Palak Agrawal, a teenager from Shikohabad, Uttar Pradesh, had a clear goal of securing admission to Delhi University’s Hindu College as she prepared for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). However, she exceeded her own expectations by scoring a perfect 100 percentile in six out of the seven subjects she appeared for.
Agrawal is among the four candidates in the country to have topped in six subjects in this year’s CUET, and she aspires to pursue a BA (Hons) in Political Science.
Her preparation strategy for the CUET involved starting right after her Class 12 board exams, where she scored 99 percent. “I had no time to waste. As soon as I finished my board exams, I started preparing for CUET UG. The syllabus was the same, and the NTA (National Testing Agency) made it clear that all the questions would be based on NCERT. So, I started studying from NCERT, and I believe that is what helped me the most,” she explains.
Agrawal appeared for seven subjects in the CUET: English, Economics, Fine Arts/Visual Arts/Commercial Art, Geography/Geology, History, Political Science, and General Test. She achieved a 100 percentile score in all subjects except the General Test, where she scored 99.91 percentile.
In addition to early preparation, Agrawal found mock tests to be extremely helpful. “I maintained a register where I noted the days remaining until the exam date on one side and the subjects on the other. I planned my preparation strategy accordingly and started solving one mock test for each subject every day,” she says. She solved nearly 100 mock tests in a month.
Alongside the Toprankers platform, Agrawal relied on selected YouTube channels and online websites for mock tests. “YouTube, in general, is very helpful, but you have to carefully select creators who present relevant and reliable content. I found a few channels that had good mock tests for English. There were also a couple of websites that not only offered mock tests but also provided the timing and environment similar to an exam hall. That helped me a lot,” she adds.
