How Ritika Tyagi Secured AIR 40 in CSIR NET June 2026 Mathematical Sciences with PW Support

For many students, preparing for a competitive exam after completing a master's degree comes with a different set of challenges. Academic study may build a strong understanding of concepts, but competitive exams also require application, question-solving practice, and familiarity with different question patterns.

Ritika Tyagi's journey reflects this transition. After completing her graduation from Rajdhani College, Delhi University, and postgraduation from Hindu College, DU, in 2025, she started preparing for competitive examinations around the end of July. As she progressed, she focused on strengthening her preparation through notes, previous years' questions, question analysis, and regular practice.

Her journey led to an AIR 40 in CSIR NET June 2026 Mathematical Sciences, showing how focused preparation, continued practice, and a positive mindset shaped her preparation journey.

How Ritika Tyagi Started Her CSIR NET Preparation

Ritika's academic background gave her familiarity with mathematical concepts, but competitive exams required a different approach. She found that application-based questions and topics from earlier stages of study needed additional practice.

Ritika pointed out that competitive exams require more application than the theory-focused approach followed during her master's.

"Masters mein only mostly focus theory pe hota hai. But jab hum like exam karte hain GATE ya NET usmein bahut zyada application needed hota hai."

She also explained that some topics from her bachelor's had faded from memory by the time she began preparing, making practice essential.

"Specially topics kuch-kuch bachelor's ke bhi hote hain, which matlab we had forgotten at that time. So practice was really needed."

Her preparation therefore gradually shifted towards applying concepts and solving questions rather than only completing theoretical notes.

Ritika Tyagi Focused on Notes and Previous Year Questions

After starting her preparation around the end of July, Ritika appeared for an attempt in December 2025. At that stage, she felt that she had not been able to practise enough questions.

She recalled the initial phase of her preparation:

"I remember first five six months jab maine preparation start ki somewhere around the end of July and jo last I gave last attempt as well December 2025 but uss time tak I couldn't practice a lot of questions."

Her focus then moved towards PYQs, especially because question practice was an important part of her preparation.

"Main mostly sirf jo notes the wahi complete kar payi thi saare subjects ke, and I had only started PYQ. So main cheez thi PYQ practising the questions."

Rather than following several additional books, Ritika relied on her notes and focused on previous year questions. She also differentiated between NET and GATE PYQs based on the type of questions asked.

How PW Resources Supported Ritika Tyagi's Question Practice

As her preparation progressed, Ritika focused on solving PYQs and later used additional questions and PW test-series resources available through the learning platform.

She explained the priority she followed before moving to extra practice:

"Jab question karte ho to blindly usko mat dekho ki bhai solution dekh liya. Nahin usko analysis bhi karna utna hi important hai"

For Ritika, simply checking whether an answer was correct was not enough. She used solutions to understand the approach behind a question and identify how the examiner could frame a concept.

She also shared her view on using additional questions and app-based practice:

"Test series ya phir jo extra questions app pe jo aap log available karvate ho solving that. Par wo tabhi I would say beneficial hai jab aapne PYQ at least do baar kar rakha hai."

This approach placed PYQs before additional practice. She also explained that the type of questions asked in NET and GATE can differ, so she focused on the relevant PYQs for each examination.

Ritika Tyagi's Strategy: Short Notes, PYQs and Question Analysis

With more experience, Ritika developed a focused revision strategy. Instead of trying to revise everything again at the last moment, she used short notes to retain important concepts and formulas.

She recommended making short notes whenever possible:

"Also, short notes bana lijiye if you can if you have time I did that so main short notes ko revise kar rahi thi."

These notes also helped her identify important concepts from questions that required multiple attempts.

She further stressed the importance of analysing PYQs instead of simply looking at their solutions:

"Usko ek concept ki tarah dekho ki ye examiner ka mindset kya hai. Wo bahut zyada important hai."

Her method involved identifying questions that took multiple attempts and noting recurring theorems or concepts. This made PYQ practice more analytical and useful for revision.

Ritika Tyagi's Advice for Future CSIR NET Aspirants

Ritika's preparation took about a year, and she acknowledged that improvement required patience. She also highlighted that difficulty in solving questions should not automatically become a reason to lose motivation.

She shared this perspective from her own experience:

"It took me one year and also ki sometimes it feels like ki bahut saare questions nahi solve ho rahe PYQs mein jo aaye hain but that's just like keep trying."

She also emphasised the importance of continuing even when a question does not get solved immediately.

"A lot of the questions that I tried for the first even second time mujhe solution dekhna pada tha so wo demotivation ka reason nahi banna chahiye like just keep going on and on."

Her final advice centred on maintaining a positive mindset during preparation. She noted that preparation can have ups and downs, making consistency and a positive approach important throughout the journey.

For aspirants preparing for CSIR NET Mathematical Sciences, her journey offers a practical preparation perspective: focus on previous year questions, analyse solutions, prepare short notes and maintain consistency throughout the preparation period.