Interviews
Meet the boy with 99.2 percentile in JEE Mains Session 1
This Apeejay School, Nerul student scores a cracking percentile at one of India’s toughest exams
Saarthak is a non-medical student at Apeejay School, Nerul. He has scored a superb percentile of 99.2 in the JEE Mains Session 1 and is preparing hard for the next session. In a quick chat with the young champ, we learn about his preparation schedule and future plans. Read edited excerpts:
Tell us about your marks, Sarthak?
With pleasure! So I scored 63 in Physics, 61 in Math and 82 in Chemistry. That’s about it!
So you were the strongest in Chemistry?
No! In reality, it was Physics for me that needed some improvement as I made many silly mistakes. Mathematics was the strongest subject but I scored less as the paper was too tough.
Nevertheless, you did really great! So which engineering branch calls you?
Computer science – I have a lot of interest in this field. I wish to make my career in this.
Tell us now about your study schedule?
I focused on consistency. Studying just before the exam won’t help. One needs to study consistently for two years for this exam. If one studies for 12 hours one month before the exam, then forget it.
The second thing is time management. One has to balance school, coaching along with the study hours for the regular tests. So, one thing I did to my favour was waking up early at 5 am. It gave me a lot of time for self-study.
And lastly, one needs to be calm. One gets low scores a lot of the time, just remain calm, hopeful and focus on the next test.
Great tip! So which books did you consult while preparing?
NCERT! It is very important for JEE Mains, especially for Physics and Chemistry. 80% of the question papers were from the book. So one should thoroughly read NCERT at regular intervals.
For Math, NCERT is good but one needs more practice with some supplementary books. I prepared from Cengage Publications.
And how did the school support you?
The school teachers were very helpful, they helped solve my doubts regularly during my preparation days. The school reduced its class hours so that all students could focus on self-study with greater efficiency.
Which IIT would you like?
IIT Bombay! I hope I get the rank to achieve my dream.
We wish you the best! Tell us finally, will you be appearing for the second session of the mains exam?
Yes, it is a great second chance to increase my score. I am working hard towards it.
