A lot of us are under the impression that being part of a tier 1 law school inevitably leads to good opportunities for all, but I realised today that it's not the case. I met some people on LinkedIn today who are from NLS and aren't doing that well in life. Are there people like that here who would like to share their experiences? I am two years in law school and contemplating changing streams despite being in a T1. Would appreciate hearing any inputs/personal stories/experiences etc. Thanks.

In an economy as bad as ours, nothing "inevitably leads to good opportunities" — NLS, NALSAR etc can open more doors for you, but you still have to prove your worth every step of the way. To be clear, almost a fifth of the batches at NLS & NALSAR earn average packages at random places, too; the odds are just way worse at other colleges.

This. The chances of you landing a well paying and comfortable job in a T1 Firm are higher at T1 NLUs like NLS, Nalsar as compared to T2 NLUs like HNLU or NLUO.

However if you do put in the efforts and hardwork to snag a cushy T1 job, you could snag it in both T1 and T2 Universities. It’s just that the work to get a job is easier in the former as compared to the latter.

But why is that? We pay almost a bomb to get so called top 'education'. I really feel it isn't about the market being bad. It's really an excuse on part of institutions to not prepare us for the real world. Have you ever heard IIMs saying that we won't be able to place our students? Even this time around when the job market was bad and there were concerns about people going unplaced, many IIMs actively provided support to their students, activated alumni networks to ensure that no one goes unplaced. Have you seen that happening in NLUs? In our NLUs, it's always a student lead process. If we celebrate placements, we should really celebrate the effort and hardwork students put in to ensure they and their classmates are placed in decent places. Now, someone might say I'm comparing apples to oranges because IIMs are postgrad programs, but that is not the point really; the point is that after charging so much fees, the administration of all NLUs does nothing to provide support to their students. Partly because these institutions are becoming buisness making institutions, and really don't care much about the well being of the student community. Of course there is no substitute to hard work but at least we can expect some assistance from these hallowed institutions? People can say that nobody is entitled to a job, but keep yourself in the place of all these young students and then see what it feels like to be in a place where you put in tremendous amount of effort, but would not get anything in return. It's the loss of opportunity cost which could have been better utilized in some other vocation. I rest my case here. Why can't we as student community demand accountability from these institutions? If we are seen as 'consumers', then why can't we demand a return?

It's not the university's mandate to provide you jobs. It's not a placement factory. You may, however, demand courses that are industry relevant, with good faculty. As on date, any student who has got into any of the top 7-8 NLUs and has worked hard throughout their five years, has not had to worry about getting a decent job. So clearly those places are doing something right. Even the IIMs don't provide same placement to all their students.

You can be from Harvard and struggle in life. You can be from Chaudhary Charan Singh and Excel in life. Ultimately, you college can give you the initial push, but there are a lot of factors in life- your smartness, your luck, your health, your family and other circumstances that will determine how you do in life.

A very myopic way of looking at things. The upside of being from a T1 institution is not in those salary packages but the brand equity and the connections that you form along with the doors that opens for your by the virtue of being from an elite institution.

Stop looking from a short term perspective and instead see on a long time frame

I will tell you one thing. Your work/ Your college's prestige vis a vis securing a job is 50%/ 50%.

Placement guarantee - If you are in the top 25 of a NALSAR/ GNLU/ NLUJ, Top 10 of an upper T2 NLU, NLS, NLUD, Top 5 in a lower T2 NLU, or a topper in a T3 NLU or renowned private college. Your placement in a Tier 1 law firm is guaranteed. If you feel NLS and NLUD are unfairly placed, please look at past year placement stats. GNLU, NALSAR, NLUJ are undoubtedly T1s in placements at T1 firms. No use fighting over it, rather work hard and guide others who want T1 jobs.

The lower the rank + college it goes, it gets worse exponentially, for example a 25 ranker at NALSAR has more chances than a 15 ranker at HNLU. And the lower you go past the twenties and top 5 NLUs, the ratio gets past to 75/25 and 90/10, so the college loses value and your work in internships shines.

Ofcourse contacts helps.

who told you that attending one of these universities will set you up for life? There is no university that can promise that. There are harvard grads who are not doing well in life. I know several people from IIT who arent doing well. No guarantees in life. You have to keep working to get better and better opportunities and to get the life you want. NLS will open doors for you that NLU Assam wont. It will even open doors NALSAR wont. but it wont set you up for life if you fail to apply yourself.