INTERVIEW: Sheetal Rakesh Mishra, AIR 215, Shares Study Hacks for CLAT PG
Be honest, what made you think, “Yeah, I can crack CLAT in one month”?
Honestly, I didn’t really think I could crack it in one month. It wasn’t that kind of confidence. I just wanted to give it a fair chance. I knew the time was short, but I also knew that if I worked hard for that one month, I wouldn’t have the regret of thinking “maybe I should have tried.”
For me, it was less about certainty and more about wanting to say to myself later that I truly gave it my best shot.
Did this start as a serious plan or a “let’s see what happens” moment?
It started somewhere in between, honestly. I genuinely wanted to appear for CLAT, but at the beginning I wasn’t entirely sure how much time or effort I was ready to commit to it. It wasn’t a perfectly structured plan from day one.
But once I made up my mind to give it a real shot, I decided there was no point doing it half-heartedly. So I got to work and tried to make the most of the time I had.
If your one-month prep had a movie title, what would it be?
Maybe “10,000 Days of Bare Acts.” Of course, it was only a month, but by the end of it, it definitely felt like I had spent 10,000 days reading statutes, judgments, and solving mocks. Or maybe “The Curious Case of the Last-Minute LLM,” which would be a slightly dramatic story of judgments, mock tests, and a constant race against time.
What did a typical day in your CLAT prep life look like: chaotic, disciplined, or controlled madness?
Chaotic, for sure. But it was a kind of disciplined chaos, if that makes sense. I always started with reading bare acts, that’s one habit I’ve kept even now. For topics that felt complicated, I would watch YouTube videos because they made the concepts easier to understand.
I also tried to solve mocks for at least 45 minutes a day. Along with that, I spent time reading landmark as well as recent judgments, which really helped in building a better legal understanding.
Some days were very productive, and some days were honestly just confusing. But no matter how the day went, there was always at least a little bit of CLAT in it.
Any study hacks that saved you precious time (and sanity)?
Definitely bare acts, judgments, and mock tests. Bare acts helped me understand the law in its simplest and most direct form, without overcomplicating things. Reading judgments, both landmark and recent ones, helped me see how those laws actually work in real situations.
And mocks were probably the biggest lifesaver. They helped me understand the exam pattern, improve my speed, and most importantly, learn from my mistakes. Honestly, analysing mocks sometimes taught me more than studying new material.
Did you ever feel like quitting mid-prep?
Not really. As I mentioned earlier, I genuinely wanted to give it a fair chance, so quitting was never really an option. That said, there were definitely moments when I doubted whether it would actually work out in the end.
Whenever that happened, I usually allowed myself a short break, a quick freak-out session, if I’m being honest, and then tried to pick myself up and get back to studying. Sometimes stepping away for a little while helped me return with a clearer head and a bit more determination.
How did you deal with the pressure of knowing time was not on your side?
I tried to take it one day at a time, sometimes even one hour at a time. Instead of thinking about how little time I had left, I broke everything down into smaller blocks and focused on what I could realistically get done in the next few hours.
In hindsight, it might sound a little strange, but I genuinely started thinking in terms of hours rather than days. Somehow that made the pressure feel more manageable.
How did you feel when you found out you got into NALSAR?
Honestly, it felt a little unreal. For a moment, it didn’t quite sink in. There had been so many stressful days of uncertainty, especially with all the discussions and challenges around the CLAT questions, that I wasn’t even sure what my final rank would look like.
But when the result finally came out, all that anxiety suddenly felt worth it. It was one of those moments where the stress, the waiting, and the constant second-guessing finally made sense.
What did this one-month journey teach you about yourself?
It taught me that we often underestimate what we are capable of when we’re under pressure. A month may seem short, but if you use it well, it can completely change the outcome.
Do you think confidence matters as much as preparation? Why?
Definitely, because preparation without confidence can collapse during the exam. You need enough belief in yourself to stay calm, trust your instincts, and avoid overthinking every question. Because in the exam hall, panic can undo even the best preparation.
What would you say to someone who thinks it’s “too late” to start CLAT prep?
It might be late, but it’s rarely useless. Even a short period of focused preparation can improve your chances. The worst outcome isn’t failing, it’s not trying at all and always wondering “what if?”
Biggest myth about CLAT preparation you’d like to bust?
Probably the idea that you need months of coaching and a mountain of books to crack CLAT. It often feels like you’re supposed to read everything under the sun before the exam.
In reality, consistent practice, good reading habits, and understanding how the exam works are far more important than the number of resources you collect.
One piece of advice for students who want to aim high but doubt themselves.
Start anyway. Doubt usually disappears after you begin working, not before. Sometimes the biggest barrier is just convincing yourself to try.
Lastly but definitely not the least, If CLAT were a person, what would you say to it today?
I’d probably say, “You really had to make every option look correct, didn’t you?” But despite all the confusion and stress, I guess it was an adventure worth taking.
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Adtiya Aryan
Contributing author
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