JEE Main 2025 Topper Interview: Success Tips, Strategy & Preparation Journey

JEE Main 2025 toppers, Chirag Singh, Arka Banerjee and Ahmad Shayan have shared their exam experience in an interview with Careers360. Chirag Singh has secured a rank of 201 with a JEE percentile of 99.993. Whereas, Arka Banerjee is a 403 rank holder with 99.908 percentile. Ahmad Shayan has also cleared the race with AIR 629 and 99.86 percentile in JEE Mains. In this article, candidates can learn about the strategy of JEE Main toppers, test preparation material referred to by them and their goals. Also, one can know what their advice is to future aspirants.

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1. Congratulations on your result! What was your reaction when you came to know about your rank?

Chirag Singh- I was really happy when I saw my rank, everyone in my family were proud of me. When I came to know my rank I felt joy and gained confidence that I will do more in JEE Advanced.

Arka Banerjee- Feeling happy but at the same time keeping focus on JEE Adv for better rank.

Ahmad Shayan- Thank you very much. I was extremely pleased to see my result, somewhat prepared, but still overjoyed to see my rank.

2. When and how did you decide to pursue B.TECH?

Chirag Singh- In the starting of 11th class, I decided to pursue B. Tech. Engineering was my choice due to interest towards math and science

Arka Banerjee- When I was in class 8th, I decided to pursue engineering as a career because I always feel that engineering always provides innovative solutions to our daily life problems and that challenge attracted me.

Ahmad Shayan- I had always known that engineering would be the right career option for me given my bent of mind. I decided to pursue B.Tech through the JEE exam.

3. Tell us something about your family, schooling, etc.

Chirag Singh- My father is an ex-serviceman at Air Force and currently working in Bank of Baroda. My mother is a housewife. My schooling was in Lucknow Public School (Sector 4B).

Arka Banerjee- I'm from Burdwan, WB. I did my schooling from Burdwan Municipal High School (State Board). My father is an administrative officer, currently posted as AGM(HR) of SgTPP. My mother is a school teacher. And my elder sister is a final year medical student.

Ahmad Shayan- ⁠I live with my parents and brother. My father works as a doctor and my mother is a teacher. I completed my 12th grade from Delhi Public School, Lucknow.

4. When did you start preparing for JEE Mains and what was the strategy?

Chirag Singh- I started preparing for Jee Mains from starting of 11th. Relied entirely on Allen Online coaching, completed daily homework and prepared for tests for covering syllabus.

Arka Banerjee- I started preparing some topics related to jee since class IX. But the intensive jee prep started XI onwards.

Ahmad Shayan- ⁠I began my JEE preparation from 11th grade with Allen Online. My strategy was to simply follow what my teachers said and not let any backlog pile up.

5. What were your strong and weak areas?

Chirag Singh- My strong area is maths, while weak area is Inorganic Chemistry.

Arka Banerjee- Physics has always been my strength. Initially, I neglected Chemistry a bit among PCM. But later on I worked on my weakness and now my three subjects are almost well balanced. One more major issue I had was committing lots of calculation mistakes in paper.. so I had to work on that temperament issue as well.

Ahmad Shayan- As would my result say, physics has been my strength throughout; I got 100 in both shifts. Maths has been a slightly weaker area of mine despite my avid interest in it.

6. Which books did you refer to for JEE?

Chirag Singh- I referred mostly Allen Online modules and no other books for JEE, teachers gave me to solve many extra material too, so there was no need of solving any other book.

Arka Banerjee- I mostly followed Allen Online modules and assignments provided our faculties. Besides those I used a few books like HCV, Irodov, Sameer Bansal etc. books.. but one must consult with his teachers before solving reference books.

Ahmad Shayan- ⁠I stuck to the modules that were provided to me by Allen Online. I did refer to HC Verma for physics but that was for 1 chapter.

7. How did you balance your JEE preparation along with your school and board exams?

Chirag Singh- After coming from school, I used to start studying right away and never really counted hours of study, I studied all time I got. Just used to complete the daily homework which was given. Doing all school work in school itself and devoting all time at home to coaching and self study, helped me balance school and JEE.

Arka Banerjee- I think a proper jee preparation will automatically cover boards as well. So it's not a major issue. In most of the times during my preparation I focused on jee and just 10-15 days before my board exam I changed my focus.

Ahmad Shayan- School exams and JEE have a huge overlap in their syllabus, so in the process of preparing for JEE, board exams are automatically covered. After my January attempt, I devoted complete time to the board exams, and once they were over, I reverted back to my usual routine.

8. What was your exam-taking strategy?

Chirag Singh- My exam taking strategy was to first attempt chemistry then physics then lastly maths.

Arka Banerjee- As Physics was my strength, I always started paper with Physics.. then Chemistry and maths as last because maths is always more calculative.

Ahmad Shayan- Typically I start exams with physics, but in the panic of the exam hall, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. As a result I started my JEE exam with chemistry.

9. During your rigorous preparation journey, how did you unwind yourself?

Chirag Singh- I took regular breaks and sometimes go for cycling outside whenever I was free.

Arka Banerjee- I used to listen to music amd watch sports(cricket & football) to de stress myself. Also whenever I felt a bit low.. my mother was always there to uplift my spirit.

Ahmad Shayan- After I felt my daily target had been achieved, I would generally indulge in some of my hobbies, such as playing the piano, and sometimes on Sundays after our routine tests, I would take out half an hour for video games.

10. Which is your dream college and course?

Chirag Singh- My dream colleges are IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, and Computer Science Engineering course.

Arka Banerjee- My dream is to get into IIT Bombay CSE

Ahmad Shayan- Although I’m yet not sure, I do look forward to IIT Delhi, and Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering are my preferred branches.

11. What are your plans after completing B.Tech?

Chirag Singh- After completing B. Tech I don't have a hard and fast plan but I will most probably join a tech company.

Arka Banerjee- After completing B.Tech, I wish to explore the field of AI.. and will try to implement AI for the well being of society.

Ahmad Shayan- Although I’m not that far sighted, I do plan on attaining a Masters degree after B.Tech.

12. Your suggestion for next round JEE Mains takers?

Chirag Singh- Trust your teachers and obey whatever they say. Try not to have any backlog. Complete your homework in time daily. Analyse your Online test results properly. Discipline plays a major role while studying. And mainly accepting that ups and downs come in preparation, maintaining consistency is the key.

Arka Banerjee- Stay motivated and work hard towards your goal without thinking much about the results. Be consistent throughout your preparation.

Ahmad Shayan- ⁠In my opinion, the best strategy to crack JEE is to listen to your teachers and mentors, they are best aware of your performance and they know the way around this journey.