NEET 2023 Topper Interview: Grandfather inspired me to pursue MBBS, says Arnab Pati AIR 19

NEET Result 2023 was declared on June 13, 2023. Shiksha spoke to Arnab Pati AIR 19 of NEET result 2023, read here to know about how he prepared for the NEET exam. 

Arnab Pati achieved All India Rank 19 in NEET result 2023. He scored 715 out of 720 and his percentile is 99.99. He is from West Bengal’s Bankura district. See below excerpts from interview.

In future, he wants to pursue MBBS from AIIMS Delhi and he dreams of becoming a cardiologist. He completed his Class 12 from Simlapal Madan Mohan High School. Arnab bagged rank 7 in the Uccha Madhyamik (HS result) and AIR 830 in JEE Main with 99.94 percentile. 

As many as 20,38,596 candidates appeared in the NEET UG 2023, out of which 11,45,976 have qualified. Prabanjan J from Tamil Nadu has secured AIR 1 with a full score of 720. Bora Varun Chakravarthi from Andhra Pradesh has bagged AIR 2 with 720 score. Pranjal Aggarwal from Punjab is the female topper of NEET 2023 with 716 score. 

Also Read:

• NEET 2024 Toppers list
• NEET 2025 Toppers list

Congratulations on your result! What was your reaction when you came to know about your rank
I felt very good. I got this result after 2 years of hard work. I feel very good. And result after hard work is very sweet.
Were you expecting your rank
No, I didn't expect this rank. Honestly, I didn't know what would come on rank.
When and how did you decide to pursue MBBS 
My grandfather passed away in the year 2019. He used to say that there is no doctor in our family. So I was inspired to pursue MBBS from the time when I was in class 9 and I decided to join the medical line. 

What about your family and schooling.
My father's name is Chanchal Kumar Pati. He was mechanical engineer. He used to work in Nigeria in Africa. He left his job in 2016. He left his job for my studies and now he is at home. My mother's name is Rumpa Pati. She works as nurse in government hospital. I don't have brothers or sisters, I am a single child. I studied at a government school Simlapal Madan Mohan High School. I have completed class 5 to class 12 in this school.

When did you start preparing for NEET and what was the strategy
I started preparing for NEET from class 11. I prepared for two years in class 11 and 12. I took admission to Allen Institute in Kota. Here, I prepared with help of institute. About strategy, trend with NEET is that in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, it is very important to complete NCERT books. So, I prepared and read NCERT very carefully. Along with that, I solved all questions I got from modules and books available. I prepared all subjects from these books and modules. For eg- in Biology, I marked all lines of NCERT book and memorized every data and table. So, in Biology I prepared all concepts and in Physics also, I solved many questions. So, all concepts were clear and I solved questions in physics and chemistry. So, it was easy to solve during exam.

What were your strong and weak areas
While preparing, my strong area was physics and my weak was actually inorganic chemistry. 
When did you start giving mock tests for NEET
Mock tests were given to us as soon as we were studying here in Allen. We used to have mock tests here once a month. I started doing mock tests when I was in Class 11.
Which books did you refer to for NEET
For Physics, one can do HC Verma, for Chemistry, RC Mukherjee is good.

How did you balance your NEET preparation along with your school and board exams
In 11th, there was not much tension about board. So, during Class 11th, main focus was on NEET preparation. And in Class 12th, when we were taught topics for boards, we studied along with it, such as how to write definition, or any other important questions so that concept got clear for NEET as well. The board preparation was also being done in parallel with NEET and when board has one month left, I solved board papers to get confidence.

How did the lockdown impact your preparation and how did you cope with it
Some problems occurred during lockdown period but it got resolved soon. At Allen Institute, all system became online, so there were not much of a backlog, teachers tried their best to teach  concepts properly online. They used to clear our doubts. So, I didn’t face many problems during  lockdown.

What was your exam taking strategy
When I went to give the exam, I didn't think about marks and ranks. One should go with a cool mind thinking it is a new day, a new paper. I thought whatever I know, I will attempt. I will do it easily and read all questions well whether it is small or big. I will get 4 marks for each question. I don't want to give less importance to any of questions. So, you have to read all questions well and see all four options carefully while filling out OMR sheet.

During your preparation journey how did you relaxed in between
I used to talk to my parents. Whenever I used to get some time I used to listen to music and bhajans.
Which is your dream medical college
I want to do MBBS from AIIMS Delhi.
What are your plans after completing MBBS
My plan is to do MD in cardiology.

Your advice for next year NEET aspirants. 
Make schedule and stick to it. Whatever you study, study it with consistency. It's not like study for 6 hours one day and 12 hours next day. Don't do that. Study with consistency and clear every line, every subtopic and every chapter of NCERT so that you don't miss any questions in exam.

 Read more:

• NEET 2023 Topper Interview: Preparing from NCERT books was my priority, says AIR 10 Parth Khandelwal

• NEET-UG 2023 Topper: AIR 8 Swayam Shakti Tripathy shares his preparation strategy to crack NEET Exam