Odisha NEET 2021 topper Sravan Mishra: Focussed only on NCERT textbooks to crack medical entrance

When the three-month countdown had begun for NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) 2021, Nekta N Swasti Sravan Mishra put on his blinkers to cut out all the fluff so that he can focus solely on NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks. Time and time again it has been proven how NCERT textbooks are all one needs to pass NEET with flying colours, so much so that even exam papers are brimming with questions from these books. So Sravan stuck to this route and became the state topper of Odisha with all India 75th rank and 705 marks with a percentile score of 99.99.

And it has been a long time coming. From the time he was in Class IX, this student of SAI International School, Bhubaneswar, has been consciously preparing for NEET. "It's my parents' dream to see me as a doctor and soon it became my dream as well," says Sravan sincerely who wants to become a doctor and serve society. And it was his parents he would turn to whenever he would feel down and dejected — the few motivational quotes he has placed on his study table and on the walls of his room also helped. Well, if a young lad has to study for as long as 14 hours a day, there is bound to be a need for some motivational fuel to run the engines, isn't it?

Time to celebrate the state topper | (Pic: SAI International School)

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When not studying, Sravan could be found meditating in the morning, to start off the day in the best way possible, and exercising as much as he can, a fit mind compliments a fit body after all. Chatting with his parents was also something he did often, his mother and his father, who has a PhD, were a constant source of motivation for him. But when he sat down to study, that's all he focussed on. The everyday mock tests given by Aakash Institute, which involved using OMR sheets, proved very useful and went a long way in helping him top in Odisha.

Born and brought up in Bhubaneswar, Sravan made the most of the lockdowns by focussing even harder on his books. "Because there was no need to step out, even for schools because online classes were going smoothly, I felt that I could focus harder on my studies," says the youngster. Ask him if he knew he could achieve this feat, topping NEET in Odisha, and he says, "I had some self-belief, for sure."

Well, that's half the battle won!