After two PhDs and an MBA, 51-year-old clears NEET

A 51-year-old Tamil Nadu man with two PhDs and an MBA has cleared NEET and secured a medical seat in Nagapattinam, fulfilling a 34-year-old dream. Despite work and family responsibilities, A Suresh Kumar prepared consistently and overcame an earlier unsuccessful attempt

Chennai: Not content with two PhDs and an MBA, a 51-year-old man from Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district cleared NEET to realise his dream of becoming a medical doctor. On Thursday, he was allotted a seat at the Nagapattinam Medical College, which is close to his home, making his dream take shape 34 years after he passed Plus Two. A native of Velankanni in Nagapattinam district, A Suresh Kumar expressed excitement about studying alongside younger students and believes that age is just a number.

His drive to study at 51 stems from a lifelong passion for medicine that remained unfulfilled for 34 years. Despite his professional success in pharmacy, diagnostics, and holding multiple degrees, he felt that his true calling was always in the medical field.

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Stating that he always dreamt of pursuing medicine since completing his 12th standard in 1992, Kumar said that due to his family responsibilities, he originally pursued pharmacy and built a career in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries instead.

However, encouraged by the Supreme Court’s decision to remove age limits for NEET, he decided to chase his long-held passion. “Despite working, I spent the nights studying and even tutored my son in biology to stay in touch with the subject,” he said.

His wife has been of immense support in encouraging him to resign from his job to focus on his studies. She even helped him maintain a strict preparation routine. Suresh Kumar qualified through the special quota due to a past road accident that resulted in a lasting injury limiting his physical mobility but not his determination.

He says he is excited to study alongside younger students and believes that age is just a number. He expressed that he did not want to leave the world with the regret of an unfulfilled ambition.
“At 51, I maintain a high level of physical fitness and believe that age is just a number,” Kumar told reporters here.

His focus remains on his fitness and his education, and he is eager to engage with the younger student community. His preparation for the NEET exam was a disciplined process balanced alongside his professional and family responsibilities, says Kumar.

After returning from work, he would dedicate his time to studying, often sitting from 10 PM until midnight. His wife would wake him up as early as 4 AM and provide refreshments. He practised by reviewing previous years’ question papers to gauge his readiness and evaluated his progress annually from 2023 to 2025 until he felt confident in his ability to pass the exam.

After an unsuccessful first attempt where he wrote in Tamil, he switched to English for his second attempt, aligning with his 34 years of professional experience in that language, which proved to be successful.