JEE Mains AIR 3 Tops NEET 2021| Says She Attempted JEE As A Practice Test For NEET

With the declaration of NTA NEET 2021 result on Monday, names of the three candidates who scored a perfect 720/720 were revealed, one of them being Mumbai's Karthika G Nair (AIR 3). The female topper of NEET 2021 brought out in a recent interview how she was only focussed on pursuing medicine and had no Plan B in life.

"I had appeared for JEE as practice for the NEET exam so that I could gain some experience from a paper set by NTA itself,” says the NEET topper.

It wasn't NEET only where Karthika scored full marks, but also JEE Main 2021 in which she secured 98 percentile. It was during her preparation for both examinations that she saw the stark disparity between the two national tests and how tough it was to study for NEET (in comparison to JEE) during pandemic times.

Physics Numericals Were A Tough Game!

A resident of Panvel in Navi Mumbai, Karthika stresses on self-evaluation and determination as the key to success. Even for her, certain topics were very difficult to grasp, especially chapters like Semiconductors and Rotational Motion. As with every other student, she struggled with numericals, particularly those in Physics. However, what set her apart was her ability to recognise her flaws and then improve on them.

"I used to make silly mistakes like reading diameter instead of radius. My parents told me that feeling dejected was not going to give better marks.They made me realize that when I get disappointed, I would make the same mistake again and again, and remain in the vicious cycle." 

"They urged me that I understand my mistakes and not to repeat them," Karthika said.

Road to NEET 2021 Preparation and the Speed-breaker of Change in NEET Exam Pattern

NCERT texts are an essential if you want to pass the NEET exam, and Karthika followed them to the letter. In addition to the NCERT textbooks, she used the study materials and modules supplied to her by the coaching institutes to prepare for the exam.

However, with the change in NEET 2021 exam pattern, came a different set of problems. With the increase in the number of choices to attempt questions, the entire exercise of attempting the test became time consuming. The total number of questions remained the same (i.e. 200) but they had to be tackled intelligently to look for the right answer. Though mock examinations and practise papers in this new format were at first difficult to obtain, Nair's coaching institute could provide them. According to Nair, the most important thing to remember is that time management is a skill that can only be learned through experience and experimentation.

Planning the Future!

Karthika wants to pursue medical studies at AIIMS, New Delhi. For her, medicine is more than just a profession. It is a feeling and a responsibility. Her inspiration was one of her cousins, a doctor, who worked on the frontlines as a Covid-19 warrior during the Covid-19.

“During the pandemic, reading and singing kept me afloat. Despite the outdoor conditions, I managed to keep myself calm and continue my preparations for the exams. Just like the doctors who played a pivotal role during the coronavirus pandemic, I too want to serve the people,” says Karthika. 

“I would love to build a career in Oncology or Neurology. I would love to explore other fields as well,” says the NEET topper.

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