70% students waste their one or two year in preparation after 12th board. But there are a lot of guys ( freshers) also who immediately take admission in engineering after 12th and get frustrated after watching their college's status, lab facilities , poor campus options, boring campus environment. They just find them in hell.
However there are some 15 to 20% guys who don't compromise with their expectations and aim. They drop a year , prepare for JEE... Some clear JEE and others get good colleges like BITS and TOP NIT's.
So, this is just your choice. Dropping a year is not a bad option,