Are competitive exams useful or just a gimmick?

Hello all!! This is Suven Jagtiani writing this blog. I am presently studying in 9th grade and unlike others I love giving exams. So, some years back I appeared in a competitive exam just for the sake of giving an exam. And now, some years passed on and I am giving these exams not just for the sake of it but with many more aspirations and preparations. So, now after so many years I thought that  I must help you decide whether these competitive exams are useful or not? 

So, for coming to the answer in a better way I thought of taking the interview of a very senior teacher from my school regarding this topic:

> 1) Do you think that schools must conduct private competitive exams?

> Yes certainly. Here a student does not confine himself to competing only with his school mates but with other students of his level. He moves out of his comfort zone. He learns a little more than his text book. Today admissions to most of our professional courses are based on entrance exams. 

" So I believe that students should get into the habit of taking part in competitive exams and take them seriously. "

> 2) What differences do you find in the questioning of competitive exams and the normal school exams?

> Normal school exams have a set pattern of questioning with allocation of marks for various skills learnt. It has to include objective answers as well as long ones. A competitive exam tests a students understanding and concepts in a broader manner. The answers are generally objective. There are several schools across the country whose papers are so thought provoking that their standard is as comparable or even better than some of the mediocre competitive exams.

> 3) Do competitive exams help a student do better in exams like JEE mains and advanced in the future??

> Honestly I don't think there is a definite answer for this. Good competitive exams help a student to prepare better and be mentally more poised during the JEE exams. But it is his or her intelligence and application that will help a student to do better.

> 4) Can studying for competitive exams interrupt a student's normal school studies??

>                                            "No, not at all" 

When a group of like minded students seriously prepare for competitive exams it enhances their knowledge and methods. This will surely help them do their normal studies better and with more confidence.

HOPE, THIS INTERVIEW WAS USEFUL FOR YOU !!

BUT NOW, LET'S LOOK AT THE STUDENT POINT OF VIEW !!

Let's look at the good points of competitive exams first [There are fortunately no bad points of competitive exams]

TRICKY QUESTIONS: 

I have appeared many competitive exams and I feel that questions in those are much more trickier thank questions of any Indian board. They make a student think logically and a student who does ROTE LEARNING would stand no where in the rankings of these exams [ you bet it!!]

RANKING SYSTEM:

I was shocked with the way the results of my first competitive exam came out [ The results were not bad but the way in which it was presented was shocking!!] The results showed me the:

1. PERCENTAGE
2. PERCENTILE [ STATE,CITY,COUNTRY]
3. RANK [STATE,CITY,COUNTRY]
4. Student Performance Report
5. Marks in each section.

So, I am a big fan of these competitive exams and my real learning only happened due to these exams. This happened because I was given an aim due to these competitive exams which helped learn much more than what I learn at my school.

So, are competitive exams useful or a gimmick??[question to you]

"Thank you for reading!!"  
Do you want to be Google certified?

These are the links of some popular competitive exams at school level:

1. SOF olympiads
2. NSTSE exam
3. IPM exam
4. NTSE exam

You must have a look at some books which will help you prepare for competitive exams:[You can even buy them from this blog!!]