Law was once the most sought-after profession for young people. Post-independence, the ‘coming to prominence’ of engineering, medical and management studies, ate into its popularity. Now, with private companies increasingly hiring law graduates in their legal teams, law as a profession is again hogging the limelight.
Popular or not, the entire process of becoming a lawyer is not an easy one. To give yourself the best chance, you need to pass out from one of the top law colleges. However, it is mighty tough to get admission to these colleges. Most government and private law schools and law universities accept the scores of the most prestigious national level and state level law entrance examinations in the country for admission to graduate and postgraduate programs. Some law colleges conduct their own tests.
Competition is stiff. You need to slog really hard and at the same time be smart to crack these law entrance exams. First of all, you have to decide which law entrance exam will you sit for and whether you should attempt more than one law entrance exam. Your choice will largely depend on which law school or law university you want to take admission in. Here is a list of the most popular law entrance exams and some of the law schools and law universities that accept their scores:
CLAT
The CLAT is probably the most prestigious law entrance exam among them all and the most difficult to crack. It is conducted by the Consortium of NLUs. If you want to take admission to the National Law Universities like NLSIU, Bangalore and NALSAR, Hyderabad, then you have to take this test. Private law colleges like the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Law College, Dehradun, to name a few, also depend on CLAT scores for student intake.
Separate CLAT exam patterns are followed for the undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The CLAT for the undergraduate level is of 150 marks. There will be 150 questions. Each correct answer will carry one positive mark. 0.25 will be deducted for every wrong answer. For the postgraduate level, the CLAT is of 120 marks. There will be 120 questions. The marking scheme is the same. The duration of the CLAT is two hours.
AILET
The AILET is also very popular with law aspirants. It is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU-D) exclusively for admission to the University for their 5 years integrated undergraduate and 2 years postgraduate programs. As per the NIRF ranking of 2020 for law schools, NLU-D is the second-best law university in the country after NLSIU, Bangalore. So, if you want to study in NLU-D, you have to crack the AILET.
The total number of questions in the AILET is 150. Each correct answer will carry one positive mark. 0.25 will be deducted for every wrong answer. The duration of the AILET is one and half hours.
SLAT
The Symbiosis International University (SIU) conducts the SLAT for admission to its four law schools-SLS Pune, SLS Noida, SLS Nagpur and SLS Hyderabad. Among them, Symbiosis Law School Pune is the only private law school to feature in the top 10 of the NIRF 2020 list of best law schools in India.
SLAT is for the undergraduate level. The total number of questions in the SLAT is 90. Each question carries one positive mark. There is no negative marking. The duration of the SLAT is two hours.
LSAT
LSAT India is conducted by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). It is the Indian variant of the LSAT conducted in the United States. Many private law schools and universities like the Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, B.M.S. College of Law, Bangalore, Chanakya Law College, Rudrapur and so on consider LSAT scores.
There are approximately 92 questions in the LSAT. There is no negative marking. The duration of the exam is two hours twenty minutes.
MH CET Law
The State Common Entrance Test Cell of Maharashtra organizes the country’s biggest state-level law entrance test-MH CET Law. Students from all over India can participate in the test for admission to the 3-year and 5-year undergraduate programs in law schools and law universities in Maharashtra like Government Law College, Mumbai, University of Mumbai Law Academy, ILS Law College, Pune, etc.
There are 150 questions in MH CET Law. The total marks are 200. The duration of the test is three hours.
Preparing for Law Entrance Exams
The law entrance exams mentioned in this article are difficult to crack but not impossible. If you can think it through and devise a proper plan, you may find success. In such times as these, it is best to enroll in online law coaching classes. If you search the net for online law coaching, you will find a lot of options. Manu Law Classes is one law coaching centre that has been diligently training scores of students who have found success in the CLAT, AILET and other law examinations in India. The online law coaching centre is currently offering fifteen days free trial for CLAT 2022/23 preparation. If you want, you can attend these classes and find out for yourself.
Online coaching centres generally offer one or two-year courses. Some offer crash courses as well. Whatever online preparatory course you choose for cracking the law exam of your choice, keep aside enough time for revision after you have completed the syllabus. Also, attempt as many mock tests as you can. Remember practice makes a man perfect.
So, what are you waiting for?
Start your preparation and work hard to achieve success.
The country needs good lawyers.
