Garima Banka, a native of Bihar, topped CLAT 2021 with AIR 9. Read below to know how she prepared for the exam and what tips she provides for the CLAT aspirants.
Garima Banka, a student of St. Josephs School, Bhagalpur, Bihar, scored 113.25 in CLAT 2021 and bagged AIR 9 in the examination. She is currently pursuing BA LLB from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. She comes from a business background and aspires to be a social worker.
Shiksha got in touch with Garima to know how she prepared for the exam and what are her future plans. Here are the excerpts of Shiksha’s interview with Garima Banka.
Q. Congratulations! Did you expect to be the topper of CLAT 2021?
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A. Securing 9th position in All India Rank (AIR) was way beyond my imagination as I was scoring very low ranks in my coaching mocks till the very end. However, somehow, the question paper seemed to me within my comfort zone during the exam and I was able to make it.
Q. What was your preparation strategy that helped you crack CLAT 2021?
A. Taking a lot of mocks towards the end and analyzing each mock thoroughly helped me gain command over the paper. I also studied all the current affairs topics in detail and revised them umpteen times as current affairs form a major part of the CLAT exam and is a scoring section.
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Q. Did you take any coaching for the exam?
A. I was enrolled in Legal Edge's one-year classroom program. Apart from it, I took test series of one other coaching institute.
Q. What study plan did you follow for the exam?
A. I initially went slow with everything. I devoted a lot of time in the initial months reading novels and taking my time to understand the editorials to hone my reading skills. Even while solving English, Critical Reasoning and Legal passages, I went very slow and focused on strengthening the concepts. Then towards the end, I spent the majority of time practicing the questions through mocks and other materials and gained speed.
Q. Which books did you read to prepare for the CLAT exam? Mention the names of the books.
A. I primarily used the Legaledge RSMs to study and practice. I also referred to the GMAT official guide for CR (Critical Reasoning) and RS Aggarwal’s Quantitative Aptitude book for Maths.
Q. How did you deal with your strengths and weaknesses while preparing for the exam?
A. I played with my strengths in mocks by attempting more questions from my strong section. While practicing, I devoted a greater part of my day to my weaker sections.
Q. Tell us about your family background.
A. I hail from a small town in Bihar. My family has a business background. My mother is a housewife and I have two younger siblings.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. I like reading fiction novels, especially ones belonging to the suspense thriller genre. I also like binging on Netflix and listening to songs.
Q. What other law entrance exams did you take or are planning to take?
A. I was planning to take ALIET, MHCET Law and BLAT (BHU UET Law) apart from CLAT. I also appeared for SLAT 2021.
Q. Was law always your first preference?
A. I initially thought to pursue English Honours from Delhi University but then I decided to pursue law finding it a more lucrative profession.
Q. Any tips for students who are planning to take these exams in future?
A. I would advise all the law aspirants to keep their options open and not completely restrict themselves to CLAT. In addition, my biggest advice is to take mocks most seriously and use them as a tool to learn from your mistakes. Don’t get disheartened by low scores and keep believing in yourselves no matter what.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. I aspire to go to the judiciary, as I want to be a social worker. However, I am yet to discover my actual interests and I am looking forward to the 5 years of my law school to help me discover myself.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
Yes, candidates who have registered for the CLAT exam can access the sample papers through their login credentials.
P
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
The practice the sample papers of CLAT released by the consortium follow these steps
Go to consortiumofnlus.ac.in
Login and click on attempt sample paper
You will now see instructions on your screen
Read the instructions and click on Start Mock Test
Attempt the question paper
M
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 days ago
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.
P
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 5 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.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 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
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
To get a seat at GNLU Silvassa for the UG and PG-level law courses, students have to appear for the CLAT entrance examination and then the counselling process to be considered eligible for admission.
The GNLU Silvassa CLAT cutoff 2026 was concluded after 5 rounds of seat allotment for the above-ment
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, you could get into GNLU Silvassa with a 4000 rank if you belong to the SC AI category. For this category, the overall cutoff range was 2843 to 8902. Hence, a rank of 4000 could get you a seat at this institute.
Students can see the table below to know the last round closing ranks for available
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
GNLU Silvassa CLAT cutoff 2026 concluded after the release of the final round of seat allotment for the BA LLB (Hons) and LLM courses. The cutoff was out for several AI and HS quota categories.
For the General AI category, the overall cutoff ranged from 336 to 1500 for both courses, with LLM course
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
To get a seat at Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Law University for the BA LLB and LLM courses, students have to first appear for the CLAT entrance exam and then sit for the CLAT counselling process to be considered eligible for admission to the above-mentioned courses.
The NLU Sonepat CLAT cutoff 2026 was
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
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
N
Contributor-Level 10