JEE ADVANCED 2014 Girls' Topper Interview

Aditi from IIT Roorkee zone has emerged as the topper among female candidates in JEE Advanced 2014 by securing an All India Rank of 7 in the common merit list. This Jalandhar girl is among top five girls, who are under top 100 rankers of this prestigious engineering entrance exam.

Advocating sincere hard work as the crucial reason behind her success, Aditi believes in ‘Girl Power’ and thinks that girls can perform amazingly in any field. She likes to listen to soothing music and watch movies to freshen-up her mind. Her elder brother is a source of inspiration for her, who motivated her throughout the preparation period. In this exclusive interview,  she shares her strategy for JEE Advanced 2014 preparation and reveals what made her perform so well in the exam.

Interviewer: Congratulations for your amazing performance in JEE Advanced 2014! Were you confident about cracking the exam?

Aditi: Thanks a lot. I am feeling great right now. Well yes…to be honest, I was quite sure of cracking the exam. After taking the exam, I was expecting my AIR to be in top 15. I was 100% satisfied that I gave my best shot in the exam.  

Interviewer: It means that you performed better than your expectations! Do you want to give credit to someone for your outstanding result?

Aditi: Yes, of course. My parents, who are both professors at NIT Jalandhar, were very encouraging at every step. Even if I couldn’t perform well at some point of time, they were very supportive and showed complete faith in me. My brother was a constant source of motivation for me.

Interviewer: Now that you are one of the toppers of JEE Advanced, what do you think was the key factor behind your spectacular performance in this most competitive Engineering exam?

Aditi: The achievement has been possible due to my hard work, focus and determination that I put in the last 2-3 years. My teachers and parents played a very important role in this accomplishment of mine. Along with that, guidance in the right direction is necessary, which I got from my school teachers and coaching professors.

As I told earlier, my elder brother, who is also an engineer, was a continuous source of inspiration for me. He has been a very crucial part of my success story.

Interviewer: What is your rank and section wise score?

Aditi: My All India Rank in JEE Advanced is 7. I got 314 in total out of 360. I secured 114 in Physics, 93 in Chemistry and 107 in Mathematics.

Interviewer: What was your preparation strategy and routine study period for JEE Advanced?

Aditi: I am not a bookworm at all. I never counted the hours of studies. Rather I tried strengthening my concepts whenever I sat down to study. For me, time doesn’t matter at all. It’s the knowledge you grasp during that hour which makes the difference.

Interviewer: Tell us from where you did your schooling. What was your percentage in class 12th exams? 

Aditi: I did my schooling from Swami Sant Dass Public School, Jalandhar. In class 12th, I secured 95.4%.

Interviewer: Which subject was the easiest and which was the toughest according to you in the JEE Advanced exam?

Aditi:According to me, the difficulty level of JEE Advanced exam syllabus was average. I found Physics part the easiest. Toughest…well, I can’t tell which the toughest section was, but 2-3 questions from Chemistry were a bit confusing. This part took maximum time to prepare and solve questions later on.

Interviewer: Do you think coaching is necessary to crack JEE Advanced exam?

Aditi: To some extent, expert coaching is very much necessary for a student to understand and strengthen the basic concepts. I can say this because I myself took coaching classes from Vidyamandir and the teachers helped me a lot in clearing my confusions. Also, discussions are very important part of learning that can be experienced during different coaching programmes.

I strongly believe that hard work is the key to success. So, along with attending classes, a student needs to give his/her 100% sincere efforts during the preparation time.

Interviewer:: What made you choose engineering?

Aditi: I have huge interest in learning technical concepts and skills that are applied in day-to-day life. Wherever we go, new technology and advancements can be seen. I want to be a part of that. That is why, I chose this field.

Interviewer: It was quite a busy preparation schedule for you. Could you find time to connect with your friends on Facebook during your preparation?

Aditi: During my preparation time, I used my Facebook and WhatsApp account for discussions only with my teachers and friends. I found social media very useful for getting quick responses to my queries.

Interviewer: During prolonged study schedule, what did you do to refresh your mind?

Aditi: In 11-12 hours of studies a day, I used to get very tired. In order to soothe my senses, I used to listen to light music. Also, I found great joy in playing badminton occasionally to calm down my mental stress.

Interviewer: It would have been hectic preparation for JEE Advanced during last few weeks. Do you also watch movies? If yes, then what kind of movies you like?

Aditi: I like action and comedy movies the most. In Hollywood, Inception and Iron Man are my favorite movies. Apart from that, I like 3 Idiots a lot.

Interviewer: Which is your preferred IIT and engineering branch?

Aditi: I am looking forward to get Computer Science at IIT Delhi. Hoping for the best!

Interviewer: There are only five female candidates amongst the top 100 rankers and you are one of them. What is your take on that?

Aditi: I am not taking it like that there are just five girl candidates out of top 100 rankers. Rather, I am appreciating the potential of these five girls. I really believe that the number of female toppers is going to increase in the coming years. Girls are very hard working and if encouraged and given the right guidance, they can work wonders.

Interviewer: What message do you want to give to the JEE aspirants, who will be appearing for the entrance exam next year?

Aditi: All I want to say is stay focused and work hard. Your will power to excel in the exam will take you higher in future.

Interviewer: We wish you all the best for your future!

Aditi: Thanks a lot for your wishes.