I have AIR 238X. I have no shot at NLUs. Talked with some people they said that I would make it to NMIMS Mumbai or Nirma.

The issue is that the aforesaid colleges are quite expensive. 2.5L and 2.53L is the fee respectively, on top of that there's food and accommodation, will easily touch 4L p.a.

Also, I don't know how the placements are - this is very important factor for me. 20 lakhs - which is really tough to manage - would go down the drain if I don't get placed.

What should I do now? Should I opt for law colleges? Any other 'decent' college you are aware of?

Many suggested to go for an MBA - good ROI - but where will I go now? With 89.75% in boards no 'good' college would take me.

Engineering I cannot do, because I'm out of practice, also, that would screw my chances of an MBA. Some IIMs and other B-Schools have 'diversity' points.

P.S. I would love to get a degree in law, but at the same time I don't want to be unemployed.

P.P.S I know I have asked too many questions, but, honestly, I'm lost. First-gen prospective college-goer, so in my close circle no one is there to guide me

I spit my coffee. Graduated in 2020 from NMIMS Mumbai. Total fee I paid for 5 years of law school was ~4.6 lakh.

NMIMS/Nirma are absolutely NOT worth 2.5lpa.

If you're keen on law, apply to government colleges. GLC/ILS/DU/Hazrat type. Fee will be rather nominal, and quality of education more or less same as NMIMS/Nirma. Some government colleges also have subsided hostels.

What should I do now? Absolute mess I'm now, I should have listened to others and have prepared for engg entrances. However, the boat has sailed now. And, I honestly don't know what to do!

Also, would I get placed from TLCs? NMIMS I heard has decent placement, so was inclined towards it.

Who told you NMIMS has decent placement? It's a private university, so if it actually had good placement, it would have done huge PR about it so that everybody would have known. It doesn't, mainly because there's nothing to show yet.

NMIMS does have decent placements, but only for those willing to work hard. Like someone said on a different thread, don’t depend on placement cells a lot, though this year it’s trying it’s best.
Apply to 50 firms, you might as well just get in 2/3, and intern as much as you can. That’s your best shot.
And contrary to popular opinion, you can definitely secure internships even if you’re not from an nlu.
Apply for non-peak months, i.e., anything other than June/ July, November/ December, Jan.Being in mumbai gives you that advantage.

All the best and please don’t get disheartened if you don’t get into a good college, my experience with NMIMS hasn’t been that bad and I’ve had decent peers, seniors as well as supporting professors to help me out!

Hello fellow batchmate, please dont talk about nmims placement, people get on their own and then the placement committee send emails as if they have done the placement. And talking about non peak months, 80% Attendance definitely not allows you to Intern in non peak months in a normal setup. I understand currently its remote so manageable but this wont remain the same throughout. So please dont do fake PR of nmims placement.
NMIMS has good placement only if you could manage on your own. It brings the worst Internship opportunities for students. People are offered to join NGO internships in third year. So please dont do paid PR of nmims placement. Lets accept that its bad and managed by students on their own and Placement Cell sits idle and does nothing.

I heard that NMIMS has a very strict attendance policy, so how would I intern during classes?

You can't. It's only manageable because of virtual classes and virtual internship. If both were physical, you can't intern in non peak months except in 5th year

The timings are 8-10 when you get in your 5th year. Hence you can intern in non-peak months.

Getting jobs via PPOs doesn't have anything to do with the college's reputation. That's the individual student's credit. If the college is reputable, then recruiters would visit for campus placement.

Someone with a rank of 238X in CLAT shouldnt really worry about losing out on diversity points in IIM. Might sound harsh but getting into IIMs is way tougher than getting in NLUs.

Kind of you, but but I scored really good in CR and RC - almost a perfect score, so where I lacked was CA and too some extent in legal, which IIMs do not test.

Also, CAT is very different from CLAT. You need not worry about what can I achieve and what I cannot, especially on the basis of a exam which has always been mired in controversy.

Also, I wrote other B-schools, so, please, don't make such statements. I don't want to sound cliche, but CLAT isn't by any standard a good measure of one's overall academic competence. However, it might not sound well to some from someone who himself didn't crack

I made it through CLAT. This kid sounds smarter than half my batches.

Are you included in that half?

Get into a decentish DU college or even a private college. Study hard and get top grades. Get into an IIM or any other good b-school. A far better option than going to NMIMS or NIRMA. Ofc contingent on you being able to perform well in CAT. Also, your undergrad college won't matte that much iff you graduate top of your class.
Sorry for being harsh, introspect if you can perform well in CLAT or CAT. 2k+ rank is not good at all in a very substandard exam. I am sure you have your strengths, but competitive exams based on aptitude might not be it.

Yes, I'll introspect. Aptitude isn't my forte - that might be or might not be true, as I was performing good in mocks, but on the D-Day the invigilator had a miff with me for no reason, I tried not to do so - to remain calm. Also, the centre had issues and less time was alloted comparatively - not making stuff you could ask anyone from my centre - and overall I took the mock in the worst environment ever, which had quite an impact too.

Keeping all this rant aside. Ig, getting a traditional degree and opting for B-schools would be a better option in terms of ROI. Even a tier 2 B-school would provide better placements, I think.

Your fears about Nirma are misplaced. Granted, it may not be the best of law schools out there but my batch and the batch that followed, did really well in placements. Do a quick LinkedIn search on where most of us are now, and you will realize.

That said, if you get NMIMS, go for it. Outside of the top few NLU's, location plays a big role in getting your first role and Mumbai is the place to be in if you want to pursue a career as a transactional lawyer. This is cliched but put in some dedicated effort, I'm sure you'll manage to do really well.

A bird (or two) in hand is better than two in the bush. These colleges are decent options to have in hand. Believe in yourself and your abilities, my friend, and make an informed decision.

Peace.

If you’re interested in MBA, why don’t you just do a BA or a BBA and then go for MBA. The options are much better even if you don’t crack CAT. Your chances of doing well in the corporate space with an MBA from a non tier 1 college is much higher than with a law degree from a non tier 1 college.

NMIMS Mumbai is way better than nirma beside location advantage. Having said that you have to be in the top of your game and work hard to secure a placement. No one will offer you placement just based on college reputation. I guess even lads who dont work hard enough in NLSIU and NALSAR also face issue and have no career to look forward if they dont dedicate themselves to this profession. I persoanlly have known such incidents. College doesnt matter, you have to work hard and prove your potential.

If you have a college like NMIMS dont let it go. Get a loan. I am sure this 20 lakhs will get remunerated in the first year itself if you get placed in tier 1 law firm which i dont think so would be impossible if you seem determined to get into them from the first year itself.

Taking random college for BA BBA will only dampen your career and with no guarantee of an IIM will not help you anyway.

Dont think of money when your whole future is being dependent upon it.

I myslef have low grades (read very low) but due to other co curricular activities even I have secured internship at tier 1 law firm.

All said MBA is only helpful if it is from a renowned college. Heck not even all IIMS barring the best 7 have good or decent placements.

and getting into them is way more difficult then you think. if your rank was 2000+ you would really have to work very hard to secure in a good MBA college.

And for exams like this, your aptitude doesnt matter that much. Everything would weight, your attitude, consistency, hard work, talent, good teachers, mentors, family environment. And what do you think IIMs are govt college which are cheap.

Last to last year IIM A was 27 lakhs a year (maybe acco was involved, idk)

Mumbai NMIMS MBA was around 18 lakhs a year without rent, food and other things which is like 36 lakhs. (it may have increased also)

compared to all this law seems good choice and feasible and you can do MBA after law also.

all in all 2 years would be wasted which is I dont think will

BBA (3 year) + MBA
BBA.LLB (5 year)+ MBA

Please don't conflate students having to work hard at top NLUs in order to do well with NMIMS. The former get access to way more opportunities which they still need to utilize. Latter don't get those opportunities. How many tier one firms, companies come to NMIMS for placement? That's where reputation counts. For instance, Facebook and SAM offered a fellowship to NLU students this year. Even if students work hard, they need access to these opportunities to get ahead of others, get the best of jobs, scholarships, mentorship etc.