For this Puducherry-based, trained dentist clearing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) course with a decent score was the primary goal. What Kathijathul Hidhaya S eventually got was a jaw-dropper All India Rank (AIR) One. 

A bright student since her Kendriya Vidyalaya days at JIPMER campus in Puducherry, she was a school topper in Class X with 472 on 500. She also fared well in Plus Two and cleared under-graduation at Mahatma Gandhi Dental College Hospital in Puducherry in 2016 with distinction.

But her academic career thus far didn't suggest she would go anywhere near NEET-MDS AIR 1. That was perhaps why she didn't join any coaching institute in town. "I prepared for the exam using tutorials available online and just took online model tests conducted by coaching centres here every week," says Hidhaya.

"After completing UG in 2016, I worked in JIPMER for a year and then took a break to prepare for NEET at home. When the NEET-MDS 2018 results were uploaded on the National Board of Examinations website on Thursday, I was stunned to see my scorecard that read 702 on 960 and AIR 1," said Hidhaya.

Her father B A Sameemullah, a retired Indian Air Force personnel, had worked in a public sector bank but passed away last year. She now lives with mother S Nasreen Banu and brother Abdu Rehman, who is pursuing a UG course.

( This article was first published in The New Indian Express)