Het Shah currently studying in AIIMS, a small town boy from Nadiad District who achieved the long awaited aspiration of becoming a Neurosurgeon by securing AIR 4 Rank in the AIIMS MBBS 2016 exam. Unlike others, He did not believe in the marathon studies where students prepare nonstop for 12-13 hours. He emphasized on 6 hours of diligent study schedule. Also, in 2015 he secured AIR 6 in Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KYPY) a scholarship program by the Department of Science and Technology.
1. How has your family supported you throughout the preparation period?
My father, Sanjay Shah, is a businessman, whereas my mother Swati Shah is a homemaker. They have been with me through thick and thin just like any other parents. My dad inspired me to give my best and not worry about the result just like any stern father, but my mom the soft one, on the other hand, was there as an emotional support. My family and friends played a vital role in my success, as you know success cannot be produced by the student alone.
2. Can you tell us about your preparation methods that you would like to share with future aspirants?
I started with strengthening my basic concepts with the help of NCERT core books, which I went over and over again until I could visualize each and every page in my mind. I would like to emphasize on NCERT biology book, which is really helpful. Personally, I don’t believe in marathon studies if not done with regularity. You need to be consistent with the number of hours you put in every day. I followed a 6 hours schedule every day as I believe regularity in my studies was the key to my success.
3. What is the one most important technique that you think helped you secure the rank?
I was just about to say that one of the most important techniques that I religiously followed was the visualization method. I visualized myself sitting in the exam hall, taking the AIIMS entrance repeatedly. To be honest, I had dreams of appearing for AIIMS, so it was like before the actual exam I had taken the exam over 100 times. So, this method really helped me keep my calm during the medical entrance exam.
4. What would be your advice for future aspirants?
Of course, first I would tell all aspirants not only aim for the rank but strive to achieve the best i.e. to get your concepts right. The syllabus may seem overwhelming for aspirants, just like it did to me a few years back. But I assure you once you are into it, it will be so much easier for you. Just get your basic right. So right that even in your sleep you are able to answer them.
5. Do you believe in the coaching system? Is it helpful?
I took 2 years coaching which is one of the reasons for my success. I would like to tell aspirants that a good coaching institute plays an important role, it acts as a helping hand polishing your knowledge and of course, it gives you an edge.
6. Some tips briefly to be taken into account by the AIIMS aspirants:-
- I would suggest aspirants lay more importance on numerical, but if you are someone who is good with quickly solving questions then MCQs will be easy for you.
- One should prepare for the subject in such a way that the answers should be floating in your mind.
- Try making sensible mnemonics wherever you find difficulty remembering that will help you a lot.
7. What was the ingredient of your success?
One of the main ingredients for my success was setting the goal at a very early age and following it. I set my goals when I was in 8th standard after which I started collecting resources to pull things together. An early start will definitely help one win the race.
