While toppers credited their teachers for providing constant guidance and helping them excel, many said the intelligent use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools also contributed to their success. Keeping pace with changing times, students said regular classes helped them understand concepts and clear doubts, while AI tools assisted with time management, data analysis and generating mock question papers.
Aditi Mishra, a PCM (physics, chemistry and mathematics) student of Rani Laxmi Bai Memorial School (Sector 14, Vikas Nagar), who secured 99.2%, said she simultaneously prepared for her board examinations and NEET-UG, making her schedule hectic.
“I was on social media throughout the year, but whenever I felt distracted, I handed over my mobile phone to my mother and focused on studies. I even deactivated my Instagram account for some time. ChatGPT helped me summarise concepts and prepare formula sheets,” said Mishra.
Gunanya Kumar, a humanities student of Delhi Public School, Gomti Nagar, who also secured 99.2%, said reading chapters before classroom teaching and revising important topics and dates after returning home helped her perform well.
“I used to make concept maps and simultaneously solve previous years’ questions and MCQs related to the topics. Being a curious person, I preferred gaining a complete understanding of every topic after reading it thoroughly. I did not use AI regularly, but during examinations it helped identify important concepts that I revised before going to the examination centre,” said Kumar.
Aishwarya Pandey, a commerce student of Rani Laxmi Bai Memorial School (Sector 14, Vikas Nagar), who secured 99%, said that while she consistently studied for three to four hours daily and followed her teachers’ instructions, ChatGPT and YouTube helped her recapitulate concepts.
Aditri, a PCM student of Lucknow Public School (CP Singh Branch), who secured 98.2%, said she revised and completed topics during self-study sessions on the same day they were taught in class.
“I sometimes got stuck with problems, but Gemini and ChatGPT helped simplify topics, while teachers assisted with previous years’ questions and clarified concepts as many times as I needed,” said Aditri, who aspires to become an engineer.
Lavanya Wadhwa, a humanities student of GD Goenka Public School who secured 98%, said she preferred studying early in the morning. “My parents never pressured me to secure high marks. My teachers guided me at every stage, while AI tools helped with general facts,” she said.
Shivansh Anand, a PCB student of DPS (Indira Nagar) who secured 98%, said he was also preparing for NEET alongside board examinations.
“I customised AI tools according to my requirements. If I had a PDF, I converted it into mind maps or audio using NotebookLM, or used Claude AI to generate sample papers that helped in my preparation,” said Anand.
Vaibhav Mishra of St Anjani Public School secured 98% in the PCM stream, while Sanvi Rastogi of The Millennium School scored 97% in commerce. Rastogi said consistency played a key role in her success.
“I used to discuss various topics with AI chatbots, which helped in recapitulation and deeper understanding,” she said.
Mohammad Salman of Lucknow Public School (Gomti Nagar) secured 96.4% marks.
