Your Moment of Truth – The Endgame

7 days – That’s all the time you have left on the countdown to CLAT 2019. By now, you must be pretty sure as to where you stand and how you might fare with whatever preparation you have attempted thus far. You could be one of those bright-eyed kids who have been scoring consistently well in the mock tests of the several coaching institutes and whose name is always at the top of the so-called “rank list”. You could be one of those who are desperately trying hard to make ends meet to reach a particular target and yet, somewhere you’re going wrong.

Whatever be the case, your fate is almost decided. Not quiet, but almost. Because apart from your preparation, there are plenty of other factors that play a vital role in determining if you have secured a seat to one of the coveted law schools in the country.

Unless you are hiding a top-secret time machine under your bed, there is really nothing you can do about your preparation and the shape it has taken. If there was anything that could have been done, it should have been done a very long time ago. An attempt to conquer insurmountable weaknesses at this hour is a mistake for reasons that I cannot lay enough stress on. They continue to remain “your weaknesses” for a particular reason. You chose to keep them hanging in the air all this while, without ever finding the desire to conquer them. Why would you venture out to convert them into your assets when they are just going to rear their ugly heads at you during the week when you need to remain your calmest?

Instead, focus on your strengths in this last week. There is no “brushing up” for a competitive examination and its really pointless carrying your preparatory guides to the examination centre (geez, please don’t do that!). The only section of the CLAT that needs revision at this point is Current Affairs and like the ever Good Samaritans, we have just the thing you need: Monthly GK Mock Sets, ranging from March 2018 to May 2019. These sets should act as the “revision” you’re looking for and at the cost of boasting, we just might help you soar that despicably annoying low score in the GK section.

While preparing for any competitive examination, there exists a typical grey area that aspirants are receptive to improving but need to work on through practice or better conceptual understanding. If you have converted a few of your weaknesses into strengths, then this week could be dedicated to going over what you’ve learnt. For example, you might have been absolutely terrified of Mathematics at the beginning of your preparation but somewhere down the road, you realized the immense value those twenty marks could add to your final score. You might not have transformed into a math wiz, but whatever progress you’ve made, requires a final glance. Do this for every other section or sub-section, where you have gained confidence because you cannot afford to blank out and let a past fear wash over you.

Avoid attempting fresh mock tests in this week. This is particularly for those of you who are easily dejected by a poor performance in these tests. An abysmal score could create a severe dent in your attitude and could affect your morale. Additionally, try to avoid wasting time in analyzing these mock sets. Many coaching institutes stress on the importance of this exercise but there is very little “analyzing” that you can indulge in right now and whatever insight you gain on your performance would really not reap immediate results. However, you may go through the General Knowledge section of these mock sets as they serve as a good means of revision.

You might not be in the thick of preparation right now but that doesn’t mean you Netflix your way through this week. All the series/movies are going to be patiently waiting for you and in case you’re a GoT fan, try to steer clear from indulging yourself in scrolling through countless memes and take up an iron-willed resolve like Jon Snow by responding to the never-ending fan theories coming your way with a “I-DON’T-WANT-IT.”

At the end of the day, you have to understand that there are certain factors that are not within your control and there is absolutely no point pondering over the possibility of things going south. In any manner, you cannot influence the difficulty level of the paper and once it is before you, you’ve got to go with the flow and hit it with your best shot. Lady Luck is not one to be tamed or played with and if it is written, then it will be. Sorry for sounding preachy at this point about matters that are beyond this realm but I hope you understand that in case it is not your lucky day, then it is not your fault.

This is your moment of truth. This is the time you finally take a call on how best you’re going to make all those endless days of preparation count. You are going to reap what you’ve sowed. And you are now in the endgame! 🙂

Zainab.

P.S. Do write to us at clatgyan@gmail.com if you would like to rant out about how lost/hopeless you feel at the moment. We will try to rid you off the cold feet! 🙂