JEE Main 2024 Session 2 Topper M. Sai Divya Teja Full Interview

JEE Main 2024 Session 2 Perfect Scorer M. Sai Divya Teja Interview

Q1: Tell us something about yourself. Which board have you studied under? Which school have you studied in?

Sai Divya Teja: I’m Sai Divya Teja, and I’m currently staying in Hyderabad, studying at Akash Pallavi Model School.

Q2: Have you appeared for session 1? What was your rank and score?

Sai Divya Teja: Yeah, I have appeared for session 1. My score was 275 in season 1.

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

Sai Divya Teja: Okay, I was interested in science, especially physics, and so I chose to take science. My memory was not very strong, and I was weak at mugging up things. And I was also interested in computers. I was amazed by how computers work and all, and I was very interested in learning how to program. So there was an engineering background, and I want to pursue a career as a Computer Science Engineer. IIT Bombay is the best CSE college in India, so that is my goal.

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

Sai Divya Teja: I started from 11th for my serious preparation. I started from 11th for two years. We had school classes and were there until 3 p.m. After that, I attended Akash evening sessions. I used to complete whatever material and work the teachers gave me. Most of the time, I was preparing for JEE only. Even in school, I was focused mostly on JEE itself.

Q5: How do you manage both board exams and JEE preparation simultaneously?

Sai Divya Teja: The thing is that Jee Mains is based on NCERT. Like, all the questions are mostly from NCERT only. And I am a CBSE student, so I have to study NCERT only for both. So that wasn't much of a problem. I had to give extra preparation for maths in JEE Mains, specifically because it is tough among the three.

Q6: Did you face any difficulties since the examination was conducted completely in computer-based mode?

Sai Divya Teja: No, I didn't have any because I wrote many computer-based exams for hackers before. So that experience is there.

Q7: 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?

Sai Divya Teja: There is no school. My board exams are over, so I study for 14 hours. I'm studying almost whole-time studying. So the whole day, like now, Akash is conducting the FTS test series. We have two papers per day. It is a 6-hour test. So I am writing six hours a day, almost every day. I analyse the mistakes I made in the paper and revise my work.

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?

Sai Divya Teja: Yeah, JEE Main previous question papers are definitely very useful and important because you’ll have to know what the actual level of the exam is like and how the questions are exactly being asked so that if you are lacking anything, you can look into it and prepare properly.

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?

Sai Divya Teja: Like all the material units, they are more than sufficient for me. I tried to complete them only, but I completed around 80% of them.

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?

Sai Divya Teja: In JEE Main, I had to allocate extra time for maths because I found it to be the most challenging among the three subjects. Session two, in particular, was much tougher for me. For instance, in Session one, I completed the exam with 40 minutes to spare after attempting all questions in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Q11: How did you de-stress yourself during the preparation? What are your hobbies? How often could you pursue them?

Sai Divya Teja: I listen to music a lot when I am stressed. I go outside for a walk. I just go to a shop, buy something, sit there, sit outside, and eat. Sometimes, I take a break from my things, listen to music, and talk to my parents about random stuff, not just my studies. And I usually take walks a lot. I go outside if I am stressed.

Q12: 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?

Sai Divya Teja: The first thing is that you have to develop an interest in the subjects of maths, physics, and chemistry. Because if you have an interest in the subject, you won’t find the journey stressful, but you will rather enjoy it. Like, you will enjoy studying, struggling, writing exams, and all. So that would make your efficiency go up, and you would be able to do better than what you can actually do. And you will have to analyse your exams effectively. Because JEE Main is an exam, which, to be honest, is very easy. There are not many tough questions. The questions are easy. But the place that people lose marks is when they make silly mistakes and calculation mistakes, like when they calculate wrongly or when they just make some very small, silly mistakes, and that will make them lose marks. So doing calculations accurately with a high amount of speed is very important. So to do that, you will have to analyse what exactly is going wrong in your exams and why you are actually making those mistakes, like if it is your mindstate, you were tensed or if you were not focusing enough. You will have to check what is exactly going on so that you can focus on that and make that better so that you don't repeat those mistakes and do well in the exam.