Most people seem to be asking this question all the time.

* “Which is a better course material – FIITJEE, VMC, BT or Bansal Kota?”
* “How should I choose the best correspondence / postal course?”

It is not fair to endorse one brand over the other, particularly when I know that most of the above stated brands were rendered completely useless, less than 3 years ago, when the IIT JEE pattern was changed. The changes were made completely with the objective of reducing the impact of coaching.

The old IIT JEE coaching brands have no experience in Objective type problem solving techniques.

In this context one can understand that emerging brands in IIT JEE coaching, have better material than most old ones. In fact, buying course material from old brands is a recipe for disaster.

How does one choose the course material?

We have listed down some of the critical parameters that should be seen by the students and parents while choosing the course material

* Authors?
Ideally, it should be written by IIT graduates (who have successfully appeared in IITJEE), who are involved in IITJEE coaching. IITians understand the psychology behind successful preparation for IITJEE. By coaching students an IITian is likely to become aware of the problems faced by students.

* Based on the ‘New IITJEE Pattern’
Established teachers in old brands are well aware of the ‘Old IITJEE Pattern. They have no clue of the nuances of the new pattern. Just changing the problems from descriptive to objective type is not enough. A good course must be good on the following parameters:

* Is it time managed?
The biggest problem faced by students is managing time. The course should have a time plan to itself. Having a course material with a lot of problems is of no use unless we know the time to be spent on it. Some course materials try to give a lot of material making it impossible to complete. The total course material should be balanced in such a manner that a student can complete it within the time available.

* Strategies on solving objective type problems
Since, most of the traditional instructors did not face any objective type problems, they dont know the methods of attempting objective type problems. A lot of problems can be solved by elimination of wrong alternatives, intelligent guessing, modulating the speed, speed reading etc. The course should have special focus on the above.

* Synchronization with the school syllabus
Since most students now have to prepare along with Class XI – XII, the problem of managing IIT JEE preparation along with school studies has become more acute. The course should be such that it benefits students in synchronized study.

Other key parameters to assess the course material are:
* Online testing
BITSAT has become online. CAT has become online. It is very likely that IIT JEE also become online by 2011. Online testing also gives a good comparative assessment immediately. Students dont need to join all India test series on paper.

* Preferably in workbook format
Students should get used to solving problems in lesser space. A course material in workbook format limits the space available, forcing students to get used to the format.

Quest course for IITJEE that fits all the above requirements and more.