Pratyay Amrit, a native of Patna, Bihar, topped CLAT 2020 with AIR 10. Read below to know how he prepared for the exam and his secret to success.
Pratyay Amrit, 21, a student of Jagat Mission Senior Secondary School, Patna, bagged All-India Rank (AIR) 10 in the CLAT last year by securing 104.5 out of 147 marks. Pratyay is currently studying BA LLB from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. His father is a police officer and mother a homemaker. Composing music, reading and exploring world cinema are his favourite pastimes.
In an exclusive conversation with Shiksha, Pratyay shares tips and CLAT preparation strategy he adopted to crack the exam.
Q. Congratulations! Did you expect to be one of the toppers of CLAT 2020?
A. No, I did not expect to be one of the toppers. I just wanted to get admission to a good law school. I was so much engrossed in studies that I stopped thinking about the outcome. I started preparing for the CLAT 2020 three months before the exam.
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Q. What was your preparation strategy that helped you crack CLAT 2020?
A. I did not take too much stress while preparing for the CLAT exam. Any competitive exam requires regular practice. I was fairly punctual with my CLAT mock test routine. I identified question types within each section, which helped me save time in the actual exam.
Q. How did you manage time between board exams and CLAT preparation?
A. After completing my Class 12, I decided to drop a year to prepare for the CLAT exam so there was no stress of board exams. I was consistent in my preparation to achieve the desired goal.
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Q. Did you take any coaching for the exam?
A. I had purchased CLAT mock test series from two well-known coaching institutes after experimenting with papers of various institutes. Besides, I was also granted a membership by one of the institutes that gave me free access to their online classes.
Q. What study plan did you follow for the exam?
A. There was no proper plan as such, but my regimen was mostly taking mocks, reading literature, watching cinema and occasionally reading newspapers for current affairs. I made sure that I took 10 mock tests every month.
Q. Which books did you read to prepare for these exams?
A. I did not refer to any study material provided to me by my coaching institute or anyspecialisedbooks for quant or reasoning, my choice would be quite counter-intuitive to some. I stuck to a schedule of reading authors such as Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, Herman Hesse, George Orwell, Ivan Turgenev, Premchand, Rowling, Dahl and many more. This, I believe, helped me the most because my reading speed increased and I could understand complex sentences more easily.
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Q. How did you deal with your strengths and weaknesses while preparing for the exam?
A. I did not bother much about strengths or weaknesses while taking mocks. I focused on improving my reading as I knew it would benefit me in three sections: English, legal aptitude and logical reasoning. I was fairly comfortable with quant (Quantitative Techniques) though GK was very inconsistent. Sometimes I would do good and other times abysmal. Thus, I thought of delving into current affairs to a great extent. This helped in sustaining my interest and kept me motivated.
Q. Was law always your first preference?
A. It was either this or abject desolation coupled with despair. Just kidding. I had not thought much about law in the first place, but I have grown to like it.
Q. Any tips for students who are planning to take these exams in future?
A. You should make the best out of your mistakes in mock tests. Try to identify the root cause of mistakes that you make while attempting mocks and ensure that you do not repeat them. It really helps if you are planning to study effectively in less time.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. I have not yet given it a thought. I am a first-year undergraduate student and would like to explore the field of law more before I come to any decision.
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