With a score of 147.5 in CLAT 2017, Sumit Kumar Gupta secured Rank 4 in the law entrance exam. A Science stream student of Sainik School Goalpara, Assam, Sumit secured 87.2% in his Class 12 Board exams.
Apart from being passionate about making a career in Law, Sumit loves to read books and play volleyball. NLSIU Bangalore is mostly the national law university (NLU) of choice for most CLAT toppers. But that is not the case with Sumit who wants to secure admission at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS).
In a candid interview with Shiksha, Sumit shared his CLAT prep strategy and future goals. Read the complete interview below for more details.
Q. Congratulations on your success! Did you expect to be the topper of CLAT?
Thank you, after the AILET results I was confident that I would be in top 10 of CLAT but Rank 4 came as a pleasant surprise. After I saw my result, I thanked almighty and informed my parents about the CLAT result.
Q. Whom do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my parents, teachers and my friends.
Q. Could you tell us your preparation strategy that helped you crack CLAT exam?
I gave many mock tests. After giving the test I used to jot down my weaknesses and strengths and started working on them accordingly. I stretched myself covering a variety of study material. Later on, I solved around 60 mock tests.
Q. Could you talk a little about how you prepared for the different sections of CLAT exam?
For vocabulary I referred to books by Norman Lewis. I read The Hindu on a daily basis. Also, I tried analysing grammar upto Class 10 and worked on it. I also read Qualitative English by S Chand publication.
For Maths, I read Quantitative Mathematics by RS Aggarwal and for Logical Reasoning I used a book by Arihant publication.
For Legal Aptitude, I had a simple formula i.e. sticking to the principle even if it is wrong.
For GK, I used various magazines like TIT-BITS and Pratiyogita Darpan.
Apart from this, I read study material that I received from my coaching centre.
Q. Did you take any coaching for this exam?
Yes, I enrolled for a correspondence course of CLAT Path, Patna which helped me immensely.
Q. What study plan did you follow for this exam?
I had a simple approach that is to work on my weaknesses and also keep my strengths in view. I devoted quality time to my studies (around 6-8 hours) and used to solve a mock test daily in the later stage of my preparation.
I worked on my weaknesses on a daily basis and devoted around 4-5 hours to that. In addition, I also kept in touch with my strengths.
Q. What other law entrance exams did you take?
I took AILET and secured 10th rank in it. View AILET 2017 Topper Profiles.
Q. Was law always your first preference?
No, since I studied in Sainik School, joining the Defence Forces was always my first preference but due to some medical issues I couldn't join the same. Later on, I analysed my strengths and chose Law as a career as this course also fascinated me very much.
Q. How was the CLAT exam this year?
CLAT exam was great this year. The pattern was a little different to that of the last year. Read CLAT 2017 Exam Analysis.
Q. Any tips for students who are planning to take the exam next year?
Tips for students appearing next year is that CLAT is a dynamic exam. You need proper planning along with a time table. Stick to your time table and stretch yourself to cover wide range of topics. Solve mock tests and work on your weaknesses and strengths. Don't panic and start working hard. All will be good at the end if you have prepared diligently.
Q. What are your future plans?
It is not decided yet but I will be considering two options i.e. either I will go for Corporate Sector or I will prepare for Civil Services.
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CLAT 2017 Topper Interview: AIR 1 Rajat Maloo shares his Success Mantra
Meet CLAT 2017 Girl Topper Radhika Sharda
CLAT 2017 Topper Interview: AIR 5, Himanshu Ashwani advises aspirants to take mock tests regularly
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Student Forum
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Yes, students can take admissions to BITS Law School without appearing from CLAT exam. BITS Law School admissions also conducts its own entrance exam called BITS Law Admission Test. Shortlisted candidates need to appear for Personal Interview rounds for admissions.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 days ago
No, CLAT is not compulsory to take admission in the law courses at Innovative Institute of Law. Candidates are shortlisted based on merit achieved in last qualifying exam. However, the institute accepts CLAT score as well.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
To check the merit list for NLU Silvassa, students can refer to the list of pointers below.
- Go to the official Consortium of NLUs website.
- Click on the CLAT OPTION in the top-right corner
- Scroll down to the notification section
- Check the merit list for all courses at the UG and PG levels.
Students shou
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The GNLU Silvassa CLAT cutoff 2026 was concluded after 5 rounds of seat allotment for the above-ment
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For the General AI category, the overall cutoff ranged from 336 to 1500 for both courses, with LLM course
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Yes, you could get into NLU Sonepat with a CLAT rank of 300 if you belong to the OBC AI category.
For this category, the overall cutoff ranged from 3409 to 4684 for the BA LLB and LLM courses. Students can refer to the table below to know the first and last round closing ranks for this category.
| Course | Round 1 | Last Round |
|---|---|---|
| B.A. LL.B. | 3409 | 3780 |
| Master of Legislative Laws (LL.M.) | 3526 | 4684 |
Not
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
To know how to check the merit list for NLU Sonepat admission to the UG and PG-level courses, see below:
- Go to the official Consortium of NLUs portal.
- Click on the CLAT option on the top bar.
- Find the merit list declared for UG and PG programmes.
- Candidates can also log in to the CLAT portal to access
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