Soyeb Aftab from Rourkela, Odisha, scored a perfect 720 out of 720 in NEET 2020 and was All India Rank 1, the first full score in NEET’s history. He prepared in Kota after Class 10. Here is how he studied, what changed his mock test scores, and how NEET 2027 differs from his exam.
Soyeb Aftab: NEET AIR 1
His profile, study habits and advice, and how to use them for NEET 2027.
Who is Soyeb Aftab?
Soyeb Aftab is the Odisha student who topped NEET 2020 with full marks. NTA declared the result on 16 October 2020.
| Detail | Soyeb Aftab |
|---|---|
| Exam | NEET (UG) 2020 |
| Score | 720 out of 720 |
| Rank | All India Rank 1 |
| Home | Rourkela, Odisha |
| Preparation | Kota, after Class 10 (classroom student of ALLEN, as per the institute) |
Akanksha Singh of Delhi also scored 720 that year; NTA’s tie-break rules of 2020 placed Soyeb first. He has said he chose Biology partly because Mathematics was not his strongest subject.
How did Soyeb Aftab prepare for NEET?
His core idea was regularity: study every day without long breaks, and keep yourself physically fit so you can.
- Self-study: 6 to 7 hours a day after coaching classes, and 10 to 12 hours a day once coaching ended.
- Weekly targets: he finished every week’s topics in the same week and caught up quickly after any day lost to illness.
- Coaching: in his view coaching is only 10 to 15% of a selection; the rest is your own work.
- Previous year questions: he analysed and solved NEET past papers.
What changed his mock test scores?
His mock scores swung up and down. He noticed they fell whenever he relaxed after a good score, and that he was spending one to two hours a day on his smartphone. Once he cut phone time and kept his study hours steady after good results, his mock scores rose sharply and stayed up.
He shares more of his method in a Josh Talks NEET video (Hindi).
How is NEET 2027 different from Soyeb’s exam?
The NEET 2026 pattern, the latest official one, is close to the 2020 paper: 180 compulsory questions for 720 marks. The tie-break rules have changed.
| Feature | NEET now (2026 bulletin) |
|---|---|
| Questions and marks | 180 compulsory MCQs, 720 marks (Physics 45, Chemistry 45, Biology 90) |
| Time | 3 hours |
| Marking | +4 for a correct answer, -1 for a wrong one |
| Mode | Pen and paper (OMR) in 2026; a move to computer-based testing for 2027 has been announced but not yet notified by NTA |
| Tie-break | Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics marks, then fewer wrong answers; age is not used |
| Highest score in 2026 | 715 out of 720 |
NEET UG 2027 is expected in May 2027; NTA has not announced the date yet. Updates are on the NEET 2027 page.
How can you use his tips for NEET 2027?
- Study every day; a steady routine beats bursts of long hours.
- Set weekly chapter targets and finish them within the week.
- Do not slow down after a good mock score.
- Track your phone time and cut it if your scores dip.
- Take full mocks, such as the free NEET mock tests on AglaSem, and solve the NEET previous year question papers.