Akanksha Singh (AIR 2): NEET 2020 Topper: Interview & Preparation Tips

Akanksha Singh managed to score full marks (720 out of 720) in NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test).

Even after scoring full marks, Akanksha Singh got AIR 2 because of NEET’s Tie Breaker Policy.

NEET UG 2020 paper was held on 13th September 2020 by National Testing Agency, NTA.

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Interview with Akanksha Singh

Here’s what she had to say:

Hello friends, my name is Akanksha Singh and I secured AIR 2 in NEET UG 2020. I have scored 720 out of 720.

I would like to tell you about the paper first and then guide you about how I approached each subject for NEET.

NEET UG 2020 paper was quite on the easier side, only a few questions were of moderate difficulty otherwise the paper was relatively easy. I managed to finish the paper in just 1 hour and 45 minutes after which I start bubbling the OMR sheet.

Also read: Detailed analysis of NEET 2019 vs 2020 paper.

Let’s discuss how I covered each subject. These are some tips which will surely help you in your preparation.

I’ll be talking about Physics first.

In AIIMS and JIPMER entrance exams, Physics is quite hard. But starting from this year, these examinations have been merged with NEET itself.

I used to first finish the theory part of the modules. After completing each chapter, I used to solve around 300 to 400 questions related to it.

After finishing the module, I used to refer to NCERT thoroughly and solve the internal questions as well as the additional questions given at the end of each chapter.

After completing NCERT, I used to refer to HC Verma. Especially for chapters like Mechanics and Electromagnetism, I did the entire theory and all the exercises. Coming to Thermodynamics, I did only theory from HCV.

After HCV, I also solved IE Irodov for chapters like Mechanics and Electromagnetism, and then I solved Anurag Mishra‘s volume 1 and volume 2.

If we talk specifically about NEET, it’s not necessarily important to do IE Irodov and Anurag Mishra, I did those for AIIMS.

But as of now, you need to focus only on NEET and devote your attention to NCERT. Apart from NCERT, I’d recommend you to solve previous year papers, preferably 20 years.

For my preparation, I solved papers of JEE Mains and Advanced as well.

Also read: List of best books for solving Physics MCQs.

Now let’s come to Chemistry.

There are 3 main parts in Chemistry, namely Physical, Organic, and Inorganic.

Let’s talk about Inorganic first. It’s almost like Biology. Stick to NCERT because in NEET, questions are solely asked from NCERT for Inorganic chemistry.

For example, the p block in NCERT comprises of around 40 pages. I used to make short notes and mind maps (in just 3 or 4 pages) and then stick it to the walls of my room for repeated and frequent revision. So basically, making short notes for Inorganic chemistry is going to help you drastically.

Frequent revision is very important as it increases your speed.

Taking about the various blocks (s, p, d, and f) in Inorganic Chemistry, first, go through their general properties and then cover the rest of the topics under it. This is how you should strategize it.

Talking about Physical Chemistry, it’s almost like Physics. Practicing questions is the most important thing. First cover theory in NCERT then read the modules and then solve a ton of questions for better understanding. I used to study from my notes as well. I didn’t really solve any particular books for Physical Chemistry.

Talking about Organic Chemistry, it’s a very conceptual part of chemistry under which there are a lot of reaction mechanisms to be dealt with. I used to refer to my notes to cover these reaction mechanisms. For conceptual clarity, I used to refer to Peter Sykes. Apart from Peter Sykes, I didn’t really refer to any other books, just solved a lot of questions from various books.

I also used to solve JEE mock papers but for NEET, I wouldn’t recommend that. For NEET specifically, make short notes of all the named reactions along with the reactants and products and keep revising it. These reactions must be at the back of your mind to have a good grip of it.

Coming to the Biology section of NEET.

Out of 90, 85 to 86 questions are asked from NCERT. If you want the edge over the remaining questions as well and want to secure a good rank in NEET, you can refer to the modules that your coaching provides.

One more thing that is helpful is that suppose you solved the previous year’s problem or referred to some extra topics which you don’t know and which you feel is important, just write these in the space surrounding the text in biology NCERT.

By the end of your preparation, this space with be filled with all the extra important information which helped in quick revision. This also meant that I didn’t have to open the modules to refer to that particular topic.

Since I also gave olympiads, I also referred to Campbell. So if you’re focusing on olympiads and KVPY, Campbell is a good book but if you’re focusing on NEET only then I wouldn’t suggest Campbell as it’s quite lengthy and it’s mainly written for olympiads.

For NEET, go through NCERT thoroughly and solve previous year questions which will improve your speed. And if you have time, you can also go through the modules.

Biology NCERT revision is a must. I would’ve revisited and revised each and every chapter of Biology at least 20 to 25 times.

So this was my strategy on how you should approach each subject.

Talking about myself, I studied in Kasia Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) till class 10th. I did my coaching in Aakash Gorakhpur which was around 70 kilometers from my home, I used to travel by bus. I faced a lot of problems because of that and moreover, the scope of education wasn’t that great here so for class 11th and 12th, my father and I moved to Delhi. My father took voluntary retirement from the Air Force and we stayed in Delhi together.

I also avoided using a smartphone, nor did I have any social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) and if you can avoid them, please do. Our hostel had a common computer with which I used to watch YouTube videos related to studies.

For inspiration and motivation, I used to watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches and Sandeep Maheshwari’s speeches (who’s a motivational speaker). I really like listening to music so I used to spare some time listening to songs by Arjit Singh to relax my mind and boost my preparation.

Also read: 15 best motivational quotes for NEET students.

This is all I had to say about NEET preparation.

I want to pursue MBBS from AIIMS in the future. I want to become a Neurosurgeon and want to contribute to research in the field of Neurology.

Whoever is watching this right now, my only suggestion is that always keep your dreams and aspirations very high and give it whatever it takes to achieve them. How much ever hard you have to work, do it. Don’t ever look back. Once you start a topic, make sure you finish it. The more deeply you study a topic, the better you’ll understand it.

Do smart work along with hard work. And that will definitely reap your success.

Interview Video

You can watch the full video here:

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I hope that was motivating. Do share it with your friends and family!

Good luck Medicoholics! Until next time.