NEET Topper 2021: Mrinal Kutteri shares his Success Story and Challenges he faced while preparing for Medical Entrance Exam

NEET Topper 2021: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the NEET result 2021. Candidates can check their marks at results.nic.in or neet.nta.nic.in. After the declaration of NEET 2021 results, the authorities also released the toppers list for the medical entrance exam. This year, Mrinal Kutteri has scored a perfect 720 marks and has secured AIR 1 in NEET UG 2021 exam. A native of Hyderabad who decided to become a doctor in class 9th. His father is an HR consultant while his mother is a software engineer. He came to this decision after considering the fact that the medical field will provide him with a better opportunity to help society. Not just while preparing but while attempting NEET too, Mrinal Kutteri had a unique approach. While most toppers attempt the Biology section first, Mrinal took it up at the end.

Mrinal has been preparing for NEET since he was in Class 11 in 2020. It was then that the Covid-19 pandemic forced classes to move online. Now, the 18-year-old is set to become the first doctor in his family. He aspires to study MBBS from AIIMS, New Delhi, his dream institute. Check NEET Toppers, Mrinal Kutteri success story and challenges he faced while preparing for Medical Entrance Exam here.

NEET Topper 2021: Preparation Strategy

While talking about how he used the lockdown period for studies, Mrinal informed that the lockdown period was a double-edged sword. Though there was no time wasted on travel, studying from home could be distracting. "I made sure that I had an environment optimised for focused study," said Mrinal. He also said “I started the exam by attempting the Physics section first. I thought I could do this section better when I have more time. I considered Biology to be easier and could perform better in it even with limited time,"

Did Not Leave His Hobbies and Taking Breaks

He further said, “Following a well-balanced routine marked by focused sessions of study and adequate breaks helped me perform well in the NEET UG exam. I did not leave my hobbies while preparing for NEET. I think that to do so would have been counterproductive.” As per Mrinal Kutteri, he studied for a short duration of 45 minutes, followed by a break of 10-15 minutes. For him, breaks mostly meant playing video games or watching TV.

“I used to get intimidated reading interviews of toppers who claim to study at least 12 hours a day. During the pandemic when I was at home, I had access to a phone, TV, and laptop. All these were distractions and in the beginning, I had to focus and redirect myself towards studying. It got better with time. I used to spend around 4 hours a day studying every day," said Mrinal.

NEET UG Topper 2021: Time Management

Informing about the study schedule and time management, Mrinal said, “Initially I found the NCERT material and other resources from Aakash Institute quite in-depth and exhaustive. But I quickly got into the habit of studying intently for short durations of about 45 minutes and taking a rejuvenating break of 10-15 minutes after that. This proved to be productive, and I could score well in tests.”

Advice for the NEET Aspirants

Advising his peers, Mrinal said, “There is no one-size-fits-all. When I used to read topper interviews, I used to find out what timetable they follow and what routine worked for them. During my preparation, I, too, followed a lot of routines but I realised that a structured approach does not work for me. I was lucky to have parents and teachers who never forced me and did not discourage in my own style of studying."

“Anyone who is preparing for a competitive exam should be courageous and free to experiment, they need to find out what works for them and no matter what anyone says stick to it," he added. For Mrinal, it was a balance of study and fun that seemed to have worked.