As a kindergarten student, Hrudya Lakshmi Bose would keenly observe her neighbour, who was an MBBS student then. Years later, she still remembers how she was fascinated by the stethoscope. Probably, she hadn't seen a medico before. Almost everyone in her family was an engineer and naturally, everyone expected her to go with the tide.
But did she do that? Not at all. She was so determined to become a doctor, that she cracked this year's National Eligibility cum Entrance Test with a score of 687 out of 720, hence bagging the 31st rank in the country and the second rank in Kerala. "After writing the exam, I did expect a good rank. But I hadn't even dreamt of a rank this good," she says. She laughs about how her mother thought that Hrudys's rank was a prank. "My father was convinced. But for a long time, my mother wouldn't believe that it was me," she says.
This is Hrudya's second NEET attempt. Last year, this 19-year-old scored 476 marks, bagging the 31466th rank. Following this, she had decided to drop a year and prepare for the entrance examinations at Brilliant Study Centre, Kottayam. So what was different from her last year's study strategy, that led to a massive improvement in her rank? She tells us. "Last year, I wasn't very organised. I studied a lot, but not the right things. This time, I concentrated a lot on the NCERT books and solved a lot of questions." She is now awaiting the results for the AIIMS and the JIPMER entrances and says that she would decide a college after that.
Apart from being a NEET topper, Hrudya also topped her school (Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2, Kasaragod) in the 2018 CBSE Board Exams, scoring 96.4 per cent marks. Previously, we had also reported that she also topped the Central University of Tamil Nadu's entrance for BSc (Textiles), secured the 10th rank in the university's entrance for Integrated MSc (Chemistry) and bagged the 11th rank for the Central University of Karnataka's entrance for Integrated MSc Physics. Surprisingly, she had come to know about it only after reading the Edexlive report. Humbled, Hrudya says, "I was not always a topper, but it feels sometimes. I had never thought I'd top my school. Even I didn't know that I topped the central uni exams. I was too busy concentrating on NEET and wanted to repeat to get a good rank."
Hrudya has zero social media presence, which she considers a blessing. "I never had to quit social media to study. I used WhatsApp, but we weren't allowed to use it in the hostel. This was very helpful," she says. Even though dropping a year was quite stressful for her, she tell us how her hostel mates' support and music helped her a lot. "We weren't allowed to listen to music in the hostel. But whenever my brother called, I made him play songs for me," she recalls.
What is her pro tip for all the NEET aspirants, we sought. "If you're focusing on NEET, stick to the NCERT books. I'd say, try to study every line in the book. Also, try solving as many Physics problems possible. Study the theory in the class and spend your time at home to solve extra problems," she concludes.
