CLAT 2017 Topper Interview: AIR 5, Himanshu Ashwani advises aspirants to take mock tests regularly

CLAT 2017 Topper: Himanshu Ashwani, AIR 5

With a score of 147.5 in CLAT 2017, Himanshu Ashwani is Rank 5 holder in this national level law entrance exam. A student of Bal Bhavan School, Bhopal, Himanshu opted for Commerce with Mathematics in his Class 12 CBSE Board Exams and secured 93%. After his Class 12 he took a drop year to prepare for Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) that is conducted on a rotational basis by the National Law Universities (NLUs).

Apart from preparing for CLAT, Himanshu shared that he likes “playing badminton and enjoys watching random cricket games on the internet. Apart from these, I enjoy reading novels, and watching movies and TV shows”.

In a candid interview with Shiksha, Himanshu shared his prep strategy, college preference and future plans. Read the complete interview below.

Thank you! I expected a rank within the top 50 when the scores were announced (before the results with ranks) and I had a decent score. But a single digit rank was a big surprise and I was overjoyed when I saw the result.

My overall score is 147.5. The sectional break-up is:- 

English- 26

GK- 29.75

Mathematics- 16

Legal Aptitude- 40.5

Logical Reasoning- 35.25                                                                                               

I attribute my success, first and foremost, to my mother who supported me enormously when I took the decision to drop a year after my 12^th to prepare for CLAT. Secondly, the teachers at my coaching institute who inspired me greatly to achieve proficiency in their respective subject areas. Thirdly, my friends with whom I could relax and share my problems throughout the year.

I believe that CLAT is primarily an aptitude test which tests a person’s overall mental faculties and general awareness. Thus, the strategy must be holistic rather than just reading the prescribed books.

I, personally, was above average in English and Mathematics but weak in the GK section. So, I worked harder to improve my GK as compared to the other subjects.

For English, I focused majorly on vocabulary and grammar. I read Word Power Made Easy for vocabulary and Wren and Martin for grammar. Besides, I read the newspaper regularly as it serves the twin purpose of honing your GK and reading skills.

For GK, you have to prepare for both static GK and current affairs. For static, you can prepare from any handbook on GK which covers History, Geography, Economics and Basic Science along with some miscellaneous facts asked in entrance examinations. For current affairs, I referred to sites like gktoday and jagranjosh coupled with monthly compendiums from my institute. Also, the newspaper was instrumental for me.

For Maths and Logical Reasoning, I solved past years’ papers to assess the difficulty level and practiced questions to increase my efficiency and improve my accuracy in the same.

For Legal Aptitude, I solved all the past years’ questions because many questions get repeated with minor tweaks. Solving questions as quickly as possible is the main goal here so it helps if you are aware of the various topics such as torts, contracts, criminal law etc., as it can cut down your time which you’d spend on comprehending the meaning of the principle given. Also, for the Legal GK part, I used to stay abreast of the ongoing legal developments and studied the Constitution thoroughly.

Yes, I joined the classroom programme of Legal Edge, Bhopal.

I had a laid-back schedule during the initial phase of my preparation. I started studying seriously from November, and used to set weekly targets for every subject.

I started with my weaker areas which I knew would require a lot of work and thereafter moved to moderate and easy stuff.

Also, mock tests helped me a lot to gauge my performance. I took a mock test every week to set my weekly targets accordingly.

I devoted a lot of time to GK, which was my weakness. In the GK section, the examiner can ask anything under the Sun, so it takes a lot of time to cover different portions. I used to revise what I’d read again and again as I tend to forget facts easily.

Rest of the subjects didn’t pose much of a challenge to me so I focused on covering more and more areas which were unfamiliar to me to further increase my marks in the mock tests.

Yes, I referred to the material provided by my coaching centre and some other books for my preparation. For English I referred to Word Power Made Easy and Wren and Martin, Lucent’s General Knowledge for Static GK, and Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal and Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey. 

I took AILET and MH-CET apart from CLAT. My score in AILET is 78 and 123 in MH-CET.

Read more: AILET 2017 Topper Profiles

No, initially I wanted to pursue a degree in Economics from Delhi University (DU). But since my result in 12^th was not adequate to fetch me a spot in the top-tier colleges, so I opted for law which was my second preference.

I thought of making a career in law because it seemed enigmatic to me that the world worked as it does when I was younger. I was curious to know more and that is what has pulled me towards law.     

The exam this year wasn’t as easy as it was last year. Also, there were a few surprises this time around as the Legal section skipped Legal GK and instead 15 Legal maxims were asked and the passage in the English section was quite lengthy and complex. Also, the paper had quite a few erroneous and ambiguous questions which were later rectified.

Read more: CLAT 2017 Student Reaction.

I would like to join NLSIU, Bangalore.

Start with solving the past years’ papers and work earnestly on your weaker areas. Take mocks regularly and work on time management. It is essential to analyse mock tests and learn from your mistakes.

I haven’t really given it much thought because 5 years is a long time in which your notions and plans about the future might change completely. Nonetheless, Environmental Law seems interesting to me.

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