While thousands of JEE aspirants across the country celebrated their JEE Advanced 2026 results on Sunday, 17-year-old Arohi Deshpande had a rather unexpected reaction to her achievement. The student from the IIT Delhi zone emerged as the all-India topper among girls, securing a Common Rank List (CRL) rank of 77 with an impressive score of 280 out of 360 marks. Yet, instead of dwelling on the milestone, she reflected on what she felt was missing.
“I’m not as satisfied with it as I should be,” Arohi said to FPJ. “I would have been happier if there were more girls before me.”
Her remark offers a glimpse into the mindset that helped her reach the top, one that is focused less on accolades and more on raising the bar.
Arohi Deshpande |
According to the JEE Advanced 2026 results, female candidates accounted for 10,107 of the successful candidates this year. Among them, Arohi emerged as the highest-ranked girl candidate in the country.
A student who prepared in Kota, the country's coaching hub, Arohi says her preparation in the crucial weeks leading up to the examination revolved almost entirely around mock tests. Rather than experimenting with new study methods, she focused on replicating exam conditions and building endurance.
“In the last two months before JEE Advanced, I was only giving tests,” she said. “One day I would sit for six hours, just like the actual JEE Advanced pattern, and the next day I would spend three hours revising notes and solving questions.”
Interestingly, she never prepared separately for JEE Main. Her entire academic focus remained fixed on JEE Advanced from the beginning.
“My whole journey was focused only on JEE Advanced. Through that preparation, I ended up giving JEE Main as well,” she explained.
Like many aspirants, Arohi faced her own challenges during the preparation phase. Physics, she admits, became an area of concern towards the final stretch.
“In the end, I was faltering a bit in Physics. I had to improve by practising more JEE Advanced-type questions,” she said.
When asked about handling pressure, her advice was simple and practical. Adequate sleep, she believes, is one of the most underrated tools available to students.
“It’s important to get good sleep and rest before the exam so that you're fresh,” she said. “But even if you don’t sleep well, you shouldn’t panic. I gave JEE Main without any sleep.”
For students overwhelmed by the reputation of the examination, she offered a perspective shaped by experience.
“A lot of people overestimate JEE Advanced. It seems very intimidating and difficult. But once you get familiar with the questions and syllabus, you realise it isn’t as difficult as you make it out to be.”
Despite the intense academic schedule, Arohi did not believe in completely shutting herself off from the outside world. While she stayed away from social media, she occasionally allowed herself small breaks.
“On some Sundays, I would watch a match or a show,” she said. One of her favourites was Agatha Christie’s Poirot, the classic detective series based on the famous fictional sleuth.
Unlike many students who increasingly rely on artificial intelligence tools for learning, Arohi says AI played no role in her preparation.
“I did not use AI for anything yet,” she said. “I don't think it would have helped me in my preparation, but now I want to explore it because it is becoming a part of everyday life.”
With the examination now behind her, Arohi plans to take some time away from studies before beginning the next chapter.
“For now, I want to focus on things that I couldn't do while preparing,” she said. “Just enjoying time with my family, going shopping and reading books.”
As for her academic aspirations, her target is clear.
“IIT Bombay Computer Science only,” she said without hesitation. If that does not work out, her second preference would be IIT Madras.
Behind Arohi's success stands a family that reorganised its life around her preparation. Her father, Prasad Deshpande, works in a IT sector, while her mother, Amita, is a civil engineer associated with Jacobs Engineering. Both frequently travelled for work but coordinated their schedules to ensure someone was available for their daughter throughout her preparation.
“We got good support from our organisations,” Prasad said. “When my wife had to travel, I stayed back. When I had to travel, she stayed back. We coordinated everything.”
The family relocated to Kota during Arohi's preparation years, balancing professional responsibilities with the demands of one of the country's toughest entrance examinations.
Asked what advice he would offer parents whose children are preparing for competitive exams away from home, Prasad emphasised the importance of staying emotionally connected.
“Students are going to face a lot of ups and downs during this journey,” he said. “Even if parents cannot be physically present, they should talk to their children every day. A five-minute phone call or video call can make a huge difference.”
He described the JEE journey as a marathon rather than a sprint.
“We were mentally prepared that this was going to be a long ride,” he said. “There were challenges, health issues, work deadlines, travel schedules, but we knew there would be ups and downs. Even now, my advice to Arohi is that new challenges will keep coming. One has to keep moving forward.”
For Arohi, consistency remains the most important lesson from her preparation years.
“Set a task for yourself every day and try to complete it,” she advised future aspirants. “If you keep doing something every day, you keep improving. As the months pass, you'll realise how far you've come.”
