When should I start preparing for CLAT and why?

The Common Law Admission Test, abbreviated as CLAT, is a two-hour admission test for getting admission into 22 National Law Universities, 43 other education institutes and two public sector institutes. The test is taken after the Higher Secondary Examination admission to integrated undergraduate programs in Law. It is also taken by Law graduates for admission in Master of Laws(LL.M) programs conducted by these law universities. The test consists of objective type covering questions on logical reasoning, verbal with comprehension, current affairs & general knowledge, legal awareness & legal aptitude and quantitative ability. We bring you this article to help you to properly plan your preparation for the CLAT. CLAT is no cake walk. Several reasons make it difficult. The most significant reason is that it is written by 50,000 aspirants every year, hence making it very competitive. A holistic preparation for CLAT would demand a regular routine focusing equally on all subjects. Continuous practice would help you manage your time more efficiently. General Knowledge, vocabulary and legal aptitude needs memorizing and continuous revision, so sufficient time, right from the beginning must be devoted to them. Managing time is of prime significance in the examination hall. Solving maximum number of questions will certainly give an edge over the others. Around 40- 50 mock tests would be required to be fully prepared for the examination. Hence, to answer the question, the ideal time duration of your preparation should be around one year. Start when you are at the end of your 11th standard. Be regular, cover a bit everyday and stay focused. Remember, you need time to create the best things. As Rome was not built in a day, the more time you devote the better will be your preparation. Many aspirants start their preparation post their class 10th board exams. If you can do it too, very well. If not there is still time. You may follow the below mentioned plan while preparing: 1. Start with GK and current affairs post your 11th standard examination. You need to be consistent here as this requires a lot of learning and revising. 2. Once you have started getting a grip on GK, start writing mock tests. Remember you should have a proper distribution for mock tests. It should be lightly distributed in the beginning and heavily distributed in the last month before the exam. 3. Work hard on mathematics from July to November and complete the syllabus, otherwise the pressure to study maths increases towards the end. 4. December can be spent entirely on logic, mastering it takes time. 5. You will be focusing on boards in Jan and Feb. hence, just follow GK daily and give 1 - 2 mocks a week. Post your board exams, go at full throttle. All the best for your CLAT from team Career Launcher!