JEE Advanced 2017 Topper Interview: Tushar Agarwal AIR 13
Tushar Agarwal; JEE Advanced 2017 Topper
With the release of JEE Advanced 2017 results on June 11, congratulatory messages didn’t stop for Tushar Agarwal. This Bhopal lad managed to bag an All India Rank 13 in the JEE Advanced 2017 exam, making him as one of the toppers of the exam. Tushar was also the JEE Advanced state topper in Madhya Pradesh and a city topper in JEE Mains 2017.
Tushar’s dreams of studying at IIT Bombay and love for coding has played a major role in securing an All India Rank in the top 20. According to this topper, his basic mantra for success was to have better concentration which he acquired by keeping his headphones on to listen to music the entire time he studied. It helped him disconnect from the outer world and keep all the distractions away.
Talking to Shiksha, Tushar unveiled his preparation mantras, a few tips and reference books for future JEE aspirants. Read the full interview below.
Q. Congratulations on your achievement. So how do you feel being the topper of JEE Advanced 2017? Did you expect to be one of the toppers of the exam?
I expected a rank for sure but falling in the top 15 is something that came as a surprise and my parents are of course happier than me. The whole credit goes to my parents who have supported me since the very beginning.
Q. Which board have you studies from and from which school? What was your XII Board marks?
I have completed my 12th from CBSE board school Gyan Ganga International Bhopal and scored 91.6% in my Class 12th boards.
Q. What is your subject wise and overall score?
Mathematics: 116
Physics: 102
Chemistry: 107
JEE Advanced 2017 Score: 325 and JEE Advanced 2017 Rank: AIR 13
Q. How long have you been preparing? What was your study plan for JEE Advanced 2017? What is the minimum time frame needed to prepare for JEE Main?
I commenced my preparation for competitive exams in class 5th but for JEE, the journey began in class 11th.
I have never had a study plan or strategy. It was random. I studied when I wanted to study. A minimum of 2 years are required for a thorough preparation. But according to me, one should start preparing from class 9th itself.
Q. How was the preparation for JEE Advanced different from JEE Main?
My target was to crack JEE Advanced, appearing for JEE Mains was as per the IITs’ eligibility criteria for admissions. Preparation for JEE Advanced covers all the topics for JEE Mains as well and I feel that JEE Advanced should be the ultimate goal for students aspiring to seek admission in
Q. What was your JEE Main 2017 rank and score?
I appeared for JEE Main 2017 in offline mode. My JEE Main 2017 score was 62 and the All India Rank was 325.
Q. What did you do to improve your weak areas?
Organic chemistry was my weakness and could never get those concepts clear. But over time, I had to overcome those weak areas. I devoted more time to chemistry than other subjects. Here, the strategy was to practice as much sample papers as possible. This helped in a complete revision of the subject and clearing my concepts.
Q. Have you taken any other exams besides JEE Main and JEE Advanced?
I have written various Olympiads but no other engineering entrance exams as admission in an IIT was my goal and dream. I would have never settled for an NIT or BITS.
Q. Did you take coaching? From where? Do you think coaching is required to crack JEE?
Yes, I joined FITJEE Bhopal Center in class 7th and that is when my journey to crack JEE began. Coaching is necessary not mandatory. There are students who manage to crack JEE without any assistance at all. On the other hand, there are other candidates who are intelligent but need proper guidance for their preparation strategies.
People think that coachings tend to transform a student into a machine, which is not true. Coahings are to guide you towards the right path and help you in every possible manner in order to achieve your goals.
Q. Did you take up mock tests and sample papers? Do you think practicing from previous years question papers help and how?
I feel that there are no mocks or sample papers left that I did not solve or came across to. These mocks are the reason I found this year’s JEE question papers quite easy.
Solving previous year question papers give you an idea of the exam pattern. After solving previous year papers, nothings is left that will come to you as a surprise while appearing the actual exam. Now here, I am not saying that the question paper will be exactly same but, the candidate will have an idea of the pattern of questions and home much time should be devoted to solve each question in order to complete the paper on time.
Q. Any important books that you would suggest for future aspirants.
Books like Calculus by Sameer Bansal and Organic Chemistry by M.S. Chauhan helped me a lot during my preparation. The Russian writer Irodov’s book on Mathematics is also helpful but it only helps in building your thought process. The reason why most of the people prefer these books because they are categorized among a few standardize books written by great writers.
Q. Which IIT are you aiming at and which stream do you wish to pursue?
IIT Bombay is the dream institute and my goal of course. Please do not think of me as a sheep running after the flock. Since I have been a FIITJEE student for years, engineering was the sole goal of my life and my interest in computers and coding made me chose Computer Science.
Now, Why I chose IIT-Bombay is because it is considered as one of the coolest place for engineering. According to me, it gives better placement opportunities to its students.
Q. Any tips for aspirants who would be taking the exam next year?
I would only say, please work hard and devote more time to your weak areas. Set JEE Advanced as your main goal and JEE Main would be easy to crack for sure. Do not stick to school curriculum and refer books that are meant for competitive exams.
Q. Why do you want to study engineering? When did you decide to study engineering?
As I told earlier, because I have been molded that way. Studying with FIITJEE for years, which is meant to guide you for engineering studies, what else can you expect to study but engineering. I took a concrete decision about studying engineering, when I was in class 10th.
Q. Tell us about your family.
Talking about my family, my father is a health inspector in railways and my Mother is a homemaker. My elder brother is in IIT Delhi, pursuing with BTech in Electrical Engineering.
Q. Any future plans?
I have always believed in keeping short goals so, uptil now it was IIT-Bombay. Going forward I may think of something.
Q. Tell us about yourself and your hobbies.
I am a music lover and I have always studied with my headphones on. It helped me to concentrate well while studying and disconnect from the outer world. I am also interested in photography and have also interned for a few months then left.
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