Sai Teja Talluri Tops JEE Main 2016; Secures AIR 5 in JEE Advanced

Sai Teja Talluri

Meet Sai Teja Talluri, the highest scorer of JEE Main 2016. He also secured an AIR 5 in JEE Advanced 2016. Surprised? Wait. There’s more. This genius also bagged AIR 1 in TS EAMCET 2016 and AIR 7 in AP EAMCET 2016.

A resident of Hyderabad, Sai aims of starting a firm of programming and gaming after pursuing a career in computer science. Watching movies and playing chess are two things that he loves doing whenever he gets time. According to him, he used to devote 10-12 hours of study every day while preparing for the two prestigious entrance exams.

In an exclusive interview with Shiksha.com, Sai Teja Talluri talks about his success story, plans for the future, study plan and more. Read the full interview below.  

Q. How does it feel being the JEE Main 2016 topper with the highest score?

I feel great. I spent so much time reading those NCERT books before the exams especially for Chemistry as I thought it would be tough. I was week at that too. It also turned out that the Physics paper was not so lengthy as compared to the JEE Main 2015 paper.  Last year, it was more of calculations.

Q. Did you expect to be one of the toppers of the exam?

I did not expect to be of the toppers of the exam. I definitely did not. Last year, someone from the North scored more than 345 marks. I also heard someone getting 350 too.

They also had shared that the Chemistry paper was tough and a lot of questions were out of syllabus in JEE Main 2015. 

Q. So, how did you plan your preparation?

During my normal college days(coaching), I used to study 12 hours a day. I used to spend 4 hours for Maths, 3 hours for Physics and the rest 5 hours for Chemistry. Chemistry is my weakest subject. There is a lot to study in that subject.

Besides Maths and Physics, there was a loads to practice. I did take coaching and guidance from teachers. But I used to practice a lot on my own.

Last one month before the exam, I spent so much reading the extra topics that were a part of JEE Advanced and not JEE Main.  These extra topics mattered so much. The questions were pretty tough. There were more of value based questions. In fact, in Physics and Chemistry, atleast 5-6 questions came from these extra topics.

Q. How did you plan your preparation for JEE Advanced 2016?

The JEE Advanced paper of 2016 was very different from that of 2015. Last year, they tested your speed but this year they went so much out of portion. Physics was completely out of the syllabus and that’s the reason they gave 2 answers for some questions. The syllabus was not which was given in the brochure.

The Chemistry paper was very easy and more stress was given on Physics. It was unexpected. So, one who prepared for Chemistry a lot will definitely feel bad seeing the JEE Advanced paper.

In both Paper 1 and Paper 2 of JEE Advanced 2016,  Physics was tough. Till now, they balanced it out. If in one paper, one subject was tough, in the other paper, some other subject was tough. This was the trend till now. However, the model of both the papers was almost the same. There was not much of a difference in Paper 1 and Paper 2.

JEE Advanced 2016 Paper pattern changes!

JEE Advanced 2016 Results: Aman Bansal from Rajasthan Secures AIR 1

Q. What was your overall score in JEE Main 2016 and Class 12th?

My overall score was:

JEE Main 2016: 345/360 – Maths – 120/120; Physics – 115/120 and Chemistry – 110/120.

Class 12th marks: 986/1000 (98.6% - State board)

Q. Which is your dream institute and which stream do you plan to opt?

I want to get into IIT Bombay for Computer Science.

Q. Tell us about your family background.

My father is into a contracting business while my mother is a house wife. I have a little brother.

Q. Tell us something about yourself

I am a movie buff and like the ‘Fast and Furious’ series a lot. I do watch Bollywood movies as well but I am not able to watch a lot of them since most of friends like Hollywood flicks. I also like playing cricket and basketball.  

Q. What other exams are you taking?

Besides JEE Main and Advanced, I took BITSAT, TS EAMCET and AP EAMCET both. In BITSAT, I got around 440 OR 450. In TS EAMCET 2016, I got 160/160 and secured AIR 1 in the exam. While, in AP EAMCET, I bagged the 7^th position and my score was 153/159.

Q. Success Tips for students taking JEE Main 2017?

For JEE Mains, I would like to ask the future aspirants to concentrate more on the NCERT books for Chemistry and Physics. They should also not neglect the extra topics which are not there in the JEE Advanced. These topics are pretty important.

In 2015, extra questions were increased by a big percentage. There were only about 3-4 extra questions last year. However in 2016, there were around 9-10 extra questions. More than that I guess.

Aspirants preparing for JEE Mains should study atleast 10 hours a day while for JEE Advanced, they should give in around 12-14 hours of study.

For JEE Advanced, I would ask them to do a lot of practice for Maths and Physics. For chemistry, they should stick to the syllabus as far as Inorganic Chemistry is concerned. Don’t practice anything extra.

For Organic Chemistry, practice a lot of questions and various reactions. For Physical chemistry, do not neglect numerical calculations.

Q. Do you think Coaching is required to prepare for JEE 2017?

As far as JEE Main in concerned, coaching is not necessary as you can easily understand NCERT books. However, for JEE Advanced, one needs coaching for practice and doubt clearing, according to me.

Q. What plans for the future? What do you want to become?

After my B.Tech after that I want to go for either civil services or MBA. But for this, I need to plan and decide. I also seek of starting a firm of programming and gaming after pursuing a career in computer science.

 A lot of students go abroad to institutes like MIT and I just might consider that option too as I already have two gold medals now.

I participated in International Junior Science Olympiad Challenge(IJSO) in Argentina and I was awarded a gold medal for attending the same. Out of 89 countries, each country sends 6 representative students to attend camp which is held in different countries every year. In India, after 5 exams, 6 members are selected. These 6 will represent India in the completion which is held in some other country. 

Once we reach there, they hold two exams – one theoretical and one experimental exam. Based on the performance, around30 members get gold medals.

I also participated in the Physics Olympiad conducted by Homi Bhabha center, Mumbai. The results are not yet declared.

Aman Bansal JEE Advanced 2016 AIR 1 Topper Interview

Bhavesh Dhingra JEE Advanced 2016 AIR 2 Topper Interview

Kunal Goyal JEE Advanced 2016 AIR 3 Topper Interview

Take a look at JEE Advanced 2016 topper profiles here.

Revised IIT qualifying marks & criteria for JEE Advanced 2016

JEE Advanced 2016 category wise seat matrix

JEE Advanced 2016 Result Analysis

JOSAA 2016 counselling is expected to be declared on June 2016. Check JEE Advanced 2016 important dates here.

The ranks for JEE Main 2016 will be announced on the official website of CBSE on June 30, 2016.