"The more questions you practice, the closer you get to becoming a master," says the student who bagged All-India Rank (AIR) 13 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2023, Harshit Bansal from Delhi. The 18-year-old completed his schooling from St Cecilia Public School, followed by Class XI and XII from Pragati Public School.
Speaking to EdexLive, the student said bagging AIR 13 was beyond his expectations. "When the NTA answer key and the final answer key were released, I was sure that I will get into AIIMS (All India Institute Of Medical Science)," he affirmed. When asked how he celebrated after the results, he said, "I visited a temple to thank God. After this, I was bombarded with calls congratulating me."
"My parents were extremely happy and proud. We celebrated this achievement by throwing a party," shared the top ranker. Disclosing the details of his preparation, he said, "Initially, I used to study for four to five hours but later when I completed the syllabus, I increased the revision time to about nine to ten hours. Altogether, I used to study for about 12 to 13 hours a day," he added.
The Kapil Sharma Show is the actual stress buster?
Studying for long hours can be tedious. How did he manage to stay focused, we asked. Harshit shared that he used to take breaks in between study hours. "After studying for 45 minutes, I used to take a break for 10-15 minutes. And when I used to study for two to three hours, I used to take a break for 30 or 45 minutes," he said.
As a stress buster, he shared that he used to watch TV. "I loved The Kapil Sharma Show as it is enjoyable and makes me happy and stress-free," he affirmed.
Additionally, playing football with my brother every third or fourth day helped me stay fit, he added. Further, he said that it is equally important to play sports as one will feel sleepy when studying for long hours.
Motivation and inspiration
Talking about his motivation and inspiration, Harshit said, his elder brother, who appeared for NEET and is in the medical field for the last four years, motivated him to pursue medicine. "I feel being in the medical profession is a noble pursuit," he said.
When asked what was the turning point in his life which persuaded him to pursue medicine, he said, "I used to love Math but my Math is not so up to the mark that I can secure a good rank in the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) exam. But, I always secured good marks in Biology, so I thought I should shift my focus from Math to Biology."
The achiever who was confused between Engineering or Medicine after Class X said he enrolled in Aakash BYJU’S in Class IX and felt that medicine is much better for him. Curing others makes a doctor happy and he could find his joy doing the same, he said.
Future plans
Discussing his future plans, Harshit said that he would undoubtedly join the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
However, he feels it is still too early to decide on the subjects. But what is his favourite subject? Chemistry, it turns out. "Initially, many said Chemistry is boring. But with good teachers and teaching, the most boring subject becomes interesting," he points out.
When asked if he has any suggestions for the upcoming aspirants, Harshit, whose majority preparation was based on the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks, said, "Stick to NCERT. Almost 99% of the questions are asked from NCERT. The more questions you practise, the closer you are to becoming a master," he repeated.
