New Delhi: The general perception that a top ranker would study for long hours — ideally 12-14 hours — takes a heavy beating here.
Mrinal Kutteri, the All India Rank 1 holder of NEET 2021, said that he did not follow a fixed schedule while preparing for the medical entrance exam. He claims to have taken breaks every 45 minutes, binged sitcoms on Netflix and Amazon Prime in the last 2.5 years.
“I used to get intimidated reading interviews of toppers who claim to study at least 12 hours a day. During the pandemic when I was at home, I had access to a phone, TV, and laptop. All these were distractions in the beginning, I had to focus and redirect myself towards studying. It got better with time. I used to spend around 4 hours a day studying every day,” Mrinal was quoted as saying in an interview by News18.com.
He also offered advice to his peers. “There is no one-size-fits-all. When I used to read topper interviews, I used to find out what timetable they follow and what routine worked for them. During my preparation, I, too, followed a lot of routines but I realised that a structured approach does not work for me. I was lucky to have parents and teachers who never forced me and did not discourage in my own style of studying,” Mrinal said.
“Anyone who is preparing for a competitive exam should be courageous and free to experiment, they need to find out what works for them and no matter what anyone says stick to it,” the topper added.
The balance between study and fun seemed to have worked for Mrinal. He has been preparing for the NEET since he was in Class XI last year. But the COVID-19 pandemic derailed everything.
“During the time of crisis, doctors were the country’s last line of strength. Seeing them work like this motivated me to become like them, and one day be able to say that I am a doctor. I do what these people do. It was a challenge and I was motivated to overcome it,” he said.
The 18-year-old aspires to pursue MBBS at his dream institute, the AIIMS, New Delhi, and is all set to become the first doctor in his family.
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