Class XII: I hated Physics, but scored 98 percent

This topper scored 96.2 percent in her Class XII board examinations. We get her to spill the beans on her dreams, her school, favourite subject and much more to help you get ahead in the exams this year.

Reshma R Shenoi from Kendriya Vidyalaya ASC Centre, Bangalore, topped Class XII (science) at the school level, despite falling ill just two days before her exam. She scored 99 percent in Math and believes that with a few more marks in English, she could have easily scored 98 percent overall.

With a ranking of 1522 from CET Karnataka, Reshma wants to join the People's Education Society Institute of Technology (PESIT) as it is ranked at Number 2 in the South Indian state. She has already got admission to the Bangalore Institute Of Technology, but PESIT is her preference.

Crazy about chemistry, Reshma wants to be an electronics engineer. She has a noble reason behind her ambition -- to serve the nation by building a new and better India.

My school is the best! It is evident that Reshma is very proud of her school, KV ASC Centre, Bangalore. "The teachers give us a lot of quality assignments, which are very beneficial from an exam point of view. They also have us solve selected questions from previous years' papers to solve. We would discuss them the next day," she explains.

Solving lots of sample papers before the exams as well as previous years' papers helped a lot, according to her.

Favourite subject: "I love Chemistry, as I find it easier to understand than other subjects. That is mainly because of the way my teacher KRVP Rao taught and made us understand," she says.

Topper moment: "When I scored 99 (percent) in Math despite having a severe stomach ache just two days before my maths exam."

"Also, I was weak in Physics and used to hate it. But instructional videos from my learning institute helped me understand the subject much better and I scored 98 percent (more than Chemistry!) in the board exams," she adds. "Online tests that have an exam-like feel also go a long way -- you'll be able to excel if you practice on them."

Top faculty: "Chandralekha Madam is the best!" says Reshma of her favourite teacher, with a smile.

Learning from seniors: "Interacting with seniors always helped," she recalls. "You can learn a lot from them on how to score better in the exams."

Last but not least, this ambitious young topper is very inspired by her brother Rajesh, who is an engineer and adds that her mother is her pillar of strength.