Founder and faculty of SNBPLC. Qualified CSIR-NET, GATE and JEST in 2016-17. Training students for the past 8 years.
Many students believe that reading books is very hard and consider it a waste of time for exam preparation. They ask why can’t one simply follow coaching centers notes. They also ask, why do we need to solve problems from standard textbooks? Why can’t we just solve Previous Year Questions (PYQs)? Also, some students are asking why SNBPLC not providing solutions to PYQs.
Through this article, I aim to address various doubts, misconceptions, and frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Common misunderstanding about our course is, many people think that students have to struggle to read/solve textbooks and we do nothing. Please complete a couple of our YouTube playlist to get to know what exactly we do in our class.
We teach all the concepts related to a topic and solve all difficult problems in such a way that an average student can directly jump into our assignments and start solving quizzes containing PYQs and our designed questions. We are also creating lecture notes, but we do push students to read books because of several reasons, that I will tell in a moment.
It is not true that we do not solve PYQs in our class. Please do watch some of our Problem Solving Playlist.
After learning Physics, we expect our students to try PYQs on their own. Once they have tried solving the problems themselves, we collect the unsolved or difficult ones and solve in class.
Student community should understand the difference between PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE.
Conventional coaching notes and materials are primarily based on previous year questions (PYQs). Solutions and tricks are created after the exam. Many coaching solutions are given just to attain the right answer. You can even find solutions to the wrong questions!
Restricting yourself to PYQs solutions or notes related to PYQs is highly risky as it does not guarantee that you will be able to solve new problems independently in the exam. In most cases, only about 10% of the questions are repeated, meaning that 90% of the time in the exam hall, you will be facing new problems, generating ideas, applying Physics.
Remember, you need to prepare for the future not for the past…!
Those who are preparing CSIR-NET, GATE, JEST, TIFR question papers are not blind. They are observing coaching classes. They do know about coaching class notes, tricks etc. Over time, they have started designing more conceptual and difficult problems. They have introduced Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) in GATE exam which can be answered if you know all corners of a concept and have complete hold on it.Â
Those who design questions in these exams are Geniuses with Experience. If they want to check whether a candidate has understood a concept or topic properly, they know exactly how to design questions and they have been doing so deliberately in recent exams. Their goal appears to be selecting genuine talent, not those who simply memorize.
Just check how many GATE 2025 questions you can answer using coaching notes and tricks which are based on old GATE questions ?
Learning physics is not optional; it is essential for these exams.
Learning Physics doesn’t mean only doing theory. Problem solving is an integral part of Learning Physics. That is why standard textbooks include numerous problems. Understanding and solving standard textbooks is the best way to Learn Physics.
No coaching notes can compare to a book written by a brilliant author with over 30+ years of teaching experience. These authors are not only genius physicists but have also dedicated 30–40 years to teaching. They not only know the depth of Physics, they also know how to make students learn Physics. They have consolidated their entire life experience into a single textbook. The depth of understanding and conceptual clarity that one can gain from studying these books cannot be matched by coaching notes. Also, these books cover a wide range of topics which one cannot see in coaching notes.
Not referring to any standard textbooks can be highly misleading. What if a coach or tutor makes mistakes? Even premier institution professors occasionally make errors in class. So, don’t you think a tutor or coach can also make mistakes? Without referring to standard textbooks, how would you, as a student, even recognize those mistakes? More importantly, how would a tutor or coach correct their own errors? Suppose a question or solution is wrong—how would one know? This is where the importance of standard textbooks comes in, they serve as the best source of accuracy, depth, and clarity in learning.
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We are not saying PYQs are useless. Solving only PYQs or relying on notes based on past exams are not enough.
After Learning Physics, PYQs should act like a source of checking your Physics and help you to evaluate whether you can apply your Physics. Through solving PYQs, quizzes and tests, you should increase your speed, accuracy and improve your approach.
PYQs, quizzes etc. can test your Physics, but they will not build one.
Like people say, ‘if you do what is easy, your life will be hard later’. If you avoid challenges, seek comfort now, you will face difficulties in the exams.
It may feel easy when a coaching center spoon-feeds you with notes, formulas, and solutions to PYQs. But if your Physics is weak, the exam will be tough. On the other hand, if you put in the effort now to build a strong foundation in Physics, the exam will be much easier for you.
Solving PYQs by simply referring to ready-made solutions will not help you make progress. Even if you have solved thousands of questions this way, it will be of no use. The effort you put into solving problems on your own is what truly helps in exams.
This is why SNBPLC is not interested in creating ready-made solutions. If we do so, our students might just copy them and submit without actually trying.
(However, our students are actively posting solutions to PYQs on our topic-wise question pages. Check them out here.)
The method we are highly recommending is Understanding and solving standard textbooks along with PYQs. Doing standard textbook will build your Physics & problem solving skills, solving PYQs will help you to test yourself. With this approach, you will be well-prepared to tackle both repeated and newly designed questions in the exam.
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-Subrahmanya Hegde
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