FAQ’s
Q1. What does LEAD Trust do?
LEAD Trust is an educational NGO that was formed in 2009 to uplift the academic excellence of the educationally and economically
backward students in India. It creates programs to train the students for admissions into many prestigious educational institutions in
India such as IIT, AIMS, etc. It wants to produce productive, next generation citizens of India who can play an active and positive role in
nation building.
Q2. What is LTSE?
LTSE stands for LEAD Talent Search Exam. It is an annual exam conducted by LEAD Trust to select bright students who want to pursue
higher studies in India’s prestigious colleges. These include top engineering colleges (IIT, NIT, BITS), and top medical colleges (AIIMS,
AFMC, JIPMER).
Q3. When does it occur?
It occurs once a year, usually on the second weekend in January – normally from 10 AM to 1 PM
Q4. Who can write this exam?
All students who are going to appear for the 10th grade exam in that year. The student can be from any caste, religion, ethnicity, or other
backgrounds. Both male and female students can write the exam.
Q5. Are there any academic pre-requisites for writing the exam?
The student should have secured at least 60% in the 9th grade exam.
Q6. What is the exam pattern?
This is a 2-3 hours objective-type exam designed to evaluate the students’ grasp of concepts in the fields of Maths/Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Logical Reasoning. The exams cover areas that are normally taught to students in the 8th, 9th and 10th grades by any educational board in India. The exam booklet contains test papers for all the subjects mentioned above. But typically, the student writes the exams in only 4 of these subjects, depending on which stream he/she is pursuing. For example, for someone who wants to pursue the engineering field, he/she would write the papers in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Logical Reasoning. For someone who is aiming for the medical stream, they would write the Biology paper, instead of Maths. All questions are of objective type, and the students need to answer them in an OMR sheet.
Previous year’s exam papers are available online at https://leadtrust.in/sample-question-papers/
Q7. Can I apply for both Engineering and Medical streams?
Yes, you can attempt the exams for both the streams.
Q8. What is the selection process?
Students will be selected by the Partner colleges based on the following criteria:
- LTSE score
- 10th class scores – when they are available
- 9th class score – minimum 60% is required in the appropriate subjects
- Face-to-face interview – this usually happens after all the 10th board exams have finished, and is conducted in 3-4 different places – one each in Kerala, North and South Karnataka
Q9. Which colleges are participating in this program?
Students can choose any of the following colleges:
- MS Academy, Hyderabad – Separate hostel facilities for Boys (engineering and medical) and Girls (only medical)
- Alps PUC, Kerala – Separate hostel facilities for Boys and Girls
- Benchmark Schools, Tirur, Kerala – Separate hostel facilities for Boys and Girls
- Zaitoon International Campus, Kottakal, Malappuram
- Amster Academy, Bangalore
Q10. What are the results of the partner colleges
Totally, these partner colleges have produced 33 IITians, 60 NITians, 894+ CET, 219+ Medicine, 88 Science Olympiad, 7 Maths Olympiad and 44 CPT ranks. Click here for More details.
Q11. What happens when I join the coaching program at any of the partner colleges?
When selected, you become a full-time, residential student of the college that selected you. You will be enrolled in the appropriate stream in the Junior College (Pre-University in case of Karnataka), and will appear for regular exams for 1st and 2nd years of the Junior College. At the same time, you will be trained for the entrance exams such as IIT-JEE Mains and Advanced, NEET, CET, etc.
Note that (almost always) this is a residential program. Thus, all students who are selected WILL have to live in the hostel facilities provided by the college. There are separate facilities for boys and girls. The program is quite rigorous, with studying hours starting before dawn and very often continuing well after dinner. So, be prepared to work hard. All the colleges have a no-electronic devices policy. And yes, that means no mobile phone, not even the basic kind.
Q12. How does the integrated coaching program work?
The actual training program is conducted by our partner colleges. In most cases, students selected through LTSE will be placed in a special batch of students, where they will undergo rigorous training for the various competitive exams, besides being taught the regular 11th or 12th courses. Often, the college would hire specialized coaches who might come from outside. The coaching hours wary, and can start as early as 6 AM (every day) and can go on till 10 PM. Usually, there will be 4-5 hours of coaching almost every day. One day of the week is usually dedicated for practice exams.
Note that the exact schedules vary greatly from college to college. Please enquire with the colleges on the day of the interview.
Q13. What streams are offered?
Engineering
Medicine