Topper Story: Rahul's Journey to 99 Percentile in Chemistry

Rahul Joshi from Jaipur scored in the 99th percentile in JEE Main Chemistry in the April 2026 session, achieving 90 out of 100 in the subject. Chemistry had been his weakest subject when he started his JEE preparation in Class 11 — he scored below average in his first school examination and below 50th percentile in his first mock test. His transformation from a below-average chemistry student to a 99th percentile scorer is a story about system, discipline, and the specific insight that changed his approach. We spoke to Rahul about exactly what he did, and this article shares his approach in full.

The Insight That Changed Everything: Separating the Three Chemistries

Rahul's first and most important insight was that Physical, Organic, and Inorganic Chemistry require fundamentally different learning approaches and should be treated as three separate subjects. "I was making the mistake of studying all three in the same way — by reading and trying to remember. But Physical Chemistry is really mathematics applied to chemistry, Organic Chemistry is really a collection of mechanisms that follow logic, and Inorganic Chemistry is really a memory sport. Once I accepted this, I started using the right approach for each part."

For Physical Chemistry, Rahul shifted to a problem-first approach: he would read the concept and then immediately solve 20 problems before moving on. He treated Physical Chemistry exactly like he treated Physics — building from equations and constants rather than words and descriptions. For the Physical Chemistry framework, he found our mole concept guide particularly helpful as a foundation for quantitative thinking.

Organic Chemistry: The Mechanism Master Approach

For Organic Chemistry, Rahul developed what he called the "mechanism master" approach. Instead of learning reactions as individual facts, he learned the fundamental mechanisms first — nucleophilic substitution (SN1 and SN2), electrophilic addition, electrophilic aromatic substitution, nucleophilic addition to carbonyls, and elimination — and then treated every named reaction as just a specific application of one of these fundamental mechanisms.

"Once I understood that Markovnikov's rule is just electrophilic addition to an asymmetric alkene, and that the SN2 mechanism explains why primary alkyl halides react faster with nucleophiles than tertiary ones, I stopped having to memorize things. The mechanism told me the answer." He recommends reading a mechanism-focused resource alongside NCERT and using our organic reactions guide for systematic mechanism review. Take a free mock test on organic chemistry to practice mechanism-based product prediction.

Inorganic Chemistry: The NCERT Word-for-Word Method

Rahul's approach to Inorganic Chemistry was radical in its simplicity: he read NCERT Chemistry Parts I and II cover to cover, three times over the course of his two-year preparation, taking detailed notes each time. He did not use any other resource for inorganic chemistry except previous year JEE Main papers.

"Every single time I got an inorganic question wrong in a mock test, I could find the answer in the NCERT — either in the text, a table, or a boxed example. After my first full reading, I started marking every paragraph from which a JEE-type question could be asked. By the third reading, my notes had become a 30-page summary of everything that mattered." His advice: do not underestimate NCERT, and do not substitute it with shortcuts. For the complete NCERT strategy, see our NCERT chemistry strategy guide.

The Revision Timetable: Chemistry First

Rahul scheduled his chemistry revision sessions in the morning, when he felt mentally sharpest, because he found that the precision required in physical chemistry calculations and the careful reading required for inorganic chemistry both needed fresh attention. He always studied Physical and Organic Chemistry on the same day (grouping the two non-memory subjects together), and allocated separate sessions to Inorganic Chemistry revision.

In the month before the exam, he took full chemistry mocks (30 questions in 60 minutes) every three days and spent twice as long analyzing the results as taking the test. His most valuable pre-exam activity: reviewing the past five years of JEE Main chemistry papers, noting every inorganic question, and checking his NCERT notes to confirm that he had covered the source paragraph. For a complete monthly revision framework, see our 30-day chemistry plan and sign up free for Rahul's detailed study schedule.