CUET Topper 2023 Lavanya Senthil aims to pursue UG programme from St. Stephen's College

Shiksha.com got in touch with one of the CUET-UG Topper 2023 Lavanya Senthil who has scored 784 marks out of 800 marks. Senthil further talked about her CUET-UG 2023 preparation strategy, exam experience, plans on higher studies, targetted colleges and more. 

CUET UG Topper 2023 Lavanya Senthil: National Testing Agency (NTA) released the CUET-UG Result 2023 on the official website of CUET UG and NTA, i.e. cuet.samarth.ac.in on July 15. Shiksha.com got in touch with one of the CUET-UG Topper 2023 Lavanya Senthil who has scored 784 marks out of 800 marks. Talking about her subject-wise marks break-up, Senthil informed that she has scored a perfect 100 percentile in History and Economics. She looks forward to taking admission to St. Stephens College, Delhi University.

Also Read: Know how CUET Topper 2023 Parinita Bisht secured 799.64 marks without any coaching

Lavanya further talked about her CUET-UG 2023 preparation strategy, exam experience, plans on higher studies, targetted colleges and more. Check out the excerpts from the interview below:

Q: You have scored more than 784 marks out of 800. Was this result expected? Please tell us about your first reaction.

A:  My score is 784. My raw score was 794, which I had expected, as I knew my exams had gone very well. The normalised score was a bit of a disappointment but overall I’m quite happy with it.

Also Read: CUET Topper 2023 Adarsh Agarwall says self-study is vital for CUET-UG preparation

Q: Tell us about your family and educational background?

A: I was born and brought up in Delhi; my roots are in Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Both my parents are doctors and my elder brother is doing MBBS. I joined Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in class 9 and graduated from there. I’ve always been academically inclined and really enjoy studying the humanities.

Q: How was your board result?

A: I scored 94.5% in boards. 

Also Read: Know how CUET Topper 2023 Diya Bhargava secure 100 percentile with 4-5 hours of self-study

Q: When did you start preparing for CUET Exam? What all books did you refer to?

A: I started focused CUET preparation in mid-April, around 2-3 weeks after my boards ended. I studied from NCERT books, my own notes from school, and flash cards I made for myself online. I used Arihant and Oswal books, only for sample papers and past year papers. However I should mention that in these books, some questions were out of syllabus and the answer key was sometimes wrong. But overall, they were helpful.

Also Read: CUET Topper 2023 Katyayini Madeti aims for Hindu College with 799.6 marks; Check out her CUET prep strategy

Q: How much time did you devote to self-study? What do you feel is better, coaching or self-study?

A: I studied for 3-4 hours per day. I made sure to work in a very focused manner whenever I sat down to study — it is better to work smarter than harder. I believe coaching is not needed for CUET as it is entirely based on the NCERT books. The questions are also straightforward. As long as you pay attention in school, study for boards, and do active reading (instead of mindlessly rereading) of NCERT books, you can score well

Q: Which subject is your strong one and which is the weakest? Are NCERT books sufficient for preparations?

A: I enjoy all my subjects. My strongest subject is history. My weakest subject is, ironically, economics. NCERT books are absolutely sufficient for domain subjects. For English, you will probably have to refer to some grammar books, as some questions ask grammatical terms and concepts. 

Also Read: CUET 2023 Topper Divija Bansal, 100%iler, wants to pursue BCom (Hons) from SRCC

Q: What was your exam day strategy? According to you, what was the toughest and easiest section?

A: Sleeping at least 6 hours is extremely important for memory and performing well on exams, so I made sure I went to bed early. Due to my unfortunate habit of procrastination, I woke up at 5 am to complete my revision (I study better in the morning). I was reviewing my flashcards on the way to the exam centre. Once I was seated I just took some deep breaths to help remain calm and focused.

For me, the easiest section in every paper was the passages. The toughest questions were those that asked specific dates or chronology.

Q: Which all universities did you apply for? What was your dream college?

A: I have applied to the University of Delhi. My first preference is St Stephen’s College.

Also Read: CUET Topper 2023 Kartikay Mendiratta with 794 marks says, NCERT books no doubt best books to use

Q: What are the courses you are looking forward to?

A: I would love to study BA History (Hons). My second preference is BA Sociology (Hons).

Q: What would you suggest to future CUET aspirants in terms of preparation, attitude, etc.?

A: Study normally for your boards as that will cover 80% of the CUET syllabus. But keep in mind that CUET is an objective, not subjective, exam. Please study the pattern of questions in CUET by looking at past year papers so you can study accordingly. It is very detail-oriented; they ask specific dates, names, and terms. So, unfortunately, there’s a lot of rote memorisation needed. You will have to use new study methods such as flashcards, making your own questions, making timelines etc (according to whatever works best for you). Do not mindlessly reread NCERT textbooks — do active reading (for example, I highlighted and also made flash cards while reading) and practice memory retrieval, as that is the key to objective exams. Practice many questions, mark the ones you got wrong and revisit them later.

Make sure you read the syllabus carefully. The study deleted chapters. I would highly recommend you don’t skip any chapters even though you have to leave 10 questions. Don’t worry too much. Remember that your result and the college you get doesn’t define your worth or your future. All the best!

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