Several candidates said that online classes helped them
Many city-based students secured good ranks in the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) – the results of which were announced on Monday.

A press release by the organising chairman of the examination said that a total of 1,50,838 candidates appeared for both papers 1 and 2 in JEE (Advanced) 2020 and a total of 43,204 candidates qualified JEE (Advanced) 2020. The test is a gateway to get into 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) across the country.

Many candidates said that the lockdown gave them extra time to prepare for the examination and sharpened their skills.

Pranava Singhal, from National Public School, HSR Layout, secured an All India Rank of 103 and said that it was his childhood dream to get into an IIT. “The unique teaching methodology by my coaching class has helped me with preparations of JEE Advanced. When the exam was nearing, I focussed on self study and solved previous year’s papers,” he said. “The lockdown gave me time for preparation and I was eager to finish the exam quickly,” he said, adding that he aspires to get into IIT Bombay and work in computer science or the electronics sector in the future.

Chathurvedhi Talapaneni of Narayana E-techno School, Vidyaranyapura, bagged the All India rank 149 and aspires to get into IIT Madras. He said that for four years, he ensured that he rigorously concentrated on studies. “For two years in Classes 11 and 12, I studied for 12 hours each day,” he said. He said the pandemic helped him stay at home and study in a peaceful environment. He added that he tried to solve as many papers as possible and made short notes for Chemistry that helped him during revision.

Shubhan R. of Sri Chaitanya e-techno School, Bengaluru, who got the 175th rank, said that he managed to get a few extra months to prepare for the examination due to the pandemic. “I found it relaxing to study during the lockdown. I made extensive notes that helped me immensely,” he said. Shubhan, who also secured the second rank in the Common Entrance Test 2020, aspires for a seat in IIT Bombay or IIT Madras. He wants to work in the field of artificial intelligence

Visually impaired student does well

While several candidates said that online classes helped them, Kummitha Jhanavi of Sri Sri Chaitanya PU College, Vidyaranyapura, who is visually impaired, struggled to sit for long hours in front of the screen during the pandemic.

Yet she managed to get a rank of 162 under the persons with disability category in the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced). She said that unlike her peers, she could not study continuously and had to take breaks as her eyes would start burning. She said that making extensive notes and hard work was her secret to success.