Meet the JEE Main 2017 Girl Topper determined to be a Scientist and not an IITian

Vrunda Rathi topped JEE Main 2017 amongst girls and chose to pursue a research-oriented career from IISc Bangalore in place of being an IITian as she has always dreamed of becoming a scientist.

Vrunda Rathi, a 17 year old girl from Nashik has achieved this brilliant feat of scoring the best rank in the country amongst the girls in JEE Main. With a score of 321 out 360, she has bagged an overall AIR of 71. Vrunda scored 105 in Physics, 106 in Chemistry and 110 in Mathematics.

Image courtesy: HT

2nd April, 2017 became a memorable day for her when she received a call from CBSE Chairperson, RK Chaturvedi, who congratulated her on her brilliant performance in the exam. This was surely a surprising moment, but she started celebrating only after she saw her score and rank on the CBSE website itself.

Unlike most toppers, she is not inclined towards studying in any of the IITs. Rather, she wants to pursue a career in research and that is why her ultimate goal after JEE is to join Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc). About her attraction towards IISc, Vrunda said,” I have always been sure about pursuing a career in research and for that purpose, IISc Bangalore is where I am headed. I haven’t decided about the course which I will join at IISc, but it will definitely be research oriented.”

Vrunda also mentioned that she’s always liked Mathematics the most and it will probably be the subject she will pursue her higher education in.

Apart from scoring AIR 1 in JEE Main result, Vrunda also appeared for KVPY and scored AIR 12 in that. She is a flute player and also loves to read.

Vrunda’s Preparation Strategy

To score such an amazing rank in JEE Main, preparation strategy is crucial. When asked about her preparation journey, Vrunda said that she started her preparation in Class 11th. Her preparation mostly revolved around NCERT books. She said that NCERT is a good source to prepare as coaching institutes mostly focus on next level problems, while the actual exam is comparatively easier.

Coaching Institute

She took coaching from IITians PACE academy and used the material provided by institute as another source to supplement her preparation. She also mentioned that coaching was really helpful in her preparation as you get easily distracted when you prepare on your own. Therefore, she completed much of her studies at the institute only.

Study Material and Books to Refer

Apart from NCERT books, Vrunda said that she used the 38 Years’ Past JEE papers book which proved to be very beneficial. Also, for Mathematics, she majorly referred to the material offered at the coaching institute. Also, she used the mock tests provided by PACE academy to her advantage, which helped her a lot.

Study Hours

When asked about the amount of time she put in preparing for JEE, she said,” I am not the one who can study for 12-13 hours daily”. She said that she played flute whenever she needed to relax.

Talking about the enormous amount of time students put in for JEE Main, she said,” when we study more than our capability, it doesn’t go in our head. I did not make any strict time table or did not force myself to study any minimum hours daily. I studied how much I wanted to do, and that too at my own pace.”

Also, she said that 2 years are enough for preparation. Some people crack the exam in 1 year as well. Some start in Class 9 as well, but she doesn’t think that it is good. She said that 2 years is optimum to excel this exam.

JEE Main Experience

Vrunda appeared for the exam in online mode. She said, “in offline mode you have to spend time on filling OMR sheets, while in online mode you can save around 20 minutes which get wasted otherwise”. Also, many people say that online version of the exam is easier. She also felt that online exam was easier than the offline one.

When asked about how her exam was, she replied, “I did not face any technical problem in the exam. Mathematics was the easiest section and physics was a bit trickier.” She added that it is important to stay calm during the exam. Many students study a lot of but feel stressed during the exam, and thus tend to underperform.

IISc or IITs?

There isn’t even an inch of doubt in the fact that IITs are the best engineering institutes across the country. From academics to placements, the opportunities that you get at IITs are unmatchable. However, many students still prefer IISc over IITs.

What makes IISc special is that it is purely a research based institute. While being at IITs guides you towards being a great engineer, at IISc you become a great scientist. Therefore, candidates who want to make their career in pure science are more inclined towards taking admission in IISc.

One more factor that adds weight to choice is that is its brand value. Even IITs have a great global recognition, but in all the local and international surveys, IISc gets ranked as the best education institute in India. In Times higher education ranking, IISc stands in 251-300 group, which is the best in the country. After this, IIT Bombay ranks in 351-400 group. This is another reason why students are preferring this institute over all IITs.

About JEE Main

Joint Entrance Test is a premier engineering entrance exam in the country. It is conducted in two legs, the first leg is JEE Main and second in JEE Advanced. While JEE Main is needed to qualify for JEE Advanced, and to get admission in NITs, IIITs and CFTIs, JEE Advanced gives candidates seats in the prestigious IITs.

JEE Main 2017 results were announced in 2nd April, 2017. Kalpit Virwal topped the exam by scoring a highest ever score of 360 out of 360 in JEE Main. Vasu Jain and Ananye Agarwal bagged 2nd and 3rd ranks.

From a total of 11.8 lakh aspirants of JEE Main, 2.21 lakh have qualified for JEE Advanced. From the people who qualified for JEE Advanced, 21% are girls. 68 girls featured in top 1000 ranks of JEE Main and 466 in top 5000.

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