Chirag Falor is one such prodigy from Pune who emerged topper in the JEE Advanced exam in 2020 but forwent his seat at IIT.
Back in 2019, Chirag Falor made headlines by winning a gold medal at the 13th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) and showcasing his prowess in the American Mathematics competition. Every year, the demanding IIT JEE entrance exam in India is confronted by hundreds of thousands of aspirants, but only a handful sail through gaining the coveted IITs allotment. Intriguingly, there are some high-achievers choosing not to chase the mainstream path of IITs, even when they have aced the exam.
Chirag Falor is one such prodigy from Pune who emerged topper in the JEE Advanced exam in 2020 but forwent his seat at IIT. As an alternative, he embarked on his advanced study journey at the globally-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
In terms of marks, Chirag Falor secured 352 out of 396 marks in the JEE Advanced exam.
Chirag Falor bagged the top spot in the demanding Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced and nailed a perfect 100 percentile in the JEE Mains. Despite being granted admission into the prestigious MIT in March 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown restricted his travel plans to the U.S. Consequently, he ended up pursuing his studies remotely from India.
“I have secured admission in MIT and I am proceeding with it. Classes have already commenced and I am attending them online. I had prepared for these exams over four years, so I didn’t want to skip taking the exam,” Falor said, as quoted by PTI.
“The JEE exam was more challenging than the exam at MIT. It has given me a whole new level of confidence. I used to attend MIT classes online at night and then prepare for IIT exams during the day,” Falor added.
Chirag earned his undergraduate degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics, alongside a minor in Music and Technology between the years 2020 and 2024. To top it all off, he graduated with an outstanding 5/5 GPA. Going back a bit, in January 2020, he was honored with the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, given by none other than the President and Prime Minister of India.