Dr. Divyanshu Patel’s journey to AIR 398 in INI-CET 2026 is a story of setbacks, difficult decisions, and learning from mistakes. A 2019 MBBS batch student from Kanpur, he had prepared seriously during his internship and secured around AIR 3,000 in an earlier exam. However, his NEET PG result did not go as expected, and he secured around AIR 16,000.
He eventually joined a surgery seat but soon realised that he was not fully interested in the branch. After around 40 days, he made the difficult decision to leave the seat and prepare again. With limited time before INI-CET, he changed the way he studied.
Instead of trying to complete as much content as possible, Divyanshu focused on questions, concise sources, repeated revision, and reducing distractions. His changed approach helped him secure AIR 398 in INI-CET 2026.
Divyanshu had prepared seriously during his internship and initially performed well. He secured a rank of around 3,000 in May, which gave him confidence for his NEET PG preparation.
However, his next result was very different.
“Somehow maybe it wasn't my day or something. It turned out to be 16,000, I think, NEET PG.”
The result was disappointing for him, especially because he had expected a much better rank. But instead of giving up, he continued exploring his options.
After his NEET PG result, Divyanshu joined a surgery seat. However, he soon realised that he had never been completely interested in the branch.
He explained:
“I wasn't totally committed to that seat. I was never 100% interested in surgery. I just wanted to exit the rat race.”
Within around 40 days, he decided to leave the seat and prepare again. It was a difficult decision because leaving a postgraduate seat, particularly from a reputed institution, involved both uncertainty and financial pressure.
For Divyanshu, however, choosing a branch he genuinely wanted was more important than simply continuing with a seat.
“You should not be compromising on your branch because it is going to be staying with you for your lifetime.”
This decision gave him another opportunity to prepare for the entrance examination with a clearer goal.
After leaving the surgery seat, Divyanshu had only around two months to prepare for INI-CET. He had also been away from serious preparation for several months, which made restarting difficult.
Despite this, he decided to make the most of the time available to him.
One of the most important lessons Divyanshu learned from his NEET PG result was that simply completing content does not guarantee success in a competitive examination.
He explained that earlier, his mindset was largely focused on finishing the available material.
“My job is to complete the content.”
Over time, he realised that this approach was not effective because the amount of information available was much larger than what a person could realistically retain.
According to him, the focus should instead be on knowing the material that has already been studied thoroughly.
“I have to be absolutely sure about what I have studied.”
This realisation led him to reduce his sources and focus more on revision and questions.
Divyanshu changed his approach by giving more importance to solving questions alongside theory.
He explained:
“I have to make a concise source. I have to make a short and small source and I have to revise it again and again and I have to focus more on questions.”
For him, questions were not simply a way to test preparation after completing the syllabus. They became part of the learning process itself.
He found that making mistakes while solving questions helped him remember concepts for longer.
“If you do a question, if you get it wrong, then you won't forget it for your lifetime.”
This approach became an important part of his preparation for subsequent attempts.
Divyanshu realised that repeatedly revising a smaller set of resources was more effective than constantly adding new material.
Instead of trying to remember everything he had ever studied, he created a concise source that he could revise multiple times.
This helped him strengthen recall and become more accurate with questions.
His preparation highlighted a simple principle for medical aspirants: studying more material is not always better if there is not enough time to revise it.
Divyanshu also shared an important strategy for aspirants who already have basic knowledge of a subject.
According to him, students can begin with questions and then use their mistakes to identify the theory they need to revise.
This approach prevents students from spending too much time reading theory without knowing how much of it they can actually recall during an examination.
The combination of questions + theory + revision helped him make his preparation more exam-focused.
Another major change in his preparation was removing distractions. Divyanshu had previously been active in sports and other activities, but during his preparation period, he chose to focus almost entirely on studying.
He strongly recommended reducing social media use before an important examination.
“You have to delete your Instagram account. You have to uninstall YouTube. You have to uninstall whatever distraction that is coming your way.”
He believed that short-form content could affect attention span and make it harder to maintain focus during long study sessions and the actual examination.
For students who find social media difficult to control, his approach was simple: remove the source of distraction rather than relying only on willpower.
Although Divyanshu personally sacrificed many of his hobbies during his preparation, he did not recommend that every student completely give up their interests.
He enjoys activities such as watching cricket and playing basketball. Looking back, he said students can maintain some balance if their hobbies help them stay mentally fresh.
“If you feel that something keeps you sane, and something keeps you in a good state of mind, a hobby or something, then you should definitely pursue it for half an hour or one hour.”
His own experience was highly focused, but his advice suggests that students should find a routine that allows them to remain consistent without unnecessarily exhausting themselves.
Leaving a postgraduate seat and preparing again was not an easy decision. Divyanshu particularly credited his family for supporting him during this uncertain period.
He recalled that his father, mother, and sister continued to support him while he prepared again.
His father, in particular, supported his decision to leave the seat and pursue the branch he genuinely wanted, despite the financial implications.
He also thanked his friends for continuing to believe in him throughout his journey.
This support gave him the confidence and patience to continue preparing even after his disappointing NEET PG result.
Divyanshu’s preparation strategy can be summed up in a few key lessons:
Do not focus only on completing the syllabus.
Keep your study sources concise.
Solve questions alongside theory.
Learn from mistakes instead of avoiding them.
Revise the same material repeatedly.
Reduce social media and other distractions before the exam.
Choose your postgraduate branch carefully instead of making a decision under pressure.
Stay connected with people who genuinely support your preparation.
His journey shows that a poor result does not necessarily reflect a student's potential. Sometimes, it reveals that the preparation strategy needs to change.
PW played an important role in helping Dr. Divyanshu Patel adopt a more focused and exam-oriented preparation strategy. With the right resources and consistent practice, he was able to make better use of his limited preparation time.
Concise study resources: Helped him focus on important concepts without using too many sources.
Question-focused preparation: Regular MCQ practice helped him identify and work on weak areas.
Repeated revision: Allowed him to revise important concepts multiple times.
Learning from mistakes: Questions helped him understand and retain concepts better.
Exam-oriented approach: Kept his preparation focused on relevant concepts and question patterns.
Better use of limited time: Helped him follow a focused strategy during his short preparation window.
Focus on retention: Shifted his approach from simply completing content to remembering and applying it effectively.
Dr. Divyanshu Patel’s journey from AIR 16,000 in NEET PG to AIR 398 in INI-CET 2026 was built on learning from his mistakes and making difficult decisions.
He realised that completing more and more content was not enough. Instead, he shifted towards concise resources, questions, repeated revision, and focused preparation. He also chose to leave a surgery seat when he realised it was not the right fit for him.
His story offers an important lesson for medical aspirants: a setback can become a turning point when you are willing to identify what went wrong and change your approach. For Divyanshu, that change ultimately helped him secure AIR 398 and move closer to the branch and career he actually wanted.