There are currently 23 National Law Universities leading law education in the country. The NLUs offer admissions in various undergraduate & postgraduate programs. If you’re aiming to enter any of the NLUs in India, then you need to clear CLAT with good scores. Let’s know more about the CLAT exam.
What is the CLAT exam?
CLAT is popularly known as the Common Law Admission Test. It is a national-level entrance exam that is a gateway for all the candidates seeking admission in UG and PG courses offered by 22 NLUs. Not only NLUs but other private law colleges in India also accept CLAT scores.
The CLAT exam is conducted in a pen-and-paper mode; the UG paper comprises 150 MCQs from five subjects, including Current Affairs, Quantitative Techniques, English Language, Legal Reasoning, and Logical Reasoning.
Only NLU Delhi is not a part of CLAT
NLU Delhi conducts its own entrance exam called AILET for admission to BA LLB, LLM, and PhD programs.
Students often wonder why NLU Delhi is the only National Law University that doesn’t accept CLAT scores.
In the year 2012, Dr. Ranbir Singh, founder of NLU Delhi, who was very instrumental in bringing CLAT, told “Bar and Bench”;
“One of the reasons was that, NLU Delhi would be the 13th law school in India. So when students filled in their order of preferences, I would be the 13th choice.” And he didn’t want to be the lowest on the preference list.
The VC also cited the administrative and financial issues for NLU Delhi as not becoming part of CLAT.
Today, NLU Delhi has become one of India’s most prestigious law schools and has ranked 2nd in the NIRF Ranking of law schools in 2020. Also, NLU Delhi has successfully maintained its top position for the past 3-4 years.
To know more about the AILET exam read:
https://lawpreptutorial.com/ailet-2021-complete-guide/
CLAT Eligibility Criteria
The Eligibility Criteria for admission to 5-year LLB program is discussed below:
For UG Program
Qualifying exam: The candidate must have qualified 10+2 or any equivalent exam.
Minimum marks required:
- General – 45%
- SC/ST – 40%
Age limit: No upper age limit has yet been prescribed by the Consortium for UG courses.
Note: The affiliate colleges have separate eligibility criteria, so the candidates need to visit the concerned university’s website to get the latest updates.
CLAT Exam Pattern
The CLAT exam pattern for the UG program is given below:
| Category | UG programme |
| Duration of the Exam | 2 hours |
| Mode of the Exam | Offline |
| Type of Questions | MCQs; comprehension-based questions |
| Number of Questions | 150 |
| Subjects | Current Affairs including GK, English Language, Quantitative Techniques, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning |
| Total Marks | 150 marks |
| Marking scheme | One mark for each correct answer.-0.25 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer. |
CLAT Syllabus
| Subjects | Number of Questions | Marks | Weightage (%) |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 35-39 | 35 – 39 | 23.33 – 26 |
| English Language | 28-32 | 28 – 32 | 18.66 – 21.33 |
| Quantitative Techniques | 13-17 | 13 – 17 | 8.66 – 11.33 |
| Logical Reasoning | 28-32 | 28 – 32 | 18.66 – 21.33 |
| Legal Reasoning | 35-39 | 35 – 39 | 23.33 – 26 |
| Total | 150 | 150 | 100 |
Important Points from CLAT Syllabus
- The Current Affairs and Legal Reasoning sections carry the maximum weightage.
- The 2nd most important sections are Logical Reasoning and English Language.
- The minimum weightage holds the Quantitative Technique section.
- Finally, the weightage may vary between the sections. You can’t overlook any section if you wish to score a good rank and crack any top-ranked NLU.
Also Read: Why NLUs Are Worth The Hard Work?
NLU Selection Criteria
The 22 National Law Universities in India that accept CLAT scores have their separate cut-off scores. Candidates who qualify for the cut-off scores receive a selection call from the NLU. The selection process to get admission to the NLUs is:
- Appear for the CLAT exam;
- Based on the candidates’ performance in CLAT, NLUs will shortlist the students.
There is no Group Discussion or Personal Interview round for shortlisting the candidates. The selection process is completely based on the merit scored by the candidates. The better the score, the higher is the chance to get admission to India’s top NLUs.
FAQs
Q1. When will CLAT 2022 be conducted?
Ans. CLAT 2022 is scheduled to be held on May 8, 2022. The consortium has declared the exam dates on its official website https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/ .
Q2. How many times is CLAT conducted in a year?
Ans. The CLAT exam was conducted once a year until now. But in a notification released on November 14, 2021, the consortium announced that the exam would be conducted twice a year.
Q3. Which exam is more difficult, CLAT or AILET?
Ans. The difficulty level of CLAT is moderate, while the AILET is usually difficult as per the candidates’ feedback and expert views. There are around 3000 UG and 1000 PG seats offered by the NLUs. However, NLU Delhi conducts AILET for 120 UG seats and 80 PG seats. Since the seats are very less, competition in AILET is quite high.
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