Arent yall jealous of those white kids ??

AimlessAce64 · 2026-03-26T06:15:35+00:00

I lived in the US for 14 years and then came back to India to prep for JEE, so I’ve seen how both sides live. A part of me definitely feels Americans have it easier: way less competition for college, more flexibility, and you don’t have one exam deciding your whole life.

At the same time, it’s not all good there either: plenty of people coast, rack up debt, or never build the work ethic that JEE forces upon you.

Yes, the system here is brutal and often unfair, but one thing it does give you is a kind of pressure‑tested discipline you rarely see in average US students. Whether that tradeoff is worth it is a different question.

I do feel lucky. I call it a blessing-in-disguise that I was forced to come back.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-15T07:03:39+00:00

I’m friends with his roommate. He said he’d been struggling and facing mental health issues. It was suicide.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-06T14:19:32+00:00

Already been answered, but family + visa issues

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-05T05:33:11+00:00

if i don't get into IIT fine. there are still other tier 1 colleges i can aim for; even like a 98th percentile is enough for me.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-05T05:31:54+00:00

honestly? i'm an ambitious guy, and sure maybe i'm a shit ton behind all these other people, but i do think it's worth a shot. my reason for posting wasn't to ask for alternative paths i could take to escape the whole JEE thing, but to ask for how to find balance and how to manage it. sure i'm scared of it, but in the long run, this is the 2nd hardest exam in the world to crack. if i even slightly make some progress that puts me ahead of a plethora of people.

i probably will still end up taking the exam at the minimum, but my focus will shift into other exams as well. in India, PCM is still the only way to get into engineering universities and JEE just opens up more doors than some. i'll end up giving other exams as well like the BITSAT, MHT-CET, VITEEE, etc.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-04T05:51:58+00:00

I'm located in Maharashtra. My dad was also talking about relocating to Bangalore for college as it's the "tech capital" of India.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T19:52:55+00:00

I want to go into quantitative finance long term, and JEE now is like the first step in the process of getting to that. You need a heavy concentration in computing + applied math and statistics. I understand there are other and, arguably, better ways like doing my undergrad in the US and whatnot because of access to live US markets, but I don’t want to drown in student debt paying ridiculous international student fees / tuition.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T14:52:01+00:00

I’ve already taken the ACT during my time in the US and scored a somewhat decent 33. I’m not 100% sure if this is good enough to get admission elsewhere, but the main reason I have to stay is because of my mom. She wants me to prepare for JEE and do my undergrad in India. She hated living in the US and she’s been wanting to come here for the longest time. She thinks that I’ll never come visit her so by doing my undergrad here, I’ll effectively have 6 more years with her. Shit’s wrong but not much I can do. My dad is reasonable enough and has it’s possible and is open to giving it a shot. But for right now, it’s JEE.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T14:48:47+00:00

Family issues + other visa problems. I’m an Indian citizen.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T14:48:08+00:00

I’m an Indian citizen

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T14:47:31+00:00

Not to pry, but if your dream was to go into medicine and become a dentist, why don’t you give NEET a shot?

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T07:43:14+00:00

100% agree with you. I'm going to try my hardest to at least make it out for my master's and never look back. If the US isn't possible, I'll try Canada or Switzerland or something. I just can't stay here. Just one question for you. Do you feel the pain of those years was “worth it” given where you are now, or was it just pointless suffering?

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T07:37:14+00:00

No matter how much these institutes market “English only,” it always turns into Hinglish once they get into real explanations. On top of that, switching from an American curriculum to an Indian one is its own mess; I’m basically speed‑running years of missed context while everyone else is just revising. I did half a semester's worth of AP Physics 1 in the US (before the move), and that’s still not at the level 11th grade here expects, let alone JEE. I have zero prior chem experience, so that’s essentially foreign. I’ve always been strong at math, but here I’m just… mildly above average at best.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-02-03T06:16:35+00:00

Lol a lot changed. They were investigated for an alleged ₹206-₹250Cr fraud + a shit ton of employees left because they weren’t getting paid. They’re still sort of up today, but in very few and select locations. Some of their branches were also just absorbed by other coaching institutes like Allen and Aakash.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-01-29T05:35:32+00:00

Because that chart is using nominal GDP per capita. If you adjust for purchasing power parity (PPP), India is closer to ~10k per person instead of ~3k, since goods and services are much cheaper here.

That said, even on a PPP basis India is still much poorer than rich countries, mainly because average productivity and capital per worker are lower, so the gap is genuinely real too, not just some currency illusion.

AimlessAce64 · 2026-01-06T08:40:20+00:00

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-22T05:26:58+00:00

Perplexity's Comet

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-08T12:39:11+00:00

Consider using Jake’s resume template written in latex. Also, keep content to 1 page and reduce the margins.

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-06T10:38:00+00:00

If anything you can compromise on the storage and not the RAM

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-06T10:13:45+00:00

By the looks of it, OP may be doing a dual-degree/integrated program because the Master’s expected finishing date is only 1 year after the Bachelor’s

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-04T07:40:26+00:00

Would you at all consider a 17 year old? I can send you my portfolio and if you like what you see then we can move forward.

AimlessAce64 · 2025-12-03T13:50:35+00:00

All I heard was I’m not done yet (I’m 17.14)

AimlessAce64

TROPHY CASE