NEW DELHI: For 17-year-old Vatsa Ashish Batra – who bagged the second position in NEET-UG 2022 – the Delhi AIIMS is a dream institution. The medicine aspirant is optimistic about securing a seat at the apex institute. “I would like to become a surgeon after I complete my MBBS,” he said. Vatsa scored 715 out of 720 marks in the NEET exam. However, he topped in the boys’ category.
His teachers at the institute where he prepared for the NEET exam said that Vatsa’s performance was average and not adequate enough to achieve his ambitions of becoming a doctor. However, it was just a matter of time before he surprised everyone.
Vatsa joined NEET coaching at Aakash BYJU’S with a scholarship from Aakash National Talent Hunt Exam in 2020, he informed. “For the most part, my coaching took place online due to the pandemic and only towards the end of it, I was able to go to the centre in person for clearing doubts or giving mock tests,” he said.
However, the restrictions put up by the Covid-19-induced pandemic also gave him the opportunity to study combinedly with his twin brother who was in the same coaching and preparing for the NEET as well.
The son of civil servants, Ashish and Monica Batra, Vatsa draws inspiration to enter the noble profession of medicine from his elder brother who is pursuing medicine from a government college in Pune.
“My elder brother often shared with me how interesting his college life and the profession is. It developed an interest in me for medicine which is seen as a noble and a rewarding profession,” he said. Vatsa also said that he may turn towards civil services later in life. My current focus would be to become a doctor. But nothing has been decided for the future yet,” he added.
NEET is perceived as one of the toughest entrance tests to crack. The preparation is long and filled with stress while clearing the 12th board exams. Vatsa said meditation and a web series help me keep his calm during stressful hours. “I watched The Good Doctor on Netflix, started meditation on my mother’s insistence and took breaks to maintain my calm,” he said.
Though, more than that Vatsa attributed his parents’ assurance which helped him maintain his optimism during the journey. “My parents told me that if I fail the exam, it won’t be the end of the world for me. It helped me a lot,” he added.