AILET 2017 Rank 2 shares Prep Tips

AILET 2017 Topper: Nitesh Mishra, AIR 2

Nitesh Mishra a student of SAI International School, Bhubaneswar scored 99/150 in AILET 2017 to secure Rank 2 in the law entrance exam. Being an above average student at school, Nitesh shares that, “I appeared for my matriculation exams from ICSE board. I pursued science in class 12^th, that is, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, without Mathematics. I scored a decent 95% in the boards, which happened to be CBSE board”. Even though he has always been good at studies you cannot call Nitesh a bookworm. He likes to do a lot of things which include reading, writing and sketching. “I am a vocalist as well and Cricket remains an eternal love” he was quoted as saying.

Securing Rank 2 in AILET exam was like a dream come true and Nitesh gives credit for this to his family, “Well, I wouldn’t exaggerate if I say that I’ve indeed been blessed with the best parents in the world. Their unconditional support and the belief my father shows in my dreams and aspirations, is something I can’t thank them enough for. My father is a serviceman and my mother is a home maker. I have a younger brother as well who means the world to me”, he said.

Shiksha spoke to AILET Rank 2 holder, Nitesh Mishra, to find out his prep strategy. Read on to know how he dealt with his strengths and weaknesses to secure admission in his dream college – National Law University (NLU), Delhi.

Thanks a lot. I wouldn’t exactly say that I expected to be the topper of AILET 2017 but the paper had gone well for me. So, I had been confident about me getting through the entrance. Being the topper was a pleasant surprise which came along and I’m indeed quite happy about it.

Oh yes! NLU Delhi was there right on top of my preference list. I didn’t even apply for counselling through CLAT scores because I was pretty sure that this was “THE” college I wanted to be in. NLUD is growing by leaps and bounds. And I always believe in investing in future rather, in glorious but, stagnant past. I would get an opportunity to be a part of the growth and that, in itself, is a scintillating experience.

Well, I would say my success has come at a price. Not surprisingly, so is the case for everyone’s success. Hard work, smart work and all such facets are the core elements of success. But, what I find to be the most important one is being persistent and calm. There would be days where the dark clouds of self doubt will take over all your self-belief. There would be people who will challenge your confidence day in and day out. It is in those moments that we have to hold our ground and stay loyal our true selves. Both, the best and worst, are yet to come. We need to hold ground today to enjoy the best and fight the worst. And more importantly, wear your scars. You need not be ashamed of them but surely need to learn from them. And as for whom I attribute it to, it would obviously be my parents, for their unconditional support.

I think my preparation strategy tends to misguide more than it would help! I’ve literally prepared for law entrances in less than two months. I had no idea about law entrances before March, 2017. I’d been preparing for Medicine before that. Then, there comes a moment in our lives where we’ve to take few bold decisions. So, that’s what happened with me. Hence, I can help people with the crash course but, for full time preparation, I don’t think I’m the right person to answer this. But, if someone needs help, I’m always ready to help. Perhaps that is one thing I couldn’t find when I needed it the most.

Basically, I took no coaching. I would say most of my preparations were from the mock tests. I’d joined a crash course in April, but that didn’t prove to be quite helpful.

The study plan is an interesting thing. Something which I started was laying down the portions I’ve to cover and writing down the days on a piece of paper. I started reading the topics one by one. Within 20 days, I was done with the course. Next 10 days were for revision of the course. Then, about the next 30 days were all for mocks. GK preparation was a must on at least every alternative day.

My strengths happened to be Mathematics and Logical Reasoning. As for weakness, I can’t recall any. I used to be satisfactorily good at all the five subjects. Perhaps, that is what played well in my favour. At the same time, I ensured that I don’t get complacent and the mocks were a great way to do it.

I didn’t have time to refer to specific books for each subject. I had the Universal’s Guide. Career Launcher and Sri Ram Law Academy modules were of some help. Legal Edge “MONTHLE” magazine were great for GK. I can’t express the huge importance of mock tests in my preparation. Those were the true pillars of my preparations.

I appeared for almost all the entrances, ranging from SET, AILET, CLAT, IIM IPM, BLAT, and LSAT India. Fortunately, I cleared all of them with pretty good ranks. SET and BLAT were easy. LSAT India was moderate. CLAT and AILET were difficult. And IIM IPM was a whole different game, as it’s not a law entrance.

I did appear for CLAT, as I did mention above. One thing as per me that is the key difference between the two would be the demand of the examiners. Though, both of them need accuracy and speed, CLAT is more about accuracy while, AILET is more about speed.

I can’t really say about my career preference. I had been preparing for Medicine and had cleared medical entrances. But I chose Law as my career. That’s all I can say. Law is something “I” wanted to pursue.

I think I’ve a lot of time to figure out my future plans. I would like to explore various areas of law before I finally settle down with something specific. And NLUD is the right place to do so.