AILET & CLAT 2019 Topper Interview: AIR 1, Saumya Singh shares prep tips

Saumya Singh has topped both the CLAT 2019 and AILET 2019 exams with All India Rank (AIR) 1. Know what prep strategy he adopted that made him succeed in both the prestigious law entrance exams.

A student of Delhi Public School, Udaipur, Saumya Singh created history by cracking both AILET 2019 and CLAT 2019 exams with AIR 1. He scored 177.25/200 in CLAT 2019 and 93.25/150 in AILET 2019 exam. An extremely focused and dedicated student, Saumya has chosen NLSIU Bangalore to pursue his law study. After completion of the course, he wishes to join the judiciary services.

His mother and father both are Professors of Geography. His mother works at MLSU, Udaipur and father is retired from the University of Rajasthan. In his free time, Saumya likes playing the guitar and reading books. A sports enthusiast, Saumya also likes playing badminton.

In a candid interview with Shiksha, Saumya shares how and when he started preparing for CLAT and AILET, what prep strategies he adopted, how he managed time, and more. Go through the complete interview below:

I expected a rank in top 10 in both the exams but securing the first rank, that too in both, was definitely a pleasant surprise!

There is no difference in the study material that one refers to while preparing for CLAT and AILET. However, I did read a few important topics related to Science like Inventions and Discoveries before AILET.  Also, I took mock tests for both exams which helped me become familiar with the paper pattern.

AILET 2019 was definitely the tougher of the two. It was lengthy and the questions were also of reasonable difficulty. CLAT 2019 was on the easy side. The questions were not very difficult and the paper was not lengthy either.

I started CLAT preparation in 11th to both gain an early bird advantage and reduce the workload in 12th. When I was in 12th I attended school regularly and devoted some time for the boards throughout the year. This made it easy for me to spare some time for CLAT preparation even while the board exams were going on. I did not give a complete break to CLAT preparation even during the boards and do not advise it as both the exams (CLAT and AILET) are based on practice and consistency is the key.

I took coaching from Law Prep as a student in the two-year Foundation course.

I prepared consistently for two years. I prepared for both CLAT and the final exams of class 11th/boards throughout the year. I gave time to subjects according to my strengths and weaknesses and made sure not to get out of touch with any subject. I gave more time to GK; I made notes regularly and revised them on weekends.

For GK, I read The Hindu newspaper regularly. I also referred to GKToday and StudyIQ. Besides these I read the magazine, Competition in Focus and the material provided by Law Prep.

For Logical Reasoning, I referred to the material provided by Law Prep and the book by RS Aggarwal (A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning) for important topics. For Critical Reasoning I referred to the book by MK Pandey (Analytical Reasoning).

For Legal Reasoning I relied on the material provided by Law Prep, which included class notes, class tests and mock tests. Solving previous year papers also helped.

For English Vocabulary, I referred to the two books by Norman Lewis (Word Power Made Easy and 30 days to a Faster Vocabulary). I used to refer to word lists for GRE regularly which helped me learn new words and revise existing ones. I used to maintain registers for vocabulary and updated them daily. For Grammar, I referred to the book English is Easy besides the material provided by Law Prep. Reading the newspaper helped a lot.

For Maths, I relied on the material provided by my coaching and online sources wherever needed.

I took over 80 mock tests while preparing for CLAT. Among other things these helped me analyse my strengths and weaknesses, both in terms of topics and time management. I used to devote time daily to overcome my weaknesses and revised the topics that were my strengths.

Saumya Singh with his family

I took Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT). I got 135 marks in SLAT 2019.

Law was always my first preference. My family motivated me to pursue this field because of my own interest in it and the ability to work for one’s community that it entails. I’d decided to pursue law by the time I was in class 9th.

Don’t waste any time, be consistent in your efforts and never lie to yourself.

As of now I aim to get into the judiciary but I’m keeping my options open.