Purachet Manus-siripen, or "Ton", scored 93.16 per cent, which made him the first student admitted to the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University.

"Good friends, school and family," were an important part of his success, said the humble 18-year-old.

His success came as a surprise, as students studying science tend to dominate the highest scores. Triam Udom Suksa School student Phumyos Wimolkittiwat obtained the country's highest score of 91.30 per cent for admission to Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Engineering.

A source at the Office of Higher Education Commission suggested the change might have come from the admission criteria that now took into account a student's GPA and the O-Net (the Ordinary National Educational Test) and A-Net (Ordinary and Advanced National Educational Test) based on subjects taught at school.

As a result art students, who usually get good grades at school, now had a better chance to beat their science counterparts.

Purachet, who has a younger sister and a brother, has a father who is a judge and an accountant mother, claims he is just like other ordinary students who play games, read comics, chat on MSN, watch television and hang out at Siam Square after classes.

But his favourite activities are reading books, being a volunteer teacher and participating in school activities and the Wadha-silt Club (oratory club), he said.

"I like to do many activities after class, because I can talk and meet different students there. When I was in junior high school I used to play online games, but I got bored and grew out of it when I entered high school.

Another favourite activity is being involved in the Wadha-silt Club, "which helped improve my speaking skills. I was a master of ceremonies at school events like the new student orientation ceremony or a Loy Kratong Festival. I also had a chance to be a volunteer teacher at Wat Pratum Wararam school."

Society and his father were his inspiration to study law, he said.

"Today, our society is interested in law and politics as it is a part of our daily life, and my father is working as a judge, that's why a bachelor in law is my first choice. I can be a law teacher in the future, or I can be lawyer, or work in other occupations that I become interested in after I finished my degree," he said.

Declaring himself "no genius", Purachet said good friends, school and family were important parts of his success.

"My father never forced me to study anything that I didn't like. So I could study things I was interested in. He never asked me to stop doing school activities. I think it is because I am his eldest son, so he let me take care of myself," he noted.

Purachet said he talked about everything with his mother, while his conversations with his father involved more serious topics.

Being involved in after class activities meant he had to study on his own and twice as hard to catch up with friends. "I read books in preparation for the admission exam just one month before. Everyday I went to the school library to read books and exercises on exam-stimulation papers with my friends. Sometimes I was sleepy but my friends woke me up.

"I joined tutoring courses when I was in Matthayom 5, but I stopped one month before the admission exam because I thought that if I just studied there, I would not achieve my hope to enter law school," he said, adding that studying in class was also important, because the O-Net and A-Net system took into account a student's GPA score.

This year, competition to get a place in Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Law was quite high and Purachet said he never thought he would get the highest score.

"I was so tired after the exam. The competition is tight because Chulalongkorn is a famous university. But I don't mind about a particular university. My father graduated from Ramkhamhaeng University and he succeeded in his life.

"At the moment, I do not think that I am successful. It is just the beginning of another journey. I just think that I will do my best studying and get involved in university activities which I can do and be useful," he said.

For next year, he suggested students who were expecting to take the admission exam should concentrate hard in class, but only spend time on tutor courses for the hard subjects. Reading and boning up on knowledge from books were the most effective ways to remember and understand, he said, adding the important thing is perseverance and hard effort.

"A lazy genius cannot pass the exam but a hard working one can," he said.

Pasara Puthamat

The Nation