What’s JEE Advanced topper Vavilala Chidvilas Reddy’s success secret? Sacrifice. Lots of it

What does it take to be the all-India Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) topper? Well, every student may have his/her own methods but Hyderabad boy Vavilala Chidvilas Reddy, this year’s JEE Advanced topper, gave up his favourite sport and social media and studied hard from 6 am to 11 pm every day, barring meal and bathroom breaks, say media reports.

Reddy’s tenacity and sacrifices have yielded in a score of 341 out of 360. The 17-year-old told the media that he took a break from social media for two years, avoided using his mobile phone, and even stopped playing his favourite sport cricket. He reportedly played foosball sometimes as a stressbuster.

Reddy, whose family is originally from Nagarkurnool district, thought the JEE Advanced was easy this year and expected to rank among the top 10. Father V Rajeshwar Reddy, who is a teacher at UPS Madgul in Ranga Reddy district, helped him with maths problems. Mother Nagalaxmi, too, is a maths teacher at the Government Primary School Madgul.

Also read: JEE-Advanced results announced; Hyderabad’s Vavilala Chidvila Reddy bags top rank

The youngster, who wants to take up BTech Computer Science Engineering at IIT-Bombay, said JEE aspirants must stick to a set of books they pick from the plethora on the market. He also stressed on the importance of taking mock tests and allotting study hours to each subject equally, like he did. His advice is not to concentrate on anything but that subject during that time and take a break after that.

Reddy also credited his teachers at Sri Chaitanya school and junior college in Hyderabad for his score. His brother, who also studied in Sri Chaitanya, is now in a final-year BTech student at BITS Pilani. Reddy, who had been preparing for the JEE since Class 9, said he never even let health concerns like fever and stomach ache — which apparently happened due to irregular eating habits — come in the way of his preparations.

Now, that’s the level of dedication that can catapult a student to the top of the country’s most prestigious exam ranks.