CBSE Class 12 Topper 2018: AIR 3, Astha Bamba says regular tests & exams are must

Astha Bamba secured rank 3 in CBSE Class 12 Board Exams with an overall score of 497/500. A Humanities student of BCM Arya Model School, Ludhiana, Astha’s subject-wise scores as per CBSE Class 12 results were: Political Science- 100 marks, Mass Media- 100 marks, Sociology- 100 marks, English 99 marks and Economics- 98 marks. There was a Economics paper-leak in the Class 12 board exams conducted by CBSE and narrating her experience of appearing for the re-test Astha said, “No one liked giving the re-test because once you are through with the board exams no one wants to sit for them again. We all were disheartened”. She further elaborated, “The original Economics paper had better questions, that is, there were 2-3 questions which actually required students to think. The second paper was very easy, it was almost like a child’s play. It was really simple and not what you would expect in a board paper”.

A diligent student, Astha shared that giving tests and exams helped her prepare better for each subject in her Class 12 board exams. To de-stress she used to cook, “apart from cooking I did a lot of online reading, I went through news websites and read on social media also” she added.

In an interview with Shiksha, CBSE AIR 3 holder, Astha Bamba gave prep tips to aspirants. She also listed mistakes that students should avoid while preparing for the exam and also shared her exam day strategy. Go through the detailed interview for more insights.

Thank you! No, I did not expect to be the topper of the CBSE board exams at all. I just expected that I will get good marks, around 90% but never thought I would be an all India topper.     

They were very emotional. Everyone, my mother, father and grandfather, was very happy. My parents are teachers, they run a tuition centre for English and Maths. They were expecting me to top the city but they never thought I would be the topper of the country.

I honestly had no study plan. I followed 3-4 rules throughout the year which are:

1. I went to school as less as possible. I mostly studied through tuitions.
2. I gave a lot of tests and exams.
3. I was very consistent. I never left any subject. Also, not every day but once or twice a week I would open the books of every subject and study through them. I followed this rule till the end.

I did not have a particular time table and studied like two hours a day. I would go for my tuitions and then did self-study for an hour or two, which is about it.

Number one aspect in which student go wrong is when they choose a stream having subjects that they don’t like, probably under pressure from parents, peers or teachers. This is because when they choose a wrong subject they would never like to study.

Secondly, they start cramming instead of understanding the subject.

Thirdly, they do not trust their teachers. It is very important to find teachers whom you trust and on whom you can rely on entirely. It can be your school teachers or your tuition teachers. For example, for me it was my tuition teachers.

Fourthly, I feel that students should definitely devote time to self-study. If you rely entirely on others and do not put in any effort at your end then it won’t help. It can be going home and revising the lesson taught at school/tuition or going through a topic on the internet.

Lastly, they do not give enough tests. For me tests worked the most. I gave hundreds of tests apart from giving many exams at school. I feel that even if you do not have a tuition for a particular subject, you should join at least enroll for a test series for that subject. Even if it is a subject like Physical Education, you should give tests. You can even go online and do some tests. Self-testing is very important.

See, we are mature adults, we are 17-18 years old and we know we need to study. So, I do not think students should restrict themselves from social media. Different things work for different individuals and I would like to say that everyone should follow a study pattern that suits them. So, if you feel that social media would not let you study then de-activate it for some time and then activate it later.

For me for subjects like Political Science, Sociology, English and Mass Media, NCERT books were my Bible. Apart from NCERTs, I did not follow any particular book but I gathered information from the internet. I also went through a couple of help books for practicing questions.

For Economics, I studied from books like Sandeep Garg and PR Jain.       

It is very important to revise all the important topics on a regular basis. Last minute revisions are not that helpful, as per me. Sometimes, even when the paper is very easy you miss out on some of the easy questions. While giving the paper there is so much pressure and if you have not revised the subject properly you will not remember even the easiest things. So, nothing will happen with last minute revision, you have to be consistent throughout the year.

My major strategy while attempting the question paper was that I always started my paper backwards. I always did the long answer type questions first, no matter what. If I start my paper from a short question, I will never be able to complete my paper on time and I would mess up in the end.

I would attempt the 6 mark questions first and then move on to the lesser weightage questions. Another very important thing for Humanities students is to pay a lot of attention to their presentation of answers. Presentation is really important when you are giving CBSE Board exams. Presentation doesn’t really mean having good handwriting but you really need to pay attention to things like if you are attempting a 6 marks question then the answer should have six headers along with an introduction and a conclusion. Make your paper really attractive. Not just drawings and all but make flowcharts and boxes.

As a Board aspirant, students study 365 days in a year. So, in those three hours students should try to present all that they know in their paper in such a way that it is not too time-consuming but also not messy. Make flowchart, diagrams, pie-charts, etc to present that information. But obviously focus on the content.          

Choose either tuitions or school. I chose tuition over school as you can study only those many hours in a day. I was not happy with my curriculum at school so I chose tuitions. So, if an aspirant has joined tuitions do not go to school at all. School will not be an issue at all because one has already registered for CBSE and you cannot get suspended for low attendance. So, go to school as little as possible if you are not happy with the teachings.

Secondly, devote some time for self-study. When you sit down for study, the first 10-15 minutes is a bit difficult because you will have a lot of distractions like you will feel that you want to talk on the phone or want to play etc, but once you cross the 15 minute mark then you can study 1-2 hours at a stretch.

Take a lot of breaks. Don’t be pressurised at all, marks do not define you. Even if you do not get a 90+ score, it doesn’t really matter.

Thirdly, take a lot of care of your physical and mental health. People really do not talk about these things but I have seen students, they unknowingly go into depression and it happened to me as well. I did not get into depression or went suicidal but stress got to me and even though I did not know it but it got to me physically and I got a bit unwell. So, try to speak to a psychologist. Mental and physical health is very important and it is more important than getting more than a 90% in your exam.

I gave a couple of entrance exams like SET for BA in Liberal arts and Jindal School Entrance Exam for BA in Global Affairs. I wanted to give HSEE entrance exam conducted by IIT Madras for a five year integrated course but I couldn’t because it clashed with my economics re-test.

I am thinking of pursuing either English or Political Science course after my Class 12. I have not made any long-term plans as such. I know I am interested in Journalism, Public Policy formulation as well as International Relations. But right now I want to join Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) of Delhi University to pursue English honours or Political Science Honours.

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