Kerala engineering entrance: Third rank holder Ashwin has his eyes on space

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ashwin S. Nair, the third rank holder in the state engineering entrance test, may have had a medico in his genes, but not in his heart. Born to chest disease specialist Sanjeev Nair and gynaecologist Asha G, he decided not to try his luck in the medical field. Though the Vazhuthacaud based lad joined biology stream for his Class XII, his focus was on engineering.

"I was always fascinated by space and books on it, Mr Ashwin said on his plans. "I have got good scores in JEE and will be able to get admission in aerospace at IIT Madras. I could also get admission for chemical and civil engineering in IIT Madras or else computer science in BITS Pilani. Let's see what happens."

A student of Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS Akkulam, he said he had no strict timetable for preparations. He used to study from 9 pm to 12 pm and focussed on JEE.
"I worked on state entrance test only a week before the exam. I just worked out previous years' question papers," said Mr Ashwin, who had gone for classes in Mathiit. He feels JEE and state entrance are different ball games.

"In JEE, students have to understand the concepts in each chapter. Each question you face will be a very different question, and you will have to evolve techniques to crack them. On the other hand, you can afford to skip a question in JEE. For example, I have got only 246 marks out of 360 in JEE Main Paper I but still I could do well," he explains.