CUET Topper Tips: Know How Self-Study Helped Ishita Gambhir To Get Admission To SRCC
Common University Entrance Test 2026 ( CUET )
Exam On - To be notified
CUET Topper Tips: Coaching is very subjective. I usually followed a combination of both, with major dependence on self-study. According to me, coaching can be joined for concept clarity, however, self-study is important for practice and regularity, Ishita Gambhir said.
CUET UG Topper 2023 Ishita Gambhir believes that the choice is always between self-study and coaching. "Coaching is very subjective. I usually followed a combination of both, with major dependence on self-study. According to me, coaching can be joined for concept clarity, however, self-study is important for practice and regularity," she said. Ishita started her CUET preparations after her board exams. She used to dedicate 8-9 hours regularly in preparation for CUET 2022.
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Q. When did you start preparing for CUET Exam? What all books did you refer to?
A. I started my CUET preparations right after the CBSE board exams ended. Since the syllabus for CUET 2023 was more or less similar to the CBSE curriculum, I prepared the term 2 syllabi simultaneously for both, boards and CUET and decided to focus on the rest of the CUET syllabus only after the boards. I followed NCERT books along with CBSE recommended books i.e., TS Grewal for Accounts and Sandeep Garg for Economics. I preferred Arihant and Oswaal's books for MCQs.
Commonly asked questions
The difficulty level of the CUET exam varies between moderate and tough. Since the CUET UG exam is held for multiple subjects and slots, the difficulty level of the exam varies from subject to subject. Sometimes, the difficulty level may also vary for different slots. While for the well-prepared candidates, the difficulty level will be low, for the underprepared students, the level of difficulty will be on the higher side.
From the year 2021 onwards, CUET is conducted in computer-based mode. Till 2020, the exam was conducted in paper-pencil based (PBT) mode. The exam will continue to be conducted in the computer-based mode or online mode. As per the CUET exam pattern, the exam was conducted in two to three slots, depending on the number of applications received in a subject. There were three sections on Language, Domain Subject and General Test (optional). The number of questions and marks will vary from paper to paper.
More than 200 CUET participating universities, including central, state, government, private, and deemed institutes offer admission to various undergraduate and integrated courses through Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG). Each CUET college offers the courses across Science, Humanities, Commerce, Management, Law, Engineering, and other streams. Students planning to get admission through CUET exam have to check the courses offered by their target university on their official website, NTA official website, or at Shiksha page.
Q. Tell us about your family and educational background?
A. I am Ishita Gambhir and I completed my schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, New Delhi.
Q. How much time did you devote to self-study? What do you feel is better, coaching or self-study?
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A. Most of my time, around 8-9 hours a day was invested in self-study. The choice between self-study and coaching is very subjective. I usually followed a combination of both, with major dependence on self-study. According to me, coaching can be joined for concept clarity, however, self-study is important for practice and regularity.
Q. How did you prepare for CUET UG, just a month before the exam?
A. As the syllabus for CUET was more or less similar to the CBSE boards and I had just appeared for term 2 boards, my major focus was on revising the term 1 concepts and the additional topics, which weren't a part of the CBSE syllabus. After revising all the concepts, I practiced mocks and kept on revising the difficult topics again and again.
Commonly asked questions
To prepare well for the CUET UG and board examinations, candidates must:
- Start their preparations for CUET UG along with class 12th board examination. This will help students to cover the maximum syllabus for CUET.
- Candidates must make sure to be familiar with the CUET exam pattern and syllabus for the subjects they are planning to opt for.
- Candidates must know weak and strong topics by solving CUET mock tests or previous year question papers.
- Students must make sure to download the CUET question papers and analyse difficulty level of the exam
- Aspirants must select the best books for CUET UG preparation.
On analysing the CUET UG cut off for the academic year 2025-26, scoring above 700 marks can be considered a good score in CUET UG. Candidates scoring above 700 may fall in the category of 95+ percentile. Candidates can get admission to top central universities like University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and other universities in the desired course. Given below is the range that is considered good for admission:
- Very Good Score: 700 and above
- Good Score: 650 and above
Q. Which subject is your strong one and which is the weakest? Are NCERT books sufficient for preparations?
A. I considered Accounts to be my strongest subject and Maths to be my weakest. NCERT books are sufficient for conceptual learning, however, I will prefer going through one or two more books for practice.
Q. Which all universities did you apply for? What was your dream college?
A. I applied to Delhi University and IPU. My dream college was SRCC.
Q. When it came to exam day, what was your strategy? According to you, what was the toughest and easiest section?
A. I had all of my exams on the same day, 3 in the morning slot and 2 in the evening slot. So, my strategy was to first attempt those subjects about which I was more confident so that I'm able to retain my confidence and calm for the other subjects. Though all of the exams were of moderate level, with an equivalent combination of easy and hard level questions in all the exams, according to me, Maths was the toughest, especially the first section and English was the easiest.
Q. To whom do you attribute your successful CUET topper journey? What would you suggest to future CUET aspirants in terms of preparation, attitude, etc?
A. I attribute my successful CUET journey to my Parents and Teachers, who were always there to support and guide me. I would suggest that CUET aspirants follow NCERT as the prime resource of preparation, especially for theory subjects. I'd suggest choosing the subjects wisely, maintaining their calm during the entire process and being receptive to whatever changes are taking place. Also, the right and timely decision of choosing which questions have to be attempted is important. I'll suggest keeping aside the thought of results on the day of examination and being relaxed so as to have a cent per cent presence of mind!
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 days ago
No, CUET exam is not compulsory to take admission in different programmes at Nirmala College of Pharmacy. The college offers admission in the UG and PG courses based on merit in last qualifying exam. They just have to fulfil the eligibility criteria.
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Contributor-Level 10
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Yes, students can join Surana College - Peenya Campus BBA without CUET. The college gives out merit-based admissions. No entrance tests/ interview are required for any programme including BBA.
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No, Delhi University Commerce colleges admissions are strictly based on CUET-UG scores only. Candidates who don't take the CUET can't apply for BCom colleges at Delhi University.
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Answered 3 days ago
The following colleges offering B.Tech CSE through CUET scores.
- BBAU LKO
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Scholar-Level 18
Answered 4 days ago
No, you cannot "stack" or combine scholarships. You can apply using either your Class XII Board marks or your CUET 2026 percentile, whichever gives you the highest percentage of scholarship. The university will award the single best scholarship you qualify for, provided seats are still available in
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 5 days ago
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Guide-Level 15
Answered 5 days ago
CUET UG Computer Science total marks are 250. The question paper will include 50 questions of 5 marks each. For every correct answer, candidate will get 5 marks and for every wrong answer 1 mark will be deducted.
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 days ago
CUET UG Computer Science question paper will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions. All questions are compulsory to attempt. The CUET UG Computer Science paper is conducted for 60 minutes.
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, students can admissions at DIHRM without appearing for CUET exam. The admissions to DIHRM are entrance based. Students need to appear for IPU CET exam & take part in the counselling process of IP University.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
CUET UG English exam is moderate in difficulty level. Howver, the level of competition is high, since more than 70% candidates appear for the CUET English exam every year. Candidates can download the CUET previous year question papers to analyse the difficulty level.
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Contributor-Level 6
She has over 10 years of experience in the education and publishing sectors. She specialises in exam coverage and content creation. At Shiksha, she writes, analyses, and presents information for students preparing f
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