CBSE Class 12 results declared: 'Never counted number of hours I studied', says all-India topper Meghna Srivastava

With just one mark away from a perfect 10 on 10, Meghna Srivastava, from Noida is "thrilled beyond words" at becoming the all India topper in CBSE Class 12 results.

A student of Step By Step School in Noida, Srivastava scored 499 out of 500 marks in CBSE Class 12 exams. A humanities student, Srivastava scored a clean hundred in History, Geography, Psychology, and Economics but lost out one mark in English Core subject, according to NDTV.

File image of Meghna Srivastava. Facebook@MeghnaSrivastava

With an aggregate score of 99.8 percent, Srivastava outperformed last year's topper Raksha Gopal, who had got 99.6 percent in CBSE exam.

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She never expected to top the CBSE Class 12 results, but said that she always maintained consistency in the hard work she put in. "I never stressed about the exams. In fact, I didn't take any tution classes. I just maintained consistency," she told  NDTV.

Srivastava aspires to be a psychologist and has plans to study abroad. She told IANS that she has already enrolled in the University of British Columbia in Canada, and would be starting there in August.

Speaking to India Today, Srivastava advised future aspirants to keep away from the temptation of cramming up as many lessons as they can in the last minute study plan. She said the reason for her success could be that she dedicated equal time to every subject throughout the year and solved a lot of sample papers, carefully examining her weak points while boosting her speed.

The 17-year-old also said that she was thrilled to do well in the exam but never really expected to top all India rankings. "I am overwhelmed to see the results. I never expected that I will score 499 marks. Actually, nobody expects to score these many marks," she told India Today. 

She credited her exemplary performance to her parents and teachers and said that the recipe for her success was sheer hard work. She said that she never counted the number of hours she studied and working hard throughout the year was the only way to ace exams.

"I had no particular style of studying and I never counted the number of hours I studied, but I must have studied around seven-eight hours a day," said Srivastava stressing that she was consistent, stable and relaxed.

Speaking to reporters, she also revealed that she is an avid reader and likes to do community service. Recounting a field trip to Uttarakhand, Srivastava described the experience as "gratifying" and satisfying. She is also a movie buff and enjoys cooking in her free time, India TV reported.

"I like baking and I used to watch a lot of TV," said the student from Noida's Step By Step School. "I used to watch mostly English shows -- 'The Office', 'Breaking Bad'... Anything on TV", she added, terming Netflix "one of her favourite pastimes". She also liked to listen to music and read non-fiction, but her hobbies did not mean that she was not serious about her studies.

She was born on 18 August 2000.

The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) declared results for Class 12 or the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) and once again girls have outperformed boys. Seven out of top nine scorers are girls, while the pass percentage for female students (88.31 percent) is once again higher than that of male candidates (78.99 percent). The top two slots in all India rankings were also occupied by girls.

Anoushka Chandra, who came a close second, studied at SAJ School, Sector 14, in Ghaziabad's Vasundhara area. Chahat Bodhraj from Jaipur's Neerja Modi School secured the third position in the examination along with four other girls — Tanuja Kapri, Supriya Kaushik, Astha Bamba, and Ananya Singh — and two boys — Nakul Gupta, Kshitij Anand.