‘My parents didn’t overburden me with expectations’: Student who got 99.92 percentile in JEE Main

“I am particularly interested in coding. That is why I want to become an engineer. My parents also wanted me to pursue the same—it was a mutual decision,” says Priya Jain, a student of Apeejay School, Pitampura, who has cleared the first hurdle toward achieving her goal by clearing JEE Main session 1. Having scored 99.92 percentile, Priya still wants to appear for JEE Main session 2. “I had registered for it, so why not?” she remarks, adding that she is also preparing for JEE Advanced.

Priya’s parents enrolled her in a coaching centre in class 11 for JEE preparations. “My teachers in school and the coaching centre helped me through the journey. I relied on their suggestions and the modules they shared for the preparation. We had online classes throughout, both at school and at the coaching centre. So, I was able to manage my time well. I did not really think too much about how many hours I was studying. On certain days, I studied for nine hours,” the student mentions.

Priya credits her coaching centre for her resounding success. Talking about how they helped her, she says, “I solved questions shared by the coaching institute, including question papers from previous years. Initially, we had revision tests once a month but with time the frequency increased.”

‘My parents told me not to feel disappointed, helped me de-stress’

In a two-year-long gruelling journey, it is quite natural for a student to feel tired or helpless. Priya’s coaching centre teachers helped her stay motivated. “They would share motivational quotes with us. I developed a very good bond with them. My parents also gave me moral support, without burdening me with expectations. They told me not to get disappointed or demotivated. My father, who is an engineer himself, helped me sometimes with my studies,” she adds.

Whenever Priya took a break from studying, she spent time with her parents. “There were moments when I felt too tired to study. There were ups and downs throughout. Amid the pandemic, it was not possible to hang out with friends. Instead, I spent time chatting with my parents or playing card games with them to de-stress.”

The young achiever hopes to secure admission into a good college to pursue Computer Science. Adds her mother Sangeeta Jain, “Our elder daughter recently completed her BTech in the same subject from Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women. So, she was an inspiration for Priya. Besides, my daughters also look up to their father Manish Jain, who is the group vice president and chief technical officer at Comviva.”

As for how she and her husband supported Priya in her journey, she says, “We made sure she remained fit and healthy. I always gave her homemade food. In January last year, she contracted Covid so we asked her to not study during that period. As parents, we have never forced her into anything. In fact, we encouraged her to take rest and not strain herself.”