I am going to a tier 3 NLU. I recently saw that a lot of people from NUJS/NLUJ/NALSAR/NLUD pursue BCL from Oxford or LLM from Wharton. I have always fancied going to a top university. Is there the slightest chance of getting into these top programmes? I have 75 in class 12 and 97 in class 10. And what exactly do you need to do to get selected?
Maintain top 3 rank in your batch. Write at least one decent paper for a good journal in five years. Focus on your studies. Engage with activities like policy internships, legal aid work. No reason why you cannot make it.
Oxford is very difficult but you can get into Cambridge from the most Tom, Dick and Harry law schools. They just need grades. Have seen so many people from Tier 5 local colleges going to Cambridge that there is no charm left
This is true. A simple LinkedIn search will show that people getting 5-digit CLAT ranks who go to literal third-rate law colleges also get into Cambridge. Takes away any charm from the place. And most of those kids end up in litigation since tier-1 jobs are still out of the picture.
Don't you believe these kids could mentally evolve during these years ? Jab CLAT the few students are those with natural knack for reasoning and quants, many are privileged ones who already know that such exam existed and has been preparing it since atleast their 10th or 11th while a vast majority reach there after they discover that law is a plausible career option after 12th. The former two are the ones who mostly get into NLUs( especially Tier 1s).
What about the latter category? Don't they deserve a second shot a law? At a sophisticated campus life? An attempt at social mobility in legal field?
People who call other institutions third rate and don't think that grads from those places to be worth anything, just reveal their own lack of education and upbringing, regardless of their pedigree and certificates.
Better to make connections with Indians who have done BCL from Oxford and them ask them in due course of time. You won't get a serious answer to this on LI
2 of my classmates from a tier 3 NLU went to Cambridge. 1 went to Oxford on Rhodes Scholarship as well. One of the faculties at NLS who is from a tier 3 NLU is doing PhD from Cambridge after doing LLM from Harvard and MSc Criminology from Oxford. Of course getting admission is possible but you have to work smart and hard.
It’s possible. It will be very hard work. Only top students from t1s get into these programs and even they find the work to be challenging. You would need to be rank 1 in your university. Not top 20. Rank 1. And write for a blog/ write an article in a good journal by year 4. And have internships at top places so well known people can write you recommendation letters. It’s tough - but doable.
Mooting - it would matter a fair bit if you won any top international moot or even went through semis - but it will be difficult to find other students and resources at your school to make that achievable.
They only look at your marks when making admission decisions. So if you are amongst the top students (too 3 not even top 10) then you have hope of getting selected.
You are definitely a private school kid
What about the latter category? Don't they deserve a second shot a law? At a sophisticated campus life? An attempt at social mobility in legal field?
2. I - SC Judicial clerkship... D- HC Judicial clerkship
3. I - 5 policy/research/SC internships... D- 5 SC/HC/NGO internships
4. I - 1 international journal publication... D- multiple national journals
5. I - recommendation from SC Judge, VC, person of eminence. D- 2 recommendation from judge & VC
This is the start. Depends on luck & preference.
Source - Me. Private college. Phd-Ox. Currently Post-Doc @Harvard (Law)
Mooting - it would matter a fair bit if you won any top international moot or even went through semis - but it will be difficult to find other students and resources at your school to make that achievable.