Maharishi Vidya Mandir was abuzz with excitement. Everywhere people were asking if we wanted to meet R Karthik, almost like he was a celebrity. As far as the school is concerned, Karthik sure is one, simply because he aced his maths, physics, chemistry and computer science, scoring a quad of centums. Karthik is more calm and composed than the people around him. “I had done quite well, but I wasn’t expecting a centum in all these subjects,” he said. A math-lover, this aspiring mechanical engineer is happy that he has landed the required cut-off. “I have a score of 157 in JEE-Main so I might get into NIT. But my first choice is Anna University,” he said. Always having performed well in school, Karthik claims to have studied only for six hours a day. “I never faced any pressure from home as well as school. My parents and teachers were very supportive through this phase,” he says.