Success Story: Meet Arnav Gautam, Geography Teacher’s Son, Who Secured Rank 5 In JEE Main | Education and Career News
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JEE Main 2026 Topper: Despite his parents coming from a humanities background, Arnav Gautam decided early in school that he wanted to become an engineer.
Arnav Gautam’s next aim is to pursue B.Tech in Computer Science at IIT Bombay.
This year’s JEE Main results saw 12 students score a perfect 100 percentile, including Rajasthan’s Arnav Gautam. Remarkably, Arnav achieved this in his very first attempt, scoring 295 out of 300 in the January session. Despite his parents coming from a humanities background, he decided early in school that he wanted to become an engineer. He has now secured All India Rank 5.
Arnav’s father is a geography teacher and his mother is a government school teacher. According to his mother, Arnav has always been diligent and intelligent. He follows a disciplined routine and prefers self-study.
Earlier, he cleared his Class 10 exams with 95.8 per cent marks.
A student of Allen, Kota, Arnav believes that while self-study is indispensable, coaching is equally important for proper guidance. “I believe that while self-study is crucial, the support of coaching is equally essential for receiving the right guidance. When preparing for exams like the JEE, the immediate resolution of doubts is vital—something that is made possible only through the guidance of experienced faculty members. I always kept a clear target in my mind: that I had to achieve this goal. My next objective is to secure a good rank in JEE Advanced and pursue a B.Tech degree in Computer Science at IIT Bombay,” he said.
His next aim is to secure a strong rank in JEE Advanced and pursue a B.Tech in Computer Science at IIT Bombay.
Arnav’s mother added that he took care of his health along with his studies. Even after returning from coaching around 9 or 9:30 pm, he would play cricket with his younger brother. This helped him stay refreshed and reduced his stress.
Describing his exam strategy, Arnav said he attempted Chemistry first, followed by Physics and then Math. He believes effective time management enabled him to complete the paper ahead of time. He used the remaining “buffer time” to review the entire paper, which helped him catch minor errors and attempt the exam almost flawlessly. He considers this the key factor behind his exceptional result.
In addition to JEE, Arnav has also performed exceptionally well in various Science Olympiads. He participated in the Junior Science Olympiad (OCSC) in 2023, the Astro Olympiad (OCSC) in 2024, and the Physics Olympiad (OCSC) in 2025. He also won a bronze medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad in 2025.
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