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If you really need some one to mentor you, then there are cheaper options available than joining an institute.
Did all of this. Improved my scores in Mocks too. In the end, I was getting 97-98%ile in RC and CR, and overall around 92-95%ile. However, I screwed up on D-day, particularly due to the shitty management. Honestly, they should hand it over to NTA. Mofo was blabbering throughout and sporadically was belling some weird alarm - time notice, Good Lord!
So OP your takeaway is: You can mess up even after doing all of this; Don't take a drop; Have a backup.
I never joined any coaching and prepared for CLAT along with my boards and managed to get into one of the Top 5 NLUs.
I'll provide you with the names of the coaching, and also give you some tips if you end up preparing on your own.
Firstly the coaching institutes:
1) CLAT Possible (Delhi and Lucknow)
2) Legal Edge (Bhopal only)
3) Career Launcher (Delhi)
4) Clat Prep (Jaipur)
Now if you plan to prepare all by yourself,
you can use the following books:
1) Logical Reasoning
RS Aggrawal: The f at book. But skip the 3rd part of the book with pictorials etc.
Do the first two parts. If you just want to practice verbal reasoning, you should buy the small white book of RS Aggrawal which just includes verbal reasoning bits.
NOTE: Don't use the syllogism techniques taught in RS Aggrawal, instead use the Venn Diagrams method.
This short tutorial was the best source I could find for mastering the Venn Diagrams during my prep:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhuF3CfgKa3bppaQ-sd5wF5tEFxEDdBgb
After you've done RS Aggrawal and some mock tests, switch to MK Pandey and complete it. Read it thoroughly and do every exercise. Prepare a separate register for each subject which would just include questions that you got wrong along with the answers.
After RS Aggrawal and MK Pandey, you should focus on speed and time management as well as Mocks and Online sources.
If you are adventurous and have time, you can also use Arun Sharma. It is a book for CAT but it really sets the bar high and would make you a Logic Wizard.
No more books required. The Mock Tests and Section Tests would do.
2) Maths
Take the important topics list from the Legal Edge YouTube video. (15 topics)
RS Aggrawal- Use it for the questions. Don't use the methods prescribed.
MK Tyra- Use it for the tricks.
A good YouTube channel that I used for preparing Quantitative Aptitude was Mahendra's Channel on YouTube
(https://youtube.com/c/MahendraGuruvideos). You can watch the videos on the topics which are mentioned in the Legal Edge video.
After all this, you should again repeat the mock test questions and the ones you got wrong. It is not about brute forcing, but actually learning about the number of question variations of each concept and topic.
Rest assured you'll do good if you know these variations.
3) English
DON'T use Wren and Martin. Unless you did school in a vernacular language or are genuinely weak in English, it helps very little in terms of preparation.
Buy SP Bakshi and/or HM Prasad. After doing these books and mock tests, go and solve Arun Sharma's RCs to humble yourself down and cry about low scores.
You don't necessarily have to read newspapers but if you have the time, go for it. You HAVE to read Norman Lewis. You can do quizzes on Vocabulary.com
There is a vocabulary app by Magoosh on the Playstore. That is a good resource too.
4) Legal Reasoning
AP Bhardwaj (With a pinch of salt). A BIG NO to the Universal Book unless you want to be confused.
Mock test questions and section-wise questions would be crucial.
Also, Legal Reasoning from Harsh Gagrani's book (The big fat guide).
5) GK
Make a register with important events.
GK Today news+ Quizzes, Cloud Affairs, LegalLE magazine, Darpan, Testbook App Quizzes etc.
Try to get hands on Compendiums from Telegram and read them.
Make a register for the questions you got wrong. This saved my ass as I got +3 marks in GK directly because of revising this register on the day of CLAT.
Mock tests and timing are key. Although it was much worse during my time when there were 200 questions. Try and do hard RCs and basically get comfortable with the language as it can make or break your final result.
Mock tests
1) Legal Edge
2) Clat Possible
3) Career Launcher ( Has the biggest pool of students so its a good indicator of preparations).
4) Clatapult ( Not many know about this one, but its a coaching provided by NUJS students and alumni. Their mocks are very well curated).
Personally, I chose Clatapult and Clat Possible but feel free to pick your own. Also be on the lookout for free All India Mock Tests that these coaching centres provide.
I was also able to buy a lot of books because I spent zilch on coaching institutes and instead used YouTube and Khan Academy to learn about any concept that I had a problem with.
Best of luck. Hope you bell the CLAT!
Honest general questions though: does where you go for CLAT prep really matter hugely? Are some much more expensive than others? Are there any free materials online that could provide similar value, or in order to crack CLAT do you really have to pay for it?