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I passed out of 12th in June 2021 (when boards got cancelled due to COVID), and was a pure Science student till then. After they got cancelled, I just did a 180 and ditched my B.Sc. aspirations to take a crash course for CLAT; after a preparation of ~45 days I could only fetch something around a ~3700ish rank. I initially was giving CLAT 2021 as only a dummy attempt, my real plan was dropping and giving CLAT 2022 from the beginning. My original plan got derailed due to some familial pressure, hence I enrolled in and spent a good 3 months in SASTRA Thanjavur before dropping out in December 2021 and getting back to my initial plan to give CLAT 2022.
A few months of preparation later, I gave CLAT 2022 to end up with a highly disappointing ~1400ish rank, which didn't get me any tier 1 or tier 2 NLUs. I feel (and I might be extremely wrong here) that my under performance might have been due to my over reliance on GK topics owing to a lack of guidance, since 80% of my preparation was spent on mugging up GK with the help of spaced repetition software, and in the end none of those topics came in the real examination. I've since befriended a few senior NLU students who are ready to guide me, if I wished to retake CLAT in December 2022.
Now coming to the actual conundrum I'm facing - I've currently got colleges like NMIMS Mumbai, Nirma Ahmedabad, and maybe even Symbiosis Pune/Noida in my hand (still going through the Symbiosis process, so don't know the outcome for sure yet). I'm all motivated for secretively working and retaking the upcoming CLAT 2023 in the hopes of scoring a tier 1 NLU, but it's made tough due to the fact that I am 20.5 years old currently. If I joined what I have in hand, say NMIMS, I would already be 2 to 3 years older than all of my peers. Anyone I talked to even last year discouraged me heavily from taking a drop for CLAT 2022, and discussing the prospect of another drop with my IRL friends or family at this point is a huge no-no (they think it's an insecurity/ego problem or something, I dunno if they're right). So what should I do here? As a 20 something first generation lawyer with no contacts, do I take the risk and balance my college alongside a CLAT retake in hope of getting an NLU, or do I just call it a day and remain satisfied with a private college and try to sincerely work my ass off for the next 5 years?
TL;DR - First gen lawyer without contacts. Took drop, didn't work out. Turning 21 this December. Working for CLAT 2023 without drop worth it despite my age? Or do just give in and roll with NMIMS Mumbai / Symbiosis Pune?
Iske alava drop karna hai toh karle nahi toh nirma types places se also G#@$ ghiske aag laga sakta hai. Best of luck 1400ish pal.
Quote: Thanks a ton man!
I m glad you took time to ask about it in forum. Not many people do. If you want to make a decent living from your degree than NLUs or JGLS /GLC is the place to enroll in. It will skyrocket your career and land you in a good jo provided you work hard in 5 years of law school .
It is clear that litigation will be much harder for you. By the time you graduate you wil be 21+5=26 (~ish)or 27(~ish). It is high time that you please consider your career choice. Also please note that uncertainty is a part of life. First it was GST, demonetization and then COVID. Learn to be prepared for "variables" in life.
What I did was I chose a lifestyle and a subject - I chose life of isolation(Trial/litigation) & subject (law). Become competent professional in your field of choice. Sky is the limit.
Competition is cut throat everywhere. Job crisis is real. Hope this encourages youand doesnt discourage you.
Quote: That's very interesting, I must say. What is the career trajectory for Law+MBA again? I'll definitely Google it in the near future, but lemme know your view on it if you've got the time to reply. Basically I'm looking for a base level of financial security by age 30, and am willing to do whatever for it's sake. I was aimless and immature till 12th and am paying the price now, but there's time yet to ask around and try to do the right things with the right guidance.
Quote: Can't afford JGLS; I got a 100% scholarship offer due to CLAT rank but found out that I'm ineligible because of their annual income limit. About the NLU - I'm a huge dum dum who listed to a few SLS seniors say that tier 3 NLUs aren't worth it, and dropped out in the 2nd merit list itself. I was getting stuff like NLU Assam and all other rank 10-17 NLUs; at the time I was strongly advised to run with private colleges instead. Have applied for vacancies in a few NLUs now, so let's see if that works out. If I could go back in time and grab SOME NLU, trust me I would. Should've posted here earlier, dammit.
Quote: I appreciate the good wishes and guidance, I really do. Thanks a lot man!
To put perspective, I had zero contacts. Even my farthest relative had no contact in the legal industry. I managed to get internships at a District Courts and later with some AOR in Delhi. The contacts I made at the internships ended up helping me get a job in a tier 2 litigation firm. 2 years into it and I got through the supposed larger-than life law firms. Hated it and got into existential crisis. LOL. Left that soon to pursue litigation under a senior lawyer's chamber. It's indeed a full circle. Of course I come from a place where I've experienced it all and can sit behind a laptop with ease to tell you to be at ease knowing well enough that it'll kill you every single day. Only because we've assumed the N-schools as the door to a dreamy successful legal career. If anything it'll push you hard to do better because of this constant anxiety of not being an NLS kid. In that process you kinda come at par with them. It's a silver lining. Use it effectively and you'd be just fine.
CLAT isn't an exam that should be the be and end all. I can't emphasise on this enough. Moreover, wasn't Symbiosis Pune just ranked the best law school and at par with NLS?
Anyway. Don't fret. If there is one thing that you can do no matter where you go, don't get too obsessed with mooting and the cult of Jessup and Vis. Real law toh office clerk hi sikhata hain. Good luck!
Quote: Oh yes, that it will. I'm in sort of a self-hate-fueled frenzy in terms of trying to be better after the disappointment which was CLAT 2022.
Quote: Are you talking about the recent NIRF rankings? I know that SLS Pune is pretty good, and trust me when I say that I would SUPER SATISFIED if I cracked their interview, but anyone I know (and a certain LI thread) has relentlessly mocked the Symbiosis rank, calling it a joke or something.
Quote: Ey, if there's one thing I don't know is the do and don't s during a BA LLB score. If it isn't a huge bother, would you be up for any direct method for us to correspond? Even if not, no worries, because your advice so far is really helpful. Thanks a ton man!
Go for CLAT with a vengeance. If you crack it, and get a good college, no one will care about your age. All the best!
Opt for some decent private/government colleges or some decent T3 NLUs (MNLU nagpur, for one). In parallel, prepare for CLAT. If you make it, then congrats. Otherwise, you can do well from other places too - might take some time or may require a bit more effort.
And, don't think of age so much. You are young. All the best!
Quote: Ergo, I don't take CLAT and just focus on whatever college I'm in right now? All right then. Thanks for the advice man!
I honestly don’t think you should take a drop. If you are from a decentish college (and NMIMS is one), you will find good employment. No one with half a brain gives a fig about which college you went to 5 years down the line. Your college is only relevant for opening doors to start with. Honestly, most other good colleges will open the same doors as a tier-1 NLU. Hell, if you present well enough, and intern at the right places, you may have better prospects/opportunities than an NLU grad. I personally know people who have dropped NLUs (tier 1 and 2) and gone in for GLC instead.
You are putting too much emphasis on the brand of the college. You should be paying more attention to brand you. Time is extremely valuable, much more so than the label of your college. If you are a competent lawyer, you will do well, whichever college you attend. If you are an incompetent NLU grad, you will hit a wall in 2 years...
P.S. I am a thirty something GLC grad
Quote: I was initially aiming for GLC above all else with the whole internship culture, but chickened out last minute because I got scared of what lack of guidance and too much freedom might do to my slightly undisciplined self. But I totally get what you're saying here.
Quote: This right here, this absolutely did it for me. Someone other commenter also mentioned CS/CA which I was woefully ignorant about beforehand - apparently I can start working in parallel on those instead of wasting 1 more year to overcompensate for my not-being-in-good-NLU insecurities. I'm grateful for your words, kind stranger!
Private colleges like Jgls, ILS and Symbi definitely offer better opportunities than new nlus - don’t go by useless tuition folks who suggest these new ones. There is no free pass to greatness from any college. The new nlus will struggle and diff to reach the status of old law schools.
But as others rightly noted, maybe I'm reading too much into it. Potentially, working hard in "decent" private colleges should be fetching me similar results anyway in the long run; so I'll call it a day, and remain satisfied with NMIMS/Symbiosis :D Thanks for your input man!