Girl topper will give IIT a miss

Akansha Sarda from Mumbai has topped the girl brigade in IIT-JEE. But the 18-year-old doesn’t plan to go to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

She is going to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in August.

“I am going to MIT where I will pursue a four-year bachelor of science programme. I’ll have to choose a major after two years. This kind of flexibility isn’t there in India,” said Sarda, who secured an all-India rank of 18 in JEE.

She is ecstatic about her success. “I think I am in some wonderful dream,” she said.

Sarda had topped her Std X exams and also became the second Indian girl to qualify in the International Physics Olympiad. “My parents never put pressure on me, which is why I do so well,” she said.

Sarda has studied French and is now learning Chinese. “I love these subjects. But I don’t dedicate my life to them. I love watching movies, and simply having fun,” she said.