to give me I used to solve or find
Solution on the internet based on those
Clues like a detective and it was quite
of a fun activity for me there were a
few instances when I couldn't find a
particular solution or I couldn't grasp
the conceptual problems uh from the book
concepts of physics by etma I used to
email professor ET VMA about the
question and he is so humble that he
used to reply each of my emails with the
particular solution or at least a hint
of it I'm not asking you to keep finding
Solutions on the internet instead of
solving it yourself it's about the
questions that are too tough or the
questions that even get sweat out of
your coaching teachers that's when you
go on the internet to find the solution
to those questions or maybe you come up
with such a good question that even if
you ask your coaching teacher about that
doubt about a particular conceptual
problem
and if that teacher is not able to solve
it or maybe your friends don't get it
and maybe it's a good question that's
when you actually email other professors
The World Is An Open Place once you
understand how to use the internet
smartly you will be able to find
anything on the internet no matter what
kind of solution you are going for trust
me Googling is a skill once you gain
this skill you will even be able to
monetize it in the future as a
researcher or as a copywriter after
finding the solution by any means let
that be on Kora or by mailing the writer
of that textbook I used to write a
detailed solution of that question in
this book UT and km to have a proper
understanding of that concept here you
can see a question that I've noted down
a sphere is just immersed in a liquid
find the ratio of hydrostatic force on
the bottom half and top half of the
sphere it's a cute little question but
it took me so long to find the solution
to this question I uh uploaded this
question on brilliant.org it's a website
that I used to go through uh couple of
times in a week to solve some practical
questions because this website has a lot
of fun engineering type questions on it
and I uploaded this question on that
website and after a couple of days
somebody wrote a good solution to that
question in short but then I again took
some hints from that question and I went
on the internet to find a proper
detailed explanation to that so here you
can see the detailed question and the
answer is five
five just to get a numerical value of
five this is the length of solution that
I had to go through the that's the
purpose of this book this book has cute
little questions that takes too long for
it to solve it also uh makes it clear
for me that uh if a question like this
appears in your main exam if it is J
Advanced and uh the question might
appear really little and you might uh
spend some time on it but uh then you'll
understand that you are not able to
solve it because the solution is very
lengthy so solving such questions uh in
this book makes it clear if I have to
skip such question in real exam or not
see there will be instances when the
question is very little and your brain
thinks that it will take less amount of
time to solve but compared to big ass
questions these cute little questions
will Ru your marks this entire side
quest for a single question used to
develop an emotional relation with the
concept that was dealt within the
question this would make my brain think
that the information consumed in this
little Voyage was important and valuable
making me remember it strategy 2 flash
cards if it's not emotion then it's
repetition if you don't have any emotion
Associated to the fact that you're
memorizing or the concept that you are
learning you can remember it through
repetition and that's through flashcards
if a certain piece of information was a
bit difficult for me to remember I used
to create a flash card about it writing
the information on that flash card in
different forms it could be in the form
of a set of bullet points in the form of
a joke or in the form of a diagram and
whenever I was done with the day
schedule I used to go through this flash
cards narrating whatever that was told
or just reading it and remember it this
repeated action of going through those
cards used to store that information
well in my head in organic chemistry is
the subject that I hated the most
because it requires you to memorize a
thousand things and that's the reason I
used to study this subject with the most
creative methods one among those methods
was writing jokes here's an example me
hey I want some milk farmer to his
servant give this guy some milk of
magnesia me bro I don't want a
suspension of magnesium hydroxide in
water I just want normal milk to drink
farmer magnesia is my cow's name the
joke might be very lame sometimes but
its purpose is not to make somebody
laugh but just to make it easier to
memorize that information in the form of
joke because it creates an emotional
value to it because you laugh at it as I
have told you before our subconscious
brain stores the information only when
it sees an emotional value in that
information or if it sees that that
particular information is valuable or
useful or practical in real life now
particularly memorizing the fact that
the suspension of magnesium hydroxide in
water is called as milk of magnesia
serves no purpose in real life for you
so hearing it in the form of a joke
stores that information permanently in
your head strategy number three solution
manuals the competitive exam you are
preparing for has an objective nature
the questions could be multiple choice
multiple correct match the following or
numerical value questions the problem is
this objective nature of that exam
triggers intuitive nature of your brain
to study for an exam we need both
intellect and intuition intellect
dissects things and understands that
concept to the depth you consciously
make efforts and solve things while on
the other hand intuition is the gut
failing and it solves things
unconsciously the tests you participate
in your coaching on a regular basis
which could be weekly create a strong
intuition but the lack of subjective
questions in those tests don't let your
intellect develop properly to understand
what what I mean focus on the instances
when you solve a question by marking the
option even if it turns out to be
correct if somebody asks you how you
solved it you won't be able to come up
with a solution or you won't be able to
write a subjective solution to that
question that's because most of the
solution was processed in your brain by
intuitive thoughts the main difference
between intellect and intuition is that
intuition does increase your speed but
it reduces your accuracy while intellect
is slow but it is very accurate so you
have to efficiently use the mixture of
intuition and intellect during the exam
such that you can solve the question
with maximum accuracy while maintaining
a good speed throughout the exam it is
like this equation N1 * intuition plus
ns2 * intellect should be always greater
than intellect or intuition where N1 +
N2 is equal to 1 I came up with this
equation randomly and it does make sense
to me now as I've explained the
objective nature of your test trigger
the intuition and intuition is made
strong through practice but what about
intellect how do you make it strong
during my preparation I came up with a
method of solution manuals every
Saturday our coaching used to conduct a
test on the current curriculum and right
after the test we used to get the answer
key so the remaining Saturday and Sunday
I used to solve those 90 questions
subjectively with proper detailed
answers in my solution manual books each
question with a proper explanation right
to the minute details as if I was
explaining the solution to a 5-year-old
as they say if you can't explain a
concept to a 5-year-old you don't
understand it well enough these are the
books I failed completely with my pain
writing detailed Solutions each book has
a separate number and the question
papers are still chronologically stored
in these folders here's one question
paper it's 23rd weekly test and I marked
the number on each of the papers and
this is one of the solution manuals I
created as you can see I have marked the
beginning of each paper solution with
sticky notes colored papers so that
whenever I find I think that this is a
solution that I'm looking for I will be
easily able to find it within these
books here you can see I've marked
weekly test 23 which is this papers
solution and even the index is filled
with weekly test 21 22 and 23 so that I
can easily find it and each of this
question papers is properly stff with
the error list that the coaching used to
give us which mentioned the questions
what were marked by me and which one of
them were wrong and the answer key it's
St to and here you can see I used to
give star ratings to a lot of questions
based on the complexity and difficulty
of this question Let's uh go through
this question it's uh something that
I've marked for three stars so a
circular tube of uniform
cross-section is filled with two liquids
of density Row one and row2 such that
half of each liquid occupies a quarter
of volume of the tube if the line
joining the free surface of the liquids
makes an angle Theta with horizontal
then tan Theta is equal to so this
equation is given tan Theta is equal to
r 1 - K1 R2 by K2 r 1 + R2 where K1 and
K2 are integers we just have to find the
numerical value of K1 by K2 so it's a
numerical question integer type question
and we have to find the numerical value
of K1 by K2 so let's just have a look at
the solution that I have written for
this question just to give U an example
to you to what level I used to write a
detailed solution so here you can see
the solution here I have drawn the
diagram and just have a look at the
solution from here I have written all
the details and to the last step the
answer is one just to get the one I had
to solve this much none of the steps are
skipped each step is explained with
detail like here you can see this value
is in equation two this is in equation
one I've have named each equation I've
uh explained each term so that I
understand each term by myself it is as
if I am writing a proper subjective
solution for 12th board exams imagine
writing 12th board exams level solution
for J level questions
strategy number four nonlinear notes
writing notes in your notebook just like
everybody the style is linear we go
through each notes it could be bullet
points it could be diagrams or it could
be just a paragraph the style is always
linear we linearly go through every page
but during my preparation I mostly use
to make nonlinear notes in the form of
mind maps the usual linear noting style
has a lot lot of drawbacks the linear
notes have unnecessary use of grammar
and other words which just increase the
length of each sentence and there's no
significant difference between your
notes and a textbook if you already have
information well presented in textbooks
then why copy it in your notebook and
you have bad handwriting see the purpose
of writing notes is to help you with
solving questions in the future but when
in the future you get stuck with a
question and you have to go through a
glimpse of the concept that's being used
used in that question or the formula
that's being used in that question you
have to go through your linear notes and
for that you have to go through this
procedure amid solving that question you
have to put your pen down you have to
get up from your chair you have to
travel to your bookshelf you have to
find the particular notebook amongst a
lot of notebooks then you have to open
the pages and find that particular
concept through a lot of pages you have
to go to that topic and then then you
find it this creates a lot of resistance
and maybe because of it you won't have
proper mood to solve questions and this
thing will keep happening if you go
through a question and feel that this
concept is written somewhere in your
notes and you don't remember it you will
be very lazy to go to the Bookshelf and
find that book so you will postpone
solving that question and you might
never ever solve that question again and
it might appear in the main exam and
when you are in your revision phase of
your competitive exam going through the
linear notes just to revise the concepts
takes a lot of time and that's how
during the revision phase of my
preparation I came up with Concept Maps
here's an example from organic chemistry
the problem with organic chemistry is
that there are hundreds of named
reactions and these named reactions
aren't present anywhere on the internet
with a chronological order and writing
each named reaction chronologically in
your notes is extremely difficult when
it comes to linear notes because the
pages just go on so I created this this
is a single page with 235 named
reactions chronologically written from a
to W so instead of just scrolling
through the pages I can directly find
the named reaction here and the
corresponding number reaction is on the
next two pages for example you are
solving previous year's papers and you
find a question that requires you to
remember wolf kishner reaction so just
like dictionary you go to w and find
wolf kishner reaction at 235 number and
on the next two pages you go to 235
number and here's the reaction here's an
example of electrostatics chapter from
physics the entire chapter is covered in
the single page I literally stopped
going through my linear notes when I was
in my revision phase just because I had
these nonlinear notes one page for one
chapter pasted all over my room on the
walls there there are a lot of
advantages of making nonlinear style
notes in the form of mind maps first you
don't have to use grammar at all only
when it's very necessary so that you
don't misinterpret the information the
sentences are shortened to the highest
extent second it is entirely different
from the presentation of information in
a textbook you aren't just blindly
copying from the textbook in your bad
handwriting you are making something of
your own hence even though the
information is already present in a
textbook it's worth writing it again in
these Maps third when you are stuck with
a question in the future and you aren't
able to remember the concept or the
formula so instead of going through the
procedure that I had named before you
just have to have a glimpse at the wall
that's it fourth you will never feel
lazy to have a check at the concept
because you won't have to go through
that procedure hence you will never skip
a question and fifth during the revision
phase of your competitive exam going
through these Maps is extremely easy you
just have have to have a glance at the
concepts on a single page which hardly
takes 10 to 20 minutes and these were
the four unconventional strategies that
I came up with during my preparation
this guys is how you prepare for exams
it has to be interesting and you have to
create something of your own thanks for
watching
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