JEE Main 2018: Six students scored top marks this time
The JEE Main 2018 saw a unique moment: as many as six students had secured 350/360, the maximum marks. CBSE applied several tiebreakers and employed 'gradation' to decide ranks. Eventually, Suraj Krishna Bhogi was announced the topper and KV Hemant Kumar Chodipilli came second, both from Andhra Pradesh. Interestingly, three of the five toppers were from Telugu states: Gattu Mytraya from Telangana came fifth.
Bhogi Suraj Krishna of Vijayawada, topper, says he knew he would do well, but "I hadn't expected to bag the top rank." And it wasn't undeserved: he studied nine hours a day, often sacrificing cricket, his favorite sport. His dream is to study Computer Science from IIT-Bombay. Suraj's father, who works at a local supermarket, says his sister too wants to join IIT.
KV Hemant Kumar Chodipilli of Vizag, who came second, wants to pursue the same stream in the same institute as Suraj, but for him, one factor is that his parents stay in Mumbai. Unlike Suraj, though, Chodipilli says his rank wasn't a surprise. "I studied for five hours every day. With immense support from my college faculty members, I managed to score 350."
At third place was Parth Satish Laturia, son of a doctor couple from Nanded (Maharashtra), who underwent coaching from Kota. Laturia attributes his success to making notes, daily revision, and regular interaction with teachers and parents. Though he studied 5-6 hours every day, he also kept up his hobbies: chess, table tennis, badminton, and watching some TV. His goal is Computer Science from IIT-Powai.
At fourth place was Pranav Goyal from Haryana. Pawan Goyal from Rajasthan took the sixth rank. Math whiz Bhaskar Gupta, who came seventh (345), topped Mumbai, while Simar Preet Saluja, also with 345 marks, was ranked ninth. Two more of the top 10 - Bakarapu Bharath (Andhra Pradesh) at eighth and Gosula Vinayaka Srivardhan (Telangana) at tenth - came from Telugu states.
The cutoff for all categories slipped noticeably this time. For the common rank list, it came down from last year's 81 to 74. Consequently, 10,000 more students have qualified for the Advanced this time - 1.8L boys and 50,000 girls.
Those who cleared the Main now need to register for the Advanced. Application will open tomorrow and end on May 7, 5pm. The exam is on May 20. For the first time, the Advanced is going completely online. To allow students to familiarize themselves with the pattern and style, mock tests for eligible candidates will be held across 18,000 schools during May 1-5.
