Everyone sees AIR 47. Few hear the story behind it. In this interview, Chhavi Poplani speaks about preparation, pressure, and what truly matters during CLAT prep.
1. To begin with, could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a little about your background?
Hi! I am Chhavi Poplani, an aspiring law student currently in class 12. I have cleared exams like CLAT, AILET and SLAT with the help of my Institute Law Prep Tutorial and my parents and scored impressive ranks in each. I will be joining NLSIU soon.
2. When did you first decide to prepare for CLAT, and what motivated you to choose law as a career?
After I completed my class 10, I decided to prepare for CLAT exam as I was very clear with the career I wanted to go with. I chose law because it attracted me more than any other field did for my personality and I love arguing with facts and would love to bring a change in the society and make my voice heard.
3. Which section did you find the most challenging initially, and how did you work towards overcoming it?
I found CR question sets a little tricky sometimes. I practiced different questions, interacted with the faculty members of the subject and worked on improving the accuracy and not getting tricked by the CR passages.
4. How did you structure your daily routine during the peak months of preparation?
I started my day with reading the newspaper followed by working on vocabulary. I revised GK on a daily basis. I made sure no subject was neglected and practiced all regularly.
5. What role did mock tests play in your journey, and how did you analyse them to improve consistently?
Mocks were the biggest part of my preparation. I gave mocks of so many variations to prepare myself for any unexpected part in the main exam. Equally important was analysing the mocks, checking if the mistakes were being repeated or some section or topic was troublesome and accordingly working on it.
6. CLAT preparation can be mentally exhausting. How did you handle stress, self-doubt, or burnout during the process?
I had a lot of it-stress and burnout. I used to stay in touch with people who motivated me and reminded me of my potential and the hardwork I was putting in. After every mock, I used to face self doubt but used to calm myself by acknowledging that I will have better opportunities to perform better in the next mock and that it is just the preparation stage.
7. Looking back, what was the biggest hurdle you faced, and how did you push past it?
There was no as such big hurdle that I faced. My teachers and Family were always there for helping in any problem that I faced. Overcoming the difficulties became easier.
8. Is there any mistake you made during preparation that you think future aspirants should avoid?
I think one big mistake that I made during the preparation was going after the scores of mocks. I got so emotionally attached to the scores I was getting that it resulted in lowering of my self confidence whenever I got less marks. My advice to future aspirants is to remember that every mock is part of the preparation and not the final result. Focus on analysing instead of getting into the marks race and comparing yourself to other students.
9. What is one habit, strategy, or decision that you believe made the biggest difference to your final rank?
Revising Gk was the non- negotiable part. And focusing on every subject was equally important as any subject can become the rank decider in the main exam.
10. How did you approach the final month and the last few days before the exam?
Final month was divided into 2 parts
1st half was dedicated to intense practice sessions.
2nd half was focused on doing light revision and solving a mock daily followed by proper analysis.
11. How did it feel when you saw your result and realised you had secured AIR 47?
The feeling can’t be explained. I worked 2 years to get into the college I was targetting. And finally all the hardwork I had put in throughout the year proved to be worth every single mock I solved and all the sleepless nights.
12. Finally, what advice would you give to aspirants who are currently in the middle of their CLAT journey?
Don’t give up. This is just the starting of the very long legal career. Solve as much as you can. Interact alot with the faculty of the respective subjects for Structured guidance. Best of luck.
Team LawLex wishes Chhavi the very best as she steps into the next chapter of her journey!
Interview by Team LawLex
Curated & edited by Yashika Paraswani, Managing Editor