MADURAI/ERODE/VELLORE/CHENNAI: In the MBBS rank list released on Monday, S Thridev Vinayaka from Madurai was elated to find he had emerged as the State topper. He bagged an All India Rank 30 in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 with 705 marks out of 720.
A proud Vinayaka told TNIE that he has decided on an MBBS seat at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry. After the completion of an undergraduate degree, Vinayaka aspires to become a surgeon.
V Devadarshini — a student from Kavindapadi Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Erode — emerged as topper under the 7.5% government school student quota. For Devadarshini, who hopes to study at the Madras Medical College, the journey to clear the NEET was not an easy one. “I wanted to be a doctor since childhood but my family didn’t have the finances. I got this position because I studied hard with everyone’s support,” said the student. After her father passed away last year, a few social organisations chipped in to help her undergo coaching at a private NEET centre in Namakkal.
B Sundarrajan, the second rank holder in the 7.5% government quota category, cleared NEET in his first attempt, without any coaching. A student of Government Higher Secondary Boys School in Chrompet, Chennai, Sundarrajan utilised the lockdown period to prepare on his own for NEET by practising as many model questions as he could.
He, too, wants to study at Madras Medical College and aspires to become a cardiologist. “Government school students can clear the NEET without coaching if they work hard with dedication,” said Sundarrajan.
Under the same category, E Praveen Kumar from Voosoor in Vellore secured the third rank in the State.
“My father, Elumalai is a farmer and my mother, Jeyalakshmi, is a housewife. I have four sisters and I am the youngest. My parents put me in a private coaching centre in Namakkal for the NEET preparation, by arranging funds with much difficulty,” he said, adding that he was grateful to his parents. Any government school student can crack the NEET exam if they thoroughly study textbooks, he explained.