NEET 2024 Topper Aditya Kumar Panda, AIR 1 Interview

The NTA declared the NEET UG 2024 result on June 4 and to everyone’s surprise, 67 students scored a perfect score of 720 marks and achieved AIR 1. Out of these 67 students, Aditya Kumar Panda, from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a prodigy student of Aakash Institute talked to Careers360 and shared his NEET 2024 journey with us.

In conversation with Careers360, Aditya has discussed what motivated him to pursue a career in the medicine domain. He has also shared his daily study routine, and how he used the NEET mock tests as the main tool for his NEET preparation. Read the full interview with NEET 2024 topper, Aditya Kumar Panda AIR 1 in this article.

Careers360: Congratulations on this achievement. How are you feeling?

Aditya: Yes feeling excited. This is a new feeling for me because till now I have been scoring 715-716 marks in the NEET mock test. But it's the first time I scored 720 marks, that too in the main NEET exam.

Careers360: Where are you from and where have you done your schooling?

Aditya: I am actually from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. But for 10 years I have been living in Chennai. I have completed my schooling at the Mahendra World School, Chennai with 96.2% in class 12. I completed my class 12 this year, 2024.

Careers360: Was this the first time you appeared for the NEET exam?

Aditya: Yes, it was my first attempt at the NEET exam.

Careers360: What motivated you to crack the NEET exam?

Aditya: Since my childhood, I always had an interest in the medical field. I was inspired by doctors as it is the most noble profession. My grandfather always wanted to pursue a career in Medicine, but due to financial problems, he couldn’t do it. That motivated me to crack the NEET exam. Also, my parents motivated me to pursue a doctor as a profession.

Careers360: Can you tell us something about your NEET journey? How did you start preparing for it?

Aditya: My mom registered my name for the ANTHE exam which is conducted by the Aakash Institute. I appeared for the ANTHE examination in Class 8 and received an AIR 52. So for 4 years, Aakash Institute enrolled me for free of cost and from there my NEET journey began. I went through the foundation course of Aakash in Classes 9 and 10, and from class 11 and class 12, my actual NEET preparation started.

I used to take most of my classes online, but for the test series, I always opted for the offline mode. The environment at the offline test classes was similar to the actual NEET exam, which helped me a lot.

Careers360: What is your weak subject and the strongest subject? And what strategy did you use for the NEET preparation?

Aditya: Physics was slightly difficult for me, whereas I had a good command of Biology. Regarding my preparation, I used to give mock tests and evaluate the questions in which I used to make mistakes. I used to digitally store the questions in which I have made mistakes and I used to revise those questions and concepts regularly. I also used to make short notes for each mistake I had committed like “What mistake did I make”, and “What should I have done”.

Careers360: Were there any particular timings you gave to a particular subject? Can you tell us something about your study schedule?

Aditya: No there was no such fixed study schedule or time distribution to a particular subject. Whatever subject I used to feel I was weak, I used to study that subject. But yes overall, I used to study from 6 AM to 12 PM daily.

Careers360: What study material did you prefer for your NEET preparation?

Aditya: NCERT books are undoubtedly the best source for your NEET preparation. Along with the NCERT books, as I was enrolled in the Aakash Institute, I studied from the study material they provided. Apart from that, I used to solve questions from various other sources.

Careers360: Tell us something about your parents and how big a role they played in your NEET preparation.

Aditya: My parents played an immense role in my NEET success journey. My mother was a software engineer, but to take care of me she left her job. She kept me away from unnecessary distractions. She used to bring me lots of books so that I could prepare well. My father has been a backbone for me, he never scolded me whenever I scored lower marks in mock tests. He always motivated me to improve myself. During the last two months before the NEET exam, Aakash Institute conducts mock tests daily. But as my institute was a bit far away, my father drove me 80-90 Km daily to the institute for 2 months. He is also a software engineer.

Careers360: So now what is your college preference for pursuing an MBBS? And what speciality have you decided to go for?

Aditya: With my rank, I would go for the AIIMS, New Delhi for my MBBS study. It has been the top-ranked college for many years. About the speciality in MBBS, I haven’t decided yet.

Quick links:

• NEET 2024 topper, Hrithik Raj AIR 1 interview

• NEET 2024 topper, Divyansh AIR 1 interview

• Taijas Singh, NEET 2024 AIR 1 topper interview