Kota, Rajasthan is often called India’s coaching capital. Each year about 300,000 students flock here to prepare for top exams like JEE (Engineering) and NEET (Medical). On the dusty streets, everyone seems to be running against the clock. In Kota’s pressure-cooker atmosphere, 18-hour study days are common and exam marks truly feel like everything. Elders even call Kota the “Kashi of education” because so many young dream of becoming doctors or engineers here.

Students arrive in Kota full of hope – but they quickly find that every day is a race against deadlines. Coaching institutes like Allen, Resonance and Vibrant Academy dominate the cityscape. Most days start before dawn with long classes (often 6–8 hours) and end late at night in libraries or hostels. It’s not unusual for Kota aspirants to say “my books are my friends” because there’s simply no time for much else. In one account, an ex-student described Kota as “a crazy rat race,” where everyone is cooped up in their room all day. Students are tested every few weeks and publicly ranked; keeping up this relentless pace can feel suffocating.

Kota’s coaching culture sprang up over decades. Dozens of institutes offer intensive crash courses in JEE, NEET, and even Olympiad prep. These academies sort students into “elite” and “hopeful” batches based on exam scores, which can be brutally demoralizing. As one former aspirant recalls: “Here every second student was a topper, and the competition was immense. Coaching classes… have tests at regular intervals and based on the score, a student is assigned a batch”. If your rank slips, you get moved to a lower group – a hit to pride and confidence.

Yet this structure also keeps students on a tight schedule. After a 90-minute lecture or study block, Kota mentors often insist on quick 10–15 minute breaks to recharge. Healthy habits really do matter: top students in Kota still try to get 7–8 hours of sleep nightly. Other coaches recommend short walks or light exercise between sessions to keep stress down. Some Kota aspirants even build mini-rewards into their routine – like playing a quick game or chatting for five minutes after each practice test – to stay sane. These tactics help maintain energy, but even then, many students admit there’s barely time for fun. One student said she’d go from her desk to the test hall and back seven days a week, 4 AM to midnight – with no holidays for festivals or outings. mentallyprepare.in

Such an intense environment can take a huge toll. In recent years Kota has made national headlines for student stress. According to Rajasthan officials, 127 students in Kota died by suicide between 2015 and 2024. Even in 2024 alone, dozens more felt pushed to the brink. Every coach and hostel owner now talks about Kota Cares, a program launched in Dec 2024 to provide counseling and mental health support. District officials report they’re training thousands of staff to spot warning signs and offering 24/7 helplines for overwhelmed students.

Behind these numbers are personal stories. Many students describe Kota as lonely and relentless. As one young woman put it, the city felt like “hell,” with no real friends… everybody was your competition”. Away from home for the first time, she struggled terribly. Another Kota alumnus, Milind Randive, recalled: “I was in Kota for a year and every minute it was as if I was in a crazy rat race… Students would be locked up in their rooms all day. Nobody was interested in making friends”. The isolation and pressure left Milind crushed: he began to smoke and drink just to cope while his test scores kept falling. He eventually left Kota and took a year off. Gradually, through an MBA and therapy, Milind rebuilt his confidence. Looking back he says, “I thought my life would be over if I didn’t get into IIT. I was so wrong”. In fact, he now laughs that his pre-Kota belief – “if I don’t get through IIT my life would be over” – was completely untrue.

Childhood-scholars often face parents’ expectations too. Psychiatrists in Kota note that much of the stress comes from family. As one doctor said, “most of the mental health problems I see are related to toxic pressure from parents who tell their children, ‘You have to win at any cost.’”. In this mindset, anything less than cracking the exam feels like failure. Indeed, another Kota survivor, Lajpat Bishnoi, described watching his rank slip with each test and sinking into depression. Teachers were too busy to offer personal guidance, so Lajpat felt utterly adrift. He admits he even contemplated suicide during his Kota years.

Despite the pain, many Kota students do recover and grow. One medical aspirant from MP, Vanshika Choudha, remembers slogging through 12-hour study days in Kota. She fell ill from the stress and eventually took a year off. Now a doctor preparing for her PG exams, she says Kota taught her an important lesson: “Kota taught me to value my physical, mental health.”. Today Vanshika makes sure to balance study with exercise or even walking homework problems. In hindsight she agrees: the pressure of Kota may have been extreme, but it also made her wiser about self-care. timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Seeing these struggles, experts emphasize balance. You might think studying non-stop is the only way, but small shifts can help. For example, imagine you study for 90 minutes straight, then take a 10–15 minute break to stretch or grab a snack. This 90/10 rule is “backed by experts” because the brain actually stays sharper. Likewise, don’t skimp on sleep – most top Kota students still aim for 7–8 hours nightly rather than all-night crams. Regular physical activity also helps: even a short walk or a few yoga breaths each day can lower anxiety. In fact, a simple mindful breathing exercise – inhaling slowly for 4 seconds, pausing, then exhaling for 6 seconds for 3–5 minutes – can quickly calm nerves before a test. Another useful habit is journaling: spending 5–10 minutes writing down your worries or to-do list before studying can “unload” anxieties onto paper so your mind can focu. Students who journal about exam fears have even shown better test performance in studies.

Below are some quick tips you can try:

• Structured Breaks & Rest: Study in focused chunks (≈90 minutes), then take a 10–15 min break. Prioritize 7–8 hours of sleep every night rather than late-night cramming.
  
  

• Move & Breathe: Do a 20-minute walk or light exercise daily to reset your stress levels. Try brief mindful breathing (e.g. 4‑second inhale, 6‑second exhale) for 3‑5 minutes to instantly calm pre-exam jitters.
  
  

• Write It Out: Spend 5–10 minutes each evening writing your plan or worries on paper. Studies show students who journal before exams clear their mind and feel less anxious.
  
  

These small habits compound over time. Remember: you are like an athlete training for a marathon, not someone meant to sprint 24/7. Building a balanced routine won’t eliminate stress, but it does keep it manageable.

It’s also vital to tap into support. The Kota administration’s Kota Cares program (launched Dec 2024) now offers free counseling, mentor sessions and a helpline for overwhelmed students. Don’t hesitate to use it. Professional help (school counselors, therapists, Manodarpan helplines, etc.) is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Peer support matters too. Remember, you’re not alone: roughly 3.5 million students across India are preparing for exams like JEE, NEET, UPSC, CAT and others at any given time. Many of them share exactly what you’re feeling. Online communities (WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, subreddits) are full of aspirants swapping tips, memes, and encouragement. For example, the MentallyPrepare community (here at MentallyPrepare.in) has active Reddit and Instagram groups where fellow students vent, post funny study memes, or swap quick tricks. Scrolling through those can remind you that others get it. Sometimes just talking or even giggling with someone on your side makes the pressure feel lighter.

On a similar note, there are new tech helpers designed for students. For instance, our platform MentallyPrepare has developed Dogesh Bhoi, a friendly dog-themed chatbot. Dogesh is on call 24/7 – chat when you’re stressed, late-night, or just need a motivational pep talk. According to MentallyPrepare, Dogesh offers “friendly chat support for exam stress,” personalized motivational messages, and quick study tips. In practice, that means if you’re up at 2 AM panicking over a formula, Dogesh will crack a silly pun or give a calming answer to keep you company.

Another tool is BoneUp (coming soon on MentallyPrepare). It’s a simple web app to turn your mountain of tasks into a checklist. You break your day into bite-sized to-dos (e.g. “finish math exercise 3” or “read one Bio chapter”) and tick them off one by one. By writing tasks down, BoneUp clears them out of your head: the anxiety of “so much to do” goes down because you see exactly what’s next. (The name BoneUp is a nod to “bone up on” something – meaning to study hard). Many students report that seeing progress on a list, even small checkmarks, eases pressure.

These tools aren’t magic cures, but they can complement your routine. Dogesh Bhoi can give a quick joke or pep talk when things feel bleak. BoneUp helps you stay organized so you don’t feel like you’re losing track of all your subjects. Both embody the idea that you don’t have to do this alone: support is available in technology and community whenever exam stress creeps in.

Kota can feel overwhelming, but remember: one exam isn’t your destiny. As a MentallyPrepare mentor puts it, “Exams are important, but remember: you are the prize, not just the paper… What matters most is how you handle the pressure, not the pressure itself.”. Even if things go differently than planned, you will find other paths. A top performer once reflected, “Getting through IIT or any competitive exam is not the end of life.” Life has many chapters beyond Kota.

Every hurdle you overcome in Kota (late-night study grinds, tough test days, or personal setbacks) is building resilience. Keep good habits: schedule breaks, rest well, exercise or meditate, and seek help when you need it. Reach out to your friends, share memes, use tools like Dogesh or BoneUp, or just cry out on a support chat if that helps. Millions of others have walked this road and come out stronger.

Above all, be kind to yourself. Your self-worth isn’t a number on a test. You have one life with family, hobbies, health and dreams of all kinds – don’t let any single deadline make you forget that. Tomorrow’s you will thank you for staying balanced today. Stay focused on your goals, but also remember to breathe. Kota may be where dreams are chased, but it’s also where you can discover how to pace yourself for the whole race ahead. You’ve got this.