Meet the Assam boy who cracked NEET UG, JEE, IAT (AIR 4); wants to join IISc Bangalore

It was Dutta’s first attempt at IAT 2024 this year. He also appeared in both the sessions of JEE Main 2024, JEE Advanced and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG).

While he obtained 99.875 percentile in JEE Main 2024 and was the HSLC Matric Class 10 Assam topper (rank 9), he got an AIR of 1,422 in JEE Advanced. He had scored 625 marks out of 720 in NEET UG 2024. Had he used his JEE Advanced rank, he would have had chances for admission at IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur or IIT Kharagpur in the electronics and communication engineering or electrical engineering branches, he said.

With the NEET UG score, he is eligible for a state-quota seat.

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JEE, NEET, IAT preparation journey

Dutta started his preparation after Class 10 keeping JEE in mind, however, his interest in research and his discovery in the IISER Aptitude Test made him delve more into IAT 2024 preparation. “I took PCMB coaching at Aakash. For IAT 2024 exam preparation, my school teachers help provided the boost to score this feat,” he added.

Speaking about his preparation strategy, the rank 4 said that he studied from the notes provided by the coaching institute and NCERT textbooks followed at school. “After my school got over between 1 pm and 3 pm, I would take some rest and then complete the homework given by the school. I had my online coaching from 7 pm to 10 pm,” he said.

He further added: “I studied in such a way that my online coaching did not hamper my board exam preparation and school routine. I do not think CBSE students get an edge in the national-level exams. The crux of the syllabus remains the same – be it state board, CBSE or CISCE. Adapting and accepting is the main thing.”

When asked what was his daily routine like after the board exams were over, he said he had set daily goals to complete, which he seldom missed. He further said he had demarcated his day to read and revise topics on PCMB. “I focussed on biology less than PCM for IAT although it carried 25 per cent weightage,” he added. He also solved the previous years’ questions ‘extensively’.

‘How I attempted the IAT 2024 paper’

Talking about his strategy to approach the question paper, he said he attempted the IAT paper in the order given in the question paper – starting with biology, followed by chemistry, mathematics and physics. He devoted maximum time to physics.

Although JEE and NEET are considered one of the toughest exams at the UG level, Dutta said that it was not challenging. His parents (mother, a lecturer and father, a pediatrician) and his teachers motivated him.

“The IAT 2024 question paper was in line with the previous year’s question papers and the difficulty level was also the same,” he added.

He scored 94.2 per cent in Class 12 and was a state ninth-rank holder in the Assam board Class 10 exam. He appeared his Class 10 and Class 12 exams from a state board school – Salt Brook in Dibrugarh, Assam.