The National Testing Agency (NTA) had declared the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024 on June 4. Among those who emerged victorious was Bihar boy Tathagat Avatar who scored a perfect 720/720 marks.
He is actually one of the 67 candidates who have topped the exam with perfect scores. Now the question is how did Tathagata prepare and top the exam?
The Hindustan Times team spoke to Tathagata to know more about his journey to success. While speaking to HT, Tathagata spoke on several important aspects – from his success mantra to sharing preparation tips with aspirants. He also spoke about how online classes can be useful for students who opt to appear for the prestigious exam every year.
It is noteworthy that this was Tathagata’s third attempt. He first appeared for the exam in 2022 after the 12th board examination. He had then got 526 marks, after which he decided to skip a year and appear for NEET again. In his second attempt, Tathagata scored 611 marks.
Also read: NEET Result 2024: Ludhiana boy Priyansh secures AIR 429, scores 710/720 marks
“I had decided to appear for NEET and become a doctor when I was in Class 9. After I was in Class 10, I joined a coaching centre near my home in Patna. However, my preparation was negligible as I was not taking it seriously – I was distracted,” Tathagata recalls.
“This continued till I was in Class 11. It was only when I was promoted to Class 12 that I slowly started taking my education seriously,” he said.
A delighted Tathagata said, “The parents and teachers of my institute are happy with the results.”
What is the mantra of success?
Tathagata believes that there is no specific book that can be recommended to candidates. For him, the modules shared by coaching institutes were enough to succeed.
Help from online coaching
Tathagata said that he took online coaching from Physics Wala Institute. He said, “The teaching style at the institute attracted me. Contrary to the common myth about online coaching, online preparation has helped me in securing the rank.”
It is noteworthy that Tathagata is now waiting for his counseling. Born to teacher parents, Tathagata is a resident of Madhubani in Bihar.
It is noteworthy that as per the data shared by NTA, a total of 9,96,393 male candidates, 13,31,321 female candidates and 17 transgender candidates appeared in the exam.
The total attendance was 96.94 percent. In this, the attendance of male candidates was 96.92 percent and that of female candidates was 96.96 percent. The attendance of transgender candidates was 94.44 percent.
This year the exam witnessed an increase in the qualifying marks. For example, the qualifying marks range for the unreserved category was 720-137 last year, which has increased to 720-164 this year. Similarly, for OBC SC and ST categories it has increased from 136-107 last year to 163-129 this year.
