Hey folks, I need some advice for this. I am currently in a no-ranked law school and have completed the first year.
I gave clat in June 2022, got an abysmal rank due to preparing for 2-3 weeks (original plan was to do CA but I felt law was more in-sync with what I wanted to study), was getting a tier 3 nlu but settled for a college near ncr in desperation.
At that time I thought that I could do anything, was pretty excited for college so thought that I'd face all odds and land a good job despite being in a local college.
But man I was wrong.
The job prospects are really weak here. I have a good rank but even people in top 3 don't get a well paying job after hustling for 5 years.
It was at that time I thought that just maybe I can give clat again, looked into it and the consortium changed the date to December.
I tried to cope. But realised maybe studying for a year won't be so bad.
In January I started my preparation. I was really enthusiastic about it too, studied for clat while also doing college work.
But a week back, when I was about to fill my registration form someone told me that students start college from June/July and man.
The despair I hadn't felt for a long time came back again.
I will be 21 next year in May. Most who join an NLU are within 18-20, with 20 being on the slightly older side. I am scared I'd be too old.
On one hand my mock scores are amazing, have been consistently scoring in 100s, and if I do manage to get in, in a T1 then my job prospects would increase drastically, not to mention the extracurricular opportunities and the network.
On the other, I'd be older than most people who get in. I have already paid for the second year fees so I'll be letting that go too.
I have read a few threads on this site saying that graduating at 26 will be too late, part of me feels that too but part of me also wants to study in an environment with opportunities.
I'm extremely conflicted at this point and don't know who to turn to. Can't talk to parents since they don't know I have been preparing, friends aren't in the same boat so I'm posting this here.
Pls tell me, should I go ahead with clat? or should I stay here and give up on those dreams due to the age factor?
Tldr: Second year law student in a no-ranked college scared of giving clat again due to being old, need advice.
There is a very beautiful response (and ofc others as well) by a graduate (current student my bad) from NALSAR. As you already know that till 20/20+ the first year is pretty much secure and normal as well. But don’t worry. There will be a couple of people who will be/who already were 21 when they entered law school. I can understand the anxiety. When I joined law school around a year back, I was 20. I had a ‘phew’ reaction because I wasn’t 21 yet- so I wouldn’t feel old. But honestly that’s quite immature. I saw a bunch of 21 year olds doing well in law school from the first year. In fact one of them is a topper already. And it won’t matter because anyway 50% of the graduates will be around the age limit of 23-25. You will be just a year older.
If you are doing well on your mocks - just focus on that and secure your career. No one will remember. Rather what will be remembered is if you get a single digit rank in clat. Right? Think like that. There are a lot of options (some uncertainties as well) in a tier-1 nlu. Don’t worry. And don’t feel old. You will be a year or a two older than the bunch. It’s not like you are pre-historic or something!
Bilkul sehii. Waise bhi I just took a year drop and was 19. But a lot of my batchmates(a well established nlu) were around 20. About about 21- that’s not a lot far from these two age brackets right (by two I meant 19 and 20). So chill out
15+ PQE here. No one cares. By the time you reach 35, there will be folks at 32 and folks at 38 who are in the same place you are. The age gap in a typical class is easily 24-30 months at times. Go out there and crack it, and all the best :)
At your age people care too much about age. I have worked in a US law firm. At 35 years of age someone is still a senior associate, while someone else just made partner. Even back when I was in class xii, I vividly remember the age gap being three years between the youngest and the eldest in the same class. It;s fine bro, don't try to confirm to societal standards of being in a particular age group to achieve a particular milestone. Also apart from what has been pointed above, there is one more beautiful answer by another Nalsar alum on graduating at 25 from Nalsar. I am sure if you put in the right key words you will find it. Now when I am 35 I really see 25 as very young. Nothing wrong in graduating at 25 from a T1 school. Nothing wrong in graduating even at 30 from anywhere for that matter.
Age is never an issue bro. In fact in one of our junior batches a lot of 19-20 aka droppers are there. They haven’t turned 21 yet but they will be like after 7-8 months. An 18 year old will also turn 19 after the aforementioned duration. Why/How does it matter? It’s a five year course. There are a lot of precedents. You may not find someone in the same boat but in nujs and in fact nls as well (my bff is from there) you have a lot of overachievers who are from your age bracket. No 19-20 year old is even a ‘old’ student. They are quite young. 21 can be a bit old but again nowadays even that has become common. And trust me this age is nothing.
In fact one of the graduates whose age range was 24-25 got a good LLM scholarship plus now working at a magic circle.
Plus you can offset some credits after an exchange, get extra credit to reduce a semester (you may participate in an international moot and can have it evaluated - it happened with one of our junior batches) and even perform brilliantly well to spend the final year at a foreign Uni to negate the factor of ‘being old’. This can be a good ripple effect. But honestly you are relatively young. My advice would have worked for a 23-24 old incoming student (although I will never judge them) but you still have time. I don’t know why y’all are getting worked up for this.
Honestly the comments are so wholesome. This is a stupid thing to even think about. You will find a lot of students who will be in the same boat as yours. Also remember the day you crack clat with a fascinating rank. No one will even bother to ask your age
I was about to upvote this comment but sorry this got downvoted instead. Absolutely true. Been in the same boat and conquered the battle like a hero. I hope OP can do it as well. All the best!!
The best thing is clat is happening early these days. Just tell them you didn’t even take a proper drop and boom they won’t even bother to ask or question you.
Thanks everyone who responded. I have read the threads that people have referenced here. You all have helped me gain a little perspective and have eased my worries to an extent. While I still have a few things to be concerned about, I will no longer dwell on my age (as a commenter said I'm not "prehistoric" afterall haha).
I also feel well enough to fill the registration form.
And if I clear clat, just know that your encouraging words helped me gather enough strength to do it.
Sometime age gap happens due to even one month! Does anyone question that? NO! No one cares brother. Even if you announce it on mic, then also everyone won’t judge you. Because it normal. Also lemme tell you an interesting incident.
One of frnds had to undergo a 2.5 year drop (clat happened 6 months early last year and this year as well for 2024) due to his silly OMR mistakes. He was a tad bit concerned about him being around 19-20. But some students informed him that it was very common and in fact entering law school around 19.5-20 has become streamlined to a substantial extent now. He cracked clat with a flying score, bagged tier-1 and no one even questioned about his age. But he did get a lot of hype (more than me) because of his result. He even cracked lnat and bagged a decent scholarship to go to a decent UK Uni. He became more famous. Use this situation to your advantage not as an unnecessary burden.
Bhai forget clat. I have even seen 21 year old MHCET aspirants and have heard that this age range is also not strange in GLC. This isn’t up for discussion. It’s never too late!
Just to intervene politely. Clat has become annoyingly unpredictable so good mock scores are not a way to judge your good outcome. So instead of worrying about your age (which isn’t that big of a deal trust me) prepare well. The people in your boat may have given clat again and failed to crack it. That’s why the silence :). Just an educated observation and I love your determination.
All the best brother! Any help you need, you can text here.
I completed law at 28 from a 3 year law college. Joined a T1 at 31. I m 35 and a PA. Ofcourse some of the partners are 5 year younger than me. That has never bothered me. Generally, I m quite happy and satisfied.
I gave clat in June 2022, got an abysmal rank due to preparing for 2-3 weeks (original plan was to do CA but I felt law was more in-sync with what I wanted to study), was getting a tier 3 nlu but settled for a college near ncr in desperation.
At that time I thought that I could do anything, was pretty excited for college so thought that I'd face all odds and land a good job despite being in a local college.
But man I was wrong.
The job prospects are really weak here. I have a good rank but even people in top 3 don't get a well paying job after hustling for 5 years.
It was at that time I thought that just maybe I can give clat again, looked into it and the consortium changed the date to December.
I tried to cope. But realised maybe studying for a year won't be so bad.
In January I started my preparation. I was really enthusiastic about it too, studied for clat while also doing college work.
But a week back, when I was about to fill my registration form someone told me that students start college from June/July and man.
The despair I hadn't felt for a long time came back again.
I will be 21 next year in May. Most who join an NLU are within 18-20, with 20 being on the slightly older side. I am scared I'd be too old.
On one hand my mock scores are amazing, have been consistently scoring in 100s, and if I do manage to get in, in a T1 then my job prospects would increase drastically, not to mention the extracurricular opportunities and the network.
On the other, I'd be older than most people who get in. I have already paid for the second year fees so I'll be letting that go too.
I have read a few threads on this site saying that graduating at 26 will be too late, part of me feels that too but part of me also wants to study in an environment with opportunities.
I'm extremely conflicted at this point and don't know who to turn to. Can't talk to parents since they don't know I have been preparing, friends aren't in the same boat so I'm posting this here.
Pls tell me, should I go ahead with clat? or should I stay here and give up on those dreams due to the age factor?
Tldr: Second year law student in a no-ranked college scared of giving clat again due to being old, need advice.
There is a very beautiful response (and ofc others as well) by a graduate (current student my bad) from NALSAR. As you already know that till 20/20+ the first year is pretty much secure and normal as well. But don’t worry. There will be a couple of people who will be/who already were 21 when they entered law school. I can understand the anxiety. When I joined law school around a year back, I was 20. I had a ‘phew’ reaction because I wasn’t 21 yet- so I wouldn’t feel old. But honestly that’s quite immature. I saw a bunch of 21 year olds doing well in law school from the first year. In fact one of them is a topper already. And it won’t matter because anyway 50% of the graduates will be around the age limit of 23-25. You will be just a year older.
If you are doing well on your mocks - just focus on that and secure your career. No one will remember. Rather what will be remembered is if you get a single digit rank in clat. Right? Think like that. There are a lot of options (some uncertainties as well) in a tier-1 nlu. Don’t worry. And don’t feel old. You will be a year or a two older than the bunch. It’s not like you are pre-historic or something!
In fact one of the graduates whose age range was 24-25 got a good LLM scholarship plus now working at a magic circle.
Plus you can offset some credits after an exchange, get extra credit to reduce a semester (you may participate in an international moot and can have it evaluated - it happened with one of our junior batches) and even perform brilliantly well to spend the final year at a foreign Uni to negate the factor of ‘being old’. This can be a good ripple effect. But honestly you are relatively young. My advice would have worked for a 23-24 old incoming student (although I will never judge them) but you still have time. I don’t know why y’all are getting worked up for this.
FYI you aren’t that old.
Thanks everyone who responded. I have read the threads that people have referenced here. You all have helped me gain a little perspective and have eased my worries to an extent. While I still have a few things to be concerned about, I will no longer dwell on my age (as a commenter said I'm not "prehistoric" afterall haha).
I also feel well enough to fill the registration form.
And if I clear clat, just know that your encouraging words helped me gather enough strength to do it.
Thankyou folks.
One of frnds had to undergo a 2.5 year drop (clat happened 6 months early last year and this year as well for 2024) due to his silly OMR mistakes. He was a tad bit concerned about him being around 19-20. But some students informed him that it was very common and in fact entering law school around 19.5-20 has become streamlined to a substantial extent now. He cracked clat with a flying score, bagged tier-1 and no one even questioned about his age. But he did get a lot of hype (more than me) because of his result. He even cracked lnat and bagged a decent scholarship to go to a decent UK Uni. He became more famous. Use this situation to your advantage not as an unnecessary burden.
Also OP I hope you are reading the comments. Finally a LI where toxicity is at its least!
All the best brother! Any help you need, you can text here.