'Coaching culture must end': CLAT 2022 topper Samriddhi Mishra

NEW DELHI: The CLAT 2022 result for both UG and PG programmes was released on June 24. Samriddhi Mishra from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the CLAT 2022 topper for the LLM exam by securing All India Rank (AIR) 1. She completed her LLB Honours from the Faculty of Law at the University of Lucknow.

In an exclusive interview with Careers360, Mishra said that the CLAT LLM exam is not difficult, and can be easily cracked by self-study. Mishra's father Sarvesh Kumar Misra is a lawyer, practising at Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, and her mother, Uma Mishra is a social worker. She told Careers360 that she did self-study. In her opinion, coaching is not required for the CLAT exam. She says that the application fee of Rs 4000 is very high and hence many deserving students could be skipping the exam. She also said that the coaching culture must end. "One does not need to do any coaching or drop out for preparation. I was giving 2 hours only daily for the past 3 months and then gave full time for last 15 days," Mishra said in a conversation with Careers360.

CLAT Result 2022: How CLAT 2022 topper Samriddhi Mishra prepared

According to Mishra, the CLAT 2022 exam requires conceptual clarity and legal awareness. She considers herself a mediocre student during her graduation. For Mishra, the notes from graduation became the base for preparation. She also followed the judgments of the Supreme Court of India from the year 2020 to 2022 and legal news. "One does not need to read all of them. Only the judgments which make national news and are discussed widely are relevant," she said. During the preparation, Mishra said that she also followed the Youtube channel of Live Law and read detailed versions of judgements from SCC Online. "I would not have studied more than 60-65 of them. I made a copy for judgment analysis, to revise in the last days," she said.

When asked about the important subjects and topics one should focus on while preparing for the CLAT LLM exam, Mishra responded by saying that instead of learning sections, one must focus more on understanding the concepts and the leading case laws. She also recommended studying recent judgments confined to the subjects in the syllabus.

Mishra bought a test series for preparation. However, she said that the test series was not very helpful as the exam pattern had changed recently. "But, it helped me in practising to read 20 passages and solve the questions in 2 hours," she said. According to her, previous year papers of last three years are enough to know the pattern and standard of questions. Mishra agrees that the last days of preparation are crucial for the CLAT exam. She says that she revised the subjects and judgments during the last days thoroughly. "Revision makes you confident, more than prepared. It is also advisable to visit your centre a day before. Not panicking in those 2 hours is very important," she said.

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CLAT 2022 Topper recommended strategy

Mishra also suggested a preparation strategy for students. She said that the aspirants should first solve the questions from their strength areas and then move to the rest. "Try solving the paper in 80 mins in first go and then solve the remaining part. The judgments which you have read during preparation would not take much time in reading," she said. She asked the aspirants to not be afraid of negative marking. She said that one should not end up solving very less questions for the fear of negative marking. "If you can eliminate 2 out 0f 4 questions, definitely attempt it. Even if your accuracy is 1 out of 5, there would be no loss. 2 out of 5 can help you fetch better marks," she said.

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The CLAT 2022 topper told Careers360 that the exam this year was lengthier compared to previous years. "As I said, firstly, one must not panic. I read the questions based on Judgments which I found familiar. And then, moved to questions based on theory of subjects like jurisprudence, contract and lastly, moved to questions which I found difficult. I had done 90 questions in first go. Thereafter, I attempted 20 more questions based on elimination technique," she explained.