NEET 2020 Topper Interview: ‘Do not panic by seeing others scores’ says Srikar Nikhilesh Gangineni (AIR 71)

NEET 2020 Topper Interview - NTA released NEET 2020 result on October 16 in online mode which was a joyous moment for the all India toppers of the examination. One among them is Srikar Nikhilesh Gangineni (AIR 71). Nikhilesh and his family are extremely delighted after seeing his scorecard of NEET. Despite getting demotivated at times seeing others doing well in mock tests of NEET, Nikhilesh did not give up and passed the exam with flying colours.

Careers360 interacted with NEET 2020 topper Srikar Nikhilesh Gangineni to know how he feels about his achievement. Future medical aspirants can take a look at the extract from the NEET 2020 topper interview that follows.

Careers360 - Congratulations on your NEET result! Tell us something about yourself and what are your feelings on being NEET 2020 topper?

Answer - I am very glad that I scored so well in the NEET 2020 examination. My father is into Aquaculture and my mother is a homemaker. I completed my Class 10 from VP Sidhartha Public School. Then I joined Sri Chaitanya Junior College.

Careers 360 - What motivated you to choose medicine as a career? When did you decide to become a doctor?

Answer - I decided to become a doctor when I was in Class 10. Since this profession is related to saving lives, people tend to respect them a lot. This is why I decided to choose medicine as a career.

Careers 360 - Is this your first attempt? When did you start your preparations for the NEET exam?

Answer - Yes, this is my first attempt. I started preparing for the NEET exam when I was in class 11.

Careers 360 - How did you prepare for both your board exams and NEET?

Answer - I did ten months preparation for NEET and in the last two months I prepared for my board exams.

Careers 360 - The lockdown was announced in March and things changed. How did you prepare for NEET 2020 during COVID-19? How did it affect your preparation? What was the most striking thing during this preparation?

Answer - I almost wasted a month, I did not study at all in that duration. After that I prepared from online classes.

Careers 360 - Did you take any coaching for NEET 2020? How was the coaching affected because of the lockdown and how did you keep in touch with your teachers for doubts and regular lessons?

Answer - Yes, I took coaching from Sri Chaitanya. During lockdown I got continuous help and guidance from my coaching. We had online classes where we could get our queries solved.

Careers 360 - What was your daily routine for NEET before lockdown and after? How much time did you devote to self-study because coaching can only teach you but you have to do the work?

Answer - Before lockdown I used to start at 6:30 AM until 9 PM with 3-4 hours of break in between. Our syllabus was completed in August 2019. Since then it is all about self study and giving mock tests.

Careers 360 - Which subject is your weak one and in which are you strong?

Answer - I consider myself weak in Biology and strong in Physics.

Careers 360 - How was the preparation different from the early days to just a month before NEET exam?

Answer - In the early days I was relaxed in my attitude towards NEET 2020 preparation, but as the D-Day approached I became more and more concentrated. Just a month before the exam I did a lot of revisions and strategized my study.

Careers 360 - What was your exam day strategy? What was the roughest and the easiest section according to you?

Answer - I did not find the question paper to be tough, it was very student friendly. I could answer it smoothly entirely.

Careers 360 - Which college is your dream college for studying medicine? What is your aspiration in the field of medicine and which specialization would you be interested in?

Answer - I wanted to join AIIMS, Delhi but now considering my scores I will join JIPMER, Puducherry. I wish to be a neurosurgeon however, this might change.

Careers 360 - How did your family support you and motivate you during this stressful lockdown period? How did you de-stress during your preparation?

Answer - My family supported me a lot, there were times when I used to score less in comparison to others. In these situations I used to panic but in the due course my family helped me a lot.

I used to play games to de-stress myself, like in college we used to play carrom and chess and at home I listened to music.

Careers 360 - What would you suggest to future NEET aspirants in terms of preparation, attitude etc?

Answer - Do not panic by seeing others scores because coaching institutes' papers are quite different from the NEET question paper. The latter is completely based on NCERT and so candidates must not get deviated from NCERT for NEET.