Pune's Harshitha tops state in medical entrance

PUNE: Harshitha Shetty, the state topper in the Maharashtra common entrance test (MH-CET) for health science courses, had never lost a single mark in biology ever since she started preparing for the entrance exam. But during the all-important test, biology was the only subject in which she lost a mark, else she would have scored a perfect 200 in the exam with full 50 marks in both Physics and Maths.
Harshitha, a student of Fergusson College who scored 96.77 % in higher secondary certificate (HSC, class XII) science and emerged second in the college, said she was disappointed that she lost that one mark. "In all the mock test, preparations, college and class tests I have been scoring full marks in biology and losing marks in physics and maths," she told TOI. In HSC too, Harshitha scored 99 marks each in biology, physics and maths, results of which were declared on May 27.
Harshitha was expecting to score above 195 marks in the exam, but she fared even better with a 199. "I received a lot of support from my teachers at Devdhar classes as they inspired me to take up medicine. My family does not have anybody with a medical background. My biology teacher, Ashutosh Sule, encouraged me to develop an interest in medicine and that's when I decided to attempt the entrance test and started preparing for it. Initially, when I told my parents about my decision, they were hesitant, but later agreed," she said.
Harshitha's father is a hotelier and her mother a homemaker. Harshitha now wants to get admission to the B J Medical College in Pune, but has not decided on a specialisation yet.