Kandivli boy is Maharashtra topper in JEE-Advanced

The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Advanced result was declared on Friday and Karthik Nair, 18, of Kandivli emerged as the Maharashtra topper with an All India Rank (AIR) of 7. Neeraja Patil, 17, from Santacruz topped the IIT Bombay zone among girls, which includes Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, and Kota. Both candidates are hoping to join the Computer Science stream at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

The JEE-Advanced determines admissions to IITs across India. Candidates who qualify from JEE-Main appear for this next-level entrance test. Interestingly, both candidates were not among the toppers in JEE-Main, which they said was just a qualifying round.

Key is to be calm

"I only gave two out of four attempts of the JEE-Main course, that too, because I had a bad day during the first attempt. The plan was to give one successful event for Main, so that the rest of the time can be used for Advanced preparation," said Nair. This year, there were four attempts for JEE-Main considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The key, according to toppers, was to remain calm amid uncertainties.

Nair added, "We have to give our best for what is in our control. Too much worrying harms us." Nair's parents are also involved in engineering - while his father is an IT consultant, his mother is a professor in an engineering college in Mumbai. "I love the field of Computer Science so much. I wanted to do this so I kept pushing. After all the efforts that I have put in, I am not surprised but really happy with the outcome," said Nair who also enjoys listening to rap music.

Keep practising

Patil said that practice is the most important aspect of preparation. "Completing the exam in time is important, so practice plays a major role. There is no point in stressing over the future. Instead, keep small goals and give your best," said Patil. "I kept thinking that every coming Sunday has the exam and maintained focus. I did not stress over when it would be finally held," said Patil about the Covid-19-caused delays. Patil has a twin sister, Neelaya, who aspires to study medicine. Their parents also belong to the engineering field. Playing key-board and chess is Patil's favourite pastime.

Mohit Sardana, Director FITJEE, where both toppers were coached, said, "Even as the curriculum for both exams is the same, JEE-Main is all about understanding the fundamentals, JEE-Advanced is in-depth understanding with application-based knowledge. It also puts a candidate's temperament to test." A total of 1,41,699 candidates appeared in both papers, 1 and 2, for JEE-Advanced, and 41,862 candidates qualified. Of those qualified, 6,452 are female. Mridul Agarwal and Kavya Chopra of IIT Delhi zone emerged as top ranker in Common Rank List (CRL) and top-ranked female with CRL 98, respectively.

1,41,699
No. of candidates who appeared for JEE-Advanced

41,862
No. of candidates who qualified