4 city students shine in JEE Advanced exam

Aparna Banerji

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 11

After having bagged the all-India 17th rank in the JEE Advanced exam, Jalandhar boy Prabhpreet Singh Sodhi has bagged the 261st rank in the country and topped in the district yet again.

Interested in pursuing the computer science stream Parbahpreet, while celebrating the first rank in the district, said he had been preparing for the JEE entrance for the past two years and finally his efforts had paid off.

Son of Jagjit Singh Sodhi, a social compliance auditor, and Vimaljeet Kaur Sodhi, a science teacher, Prabhpreet thanked his parents and professors Sanjeev Nanda, Vikas and Sachin for his success.

Prabhpreet said he would be happy to make it to IIT Delhi or Mumbai, but the final situation would be clear only after counselling.

Sharing his mantra for success, he said, “It is imperative that one stays focused and studies daily. In the end, that is the key to making it big.”

As hobbies when he is not studying, Prabhpreet is fond of social networking and music.

Prachi Goyal

Close on the heels of Prabhpreet Singh Sodhi comes city student Prachi who has grabbed the 339th rank in the JEE Advanced results. Having pursued her XI and XII standard from Kota, Prachi did her class 10th from St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar. Apart from the classes that she attended, she studied five to six hours daily.

Sharing her mantra with The Tribune, Prachi said, “Dedication and regularity are the key for studies. One can’t skip studies for even a single day. Apart from self study, it is also very imperative that you pay attention to all that is being taught in the class. That works as a foundation.”

Prachi also thanked her teachers and parents for her success in getting this far.

While Prachi’s father Rajesh Goyal, who also pursued engineering, runs a business of aluminium fabrication, her mother Palvika Goyal is a government teacher. Her father always wanted her to be engineer. She finally chased the dream of her parents and hopes to make it to IIT, Mumbai. Her preferred field is electrical engineering.

Rijul Tandon

Unlike most of his contemporaries and classmates, in Cambridge International School it’s not the pull of big bucks or a seven-digit salary that fuels Rijul’s dedication to studies. This 18-year old student, who grabbed the 2,085 all-India rank in the JEE Advanced exam, has his heart set on String Theory in physics.

Speaking to The Tribune, Rijul, who wants to make it to IIT Kanpur, said, “It’s true many go in for this field just for a Rs 1-crore package. Lately it has been turning into some kind of rat race. But it is imperative that students go in for happiness and explore all avenues. The key is doing a job which eventually gives you happiness. Somewhere down the line, you shouldn’t be bored of the work that you do. That is how I want to keep it.”

Thanking his father BK Tandon, a CA, and mother Neeru Tandon, a homemaker, for his studies, he also thanked his teachers for their constant guidance. With his eyes set on IIT Kanpur, Rijul studied for three to four hours daily and the relatively new field of String Theory (which he claims talks about the fundamental interactions of the universe), has been the trigger for his passion for research.

“Research is more fascinating and challenging at least for me,” Rijul quipped.

“Interest is important in every field of study. With three or fours of study with concentration and focus, you don’t need much else,” he said.

Rahul Grover

Rahul Grover, a student of Cambridge International School, has bagged the 2,746 all-India rank.

Rahul was expecting a rank lesser than 1,000 within first 500. “But the competition has been very tough,” he said.

Rahul’s father Rajesh Grover is the director of Pushpa Gujral Science City. His mother is the headmistress of Government High School, Mallian. Interested in pursuing software engineering from IIT Kharagpur, Rahul thanked his teachers and parents for the strict regime that he and his brother followed.

“The TV connection at our home was also cut so that we had no distractions while studying. In the end, it helped counter the distractions,” Rahul said.