The best option is to join SLS and give CLAT again next year. Don't take a drop because CLAT papers are unpredictable and there is a real chance that you may not get your desired rank. It is not worth it to take a drop if you don't get Top5 NLUs next year
Dropping out for an year is not dangerous. It's not like you will immediately become in your 30's. Since you have already got a rank around 1400. You have a pretty good chance at going to a Top law school after a drop year. (yes, it's unpredictable, still)
Symbiosis is really expensive, they give a ton of course work. Along with that you won't be able to prepare peacefully for CLAT. If you take a drop year, you can be fully committed in your preparation, and have enough free time to focus on your mental health. And start law school a fresh.
Also if you take a drop year, there is a high chance that you can go to University physically next year - Aug 2022. Instead of one year going fully down the drain sitting at home.
For anyone else considering this, take it - at least, here are some points you can consider. I’m from the graduating batch of 2022 and joined SAM recently. Batchmates have made it to Linklaters (1), KCO (10+), AZB (8+), Trilegal (3-5), CAM (3), SAM (not sure of exact numbers across offices), JSA (3+), Indus, Argus(2), LKS (5+), and various other firms/companies.
Seniors are incredibly helpful, and many of us, myself included, got internships/assessments through their reference. Join any club at college that fits your interest, build good relationships, and they’ll come back to help you out later.
I’m not going into any ranking discussion here, those become enormously subjective below the top 5 NLUs and are meaningless in terms of actual benefits that you get at placements. Placements are better than almost all law universities below the top 5 (pro), but conducted on a rolling basis (con). You have a great shot at magic circle firms now as well (in the 2018-23 batch, 3 people were shortlisted for Links’ final interview. In the Silver Circle, I know of at least 1 person who made it to HSF’s final interview). Tier 1 placements are notable - AZB, Khaitan, JSA and CAM come to campus/offer assessments. The rest you can reach out to seniors who are working there, and they’ll help you out with internships. Tons of my current juniors are doing the same. Many of my batchmates currently at Trilegal/Khaitan got similar help. I did for my initial internship too.
LLMs are quite standard and at par with other top law schools - this year, per usual, people got Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc.
Alumni base is one of the strongest in India - but the university has burnt bridges with some Partners. They are very receptive to you asking for help on LinkedIn though, I can attest to this from personal experience. Many seniors from Uni are SAs at A&O, Freshfields, etc. A quick LinkedIn search can get you further info.
We have a stellar record at competitions. We’ve won FDI, are the highest Indian team to have qualified at WUDC, were semi-finalists at Man Lachs, have made it to the rounds (post further international breaks) at Jessup, Vis etc. Students repreatedly get published by OUP, international blogs, OxHRH, etc. These are great from a college perspective only however, so don’t just base your decision on this.
Overall it’s a great school, and has a lovely culture. It is a little expensive however, a point well made above. That said, you also have scholarships available - although scholarships by themselves are uncertain (BA/BBA LLB have around 140 students each - so it’s competitive) and therefore shouldn’t be given a big weight in financial decisions.
Also Viman Nagar is a beautiful place to spend 5 years at. Take your call, and if you do come here, you surely won’t regret it. :)
Being from the same batch I can attest to a lot of what they've said here, I would like to add the following though; The legal database access you will get here is unparalleled. I had access to JSTOR, Kluwer, Westlaw, Oxford books, and Cambridge legal to name a few, and it helped me hone my research and drafting more than any generic research I had done without them.
The college is also very accommodating of people wanting to moot, though it has taken a lower priority over academics in recent years.
Don't take a drop because CLAT papers are unpredictable and there is a real chance that you may not get your desired rank.
It is not worth it to take a drop if you don't get Top5 NLUs next year
Symbiosis is really expensive, they give a ton of course work. Along with that you won't be able to prepare peacefully for CLAT. If you take a drop year, you can be fully committed in your preparation, and have enough free time to focus on your mental health. And start law school a fresh.
Also if you take a drop year, there is a high chance that you can go to University physically next year - Aug 2022. Instead of one year going fully down the drain sitting at home.
Any NLU above TNNLS is better than Symbi anyday. If you're getting NUALS or NLUO don't make stupid mistakes of choosing Symbi over them.
Seniors are incredibly helpful, and many of us, myself included, got internships/assessments through their reference. Join any club at college that fits your interest, build good relationships, and they’ll come back to help you out later.
I’m not going into any ranking discussion here, those become enormously subjective below the top 5 NLUs and are meaningless in terms of actual benefits that you get at placements. Placements are better than almost all law universities below the top 5 (pro), but conducted on a rolling basis (con). You have a great shot at magic circle firms now as well (in the 2018-23 batch, 3 people were shortlisted for Links’ final interview. In the Silver Circle, I know of at least 1 person who made it to HSF’s final interview). Tier 1 placements are notable - AZB, Khaitan, JSA and CAM come to campus/offer assessments. The rest you can reach out to seniors who are working there, and they’ll help you out with internships. Tons of my current juniors are doing the same. Many of my batchmates currently at Trilegal/Khaitan got similar help. I did for my initial internship too.
LLMs are quite standard and at par with other top law schools - this year, per usual, people got Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc.
Alumni base is one of the strongest in India - but the university has burnt bridges with some Partners. They are very receptive to you asking for help on LinkedIn though, I can attest to this from personal experience. Many seniors from Uni are SAs at A&O, Freshfields, etc. A quick LinkedIn search can get you further info.
We have a stellar record at competitions. We’ve won FDI, are the highest Indian team to have qualified at WUDC, were semi-finalists at Man Lachs, have made it to the rounds (post further international breaks) at Jessup, Vis etc. Students repreatedly get published by OUP, international blogs, OxHRH, etc. These are great from a college perspective only however, so don’t just base your decision on this.
Overall it’s a great school, and has a lovely culture. It is a little expensive however, a point well made above. That said, you also have scholarships available - although scholarships by themselves are uncertain (BA/BBA LLB have around 140 students each - so it’s competitive) and therefore shouldn’t be given a big weight in financial decisions.
Also Viman Nagar is a beautiful place to spend 5 years at. Take your call, and if you do come here, you surely won’t regret it. :)
The legal database access you will get here is unparalleled.
I had access to JSTOR, Kluwer, Westlaw, Oxford books, and Cambridge legal to name a few, and it helped me hone my research and drafting more than any generic research I had done without them.
The college is also very accommodating of people wanting to moot, though it has taken a lower priority over academics in recent years.