How Akshat Tiwari Scored 99.5 Percentile and Chose IIT Bhilai

Problem-Solving as Play, Not Punishment

Akshat's defining trait is that he enjoyed Mathematics rather than endured it. Difficult problems were something he sought out for entertainment, not something he braced himself against.

That sounds like a small personality detail and it is actually the engine of the whole result. A student who finds problem-solving fun accumulates practice hours without needing motivation, which removes the single biggest failure point in a two-year cycle. Most students burn energy forcing themselves to sit down. Akshat spent that energy on the problems themselves, and over twenty-four months of IIT JEE preparation the difference compounds enormously.

Self-Directed Study Inside a Structured Programme

He was notably self-focused, which cuts both ways in a coaching environment. Self-directed students learn fast but can also drift away from the syllabus that is actually being examined.

The CTY after-school format at NoMoreClass suited him because it supplied structure without micromanaging the hours around it. He had a defined coverage plan, a test calendar and mentors who knew the paper, and then considerable freedom in how he attacked the work. For a student whose own curiosity is the strongest available fuel, IIT JEE preparation should channel that curiosity rather than replace it with a schedule.

Willing to Take Risks Other Students Avoid

Akshat never hesitated to take a risk, and that showed up throughout his preparation rather than only at the end.

In a competitive exam context, calculated risk usually means attempting questions others leave, committing to a method under time pressure, and choosing depth in a topic instead of safe breadth. Each of those decisions can cost marks and each can win them. Students trained purely for safety tend to cap out at a good percentile. Akshat's tolerance for risk is a large part of why his IIT JEE preparation produced 99.5 rather than a comfortable, unremarkable score.

“I was always interested in mechanical, so when I saw a branch called Mechatronics that was only available at IIT Bhilai and IIT Patna, I discussed it with Deepak Sir and jumped for it.”

Akshat Tiwari — CTY 2023–25

98.4% in Boards With Late Consolidated Revision

His CBSE Class 12 result was 98.4%, and he achieved it largely through concentrated study towards the end rather than continuous board revision across the year.

This works only under one condition: the underlying concepts must already be solid from entrance preparation. Where that holds, board revision becomes retrieval and presentation practice rather than fresh learning. Where it does not, the same strategy fails badly. It is worth naming that distinction clearly, because the headline number invites students to copy the timing without having built the foundation that makes it survivable.

Discovering Mechatronics: A Branch Most Miss

When the results arrived, Akshat did what very few candidates do. He looked at what he actually wanted to study rather than at rank-versus-college tables.

Mechanical Engineering had always been his interest. While reviewing options he came across Mechatronics, a branch then available at only IIT Bhilai and IIT Patna. It sat exactly at the intersection of mechanical systems and control, which matched what had drawn him to the field in the first place. Most students never look this far down the list, and most therefore never find the programme that fits them best.

Consulting Deepak Sir Before Committing

Discovering an unusual branch is easy. Committing to it over a familiar name is not, and this is where mentorship earned its place.

Akshat took the option to Deepak Sir, himself an IITian from IIT Roorkee with Mechanical Engineering, and they worked through it properly. A mentor with an engineering background can assess whether a new branch is substantive or merely fashionably named, and whether it leads where the student wants to go. With that confirmation, Akshat jumped for it. The decision was bold, but it was not uninformed.

Why Branch Fit Beats Brand in IIT JEE Preparation

The final months of IIT JEE preparation are usually spent optimising rank, and almost no time is spent deciding what to do with it. That imbalance produces avoidable regret.

Akshat's approach suggests a better sequence. Work out which subjects genuinely hold your attention, then research which programmes teach them well, and only then map that against realistic ranks. A branch you want at a newer IIT will very often serve you better than a branch you tolerate at an older one, particularly if you intend to build something of your own later.

What Akshat's Result Proves

Akshat Tiwari is now at IIT Bhilai studying Mechatronics, having cracked JEE Main at 99.5 percentile, JEE Advanced and BITSAT, with 98.4% in his boards.

His plan from here is deliberately long: four or five years in a job, then a startup of his own. That framing explains the branch choice entirely, because a founder needs a skill set rather than a letterhead. For families whose child treats hard problems as a hobby, the lesson is to protect that instinct during IIT JEE preparation instead of drilling it out in the name of discipline.