Common Law Admission Test is one and the only entrance door to get admission in National Law Universities. It is the national level exam conducted by the consortium of NLUs headquartered in Bangalore and the 22 NLUs have joined it as founding members.
CLAT exams are conducted every year for both UG and PG programs are very common among students specifically for Undergraduate courses. This is evident from the fact that every year more than 60,000 students participate in this exam for around 2,175 seats, and similar is the condition for Postgraduate position. Therefore seeing at the level of competition level it is very important for participants to be well prepared.
Here are some of the preparation tips which every aspirant can follow to get crack this exam:
Tips for preparation
Tips for both CLAT UG and PG aspirants
Well versed with the syllabus: For getting success in any it is very much necessary for the candidates to get well versed with the syllabus of the exam and the topics covered. Without the proper knowledge of the syllabus, the candidates might lose the chance of cracking exams as in exams of such type there is a huge competition including those of serious students.
Time Management: As the CLAT exam includes a wide area of subjects to be studied and covered, it is thereby necessary for candidates to divide their time in such an order to give each subject time for the preparation and get well equipped for the exam.
Also, time management mustn’t be only in preparation time but also during the exam. That is, candidates should divide the time for attempting questions so that there is no mess in the last minute of examination.
Proper study plan: It is very necessary that candidates should have a proper study plan so that they can analyze weaker sections and can easily work on them within the time limit; however it is also necessary that the study plan so made should also be amended.
Sources to study: It is observed that students often get confused about which book to refer to, which online source to refer to, which results, in the end, referring to various sources for one topic. Therefore it is recommended that students to always refer any one particular source, as different authors have a different writing style and different methods of explanation, which leads to confusion in the mind of readers and also wastage of time.
Practice as much mock possible: For qualifying any competitive exam candidates must not just study but also take the regular test (mock) so as know where they stand. As sample papers mostly carry last year papers or similar questions from last year which helps candidates to know the question pattern, various concepts, and problem-solving skills, and most importantly it helps candidates in time management during solving question papers.
Tips for UG candidates
CLAT-UG includes a list of five major subjects which are
- English: 28 to 32 questions (almost 20% of the paper)
- Quantitative Techniques: 13-17 questions (almost 10% of the paper)
- Logical Reasoning: 28-32 questions (almost 20% of the paper)
- Legal Reasoning: 35- 39 questions (almost 25% of the paper)
- Current Affairs including GK: 35-39 questions (almost 25% of the paper)
The candidates should divide their preparation time according to the weightage of questions each subject holds.
Preparation tips English:
- According to the new pattern, the question would be comprehension based in which the topic may vary from technical to scientific-based, however, candidates are need not to worry about their having prior knowledge concerning these subjects. Therefore candidates should have reading habits; they can keep track of daily newspapers, read editorial sections. Keep reading and practicing as many as passages as they can.
- Candidates are also required to have a good hold on grammar, for that you can refer our grammar section specifically designed according to the new pattern.
- It’s not possible to have a good vocabulary in one day and candidates to know each meaning of the word therefore for this they can ensure that while reading newspapers or any English show they search for the terms words they don’t know about, and make a target to learn every day 10 to 15 words.
Quantitative Techniques:
- It’s better to practice as much as questions possible from the 10th standard books for getting a better approach with the questions in exams.
- It’s just not important to solve questions right it is also important to do it in a fast manner, therefore candidates are advised to also look for shortcuts.
- For more reference for material candidates can also refer to last year’s questions and for new suited questions, they can refer the LTJ practice questions.
Logical Reasoning:
- Since CLAT has changed the pattern, there are a lot of changes in this section, however, there are certain questions from last year which will be included, therefore practicing from last year would have some help in solving questions.
- But as it is comprehension based test this practicing English language, legal reasoning, and logical reasoning together would be better.
- Solving logical reasoning question needs a lot of practice for which candidates can refer Model Papers provided by consortium or are also available at our site.
Legal Reasoning:
- Since English, Logical and Legal reasoning is altogether similar in some kind that is in all the passage-based questions will be asked therefore the preparation tips can be followed similarly as that of others.
- Since in a new pattern, it is required that principles are required to be identified from the passage but it is also advisable to also refer last year’s paper as this will help in analyzing the principle and examining the facts.
Current Affairs including GK
- This section is very wide and requires constant preparation.
- For this section constant reading of the newspaper, editorial section and various other online sources providing such information can be referred.
- You can also refer our news section for the same also for weekly roundups you can visit our youtube channel “The Entrant”
Tips for PG candidates
For PG candidates it is important to note that this time there will be 50 questions of MCQ type, 4 long essay descriptive type questions.
Therefore for them, it is recommended that they should have revised all the major portions and should have strong writing ability.
List of top law colleges:
Here is the list of top law colleges in India, however it is to be noted that this list is prepared by HRD Ministry, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) to be released on June 11, 2020.
| Institutes | Rank |
| National Law School of India University (Bengaluru) | 1 |
| National Law University( New Delhi) | 2 |
| Nalsar University of Law (Hyderabad) | 3 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Kharagpur) | 4 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridicial Sciences (Kolkata) | 5 |
| National Law University (Jodhpur) | 6 |
| Symbiosis Law School (Pune) | 7 |
| Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi) | 8 |
| Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar) | 9 |
| The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (Patiala) | 10 |
| National Law Institute University(Bhopal) | 11 |
| Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (Bhubaneswar) | 12 |
| Indian Law Institute (New Delhi) | 13 |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (Lucknow) | 14 |
| Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College of Law (Visakhapatnam) | 15 |
However it also to be noted that different institutes have different ways of admission certain institutes directly takes in admission while others take either through CLAT or other entrance exams. Few other major law entrance exams are:
SLAT:
SLAT stands for Symbiosis Law Admission Test, which is conducted for the entrance to Symbiosis Law institute and conducted by Symbiosis International (Deemed) University for the admission of five year integrated law course BA LLB (Hons.) and BBA LLB (Hons.).
This test is conducted for four law schools which are Symbiosis Law School (SLS) Pune, SLS Noida, SLS Hyderabad and SLS Nagpur. The mode of examination is online for the duration of 2 hrs. and 30 min. total seats they offer is almost of about 1080, hence it can be said that there is a huge competition.
Eligibility:
- Who has already or is waiting for the result (condition supplied that they will have to submit the proof of submission at the time final admission) and have been qualified from any national and state board of education.
- Minimum marks required is 45% however for SC/ST it is 40%.
- For BA LLB (Hons.): candidates should have studied arts or social science subjects.
For BBA LLB (Hons.): Candidates should have studied Commerce/ Mathematics/ Science subjects
AILET
This exam is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU-D) for the admission to NLU Delhi, unlike other NLU which take admission through CLAT, NLU-D is the only one that has its own separate entrance exam. The law courses offered is for BA LLB, LL.M, and PhD programs and the number of seats offered is almost of 123 seats in which 5 are reserved for Foreign Nationals (OCI/PIO) and 5 Foreign Nationals Seats and about 110 seats which includes SC/ST/OBC/ EWS.
MH CET
MH CET is yet another law entrance exam conducted on State level by the State of Maharashtra for the law courses to be offered at the state level law colleges. There are almost 120 law colleges offering upto 10000 seats for the five year law course.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidate must be an India Citizen.
- Candidate must have passed 10+2 from state or national board exams from any recognized educational institute.
- Should have secured 45% marks or if the candidate is belonging to SC/ST category of Maharashtra State, then 40% marks are required by candidate.
CULEE
It is an exam for the entrance to Christ University Law Entrance Exam, it is University level exam conducted by Christ University for almost upto offering 300 seats. The forms as well as the exam both are in online mode and offers BA LLB and BBA LLB law courses.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidate must have passed 10+2 from state or national board exams from any recognized educational institute.
- Candidates from any stream can (Commerce/ Humanities/ Science) can apply.
BVP CET Law
It is an exam for getting entrance to Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune. It is a university level exam usually takes upto 540 students every year offering law courses BBA LLB 5 year law course and LLB for 3 year law course.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidate must have passed 10+2 from state or national board exams from any recognized educational institute.
- Should have secured 45% marks or if the candidate is belonging to SC/ST category of Maharashtra State, then 40% marks are required by candidate
AIL LET
This exam is an entrance door to the Army Institute of Law for the admission of BA LLB course, which is conducted in online mode. Almost of 80 seats are offered for this exam including the quota for Army Personnel. It is an institute level exam conducted in 32 cities of India.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidate must have passed 10+2 from state or national board exams from any recognized educational institute.
- Should have secured at least 45% marks.
However, candidates qualifying from open university or clearing 12th compartment papers are not eligible for this exam.
DU LLB
This is an entrance for getting admission into Delhi University. It is an exam conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) which offers 3 years LLB course at the Campus Law Centre, Law Centre-I and Law Centre- II of Delhi University. More than 2900 LLB seats are offered for law centers through conduction of exams at national level at 18 test cities.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Candidates from general category should have secured 50% marks in graduation or post graduation degree from any recognized Indian or Foreign university.
- Candidates from OBC should have secured 45% aggregate marks, and from SC/ST category 40% aggregate marks are required in graduation or post graduation degree from any recognized Indian or Foreign university.
Likewise there are various other entrance exams which are conducted. It is also to be noted that all the exams almost have similar course and can be cracked using similar exam strategy, therefore while preparing for CLAT candidates can also fill examination forms of such other exams.
We from the team LTJ wish you all, all the very best for your upcoming exams.
