(Right to left): Yagnam Sethi (AIR 59), Raghav Gupta (AIR 149), Vibhav Agarwal (AIR 1259), Samya Dhillon (AIR 418), Sajolie (AIR 725), pose for a photo after NEET results on Thursday.In 2019, just two days before his birthday, Arpit Narang, lost his father due to an illness. But, he emerged out of the tough phase and went on to fulfill his father’s dream, by securing AIR 7 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test NEET-UG 2022, declared by the NTA on Wednesday night.
Arpit emerged as the topper in Punjab. Yagyam Sethi bagged AIR 59 and to become Chandigarh topper.
Arpit, who hails from Zirakpur, took his coaching from Sri Chaitanya, Chandigarh, and scored 710 marks out of 720. A student of Dikshant International School, Arpit aims to pursue MBBS from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.
In the initial days, he was confused whether to choose medical or non-medical, due to the immense interest he displayed in both biology and mathematics.
An avid chess player, he will be the first doctor in his family.
To prepare for the exam, Arpit studied for 12 hours a day. According to him, the study material provided by the coaching institute was more than enough to prepare for the examination.
“The weekly test and discussions held at the institute helped me analyse my errors and improve upon them. Also, the all-India test series provided me with complete analysis of my exams which really helped me in my preparation,” he said.
Arpit’s mother is a finance manager in a pharmaceutical company, who remained his biggest strength throughout the journey.
“I was co mpletely shattered when my father died. I lost my support system, but I will always cherish the good memories I had with him. I am sure he will be happy to see me achieving this rank today,” said Arpit. Arpit also stated that parents are pillars who play a significant role in every child’s life.
Apart from that he received immense support and love from his friends which helped him cope with his studies.
“For NEET-UG 2022, my strategy was to study each and every topic hard with clarity. I worked hard with diligence to score a good position and get an admission in MBBS in a reputed college,” said Arpit.
According to him, believing in teachers and following their advice was the best choice. He attempted previous years’ papers on regular intervals which helped him a lot.
He advised the NEET aspirants to stick to NCERT, as it is the foremost priority for cracking the exam. Maintaining mental and physical health during the years of preparation is very important.
Interaction with teachers and seniors is very important for right guidance, he added. He added that he wishes to help the needy who cannot afford get treatment from private hospitals.
‘Consistency matters the most during preparation’
Meanwhile, Chandigarh topper Yagyam Sethi scored 700 marks out of 720. He received his coaching from Akash Institute, Panchkula. A student of government school, Sector 16, Yagyam aims to specialise in cardiology.
A resident of Panchkula, Yagyam claims that consistency matters the most while preparing for these examinations. You need to set targets to accomplish your goals. He said, “My favourite subject was biology and toughest was physics, in which I scored full marks”.
“I dedicated eleven to twelve hours to my studies during my preparatiion,” said Yagyam. His mantra was to focus on each and every topic and revise it. “The medical profession is one of the noblest which somewhere influenced my mind to pursue it. Also, my elder sister who is currently in the last year of MBBS, motivated and influenced me to pursue my career in this stream,” added Yagram.
Upon asking Yagyam about the difficulties he faced, he said, “Yes, competition between classmates, stress and anxiety somewhere becomes a roadblock but you need to be mentally strong and motivated towards your ambition”. Yagyam’s father is an ASI officer in the DSP East Office, Sector 26, while his mother is a homemaker.
‘Setting a daily target is important, so is remaining stress-free’
Devika Loomba, a student of The Millennium School, Mohali secured AIR 108 in the examination. Devika’s mother is a mathematics teacher while her father is in stock market trading.
Her success mantra was to go with the flow and focus on her weak points. She set daily targets and complete them by the end of the day. Devika scored 696 out of 720 in the NEET exam. She added, “I did not put extra stress on my mind as it can adversely affect your performance. I covered all the topics and also used watched YouTube to clear some
doubts”. Devika received her coaching from Allen Career Institute, Chandigarh.