Hello friends, with me is a smiling Dr. Shivam Thakkar, who has scored a rank of 1197 in NEET PG. Congratulations Dr. Shivam Thakkar. Thank you, sir.
How was the feeling?
Amazing, sir, amazing. Very much happy. My parents were also very happy.
No one ever expected that coming from a private college, I would get this good a rank, but everyone was very happy, super happy.
Which private college do you belong to?
My medical college, Pune. Pune, wonderful, wonderful.
Was this your first attempt?
No, sir, this was my second attempt.
What was the rank on the first attempt?
Sir, it was 42,000. Okay, see Dr. Shivam, actually, I am very happy because you have broken two misconceptions or myths that medical students in India have.
Also Read: Common Mistakes You Should Avoid During NEET PG 2026 Preparation
- Number one, private college students cannot score big. So you have become one of the role models of that, that you have managed to make it big.
- Second, to jump from 42,156 rank to under 1200, you must have done something exceptional.
So first of all, congratulations, well deserved. Thank you, thank you, sir. So I just followed sir, whatever classes were going on, that’s it.
Okay, but see, you said I just followed the classes which were going on, but I am sure it won’t be that easy. You must have done something exceptional to appear on the second attempt. You must have done something consistently.
Click Here to Watch: I Trusted Cerebellum Blindly. Private College Student Jumped 42k to 1.1k – Dr. Shivam, Rank 1197
Let us help students who are going to appear for their second or multiple attempts. So the floor is yours, do share how you actually prepared?
So we had our live classes in the second half of the day, that is, from 5.30 we had our classes normally. So what I decided that I will join a library for the first half of the day.
So in the first half of the day, I used to go to the library and second half of the day, I used to attend our live classes. So my whole day was packed, and because of this, I had my own schedule to follow, like there was nothing wherein I could deviate. So I had a structure, and plus Cerebellum’s timetable was there.
Dr. Praveen Sir always says you don’t have to worry about making your own timetable, as we will make the timetable for you. You just follow, you just attend the class, and you have to just study for the remaining half of the day. Half of the day Cerebellum will take care of it.
So I used to attend the live classes and the next day, I used to solve QBank because I was in Mission batch 2.0. Back then, mid-day models were started in the third batch. So I used to solve the QBank. I have almost solved 50 to 60% of the Cerebellum QBank, and coming from a different platform, I can say seriously, Cerebellum‘s QBank is very much practical.
Wow, that’s good.
Were you able to go through the division laps where we had lectures, examinations and discussions, also marathon sessions?
Yes, I did lap 1, lap 2, then marathon INI CET, marathon NEET PG, then again marathon NEET PG, which we conducted once more. I attended all the classes, 90 to 95% classes I have attended and all the E&Ds as well. That’s great, Dr. Shivam.
Also Read: The Comeback Story of Dr. Nikita: From 1,00,000+ Rank to AIR 720 with Cerebellum
See, Dr. Shivam, mostly when we meet students now who are preparing for the second or third time, they tend to go through a lot of problems, sometimes high, sometimes low. How did you manage to deal with that?
I had my parents and my friends who were in constant touch with me.
They used to push me. They believed in me that I could do this. So I had a lot of friends.
I had a lot of support from my friends. Wow, wow. See, I always tell the students, sometimes jokingly also, that forget relatives, trust your family, trust your friends, because they have unconditional love for you. So that is so, I’m so happy to hear that at a young age, you are able to realise what parents and friends are doing for us. Wow, great.
Any branch you have thought of?
So I’m planning medicine..
Any subject you were scared of while preparing?
I’ll say one of them was PSM, and you, sir, got PSM done so many times that eventually, sir, it was sort of that PSM was on fingertips. Wow, great, great. I have done PSM so many times with you, sir. Also, Anat Biochem, I’ll say that they were quite underrated. I used to get scared of them.
Last time, though, I had never prepared Anat. I left Anat last time. Okay, okay.
And this year, I learned Anat very well. Okay, wow, that’s great. That’s great.
Dr. Shivam is sitting in a metropolitan city, as we can see on his right side. Yes, sir. So, you are in which city?
Mumbai, sir.
So, if a student from Mumbai is going to appear for NEET PG next year, 2026, just make a small plan for him on what he should do over the next 12 months.
I’ll say join any platform. I’d prefer going to Cerebellum because I followed only one platform, which is Cerebellum. And just follow the schedule religiously.
Because if you have your own structure, then one can follow their own. But there can be ups and downs in your own schedule. Like if you’re joining any class or taking live classes, you’ll get a structure to follow.
And you don’t have to worry about your timetable. If classes are given two days for a subject, they’ll make sure that you finish that subject in two days. It takes five days, seven days.
Dr. Shivam, thank you so much. I think it is a short, sweet, but very well-focused interview, which has told the students that anything, everything is possible with a structured schedule, following one platform, and just religiously following the platform.
I think this is what you have done. Of course, you had the double advantage of family and friends’ support, also. But I know you must have worked a lot.
You went through 50 to 60% of the QBank of Cerebellum. That is also something very unique because you were able to cover such a vast number of questions. So, Dr. Shivam, one more thing I want to ask: where did you get this shirt from? This was gifted to me by a friend.
Wow. Great, great, great. There is a, of the interview, I’m telling you, this is one of the most, this is one of the shirts to be won by one of the most popular TV characters, Charlie Sheena.
Okay, you know it. I know it, I know it. That was the reason I got this gift.
Wow, that’s amazing. He’s one of my favourites, actually, on TV. So, so nice to see.
So, Dr. Shivam, we are going to meet in Cerebellum Delhi, or I’ll have to come down to Mumbai to attend a party. I’ll come there, and whenever you come here, I’ll host you. Wow.
Thank you so much, Dr. Shivam. Okay, great, great, great. I’m sure you’ll become a great clinician, and I wish you many more significant milestones to be, you are going to achieve in your professional career.
Stay on course, keep on working hard. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you so much.
Click Here to Watch: I Trusted Cerebellum Blindly. Private College Student Jumped 42k to 1.1k – Dr. Shivam, Rank 1197
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