Nipun Goel and Nikunj Goel, the twins from Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district, on Tuesday scored 100 and 99.998 percentile, respectively, in the Joint Entrance Examination (Main), the results which they said brought them a step closer to achieving their dream of studying computer science at an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
“IIT opens the door for a sea of opportunities. We don’t want to proceed with a preconceived career option. Civil services or entrepreneurial opportunities, whatever comes our way we will explore it,” said Nipun. “If given a chance, we may even think of going to Shark Tank to get investment for our business model. We are not ruling out anything. There is still some time for us.”
While Nipun was among the 20 candidates to score 100 percentile in the first session of the JEE (Main), the results of which were announced on Tuesday, his brother Nikunj wasn’t far behind with a near-perfect 99.998 percentile.
“We want to pursue engineering in computer science either from IIT Bombay or IIT Delhi. A lot will depend on how we score in JEE Advanced,” said Nikunj.
JEE (Main) score serves as the eligibility criterion for the JEE (Advanced) for admission to the IITs.
The twins — aged 17 — said though they maintained a healthy competition in academics, they always helped each other to better understand the wide array of concepts of physics and mathematics. It was a good learning experience as they studied under a roof, and scored similar marks in school exams, the brothers said.
“For the last two years, we complimented each other in our preparation for JEE Main. We identified our strengths and weaknesses, and helped each other whenever we had problems in understanding any concept,” said Nipun, adding they were determined to crack the test in their first attempt.
“Our elder sister, Shivangi, also cracked IIT- JEE and now she is working with American Express. We want to follow her path,” said Nikunj.
The twins — sons of Sanjay Goel, who owns a factory, and Neeru, a homemaker — went to BR International School in Meerut.
Talking about difficulties they faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nipun said: “There was a sudden transition from offline to online classes, which was not easy for us. Despite saving a lot of time from travelling, we could not physically interact with teachers to get our doubts cleared.”
Sanjay Goel said “it is a matter of pride that all my three children cracked JEE and our family is very happy.”