In the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2024 session 1 results announced on February 13, Aaditya Kumar is one of the 23 students who scored 100 percentile. Originally from Bengaluru, Kumar shifted to Kota in June 2022 to prepare for JEE Main. However, he was not alone as his mother also decided to shift with him to the city known for its coaching hub.
Kumar comes from a family of MBAs who decided to pursue engineering. “I have always been interested in Astrophysics and astronomy etc. It was in Class 8 when I decided to pursue this interest. I started researching about it.”
In Class 9, Aaditya visited Kota for a Junior Science Olympiad and also got a chance to visit the Allen campus. “I liked the conversations I had with the teachers and seniors there. The environment attracted me and that is when I thought moving to Kota for JEE preparation would be the right choice.”
Also read | JEE Main 2024 Topper: To support son’s IIT dream, mother left her corporate job, shifted to KotaWith the help of the Olympiad, Aaditya also bagged a scholarship with Allen.
Although there was no fixed study schedule for Aaditya, he believes in waking up early. He likes to practice mathematics in the morning as it helps him stay fresh. “Around 11 am I used to then switch to some theory subject and kept alternating between theory and mathematics,” he said. He also stressed that having at least 1-1.5 hours as relaxation time is crucial for JEE students. “I like going for long walks, talking to my mom, playing badminton and talking to my friends from school as a way of relaxation. This used to help me unwind even on the hardest of the days,” he said.
The key to getting a good score in JEE is not losing your calm and self-confidence. “Many students tend to panic and lose their confidence during the exam. That is one of the biggest obstacles. It is important to remember that no matter what, you have to believe in yourself and your preparation. If you panic, you can lose out on all the efforts you have put in during the past few years,” the 100 percentile scorer suggested.
Aaditya believes having his mother with him in Kota helped him stay motivated.
Read | JEE Main: 23 students score perfect 100; 7 from Telangana“I work from home and my husband travels for work, so he keeps visiting us from time to time. I shifted to Kota because he is my only child and I wanted to spend time with him. It was later we started hearing news about student suicides in Kota and felt bad about those students,” his mother told indianexpress.com.
While Aaditya did have the luxury of staying with his mother, he also believes that it is important to reach out to others for help, whether you stay with your parents or not. “It is okay not to be okay, and it is very important to reach out to someone for help,” he concluded.
Aaditya is now gearing up for JEE Advanced 2024, through which he is aiming to secure a seat at IIT Bombay in the Computer Science Engineering branch.