From 99.4 Percentile to IIT Kharagpur: A JEE Drop Year Success Story

eSaral › Success stories From 99.4 Percentile to IIT Kharagpur: A JEE Drop Year Success Story

Getting a 99.4 percentile in JEE Main can feel like a strong result, but for this JEE aspirant from Morena, it was not enough to reach the IIT he wanted. After Class 12, he had a 99.4 percentile in JEE Main, while his JEE Advanced rank was above 18,000. He had an NIT option, but his goal was IIT.

He initially considered giving up after two years of preparation. His father and elder brother encouraged him to take another chance. He eventually decided to take a drop year.

The second attempt brought a different outcome: IIT Kharagpur.

His drop year focused on attending classes, completing homework, managing backlogs, controlling distractions and, most importantly, analysing tests. For students looking at structured JEE preparation, eSaral's JEE Online & Offline Courses can be explored alongside this journey.

Watch the complete IIT Kharagpur success story and hear the student's preparation journey in his own words.
▶ Watch the full interview

Common mistakes JEE droppers should avoid

The student's first JEE preparation did not go exactly as planned.

He had studied in Kota during Classes 11 and 12. According to him, Class 11 was fine, but Class 12 went badly. A teacher had also left the coaching institute during that period, and the changing situation affected his preparation.

At one point, some of his friends moved towards eSaral's developing setup, but he could not join because his coaching fees had already been paid.

He continued studying where he was and also watched videos from teachers such as Sarang Sir on YouTube. However, he said that several topics remained weak and were not properly understood.

Later, he discovered eSaral and its resources, including doubt-solving. One particular benefit for him was that he felt shy asking doubts in a physical classroom, whereas he was comfortable asking questions through the app.

His Class 12 JEE Main result was 99.4 percentile, but his JEE Advanced rank was 18,000-plus. He initially thought that perhaps he should accept an available option and move on.

Then his father and elder brother encouraged him to try once more.

His elder brother had also taken a different path. He had taken NIT Bhopal after one year of preparation and encouraged his younger brother to pursue IIT rather than compromise on his goal.

That encouragement eventually led to the drop year.

For students considering a similar route, eSaral's JEE Early Warrior program is one of the dropper-focused resources available for JEE preparation.

How to prepare for JEE during a drop year

The student's drop-year schedule was demanding but straightforward.

He said that coaching, homework and related study activities together took approximately 12 to 13 hours of his day.

However, the important part was not just the number of hours.

Homework completion became a major part of his routine. Sometimes the homework was not completed immediately, but he made sure to return to it and finish it.

He made a distinction between current homework and old backlog.

The current homework had to be completed because it was directly connected to the topics being taught. At the same time, he gradually worked on his previous backlog by taking out additional time.

His advice was not to abandon old chapters completely.

If a student leaves a backlog untouched, future topics can become difficult because chapters are often connected. Therefore, his approach was to attend the current classes and keep working on the older pending work alongside them.

This gave him a way to prevent the backlog from continuously increasing.

Why attending regular classes matters

The student also emphasised attending classes regularly.

His reasoning was simple: if a student starts missing classes, the backlog can keep growing. Since later topics can depend on earlier concepts, leaving classes can create more problems further ahead.

For his own preparation, completing current work while gradually clearing older work became an important part of managing the drop year.

How to manage JEE preparation backlogs

Backlogs are a common problem during long JEE preparation, and this student's approach was to avoid letting them replace current preparation.

His first priority was the current homework. That had to be completed because it was directly related to the topics being taught.

After that, he would find some additional time for the older pending work.

This meant that backlog management was not treated as something that had to be finished in one large session. Instead, he worked on it gradually.

The approach also helped him continue attending regular classes.

For students looking to strengthen their JEE preparation with structured study material and practice, JEE Main Question Papers can also be incorporated into a broader preparation plan.

How to stay motivated during a JEE drop year

Taking a drop after already spending two years preparing for JEE can bring uncertainty.

The student openly admitted that he sometimes worried about the possibility that his next result could be worse than the previous one.

He had already achieved 99.4 percentile in JEE Main in his previous attempt. Taking another year therefore came with a risk.

His way of handling these thoughts was connected to his parents' trust.

He felt that his parents had trusted him enough to allow another drop year, so he had to make the opportunity count. He did not want to return from the drop year feeling that he had achieved nothing after being given another chance.

That thought helped him push negative thoughts aside and continue working.

Rather than repeatedly thinking about whether the result would come or not, he focused on the preparation in front of him.

His story therefore does not suggest that self-doubt disappeared completely. Instead, it shows how he dealt with it when it appeared.

How to manage distractions during JEE preparation

The student identified distractions as one of his biggest problems.

His solution was quite practical.

He would sometimes give his phone to a friend and continue studying without keeping the phone with himself. He explained that his friend lived separately, so he could leave the phone there and focus on his preparation.

The interesting part was that the arrangement also encouraged his friend to study.

Instead of keeping the phone and potentially spending time on it, the student removed access to it altogether.

This was a deliberate choice: rather than relying only on willpower, he created a situation where the distraction was physically away from him.

For a student preparing for JEE, this can be a useful principle even if the exact method differs. The important point from this story is that he recognised his distraction and changed his environment accordingly.

How eSaral's test series and mock tests helped in JEE preparation

Tests became another major difference between his earlier preparation and his drop year.

The student explained that his eSaral test scores gave him confidence. When he saw the marks he was achieving in tests, he felt that if he could perform similarly in the actual examination, he would have a good result.

He also described his JEE Main performance during the second attempt. His first Main examination score was around 177 marks, and his performance improved in the second attempt, resulting in a higher percentile.

The tests therefore gave him a way to understand where his preparation stood.

But he highlighted something even more important: test analysis.

His advice to droppers was that tests should not be skipped, and the analysis after the test was even more important.

According to him, he had not analysed tests properly during his earlier preparation. As a result, he did not always know what mistakes he was making.

During the drop year, he made test analysis a major part of his preparation.

Students can explore eSaral's JEE Test Series for a structured testing and analysis approach.

Why JEE test analysis matters for improving performance

The student's biggest difference between his earlier preparation and drop year was not simply taking tests.

It was analysing them.

He explained that in the previous year, he did not properly analyse his tests. This meant that mistakes could remain unidentified.

During the drop year, he focused much more on understanding what had gone wrong.

This was particularly important for JEE Advanced.

He said that JEE Main could sometimes be managed even without the same level of test practice, but according to his experience, JEE Advanced required extensive testing because even one mistake could have a significant impact.

His advice to other droppers was direct:

Give every test and analyse it afterwards.

For students practising previous-year questions alongside their tests, eSaral also provides JEE Advanced Question Papers.

What parents should know about supporting a JEE dropper

The student's parents played an important role in his decision to take a drop.

After his first attempt, he had a JEE Main percentile of 99.4 but a JEE Advanced rank above 18,000. He initially felt that perhaps he should stop preparing because two years had already passed.

His father and elder brother encouraged him to try once more.

His elder brother specifically told him that taking one more year could prevent future regret. That support helped him decide to take the drop.

The result made the decision particularly emotional for his family.

When the result came, his father had already seen it before the student woke up. The family celebrated at home, with relatives and people from the neighbourhood joining in.

The student said his father had praised him in a way he had never experienced before. At 18, he described hearing this kind of direct appreciation from his father for the first time.

His elder brother also played an important role throughout the journey and was one of the people who had encouraged him to take the drop.

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Watch the full interview to hear the student's drop-year experience, test strategy and IIT Kharagpur result directly.
▶ Watch the complete IIT Kharagpur success story

eSaral's role in the result — a balanced view

The student's journey involved several factors, and the transcript does not present eSaral as the only reason for his result.

His own effort was central. He took responsibility for completing homework, clearing backlogs, attending classes and controlling distractions.

At the same time, he described several eSaral resources that helped him.

He had earlier watched eSaral teachers on YouTube and later became familiar with the platform's doubt-solving resources. He said he was uncomfortable asking doubts in a physical classroom but found it easier to ask them through the app.

During the drop year, tests became particularly important. He said the marks he received in eSaral tests increased his confidence and that his test performance gave him a sense of what he could potentially achieve in the actual examination.

More importantly, he changed his approach to test analysis.

He explicitly identified this as one of the biggest differences between his previous preparation and the drop year.

So the story is best understood as a combination of the student's consistency and effort with the classes, doubt-solving and testing resources he used during his preparation.

Explore eSaral's JEE Test Series and JEE Online & Offline Courses to learn more about the preparation resources used by JEE aspirants.

What other JEE droppers can learn from this journey

This journey is particularly relevant for students who are unsure whether taking a drop is worth it.

The student had already scored 99.4 percentile in JEE Main, but his JEE Advanced rank was above 18,000. He had spent two years preparing and was initially unsure about trying again.

His father and elder brother encouraged him to take another opportunity.

During the drop year, he did not rely on one major change. Instead, he worked on several practical parts of preparation: attending classes, completing current homework, clearing old backlog, controlling distractions and analysing tests.

His biggest advice to other droppers was about tests. He said that every test should be attempted and, more importantly, analysed afterwards. He considered test analysis one of the biggest differences between his previous and current preparation.

The story also shows that self-doubt can appear even after making the decision to take a drop. His response was to remember the trust his parents had placed in him and continue working.

For another JEE aspirant, the exact routine may look different. But the principles from this journey are clear: stay consistent, don't allow backlog to pile up, control distractions, take tests seriously and learn from every mistake.

Read more student journeys like this on eSaral's Success Stories page, or watch more real conversations on the eSaral Student Success Stories YouTube channel.