JEE Advanced 2018 topper Interview: Abhinav Kumar (AIR 12) - “There is no alternative to hard work”
June 10 brought very good news to the Gupta household when Abhinav Gupta found that he had bagged an All India rank of 12 in JEE Advanced 2018. A student of CBSE board, Abhinav first knew about his engineering aspirantions when he was in class six. Then on, it has been such a driving force such his performance in JEE Advanced proves his dedication towards his goal. Crediting his parents for his success and his Physics teacher, Abhinav feels that in times of low morale, it is important not to lose focus and give up. His success mantras are – regular studies, self-confidence as well as the strong belief that there is no alternative to hard work. Read the article below to know about JEE Advanced topper 2018 Abhinav Kumar’s preparation strategies, study patterns and habits, books that he referred to and more.

Careers360: Congratulations for your outstanding performance in JEE Advanced 2018! What was your reaction upon knowing your rank?
Abhinav Kumar: I was happy because I cleared JEE Advanced 2018, but I was definitely expecting better rank. So I have mixed reactions.
Careers360:Tell us something about yourself. Which board have you studied under? Which school have you studied in?
Abhinav Kumar: I have done all my studies and schooling from Kota. I have done my class 10th and 12th from Aklank School which is affiliated to CBSE board.
Careers360: What is your score in JEE Advanced 2018? What is your all India rank and category rank?
Abhinav Kumar: My score in JEE Advanced is 309. I secured an All India rank of 12. My OBC category rank is 4.
Careers360: Why do you want to study engineering? When did you decided to study engineering? Which branch would you be interested in? Any reason?
Abhinav Kumar: I wanted to be an engineer since I was in class six. Engineering has always fascinated me. I started preparing for JEE 2018 from class 10. I am interested in studying computer science.
Careers360: JEE Advanced went online this year. What is your opinion about it? Did it change your preparation strategy for the exam?
Abhinav Kumar: Initially I was scared as it was completely new for me but when I started taking mock tests and practice tests, the fear and anxiety regarding the online mode of exam vanished. Now, I know there is not much of a difference between both the modes as I did not face any difficulty in transition.
Careers360: When did you start your JEE Advanced preparation? Tell us something about your preparation strategy and daily routine for JEE Advanced?
Abhinav Kumar: I started my JEE preparation from class 10. However in all respects, my preparation in intensity started only in class 11. I prepared a daily schedule such that my study time at home and the coaching centre was well balanced. My coaching centre timings were 7 AM to 1 pm. I tried to ensure that I studied at least 6 hours every day after coaching to strengthen my preparation.
Careers360: How was the preparation for JEE Advancedd different from JEE Main?
Abhinav Kumar: The question paper of JEE Main 2018 was very straight forward and easier than that of JEE Advanced 2018. Mathematics was really difficult as multiple concepts were used within a single question which made it really difficult to analyse and solve.
Careers360: Since there was just a month after the JEE Main, elaborate on your preparation strategy?
Abhinav Kumar: My mantra for the lasts days of JEE Advanced 2018 preparation was to ‘revise and relax.’ I revised whatever I read in two years for JEE Main and then relaxed so that I don’t succumb to the pressure. I went through all the short notes I prepared for JEE Main and that actually helped a lot in boosting my confidence.
Careers360: Did you take coaching for JEE and if yes from where? What are the benefits of coaching according to you?’
Abhinav Kumar: I had enrolled in Allen for coaching in Mumbai before I came to Kota where I again enrolled in Allen for JEE preparation. You get good company and competition there which is beneficial. Also you become familiar with the exam pattern and syllabus. The guidelines and motivation of experienced teachers always help. They help you find your weakness and work on them.
Careers360: Mock tests and sample papers – How extensively did you practice with the help of these? Do you think practicing from the previous year papers help and how?
Abhinav Kumar: Mock tests help to eliminate your fear. Since this year one JEE Advanced was a computer based test, mock tests helped tremendously in removing my fears and anxiety. I practiced a lot with the help sample papers, mock tests and previous year question papers. The good part about previous year question papers are that you can see which type of questions were asked in the earlier years, weightage of topics and best of all what you can expect in the actual exam.
Careers360: Are there any special books that you feel have helped with your JEE Advanced preparation?
Abhinav Kumar: Yes for Physics, I referred to HC Verma and Resnick Halliday. For Mathematics Tata Macgraw Hill is the book to read. For Chemistry I would say JD Lee and for organic Chemistry it is JD March. These books actually helped me a lot in removing all the doubts and clearing my concepts.
Careers360: Did you face any problem during the JEE Advanced examination? Which subject was the easiest and which was the toughest in JEE Advanced? What do you think is a tough thing to manage during the JEE Advanced exam?
Abhinav Kumar: Once the syllabus is done, then the most difficult thing to do is to maintain your self-confidence. When you get less marks in tests and sometimes you are unable to understand the things, then morale takes a dive and you start questioning yourself. It is the reason why I think you should always believe in yourself. If you don’t think you can who else will? No subject is too easy or too difficult; we just need to give equal time to all the subjects to have a clear understanding of what we read.
Careers360: What is the main difference between both the two papers in JEE Advanced?
Abhinav Kumar: Both the papers were difficult, though I found Paper 2 Mathematics and Physics to be more difficult than paper 1. But Chemistry was more or so the same. So yes, to a certain extent paper 2 was more difficult than paper 1.
Careers360: Did you face any technical glitches during the exam? What is your opinion on the way the exam was conducted?
Abhinav Kumar: No, I didn’t face any technical glitches. It was better than pen and paper mode as you get no chance of correction in pen and paper mode but in online mode you have this option so it was really helpful.
Careers360: What do you think are the key factors behind your stupendous success in JEE Advancedd?
Abhinav Kumar: I credit my parents and my Physics teacher for my success. Their support, motivation was immense and helped a lot. Apart from that, I think regular studies can be one factor that I think is behind my success.
Careers360: How did you de-stress yourself during the preparation? What are your hobbies? How often could you pursue them?
Abhinav Kumar: I love reading novels and motivational stories. These are my hobbies. I also love to sleep. So I would de-stress by reading or sleeping.
Careers360: Who is your ideal or biggest inspiration in life and why?
Abhinav Kumar: My parents are my inspiration. They have been through a lot of adversities and struggles but never let that affect me. When I see them, I feel inspired and move on with my goals.
Careers360: You know, you are an inspiration to thousands of students across the country. Do you have any message for future aspirants on tackling the JEE Advanced exam?
Abhinav Kumar: Study regularly and always have self-confidence. Success is a matter of pride as long as we don’t let it get to our heads. Most important - there is no alternative to hard work.
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Questions related to JEE Advanced
which engineering entrance exams excluding JEE advanced will be held in June for colleges in South India?
Dear aspirant,
According to your question, there will many entrance exams excluding jee advanced as all the colleges will aim to conduct their exam in proper time as last year due to pandemic the schedule was shifted.
So,the list of entrances are-
1-Viteee
2-Comedk
3-manipal entrance
4-mhtcet
5-Bitspilani
i wanted to score 100+ marks in jee advanced 2021. can you tell what chapters (topics) to do ??
Hii,
To score 100% in jee advance you have to completely cover your whole syllabus in detail. To score 100% marks you have to follow some important tips like..
- Revise regularly
- Practice last year solved paper and mock test
- Work hard
Important topics for jee advance 2021 are
Physics
- modern Physics
- Heat and thermodynamics
- Work energy and power
- Current electricity
- Sound
Chemistry
- Chemical Bonding&molecular structure
- Co ordinate compounds
- Electro chemistry and surface chemistry
- Alcohol, phenol&Ether
- Chemical kinetic
Mathematics
- Vector &3D
- Matrix and Determinants
- Application of Derivative
- Straight line and pair of straight line
- Sequence&series
For more details you can check in the link given below
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-advanced-syllabus
Hope this information will help you
how josaa counseling will happen after jee advance
Instead of thinking what will happen in JOSAA that too after JEE Adv, think what will happen if you dont even qualify JEE Main. (LOL)
On a serious note, JOSAA is a very simple counselling procedure, where after registration you need to set your preference according to your rank and are allotted seat accordingly in subsequent rounds of counselling.
For more information about JOSAA do follow the link below
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/josaa
However, now you shouldnt quite worry about the Counselling and Institute you will be allotted into. Keep your focus only on aceing JEE Main Attempts with a higher score each time and give a recurring performance in JEE Advanced.
For more information about JEE Main Preparation do follow the link below
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-preparation-tips
For more information about JEE Advanced Preparation do follow the link below
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-advanced-2021
can we use calculator in jee mains and jee advance exam?
Hello student ,
Calculators will not be allowed for JEE Main and advanced . The authorities have prohibited the use of calculators or any other electronic devices i n the exam centre .
Hope it helps !
to get top 2.5lack rank in jee main is compulsary to qualify for jee advance
Hello Aspirant,
No it is not necessary to be in top 2.5 Lakh rank holders but yes the cut-off percentile are decided in the way so that only around 2.5 Lakhs to 2.7 Lakhs candidates get eligible to sit for JEE-Advance. See the qualifying cut-off percentiles which needs to be cleared by any candidate to sit in JEE-Advance is released along with the final result of JEE-Main and for JEE-Main 2021 the final result will be released after all four attempts will be completed and the final result will be on the basis of your best score amongst different attempts. However basis on previous year's cut-off trends we can help you with the expected qualifying cut-offs for this year :-
- Common Rank List (CRL) - 90- 95 Percentile
- GEN-EWS - 70- 75 Percentile
- Other Backward Classes (OBC-NCL) - 70- 75 Percentile
- Scheduled Caste (SC) - 50- 55 Percentile
- Scheduled Tribe (ST) - 40- 45 Percentile
- PwD - 1-2 Percentile
Note that in above table it is not the actual cut-off for JEE-Main 2021 but expected on the basis of previous year's analysis. You can check out previous year's cut-off trends from the link given below :-
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-cutoff
I hope this information helps you.
Good Luck!!