CLAT 2015

For Law Aspirants across India, the past couple of weeks have been nothing short of a soap opera. Of the tragic kind.

CLAT 2015; conducted by RMLNLU this year; had a number of changes as compared to the previous editions.

1. It was conducted online. What was hitherto; an OMR Sheet - pen/pencil based test; was to be attempted on a computer.

2. After court orders, the upper age limit (20 for general category candidates) was removed.

The removal of the age limit gave me a chance to appear for the test along with my students. (It's worth noting that I had completed my post-graduation by the time the CLAT was even introduced for the first time.)

Having appeared for both paper and computer based versions of different exams, I advised the students that their preparation for the exam would not drastically differ. However, to gain first hand experience of this exam, I registered for the same and gave the exam on the 10th of May, 2015.

In Ahmedabad (Gujarat), the exam was spread across three centers. Reports indicated that some centers had air conditioned facilities, while the one where I appeared did not. No worries there.

As the exam started (at 3:00 PM IST), I quickly went through all the questions before starting my attempts. A quick analysis revealed the following:

The English section had the standard Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Grammar based questions.

The Mathematics section had a few questions that seemed surprisingly tough (considering the average age of the students.)

The Reasoning section seemed to follow the usual pattern.

The GK section seemed standard; however one would have to read the questions to know more in detail.

The Legal 'Aptitude' section had few questions which were aptitude based and a lot of questions based on legal awareness. Alarm bells went off in my head. Although students were repeatedly told (during the time of preparation) that one should anticipate any googly in the paper, not many would have heeded my advice - and may panic on seeing fewer questions on aptitude and more on awareness. Well - let's start attempting the paper.

As per my game plan, I started with the General Knowledge section. A lot of questions on current affairs concentrated on the months of Jan-Feb-March of 2015. Students, who diligently prepared for this section,would find it easy. I, on the other hand, found it tough - not having actually 'prepared' for general knowledge. :)

After attempting the questions that I felt I knew the answers to, I shifted to the English section. A few questions seemed ambiguous in their wording, the answers to a few seemed suspicious. Normally, I would complete the entire section (except Reading Comprehension and Jumbled Passages). However, in this case, I purposely left those questions, I had to think about - and moved on to Mathematics.

Surprise Surprise! The questions were not of the level that students would expect. A lot of conceptual questions which one would normally expect in post graduate level entrance exams (especially the CAT) were asked. Under normal circumstances, I would crack the 20 questions in about 15 minutes and move ahead. I could hardly attempt 10 odd questions in about 15-20 minutes. Keeping my ego aside, I moved ahead with the reasoning section.

Questions based on coding, relations, directions and others were easily handled (although some of the questions were printed badly while one of the questions had the same answer repeated as options.) The puzzles were again of a difficulty level, totally unexpected in an exam of this nature.

I finally went through the legal aptitude section. The questions based on principles and facts were apparently 'copied' from commercially available entrance test preparation books and past year papers. Not a single question seemed new. The legal awareness questions tested me to the core. After attempting a couple of dozen questions, I finally paused to check my progress in the paper. I had just under an hour left and my number of attempts barely touched the 3 digit mark.

Now it was simply a game of Russian Roulette. I randomly jumped between sections and attempted questions which I could. There was no method to my madness.

After a lot of sweat and toil, I reached an attempt of 168. With 5 minutes to go, I lost my patience and stopped attempting any further.

Once the exam was over, I came out of the center and was mobbed by my students who had similar experience to mine. A lot of moans and curses were heard about the toughness of the Math and Reasoning section, the unexpected emergence of Legal awareness questions and the overall inability to attempt many questions.

My first prediction on that day was that the overall cutoffs would drastically plunge as compared to the previous editions of the exam.

This was just the tip of the iceberg.

Come 20th May. The results were announced. Students were sorely disappointed at their low scores. A common feeling across board was that, the score obtained was at least 30-35 marks lower than expected.

A common clamor for the question paper and answer key arose across the country. After a lot of delay, the committee mailed an 'answer key' and the student's key to each student. Fantastic. Except for the fact that the student had no clue which answer corresponded to what question. A key without the question paper is about as useful as an oar in the middle of the ocean without a boat.

A day before the publication of the first merit list, the committee released the question paper with marked answers.

Problems galore!

1. The question paper was not the same for all students. The students received questions in shuffled order during the exam. No problems there. Except - the published question paper gave no clue to the student as to which answer of his corresponded to which question. No way of tallying the answers.

2. There were numerous answers in the question paper which were apparently marked incorrectly. The wording in many questions were ambiguous. Students quickly identified these errors and brought them to the notice of the committee.

Current Status:

The committee has now put up this notice on the official website:

CLAT-15 first allotment list - delay regarding

On uploading of the question papers with answer keys on the

CLAT website, representations have been received from some

candidates wherein they have questioned accuracy of answers of

certain questions. Taking into cognisance these representations, an

expert committee has been constituted to look into the matter.

Publication of the proposed first indicative allotment list is,

therefore, withheld till a final view is taken on these

representations.

Candidates shall be informed about the next date of publication of

first indicative allotment list in due course.

Convener,

Implementation Committee

What will happen next?

Scenario 1: There is no change in the rankings of the student. In this case, how does the exam conducting agency justify the fact that students with the right answer got negative marks for the same question that a student who answered it incorrectly scored on.

Scenario 2: There is a change in the answer key and hence the overall results and rankings. In this case, how does the exam conducting agency justify the fact that students who previously scored high on the test and hence gave up other confirmed admissions might now lose out their dream college.

For example, let's say I scored in the top 50 ranks in CLAT and also cracked the AILET. Secure in the belief that a top 50 rank ensures a seat at NLSIU Bangalore, I gave up my seat at NLU-D. Now, in the rejig of the results, if my rank goes to 60, which puts NLSIU beyond my reach, I would now be forced to select some other institute which ordinarily I might not have. I would have secured admission at NLU-D if NLSIU was not available to me.

Scenario 3: The exam conducting agency decided to re-conduct the exam. This is a nightmare on so many different levels. Informing all students, preparing a new question paper (which frankly speaking, most students would refuse to believe is fair), administering the test, compiling the results and so on. The entire exercise would take another month - at the least. The admission processes at other (non CLAT) institutes would be over by them. Would students be ready to appear for the test once again?

There seems to be no win-win situation for the students in the foreseeable future. It's a nerve wrecking situation and only time will tell what will be the final outcome of the great CLAT 2015.

Champions

We all know such people around us who have achieved great levels of success in their lives. It could be that class topper who was always cited as an example to the other poor lesser mortals in his class... or the athlete in school who always seemed to excel in any physical endeavor, it could be the girl next door who did well in her entrance exams and got admission to a coveted institute, or that batch-mate who bagged a plum position with a much sought after company.

While it becomes repetitive - and oft annoying - to be compared with them, there is that rare moment when one does tend to ponder on what helps these people achieve what they have achieved? What can I do to achieve the same?

While there is no single answer - no magic mantra - that can help the masses, there are certain common traits that I've observed in such people over the years.

Now I know, the things that I am about to mention below, may sound cliched and oft-repeated. But then, the truth is never something extraordinary. It is the little ordinary things that sums up to create extraordinary achievements.

1. Focus
2. Discipline
3. Hard work
4. Never say die - attitude
5. The willingness / openness to learn
6. The ability to self-introspect and constantly raise the bar
7. The determination to accept nothing but the best
8. The ability to manage time well

School students who have achieved great feats during this school years often tend to be those who are tagged with the label 'all rounder'. Apart from academics, these students tend to be good at one or more extra curricular activities. The epithet of 'dumb-jock' is more often than not negated by good athletes as they are well above average in their academics as well.

College students who go on to achieve great things in life are the ones who have scored well on their test papers and have participated a lot in other activities as well.

Bottom-line... being a well rounded personality, with the ability to manage one's own time may emerge as one of the key mantras for overall success.

Cheers.

The Time to Start

As teachers who prepare students for various post-std 12 entrance exams, we're often asked different variations of the same questions:

'What is the right time to start preparing for entrance exams?'
'How much time is required to prepare for an entrance exam?'

There is no simple answer to this question.

I've tried to list some factors which you might consider before making a choice.

1. Which entrance exam are we talking about?
Some exams (like the Engineering or Medical kind) are very technical in nature. On the other hand, entrance exams for fields like Law, Hotel Management or Business Management, are general in nature. General aptitude tests examine your basic aptitude for language (primarily English), numbers and logic.

2. What is your aptitude level?
Some students have a natural aptitude for language and/or numbers. The education imparted at School level is often adequate for them. As their fundamentals are in place, they find it very easy to crack aptitude tests without any extra preparation. On the other hand, some students either fail to get adequate fundamental knowledge at school level. The reason for this could be a fault in either the school system or the student's ability/interest in learning. Such students may require additional coaching if they are serious about cracking entrance exams.

3. How much time do you take to grasp concepts?
Some students require a longer period of time to learn, understand and internalize basic concepts. Some students feel a time crunch when it comes to striking a balance between preparation for entrance tests and school board exams. Such students can start their preparations well over an year in advance. Those students who can manage their time for entrance test preparation and board exam preparations can afford to start preparing for entrance tests at the same time that their Std. 12 begins. Those who do not feel comfortable in devoting time for entrance test preparation along with board exam preparations; but are confident that they can grasp concepts in a short time; can opt to start intensive preparations for entrance tests in the 4-6 weeks that may normally be available between the end of boards and the entrance exam date.

All in all, it's a matter of personal ability. Students (and their parents) must analyze their strengths and weaknesses and then make the choice of selecting the appropriate preparation time period.

As usual, one must NOT blindly follow FRIENDS or TRENDS.

All the best!

Open Letter to students who have started their College Life

To all my Students who are about to enter college,

You are about to enter into a new phase of your life, a phase which is full of exciting new possibilities, new avenues, new friends and new growth.

You are stepping out of the rigid school system and stepping into college life. You will have tremendous opportunities to learn and explore new things, both good and bad.

Remember! You always have a choice at every step. It is in your hands to select the path that you wish to tread. Peer pressure, the desire to look cool, to enjoy life ('yeh zindagi na milegi dobara', YOLO) will present you with many moral and ethical dilemmas.

Remember! Always follow your head and your heart. Before making any choice, just ask yourself, 5 years down the line, when I graduate and step into my career, would I be proud of what I am about to do or will I strive to hide it? The answer will make your choice an easy one to make.

The temptation to bunk classes, to hang out with friends at Kitlees and Gallas, to spend all your waking hours watching movies and playing games and squander all your precious time will be immense. By no means be a nerd and a bookworm, but make sure your judiciously divide your time between work and pleasure.

It is so easy to blame teachers, administration and the system for our failures. But remember, it is the same set of teachers, administration and the system that also gives rise to the toppers and achievers in your class.

The school system is all about teacher giving students knowledge. In college, it is up to the student to extract all that (s)he can from the teachers.

Make optimum utilization of the time and resources that you get at your institution.

Make us proud.

Wish you all the very best!