JEE Main 2024 Topper Himanshu Interview - Achieved 100 Percentile

Himanshu has achieved a 100 percentile in the January session JEE Main 2024 exam. His daily schedule included at least 6 to 9 hours of self-study every day. Himanshu shares how he is not demoralised by poor test results. Rather, he becomes more driven and aims to improve his test-taking performance. Himanshu first learned about the JEE Mains exam in class 8 and started preparing for the exam in class 11. He is now listed as a JEE Main session 1 topper having secured a perfect score of 300/300.

Himanshu is currently focusing on his class 12 board exams and towards scoring a good rank in JEE Advanced. He is looking to pursue his B.Tech in CS branch at IIT Bombay. Check out the complete interview with Himanshu as he shares his preparation strategy, tips and more insights about the JEE Main 2024 exam.

Q1: Congratulations on your performance in the JEE Main January 2024 exam! What was your reaction upon knowing your score?

Himanshu: I knew I was going to get a good rank soon after exiting the examination centre, and after checking with the memory-based paper, I started expecting 300 marks. So I was not very surprised seeing my score but I was very happy about it.

Q2: Tell us something about yourself. Which board have you studied under? Which school have you studied in?

Himanshu: My current board is CBSE and my school is SBS Convent School, Sabalpura, Sikar. I am doing coaching at Allen Career Institute, Sikar.

Q3: Why do you want to study engineering? When did you decide to study engineering? Which branch would you be interested in? Any reason?

Himanshu: My interest in engineering developed due to maths. I first thought of engineering when I was in class 4 but I got to know about JEE in class 8 when I joined Allen. I am currently interested in the CS branch since every topper trakes it.

Q4: When did you start your JEE Main preparation? Tell us something about your preparation strategy and daily routine for JEE Main.

Himanshu: There was not a proper routine. I used to self-study for 6 hours when I had classes and about 9 hours when classes were off. I started preparing for the olympiads in class 8, so many of the classes 11 - 12 topics were covered in classes 8 to 10. But my JEE preparation started in class 11. Excluding the last 1 month, since it was focused on simultaneously preparing for both mains and JEE advanced.

Q5: Did you face any difficulties since the examination was conducted completely in computer-based mode?

Himanshu: No. I like the CBT mode and most of my coaching papers were held as CBT so I was well prepared for it.

Q6: Was there a difference in the preparation strategy in the last months of JEE Main considering that the board exams are also coming up? How did you manage preparation for Both?

Himanshu: I have started preparing for boards after JEE mains only.

Q7: Did you take coaching for JEE Main and if yes from where? What are the benefits of coaching according to you?

Himanshu: Yes I took my coaching from Allen Career Institute, Sikar. I think it is very important to join coaching for an exam like JEE Mains. For me, my results are mainly due to my teachers. They taught me well, motivated me when I was not performing well and guided me at every step of my JEE preparation.

Q8: Mock tests and sample papers – how extensively did you practise with the help of these? Do you think practising from the previous year’s papers helps and how?

Himanshu: We should practice as many mock tests of JEE Mains as we can because it helps in finding our weaknesses. Similarly, JEE previous year questions are also very important because they tell us about the actual level of the exam and the type of questions that will be asked.

Q9: Are there any special books that you feel have helped with your JEE Main preparation? Are the school textbooks adequate for preparing for JEE Main and Class XII?

Himanshu: I did not refer to any other book other than my coaching material and NCERTs while preparing for JEE Mains. The NCERT is important for inorganic chemistry but for the rest subjects coaching material is required.

Q10: Did you face any problems during the JEE Main examination? Which subject was the easiest and which was the toughest in JEE Main? What do you think is a tough thing to manage during the JEE Main exam?

Himanshu: No, I did not face any issues during the JEE Mains exam. I found Chemistry to be the easiest while maths was the toughest.

Q11: What are the key factors behind your stupendous success in JEE Main?

Himanshu: In a word, consistency.

Q12: Will you be appearing for the April session of JEE Main 2024 too?

Himanshu: No, I will not prepare for it but I will attempt in April as well just to face the actual exam environment again since I want to sit for JEE Advanced.

Q13: How did you de-stress yourself during the preparation? What are your hobbies? How often could you pursue them?

Himanshu: I used to watch movies whenever I felt stressed.

Q14: Who is your ideal or biggest inspiration in life and why?

Himanshu: Nothing like that.

Q15: 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 Main exam?

Himanshu: I would like to say that be consistent. Never sacrifice your sleep. Make NCERT the bible for inorganic chemistry. Never get demotivated over bad performance.