In the second installment of 'Topper's Guide to Success' series, we connected with Sonali Priya, a graduate from prestigious Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), who ranked 184 in AIPMT 2014. Read the full article to know what her top picks in NEET preparation books, common myths regarding NEET and the strategies she followed to achieve a top rank in the exam.
Hi there, future warriors!
I’m Dr. Sonali Priya, a Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) graduate with AIR 184 in AIPMT 2014. I’m here to share my journey of pursuing my passion to become a doctor and to be able to help people even with scarce resources.
To start with, it’s very important to understand what you want from your life, and why? Is it the herd mentality, or you genuinely want it? Once you are sure about it, then comes the important step of how to go about it?
No words could ever perfectly describe the roller-coaster ride that was the life at LHMC and thereafter and you absolutely do not want to miss it for the silly excuses which cause you to slack off during your preparations. College is a place where knowledge meets excellence and every sacrifice made, be it staying away from family, friends, movies, video games, festivals, etc, will be well worth it.
There are several common myths regarding NEET that prevail around; if you are an average student, NEET is impossible; it requires 15 hours of study; only those from premium coaching centres can get through; only the privileged will get it, and so on. If you ask me, none of it is actually true. I have lived one and have come across several other successful stories where none of these matter. All that matters is your vision, your confidence, your hard work with a good strategy under good guidance.
You may or may not achieve your goals in the very first attempt, but not giving up on yourself and your dreams is the most crucial part. When everyone around you doubts your capabilities, that’s the time you can’t let yourself down. We all have been there, faced several hurdles being an aspirant. But all thanks to some of the great teachers, the love and support of my parents, my siblings and friends, I’m living my passion now.
While preparing very often, you fall prey to fear/anxiety and so many “what if” questions. Brush aside these thoughts because they only hamper your calm and peace of mind, if anything. For stress relievers, I preferred listening to old songs, taking a walk, meditation and prayers. Find what suits you best and write your own destiny.
Follow a good study package, practice questions daily, give all minor and major tests.
Opt for any coaching which you find compatible, set small targets for a day, make sure you achieve them and then look for bigger goals. Plan your coming day the previous night. Follow a good study package, practice questions daily, give all minor and major tests. Join an all India test series for a real-time check. It really doesn’t matter whether you are a night owl or an early bird. Neither does hours matter, 10-12 hours of effective study worked for me and the small 15-20 mins naps between the study intervals were quite refreshing.
On study grounds, for chemistry, I preferred RCM (Physical), NCERT (Inorganic), and Organic (Solomon & Fryhle); for biology consider NCERT your Bible and for Physics, HC Verma along with study packages and NCERT should suffice. The number of revisions outweighs the volume of the content. This much covers 80-90% of the syllabus. Don’t miss out on board exams, they are equally important. You don’t have to make extra efforts, you already have the concepts just some work in writing skills within the time limit for subjective paper needs to be improvised and learn theorems and definitions by heart, give some mock test before board exams.
Having fought and won those dreaded 180 minutes in the exam hall, I believe that miracles do happen. But only if you are willing to work for them.
All the best!
Thank you
Sonali Priya
MBBS Batch of 2014, LHMC
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