I wrote clat without reservation last year, got a <200 rank and narrowly missed getting into NALSAR, which was my first preference. Realized how stupid that was so I dropped a year, and decided to apply again with reservation. Messed up in CLAT and got an even lower rank than last time but have been allotted NALSAR bcz of my reservation.

AILET went really well for me this year and my AILET rank is <60 so I’m fairly confident I will get into NLUD as well.

Now the question is, which one do I pick? I’m from Hyderabad so NALSAR would be closer to home and it has been my dream college since forever lol. But I’m worried me being there with reservation might have a negative effect on my college life. Is NALSAR hostile towards people with reservation? Will this affect me in the future? Does your CLAT rank matter at the time of placements? If not, I will choose NALSAR only.

OTOH, I would be getting into NLUD through general category. And if AILET rank matters during placements I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

I’ve heard great things about both universities and am okay with either as I feel like they’re both almost on the same level (pls correct me if I’m wrong).

Studying in your home state is a huge advantage. There is nothing shameful about getting a reserved category rank, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. You can understand that with a high AILET rank, it is not as if you lack intelligence. It can be one bad day for anyone. However, NLUD does have locational advantage in terms of additional opportunities, as compared to NALSAR with a richer alum base and your home state advantage. You are getting entry into two of the best places to study law at in this country, allow yourself a sense of accomplishment and don't be too hard on yourself. The rank disappears right after you begin law school, you would have to work hard for the next 5 years no matter which one you choose.

While I have advised below that Nalsar and NLUD will largely give you similar opportunities with Delhi having a locational advantage but not much else, I would recommend NLUD over NUJS by a mile.

I don't think there's any parameter where NUJS offers a better experience over NLUD (except partying), and corp job if you really want you will get from any top-5 law school.

Involvement of students in matters related to the university, which instills a sense of independence and responsibility in the students. That's how it had started at NUJS. These days, it has only led to the students becoming entitled, lazy and disrespectful of everyone else including potential recruiters and faculty alike. NLUD students on the other hand, trolls here notwithstanding, are still willing to learn from others. I have extensively interacted with the students from both the places in between 2020 and 2023 and endorse the comment above fully. Even NUJS faculty or alumni won't say otherwise now.

No one cares about your CLAT Rank after the first month of college. From my 5 years of experience, your clat rank has no bearing on placements or for that matter anything. You should decide considering what you actually want out of your college experience.

If you're looking for a corp job, don't think twice and join NALSAR. It outperforms NLUD in placements by a mile. If you're interested in Academia, research, govt. exams, NLUD would be a more prudent choice.

General merit. Funny and ironical especially in the context of this post. People should realise that the same guy made it through to both the places. So unless one is arguing that NLUD requires less merit than NALSAR to get into, which is a ridiculous argument anyway, it is clear that merit is a product of opportunities and privilege enjoyed from birth.

Fair enough, but let's not keep kidding ourselves. Most people who enter top NLUs on Foreign National or NRI quotas also feel like they probably didn't earn their way in. As much as OP might be just as meritorious in either NALSAR or NLUD, I'd personally take way more pride in having gotten in through the open category especially if I wasn't underprivileged and didn't feel like I deserved the reservation. OP already had a top 200 rank last year and doesn't appear to need the quota to get into a top NLU. So, if he wants to hold his head up a little higher, NLUD on general merit would be a better choice. Now let the Nalsarites start downvoting, but you all know this is true.

Obviously NLUD without reservation. You will go with your head held high and have the respect of your peers. Also, if any recruiter seeks your AILET rank you can proudly give it and not face any prejudice. Both NALSAR and NLUD are at par and in fact NLUD has been ranked higher in NIRF multiple times.

which recruiter sees CLAT/AILET ranks 😂😂😂😂.

I too got in NALSAR with reservation and there wasn't any tag associated with it in that way. The student body is quite woke and liberal. Nobody tolerates any casteism in it anyway. Plus NALSAR has a great supportive student body with a tonne of helpful programmes, only thing NALSAR does not have is Delhi location is all.

Bro both alum bases would give contrary opinions. Being a Nalsar grad my opinion may be coloured as well. But I am 10 years into the profession (and also taking care of recruitment on the side) and there is no metric to prove that NLUD is ahead of NALSAR. I think anyone going into plain **** measuring is just wrong. Since you have the option of NALSAR being in your home state it is a no brainer. One thing is for sure placement wise NALSAR is at the top. The second thing is that career outcome wise your choice will probably not have much difference in outcomes between NALSAR and NLU D or let's say NLS for that matter as long as you perform great in law school. I think overall you are at a position everyone would die to be in.

As a NLUD alum, I agree with this assessment. NALSAR is still better in its law firm placement numbers compared to NLUD, although it may change in future. Still, it's not that hard to get placed from NLUD if you're a reasonably diligent student who's done a few relevant corp internships. On every other front, there's not much to separate the two. Location-wise, NLUD is better placed but there is a temporary hostel room paucity since the batch size increased slightly. That problem won't exist at NALSAR, I guess.

LLMs no longer get hostel facilities at all, both men and women. Hostel for BALLB students is available for people who are not from Delhi NCR. The hostels were initially built to accommodate a batch size of 80 (so 400-450 capacity) for Boys and Girls. NLUD has 120-odd seats now, and the number of guys is more than girls, so there will be paucity of rooms especially for guys. No idea about PhDs, they may get facilities to stay but many stay in Dwarka near the campus, I guess.

I think they’re looking for accommodation outside, close to the campus

https://nludelhi.ac.in/download/tender/2023/Jun-2023/EOI_boys%20hostel.pdf

NLUD grad here. Echo what the rest say. NLUD has better professors, focuses more on research and academia etc. but NALSAR has the undisputed advantage when it comes to law firm jobs.

Having said that, first batch of NLUD students and second batch (essentially 2013 and 2014 passouts) have started making partners in corp law firms last year and this year. And in 5 year times that’s five batches more of partners from NLUD which will result in enough partners in T1 law firms by the time you graduate for this advantage of corp placement to slowly even out. But then again, I still believe NALSAR will be ahead. But maybe in time when a few of these freshly made salaried partners have made equity partners, and NLUD has enough alumni who are partners in corp law firms you would see it even out significantly. But that’s still 8-10 years away, and corp firms advantage of NALSAR is lesser consideration for someone writing Ailet and clat 3 years later :)

Also general is not “merit”. People are liberal and progressive. No one cares (or should care) how you got in. It’s what you do in your 5 years and after that matters. :)