My 2022 KCET Experience

Greetings, my fellow engineering aspirants from the state of Karnataka, preparing for their respective KCET examination. For those unaware of KCET, let me explain what KCET is. KCET, also called the Karnataka Common Entrance Examination, is an annual examination conducted by the KEA (Karnataka Examinations Authority) for students of grade 12th or 2nd PUC. This exam provides these aspirants' eligibility to join engineering colleges across Karnataka.

Note: Joining colleges under KCET reduces your entire 4-year fees by almost 90% when compared to management/payment seats.

My credibility:

• KCET Rank - 320
• 2nd PUC - 300 in PCM and 96.67% overall
• COMEDK Rank - 729
• JEE MAINS - 93% percentile
• JEE ADV qualifier

My Preparation Strategy:

I studied my 1st and 2nd PUC at BASE PU College located in Bannerghatta, Bengaluru, in the academic term 2020-2022. As many of you may already know, 2020-2022 was cursed by the COVID pandemic, and it was indeed a horrible time for the entire world. The entirety of my 1st PUC was conducted in online mode due to strict lockdown. Due to constant homesickness and lack of motivation, I failed to grasp important concepts taught in PCM (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics). In summary, I wasted the majority of my time by watching online series (like TBBT, Vampire Diaries, The Originals, The Money Heist, and so on).

When my 2nd PUC commenced, my parents made it very clear to me that under no circumstances were they spending 40L on me for a seat in the top 3 colleges of Bengaluru (BMS, PES and RV). So my motivation was very clear: get a rank under 1K. Filled with motivation, I began my preparation and stayed vigilant throughout the year. Here are some of the tips that I followed:

1. Practise a minimum of 30 KCET questions every day.

2. Be thorough in all concepts.

3. Makes personal hand written notes for board + KCET preparation.

4. Solve a minimum of 10-past year KCET question papers.

5. Start solving KCET papers 5 months prior to the examination.

Here are sacrifices I made during my preparation,

1. I didn't dare to watch any TV series or anime.

2. I didn't get addicted to any online game.

3. I didn't participate in any cultural events (there were none due to lockdown at that time 👎).

Some important Q&A

1. Why does solving 30 MCQs every day help you ?

A. As soon as you revise a topic, you will have a basic understanding (50% of the topic). If you attempt the KCET questions related to those topics, your brain understands them even better and retains the memory.

2. Why solve papers 5 months before the KCET exam ?

A. When you start to solve the KCET paper (70 mins for each subject) under strict exam conditions, you will know where you stand. It's ok get <20, but it's a clarity checker and tells you your position.

3. Why get 300/300 in PCM ?

A. This is perhaps the most underrated trick for cracking KCET. Believe it or not, getting 300 in PCM gives you a high boost. If you are average in KCET and score only 135+ but have 300 in PCM ? Then your rank is guaranteed under 1000.

Thanking Note:

I heartily thank my parents, my teachers, and my girlfriend for their constant motivation and belief in me. Yes, I was dating during my 12th year and still managed to get a rank <1000.