NEET UG: Nineteen-year-old Eeshaan Agarwal grew up seeing his doctor parents helping people and leading a meaningful life. It left an impression on him and he decided to pursue the same path. Settled in Bareilly, his father is an oncologist and his mother is a gynaecologist. Agarwal is currently studying at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. He secured all India rank (AIR) 34 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 securing 705 marks out of 720. He is currently in his first year. Due to the pandemic, their NEET UG results came out in September and the batch started in November. They will graduate in their second year by October. He tells indianexpress.com about his NEET preparation strategy. How did you study for NEET? I didn’t join any coaching, instead relied on self-study. I ordered modules of some coaching and practised them at home. If I had any doubts, I would look them up online. During the last month, I gave a lot of mock tests and once they were done, I would analyse what mistakes I made and then work on them. What was your study schedule like? I did not have a rigid schedule. During Covid, I would study for as long as I could. On some days, I would study for six to eight hours however, I might take a long break. Later when school began, I would attend classes and then come back and study. I used to set time-bound small goals for myself. At home, I have a white board where I would track my progress, list my goals, tests I have given and more. Which books did you refer to? Since I was from the ISC board, I did not study NCERT from the beginning but rather studied it during the last four months. I mainly focused on my school books, the modules and the test series I ordered from coaching centres. For Physics, I referred to Kumar Mittal of Nutan Publication. What was the pressure like to study for NEET? Since I started preparing for NEET UG from Class 11, I did not find it very difficult. I did not take a lot of pressure and concentrated on understanding the course. I don’t think the pressure is unmanageable, it’s all about focus. I will advise NEET aspirants to stay away from distractions. They should question things and find answers to them, it will help them understand concepts better. What would you do for recreational purposes? I used to watch some OTT series or movies for my enjoyment. There was a badminton court outside my house, so I used to play there. My parents would always take us out for either a movie or dinner once a week so that would also provide some break. If not a doctor, what would you have become? I would have then pursued research in any field at IISER Pune and tried to excel in that.
