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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nImagine scoring 97.2 percent in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 board examinations. Imagine staring at the screen in disbelief as congratulations begin pouring in, phone calls refuse to stop and your family looks at you with the kind of pride every student silently longs for.For most students, that feeling would be enough to stay on \u201ccloud nine\u201d for days. For Kashika Dhingra of Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon, that moment became real on May 13, when CBSE declared the Class 12 board examination results.\u201cIt was way better than what I was expecting. I was definitely in disbelief,\u201d she said. \u201cI was on cloud nine for the first couple of hours. It was a blur, phone calls, and congratulations.\u201dBut beyond the score, beyond the celebration, and beyond the topper tag lies a story many students this year may deeply relate to.Because while every student is a topper in their own way, stories like these still deserve to be told aloud. Not to create impossible standards, but to inspire, reassure, and remind students that success is rarely as perfect as it appears on result day.Often, the most meaningful lessons are hidden in the parts nobody talks about enough, the burnout, the pressure, the self-doubt, and the struggle to keep going.And when the world glorifies sleepless nights and endless hustle among young students, toppers like Kashika are beginning to say something very different.<\/p>\n Long before the results arrived, Kashika was already juggling far more than board preparation. A Humanities student with subjects including Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, English and Legal Studies, she was simultaneously balancing extracurricular activities, competitive examinations, college applications and entrance test preparation.\u201cI think this is a story that every 12th grader shares with me,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are the peak burnout months.\u201d There is something strikingly honest about that sentence. In a country where academic pressure is often normalised, students rarely hear toppers openly admit that they, too, felt exhausted.\u201cMe and most students like me, we\u2019ve been balancing exam preparation, extracurriculars, coaching, college admission cycles and boards for the past year now,\u201d she said. Yet instead of romanticising stress, Kashika spoke about the importance of slowing down.\u201cThe best way to create is to create a valve for that pressure,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhether that\u2019s talking to your friends, taking time to pursue your hobbies. It could be something as simple as going out for a walk.\u201dThen came an observation that feels painfully familiar to this generation.\u201cWhat happens oftentimes in my generation is that our breaks consist of us scrolling or being on our devices, which ends up adding to our restlessness and our burnout.\u201dIt is the kind of advice students seldom hear amid motivational speeches about studying harder and sleeping less.<\/p>\n Like many Humanities students, Kashika had to deal with subjects that demanded extensive reading and memorisation.\u201cAll my subjects are theory subjects,\u201d she said. \u201cSomething that comes with that is a lot of rote learning and memorisation.\u201d But despite the pressure surrounding board preparation, her strategy remained straightforward.\u201cThe only way to go about this is to stick to your NCERT,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s basically an answer key to your boards that you\u2019ve been given months prior. All you need to do is read carefully, read line by line and read as many times as you can.\u201dShe supplemented this with previous years\u2019 question papers and online resources. Later in the conversation, when asked to describe the three biggest ingredients behind her preparation, Kashika laughed before giving an answer many toppers quietly agree with.\u201cMy three keywords would be NCERT, NCERT and NCERT.\u201d<\/span>\u201cIt is the only thing that can help you. It\u2019s the one guarantee you have with a board exam \u2014 nothing outside of that textbook will ever be tested.\u201d<\/p>\n Students from Humanities backgrounds are often told that scoring high marks can be unpredictable because answers are subjective.Kashika disagrees. \u201cWith a standardized examination system that is boards, even the subjectivity that is typically seen in humanities subjects doesn\u2019t really exist,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe questions that come are very application-based, not opinion-based.\u201dAccording to her, the key lies in presentation and clarity. \u201cThe best way to go is to structure your answer efficiently, make sure all your points are solid,\u201d she said, adding that examiners often evaluate multiple bundles of answer sheets every day.Her advice reflects an important reality of board examinations \u2014 knowing the answer matters, but presenting it clearly matters just as much.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most refreshing part of the conversation came when Kashika spoke about study hours. In a social media environment flooded with \u201cstudy for 16 hours a day\u201d content, her perspective felt grounded. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that the number of hours is that crucial to your prep,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that is false. It\u2019s a farce.\u201dInstead, she believes students need to understand their own study patterns and routines. \u201cSome people study better at night. Some people prefer waking up at 4 am and starting their study routine. So, I don\u2019t think the number of hours really has to play that big of a role. It\u2019s how much you\u2019re doing in whatever time you\u2019re doing it.\u201dAs for herself, Kashika admitted she was more of a night owl. \u201cI studied till I think 2.30, 3 am,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we\u2019re talking a realistic figure, maximum four hours a day. That would be on a really rigorous day.\u201d In an age where productivity is constantly romanticised, her honesty feels quietly comforting.<\/p>\n Even after her board examinations ended, the pressure did not. On the day of the interview itself, Kashika had appeared for the Common University Entrance Test. Alongside boards, she had also spent months preparing for law entrance examinations such as AILET and SLAT.\u201cThe past six to nine months have been a whirlwind of competitive exams and entrance exams,\u201d she said. When asked how CUET preparation differs from board preparation, Kashika explained that although the syllabus remains similar, the skill set changes entirely.\u201cCUET is MCQ-based entirely. It\u2019s a computer-based test whereas boards are long subjective answers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s testing your time management. It\u2019s testing your attention to detail in the book.\u201dShe pointed out that even small details from textbook glossaries and boxes often become important in CUET.<\/p>\n \u201cGiving mocks is definitely something that\u2019s very important for CUET.\u201d Interestingly, Kashika believes CUET has become necessary because competition based solely on board marks has intensified significantly over the years.\u201cMost people now score 90 plus or 95 plus,\u201d she said. \u201cThe competition has increased so much that CUET needs to be in place to tackle that.\u201d<\/p>\n Toward the end of the conversation, Kashika spoke about something students rarely admit openly, exam anxiety.\u201cI\u2019ve definitely experienced exam anxiety myself,\u201d she said. She described how students often enter examination halls replaying fears in their minds.\u201cWhat if I don\u2019t know the question? What if I\u2019m forgetting that date?\u201d According to her, calming the mind before entering the examination hall becomes essential.\u201cI would try before going in the car to just sort of take a few minutes to myself, keep the textbooks aside, no more revision, just be in a sort of meditative space,\u201d she said.\u201cKeeping your headspace empty before you go in is the best way to go.\u201d Then came perhaps the most important advice she offered during the entire conversation.\u201cDon\u2019t let your exams consume you,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u201cThere are going to be so many of them in this upcoming year. You\u2019re going to be giving college interviews. You\u2019re going to be tackling situations you have not tackled before.\u201d And in the middle of all that pressure, she wants students to remember one thing:\u201cHold space for things that you like doing. Have conversations with your friends constantly. Check in on them. That\u2019s the only way to go, to rely on the community around you and to have a support system.\u201d For students waiting for results this year, that message may matter far more than any percentage ever could.<\/div>\n\u201cThese are the peak burnout months\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Her preparation mantra: \u201cNCERT, NCERT and NCERT\u201d
<\/h2>\n<\/p>\nAre Humanities subjects really \u201csubjective\u201d?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Do number of hours you study really matters?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Boards, CUET and the changing reality of students<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Her golden advice for aspirants<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Her message to students battling
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