
Aryan Gupta has emerged as the top scorer in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main from Jammu and Kashmir region. He has scored 99.733 percentile overall, securing 99.416 in physics, 99.653 in chemistry, and 99.635 in mathematics. Amid reports of many students in the region struggling to apply and prepare online for the exam due to the internet lockdown, Gupta took the offline mode of preparations for the engineering entrance exam.
“I would visit my teachers to get conceptual clarity. They also motivated me during stressful times. My teacher used to tell me to appear for the exam without thinking of results and to enjoy it instead,” he told indianexpress.com. He added, “I had set a target for attempting at least 70 questions in the exam to ensure I get through.”
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For JEE, believes Aryan, consistency is the key. “It is important to remain focused throughout the preparations. If we miss even a single day, it can create a week-long backlog. Thus, it is important to work on being mentally sharp. I ensured that I got at least six hours of sleep and kept my schedule flexible.”
Aryan, a student of Vidyamandir Classes, informed that solving mock papers gave him confidence.
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He, however, wishes to improve his score and plans to attempt the exam during the April session as well. He aims to study at IIT-Delhi, since it’s a “premier institute” and closer to his home. The son of an engineer father and homemaker mother, Gupta draws inspiration from the former.
This 17-year-old believes cracking JEE Main is the first step in achieving his ambition. “I still have to appear for JEE Advanced, which is tougher. I need to improve my score in the April session as well as score well in the board examination. One should not be content just with the main score,” he remarked.
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On advice to his peers, he recommends, “There is no alternative to hard work. One should complete the entire syllabus. Since it is too vast, it is critical to have the right books and notes. Also, one should not be complacent and keep working. A good JEE score means that one’s efforts are in the right direction.”
Of over 9 lakh candidates who appeared for JEE Main this year, only 307 students from Kashmir had applied, while most cited lack of access to the internet as a reason. Thus, the National Testing Agency (NTA), the exam conducting body, had allowed offline applications for other exams including National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) resulting in more applications this year.