Reflections on Class 12 CBSE 2020 Result and the Journey Therein

I had my ISC result, but let's focus on my Class 12 CBSE 2020 experience, particularly my result and the journey leading up to it. On 25th July 2022, my life took an unexpected turn when I received my results unexpectedly. My younger friend and I were just having a casual afternoon, painting away worries when news about the result began to circulate on social media. It took us a while to realize that our results would be declared shortly.

Unexpected Results and Initial Reaction

After much confusion and some frantic searching, we found out that my result was 90.6%. This was a decent score, but it didn't bring the joy I had anticipated. Especially disappointing were the marks from additional subjects, which heavily impacted my overall percentage. My total result was 86.2%, a figure that aligned with my expectations. However, this wasn't the outcome I desired.

My Academic Journey

Let's walk through my academic journey from class 10 onwards. I consider myself an above-average student, just not exceptional. My score in class 10 was 90.6%, but I was up against a very challenging typhoid infection during the exam period. Despite the health issues, the result was still positive for me.

I started off in Commerce, but after a week, I switched to PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics). This was a significant decision, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning to affect our lives. In 11th grade, I hardly studied anything, only managing to pass my offline exams by learning physics derivations from YouTube.

The Challenges of 12th Grade

12th grade was a mix of online and offline learning, and I also started preparing for the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination). Initially, I just attended local tuitions, which weren't as rigorous as the level required for the main examination. After 8 months, I realized that I was only preparing for the 12th syllabus and had forgotten most of the 11th concepts. By January, I decided to drop the JEE preparation, feeling overwhelmed and tired.

My 12th grade preparation had been going well, but after I dropped JEE, I stopped attending tuitions and started spending my days sleeping and playing games. This went on for about three months until the board exams came, and I still hadn't taken it seriously until then.

Term 1 results were a relief as they were mainly objective. I managed to score 92 without the assessment. Term 2 was a different story; I watched marathons on NCERT Wallah and Apni Kaksha, depending on the subject. I expected to score around 88–90 percent, but to my surprise, I got 95.2 percent. I was delighted with this result, but I regretted my decision to stop JEE preparation.

Future Plans and Concerns

With these results, my options now are limited. I am considering a decent college like Thapar, but I have a JEE attempt 1 percentile of 90, which, while lucky, hasn't secured me any good college offers. The fear of repeating the same mistake has me hesitating to drop preparation again.

Further down my path, I weighed the option of doing hotel management, but I secured an Air 229 rank in NCHM JEE (NCHMCT-JEE). It was a decent rank, but my parents advised against the government college due to difficulties in pursuing that path.

Thank you for reading my story. If you're here, I wish you the best in your academic journey too.