Getting a good rank either in CLAT or AILET is an aspiration of every law aspirant who is going to start with their law degree just after school. Months of hard work along with continuous motivation are at stake when students aim to secure a top rank in any of the above exams. However, one question that is common to every student preparing for such exams is- what if I did not get a good rank in CLAT or AILET? Do I have any other alternative options where I can pursue law from a reputed university? The answer is simply yes.
CLAT or AILET is merely an exam to secure admission to a limited number of universities in India. These exams are not the only exams that can provide admission into a law school. Instead, it is always advisable that students should anticipate such situations and should always keep their options open where they should consider alternative options for pursuing a 5-year law degree. Some of the alternative options available for a law aspirant willing to pursue a 5-year law degree are:
a) State-level entrance exams- Some of the Indian States have their own entrance examination to give admission into their state-run universities such as MHCET for Maharashtra Universities; AP LAWCET for Andhra Pradesh Universities; TS LAWCET for Telangana Universities. Out of these exams, MHCET is considered to be one of the toughest exams and may even be equivalent to AILET or CLAT. Under these exams, admission is given into famous and reputed colleges such as Government Law College, Rizvi Law College, Indian Law Society College, Pune, etc. This exam is considered one of the toughest exams for students who are not the domicile of Maharashtra because 90% of seats in this exam are reserved for students belonging to Maharashtra whereas only 10% of seats are All India Seats. The criteria may differ from college to college and depending on their funding structure, but in any case, preference is given to students of their respective states, making competition tougher for students out of a particular state’s domicile.
b) College-specific exams- Some of India’s private colleges that hold a great reputation conduct their own entrance exam. Some of these colleges enjoying high repute are Symbiosis Law College, which has its own exam that is SLAT; Jindal Global Law University, which takes admission through LSAT; Christ University, which takes admission through CU LEE, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, which takes admission through IPU CET, etc. Therefore, students should be on a hunt to make a list of private colleges that take admission through their own entrance exams and must prepare for them as well.
c) Joint-Entrance exams for a pool of universities- Some of the universities altogether take admission through conducting a common entrance test. One of the important examples is CUET which is the Common University Entrance Test. This test, as explained by the National Testing Agency, provides a single window opportunity for students to seek admission in any of the Central Universities, and other participating universities (State Universities, Autonomous Institutions, Private Universities, and deemed Universities) across the country. Therefore, CUET holds solid ground these days and is one of the crucial exams that a student should not miss out on. Similarly, LSAT India is also an entrance exam that can provide students with multiple options as many reputed colleges solely take admission based on scores in LSAT India. Hence, the joint entrance exams are an important alternative to secure admission into a good 5-year law college.
d) Direct entry into colleges- Some colleges have a policy to directly take admission into their college based on marks obtained in 12th class results. A few universities other than 12th marksheet also conduct a short interview/counseling to assess the critical knowledge of the student. Some colleges may also consider the score obtained in CLAT as an alternate, depending on what students want to show in their admission. Hence, direct entry into colleges can be an option to be explored by students who are enthusiastic to seek admission into a five-year law college.
e) Doing law from a foreign college- Doing a degree in law foreign university or college can be a good option that students can explore. However, one must do background research as to whether students are accepted to practice in India after the course or whether they can apply for the Bar exam in India or not. Nonetheless, securing admission is also not an easy task in the world’s globally reputed colleges and each college has a different application form. However, doing law from a foreign college can always be a manageable alternative.
Hence, students should not feel distressed if they do not get good ranks in AILET or CLAT, and rather students should immediately keep these backup options in mind, and comprehensively prepare for their entrance exams by not just focusing on CLAT or AILET but also on OLETS i.e., Other Law entrance tests.
At Manu Law Classes, it is our motto to prepare students not for exams but for life. We ensure that students are not forced to rote learn, and rather, we intend that students are able to understand the concepts that can help them all their lives. We understand that not every student is perfect in all the subjects, but we all believe that with our common passion for hard work shared with students, we make students ready to beat the exam with success. or any queries related to the CLAT exam or OLET, or even for the purposes of counseling, kindly contact us at +91 9971444054, +91 9971335561, or you can visit our Website and we will be happy to help you.
