I've seen the other threads on this site pertaining to the same, but I'm still very confused on whether I should pick NLU Odisha or Jindal. Jindal is a financial stretch, but I've heard it is a great law school and many have told me it is on the same level as the tier 1 NLUs in terms of Infrastructure, placements and other opportunities. NLUO on the other hand is also growing quite rapidly but they still don't have the establishment and tier 1 placements that the top NLUs have as of yet, although this seems to be changing. I spoke to a couple students at NLUO and they told me the admin and faculty are not great but the placements are improving.

Should I take a financial risk and pick Jindal? Is it worth the financial risk and is Jindal as good as the top law schools?
Or should I pick NLUO and work hard there to grab the best opportunities?

This is the first time I'm commenting on this platform, and I apologise if I made any mistakes. Thanks!

I was in this exact position two years ago choosing between these two law schools. I have since come to Jindal. I think the acadmic exposure is difficult to rival. Of course not all your professors will be stand-outs but theres the fair share of great faculty. If you can afford Jindal, its probably the best place to be; if the finances are a stretch, look into the entrance exam based scholarship (I dont know if the criterias have changed since the shift from the LSAT), but the entrance scholarships are quite generous (upto 75%) and most students here do recieve atleast some financial aid. JGLS also offers a merit/means scholarship once you are here, from the second year onward, but this is capped at a certain amount (1.5L I think). Keep in mind though that scholarships cover only tuition and the housing/dining fee will be the same, and that there will obviously be miscellaneous expenses no matter where you choose to go. Opportunity wise I think Jindal is probably the way to go (atleast in terms of access, exposure, and depending on your merit: placements), but I am sure there is nothing stopping you from doing well at NLUO if you put in the work. If the financial position is extremely precarious, don't take the risk, work hard at the NLU and you will be golden regardless. If you can afford to take the risk, I would say the quality of education and the experience at Jindal is worth it. Someone from NLUO will be a much better bet at telling you how life there is. Hope this helps, all the best!

hi, thank you so much for the helpful response. Unfortunately I don't qualify for the scholarship as our income exceeds the 50 Lakh Cap required for the scholarships. Otherwise, how are the placements at Jindal? Where would you rank Jgls in the overall indian law school scene?

Given the strength, it’s NOT as good if you have average academics. However, if you manage to be in the top 10% (top 60-70 (of the 5 year course)) - then you can easily get placed at a tier 1.

You’ll get best of the opportunities in terms of internship and placement, just that you really have to work for it.

You want to study in a law school with 700+ people with a fees structure of 50 lakhs over the 5 years and placements and job offers to such a few people out of 7-800 students over an NLU, which is known across the industry even though with an average academic focus and a college where so many students get placement and offers and where the fees is around 12-14 lakhs? Yes, go to Jindal obviously!!

I have known three law students who went to JGLS:

1. One of them, a pretty smart guy, described it (Jindal Uni) and the education it claims to offer its law students as a "weapons-grade ▮▮▮" after being there for a year and transferred to the LLB programme at a pretty good British university.

2. The other two: ▮▮▮ By the time I had returned to India temporarily for a flying visit before going back overseas to do other things, the entire family had lost interest in the LLM idea (as even the parents couldn't remain motivated when the kid had no interest).

Hope that this is helpful. All the best.

Tbh I would not take the financial strain to go to Jindal. Its a good law school, but not worth fiscal stress it can put a family under. Especially since beyond your fees you will have day to day expenses, when you go to internships you may be paying for travel, accommodation etc.

The one line answer is - Go to Jindal if you can afford to, easily.

You see a mentor once told me, when I was deciding between HNLU and JGLS is that when you go to Jindal not only you're expecting a fee bump but a lifestyle bump too. Which has it's own costs. Thus, if you can afford that do join Jindal.

Both in Jindal or any T2 NLU for that matter you'll need to work hard to get placed. You'll need to put efforts. It's not going to be easy at either place. Sure at Jindal you'll get more resources but there are going to be more distractions too.