While preparing for Math Olympiad, JEE Advanced 2023 All India Rank 4 Raghav Goyal developed a deep interest in the subject. It was during the Covid pandemic when he explored Python and Quantum Computing that developed his interest in computer science and furthered his journey toward JEE Advanced. To his surprise, he secured 328 marks in the examination which is a dream come true moment for the Goyal family.

Raghav’s brother Pranav Goyal was the topper of JEE Advanced. He secured AIR 1 in the IIT entrance exam in 2018. Under the guidance of his brother, Raghav started preparing from class 11th and took coaching from the initials as well. “Dealing with the math Olympiad gave a boost to my JEE Advanced journey which made the subject easier,” said Raghav.

“Things become easier when you enjoy. I feel that a lot of people don’t enjoy what they study and I enjoyed what I did and delved into the depth of the topics because I liked it and that made my concepts clear and probably paid in the end,” he said adding that his only mistake was not building focus in his studies since the start. “I only started working in the last few months,” he said.

Prior to Advanced, Raghav secured AIR 20 with 100 percentile in JEE Main 2023 and dedicated his results to parents and mentors. “My mother all the while was there for emotional support and even taught me till class 8th. My father was always there to motivate me,” said Raghav, whose father is also an engineer and now is the owner of a pharma company.

A native of Panchkula, Chandigarh, Raghav said he aims to join IIT Bombay. He explained JEE Advanced is tough and not every book covers all the needs of the examination. “I worked for JEE Advanced mainly and most of the syllabus of JEE Main is covered in Advanced except a few side topics and that can be covered before the JEE Main examination,” he told News18.com. He said he prepared for JEE Main one month before its examination, and prior to that, he focused on JEE Advanced. He also took coaching from Allen.

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Despite a deep interest in mathematics, Raghav says it is the toughest part of JEE Advanced. In the last examination, his final score in math is lesser than in both subjects. Raghav scored 101 from 120 in the JEE Advanced 2023. He feels that he is good in math when he is provided sufficient time to solve the problem.

Raghav further added that for chemistry, NCERT is a must and credited it to clearing his concepts on inorganic chemistry. He read chemistry 4-5 times and prioritised quality over quantity, he said.  Two months before JEE Advanced 2023, he shifted his focus on solving the previous year’s question papers and mock tests as ‘100 things can go wrong when you attempt a question paper’ said he.

While practicing for the JEE Advanced, Raghav did not take papers from 2005 to 2011 because they were not of the quality as of today claims the topper. He attempted question papers after 2011. “From 2015, the body increased the difficulty level of question papers and hence speed and accuracy both played a major role. Later as examination evolved, the strategy changed to less focus on accuracy to speed,” he said. Even while attempting the questions, Raghav made sure to read the questions two to three times.