AILET 2017 Topper Interview: Vishu Surana, AIR 5; To Kill a Mockingbird inspired her to pursue law

A student of DPS, Gurgaon, Vishu Surana has secured Rank 5 in AILET 2017 with a score of 96/150 marks. AILET exam is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) to offer admission to aspirants in law programmes offered by it.

Coming from a well-educated family, Vishu’s parents are qualified financial professionals and she is the first one to get into the law field. Elaborating further she said, “Law was always my first preference. When I was in class 9^th, I had an elocution competition in which I had to present the famous speech by Atticus Finch in the book 'To kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and for that I read the book and fell in love with it. That's when I discovered my passion for Law”.

A confident girl, Vishu shared that she likes to try her hands at art and craft and loves to paint. Talking about her other interests, she said, “I like swimming and cycling. But what I enjoy the most is reading books and listening to music of different genres. I also enjoy watching TV shows”.

Shiksha got in touch with Vishu to know how she secured Rank 5 in AILET 2017 which is considered to be the most difficult law entrance exam (at UG level) in India. Go through the complete interview below:

Q. Congratulations on being an AILET topper! Did you expect to be the topper of AILET 2017?

Ans. I was confident of getting admission because I got a decent score, but getting AIR 5 was a pleasant surprise.

Know AILET 2017 Topper Profiles.

Q. Whom do you attribute your success to?

Ans. No single person but a combination of them. More than anyone else, I give credit to my parents and my sister. They motivated me at all times and made me realise the importance of persistence. Obviously, all my mentors and teachers for their constant support and guidance. And all my peers who inspired me to work harderand realise my full potential.

Q. Was NLU Delhi your first preference?

Ans. NLU Delhi has a lot of unique facilities to offer so it is in my Top 3 list, the other two being National Law School of India University, Bangalore and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. It all depends on the CLAT result.

Q. Could you tell us your preparation strategy for AILET exam?

Ans. So my strategy was 'Prepare as if you've never won but perform as if you've never lost’. I tried to clarify all the basic concepts related to Legal Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude before 12^th pre-boards, so that I could focus on taking as many mocks as possible after that. I think that taking mocks and learning from your mistakes is what significantly improves your score. The main issue I faced was balancing Class 12 Boards and law entrance exams. So, I dedicated February and March for Class 12 Board Exams and April onwards, I focused on revising General Knowledge.

Q. Did you take any coaching for this exam?

Ans. I largely relied on self-study but to get the correct guidance, I joined a coaching centre for this exam.

Q. What study plan did you follow for this exam?

Ans. I believe that you have to be sincere and focused rather than being serious while prepping for an exam. My plan was to study regularly for a few hours everyday and increase that as the paper came closer. Rather than quantity, I believe in quality of preparation. I also made daily goals and wrote them in front of my desk because I feel that if you have a to-do list, it's easier to achieve it.

Q. How did you deal with your strengths and your weaknesses while preparing for the exam?

Ans. In the first few months of preparation, I had identified my strengths and weaknesses by analysing mocks. Then I made day to day plans on how to improve upon my weaknesses. I would try and cover one topic, then do all the questions I could find related to it to ensure that my concepts were clear. For my strengths, I practiced as much as I could because there is always scope for improvement.

Q. Did you give any other law entrance exams?

Ans. I gave SET and CLAT.

Q. Any tips for students who are planning to take the exam next year?

Ans. Looking at past years’ papers, AILET has proved to be unpredictable. So I feel it's extremely important to be mentally prepared for anything. General Knowledge section is the make it or break it section, so one must be apprised with current affairs. I can't stress enough on the importance of having all your concepts clear. But most importantly, just before you begin the paper, calm yourself and focus only on that moment. Don't think about the result or whether you'd be able to get in or not. Just give your best attempt and everything will work out.

Q. What are your future plans?

Ans. I haven't chalked out my future plan completely yet. All I know is that I would like to get in the field of either Criminal Law or Corporate Law, as both seem fascinating.

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