JEE Adv topper will not go to IIT

Wants to pursue astrophysics abroad

An 18-year-old from Pune, Chirag Falor, has topped the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2020, scoring 352 marks out of 396. The results of the competitive exam were announced on Monday. However, Falor, who appeared for the exam from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) zone, said he did not wish to secure admission in IIT but wanted to pursue his studies abroad.

Falor is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. Falor said, "I am currently pursuing my Undergraduate (UG) programme from MIT. I want to major in Physics and after completing my UG programme, I want to opt for research in astrophysics."

Though Falor had been preparing for the JEE Advanced exam for the last four years, he said he had not expected to top. Falor said, "I did not expect to be the nationwide topper in the JEE Advanced exam. Since I have been preparing for this exam from

Class 9, I was expecting high marks but topping the exam has come as a big surprise."

Kanishka Mittal, a student from the IIT Roorkee zone was the topper among females, with a common rank of 17, securing 315 marks out of 396. In Mumbai, Swayam Chube, a 17-year-old student, topped, securing an All India Rank (AIR) of 8 in the exam.

A total of 1,50,838 candidates appeared for both Papers 1 and 2 in the JEE (Advanced) 2020 conducted on September 27, of which, 43,204 candidates have qualified. JEE Advanced is the competitive exam for those seeking admission to either the IITs or the Indian School of Mines (ISM).