Plan B: From Boards to My First SSB Call

After losing all my NDA attempts, I was left with more motivation and determination than before. It was time to execute Plan B.

Class 12th boards were approaching fast. I was trying hard to concentrate, solving as many questions as I could, hoping to avoid last-minute problems. My school decided to take a final pre-board exam to test our readiness. I did fairly well in Physics and Mathematics, but Chemistry—well, that was still my weak link.

The hustle continued until finally, the boards arrived and were done with. For a moment, I felt lighter, but then all those sleepless nights, discussions with seniors, and sessions with retired officers came flooding back into my head. I requested my father to let me enroll in a crash course for JEE Mains.

The idea was simple: appear in JEE, secure a decent percentile, and ensure admission into a good college. That way, even if NDA didn’t work out, I’d still have other entries like TES or 10+2 B.Tech Navy open.

The first day at coaching, everything went over my head. The teachers were more focused on NEET aspirants and students who were already ahead in the syllabus. Honestly, I felt like giving up and taking a drop. But dropping a year was never an option for me.

So, with dedication and hard work, I started preparing for my first JEE attempt—just 13 days away. I picked up resources like HC Verma and CENGAGE, solving as many problems as possible.

The big day arrived. I gave the exam with all I had. Two weeks later, the results came—53 percentile. The lowest in my coaching.

I was also giving private college exams like BITSAT, VITEEE, SRMJEE, and KIITEE side by side. Meanwhile, in coaching, things went downhill. The teachers stopped showing up after the results because of some unknown clash with the management. With the second JEE attempt around the corner, I had to somehow prepare on my own.

This time, I secured 59 percentile. Not great by any means. Many people would call it another failure. But for me, it was still an improvement, however small.

Leaving JEE aside, I finally got admission into KIIT University, Bhubaneshwar (Odisha). Life started moving again. Then came the Durga Puja break—and with it, the much-awaited notifications for TES and Navy 10+2 B.Tech Entry.

I immediately filled the forms and prayed for a chance. And then, one fine day, while casually scrolling through my Gmail inbox, I saw it—an email from joinindiannavy.gov.in. My heart skipped a beat.

I had been shortlisted for SSB at 33 SSB, Bhopal, scheduled for 25th October 2022.

My happiness knew no bounds. Finally, a chance to prove myself.

Preparation began in full swing. With the help of a known mentor (let’s call him Mr. X), I started working on my psychology tests. During the day, I wrote SRTs, TATs, and stories on random pictures, sending them to him over WhatsApp. In the evenings, I prepared short speeches on geopolitical issues and national interest topics. He, being an SSB aspirant himself, gave me feedback every night.

It was boring at times, but I knew it was important. Meanwhile, with my father’s help, I also got in touch with a retired officer. Through him, I was guided by one of his coursemates—currently serving as an Interviewing Officer at an SSB. That insight gave me confidence.

From the very beginning, I knew my biggest challenge would be GTO (Group Testing). But with college going on, proper SSB coaching wasn’t possible.

As the SSB date drew closer, I was filled with excitement and nervousness at the same time. Questions kept haunting me:

👉 Will I make it?
👉 Or will I have to wait 4 more years for another chance?

These questions would be answered soon enough.

For now, all I can say is—the journey is just getting started. And maybe, many of you reading this will relate to my struggles, my failures, and my small victories.

Let’s find out what lies ahead—together.

See you in the next one.
Bye.
Jai Hind 🇮🇳

NDA Attempts- A step towards the uniform

As soon as I entered Class 12th, I felt like I was one step closer to my dream. The moment I had been waiting for was finally here.

I had started preparing for NDA back in Class 11th, but with school exams going on, I couldn’t give it the attention it needed. Still, I thought—why not just give NDA (I) 2021? Not to clear it, but to get the feel of the exam, understand the pattern, and figure out the important chapters.

So, I went to the examination hall with a free mind and came out with one clear realization—my Mathematics was weak and needed a lot of practice. Around the same time, I saw my seniors clearing their written exams and preparing for their SSBs. Their advice was tempting: “Just focus on NCERTs.” So, I started doing that, while also preparing a bit for SSBs side by side, like most aspirants do.

Then came the twist—NDA (II) 2021 got postponed. That delay made me procrastinate. And when the date finally approached, things got messier. CBSE announced Term-1 exams in the first week of December, while NDA (II) was scheduled for 14th November. To prepare us, the school decided to conduct pre-boards. Naturally, my NDA preparation—especially Mathematics—suffered.

The exam day arrived. After attempting the Maths paper, I knew deep inside—I hadn’t done enough. My only hope was that my GAT performance would balance it out. I prayed hard. But when the results came out on 22nd December, it was no surprise—I hadn’t made it.

Yet, instead of breaking me, it gave me more determination. I knew my weak areas. And I also knew—it was going to be my last attempt at NDA. So, as a backup, I decided to give JEE Mains, hoping to get into a good college and later try for entries like TES or 10+2 B.Tech Navy.

But school work came crashing down harder—assignments, projects, practicals with external evaluators—it all ate up my time. Before I realized, it was already 15th March. Notifications of NDA subject marathons started popping up on my phone, and suddenly it hit me—I didn’t have much time left.

That very night, I asked my parents to enroll me in a crash course. Luckily, the academy I joined had mentors who were themselves defense aspirants and cadets who couldn’t continue due to medical issues. From the next day, I was at it. Solving questions from Pathfinder (Complete Guide to NDA/NA) and Mathematics for NDA by R.S. Aggarwal, asking endless doubts to my mentor—Harshveer Mand (AIR 57 NDA). For the first time, I started feeling confident.

The day of my last NDA attempt came. Maths began at 10:00 hrs sharp. By the time I walked out of the hall at 12:30 hrs, I was filled with hope. For once, I truly believed—maybe this time I’ll make it.

Every single day after that, I prayed to God. “Just give me a chance to go to SSB. Let me prove myself there.”

Finally, the results came. And guess what? I couldn’t make it again. This time, it wasn’t Maths—it was GAT that pulled me down.

That day broke me. I still remember going for dinner that night—completely numb. After forcing myself to study for upcoming boards, I lay down in bed and the tears wouldn’t stop. I cursed myself for not focusing at the right time, for messing up when it mattered most. The next morning, my eyes were swollen red from crying.

But then again—I reminded myself. An officer never gives up, do they?

So, it was time to switch to Plan B. What’s going to happen? Will I still make it to an academy? I don’t know yet. I guess time will tell.

Till then, see you in the next one.

BYE.
JAI HIND. 🇮🇳