Confident about the CLAT

Students aspiring to be lawyers are burning the midnight oil for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), which will be held on May 13. Most of them want to get into the top law school in the country — National Law School of India University (NLSIU). Metrolife asks them about their preparation strategy for the big day.

Sharanya, who is preparing for the test, hopes that she gets a good rank and makes it to one of the top colleges in the country. “I definitely want to make it to one of the top five law colleges. Getting into NLSIU Bangalore will be a dream come true as they have a very well-structured course and the moot competitions give an all-round exposure to the litigators,” she says.

With a couple of days to go, the preparation for the examination is in full swing and students are giving it all they have to get the best ranks. “This is my second attempt and I want to get it right this time. Last year, I had prepared on my own and lacked speed and strategy during the test. However, this year, I took the help of a professional and am more confident than last time,” says Abhishek Sharma, a student.

Students also hope that there are no problems in the question paper, which is what happened last year and they don’t have to take a retest. “Last year, many centres in the country had problems with the question paper. I was writing the test at the Kolkata centre and the question paper had a problem in it. Most of us were disappointed and got distracted during the test. I hope everything is smooth this time,” adds Sharanya.

Kaustabh Mone, who cracked the test last year, says that it is important to concentrate on all aspects of the test. “It is important to focus on all parts of the portion. If someone has mastered logical reasoning, general knowledge cannot be ignored as it is equally important. Students generally bank on logical reasoning and theory-related questions and forget about updating their current affairs and general knowledge,” he explains.

Most students have been taking the help of professional coaching institutes to prepare for the test and there are very few who prepare themselves. “It is difficult to prepare on your own as there are many things which we can miss. Joining a coaching class helps — you can discuss things and study together. My friends and I study together sometimes and it is helpful because we point out each other’s mistakes and help each other as well,” points out Anubhav Sinha, who is going to take the exam this Sunday.

For now, these students are well prepared for the examination and some of them have even listed their preferences in terms of law colleges in the country.