NLUs vs. NON-NLUs

National Law Universities are benchmarks when it comes to law colleges in India, but let’s be real, not everyone can get into NLUs!

Every year approximately 70,000 (or more) students appear in CLAT in order to obtain one in 2,622 seats (integrated program) and 852 seats (LL.M program). The isn’t much of a chance that everyone of you will get a seat in NLU, to be precise, there’s only a 3.7 percent probability of you getting into an NLU.

Why are we telling you this? This isn’t to demoralize you. Surely if you work hard enough you might get a chance to be a student of the most prestigious law colleges in India. However, one needs to be aware of the reality in order to move forward in life.

What if you don’t get into NLU? Do you crush your dream of joining the legal profession? The answer to that is NO.

Whether you are a NLU student or not, there always are some inherent advantages which both these students get, and this article will discuss those advantages.

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES

There is no denying in the fact that NLU students do enjoy certain privileges and benefits over the non-NLU students.

The NLU “Brand” & Placements

National Law Universities are the most prestigious law colleges in India. Since the competition of getting into these colleges is so tough, over the time an image has been created in everyone’s mind as the “biggest brand” for law in India. NLU students enjoy this branding attached to their names. National Law Universities go to great lengths to celebrate the success of students. They allocate resources and support students to go and win moots, debates and other such activities.

They invite influencers and legal who’s who to the campus to give lectures and participate in various activities. These factors go a long way in promoting the NLU brand, and as a result students are motivated to promote themselves as well by publishing papers, not just participating but by winning moot courts, and debates.

As part of the NLU brand, you get the support of your alumni to help you bag these internships or guide you through it. The first thing you do once you start your semester is start applying for internships.

Not to forget that this branding of NLUs is what gives its students an upper hand when it comes to jobs. The placement sector of NLUs is one of the most important factors for which the students choose to study in NLUs. Top law firms, nationally and internationally prefer to acquire law graduates from NLUs. The recruitments are not just from law firms, but many prestigious banks such as HDFC and ICICI also recruit students from NLUs and give them the best packages. The recruitment factor of NLU is a reward that you get for entering into the most prestigious law colleges in India.

Facilities and Student Representation

Be it moot courts, debates, mock parliaments, MUNs and conferences, NLU does it all with the best facilities available. Further, being a part of the top law schools in India gives you a great representation. The student body in NLU, elected by the students gives the students a chance to put their needs and requirements before administration, and they help bridge the gap between student and administration. These bodies are also instrumental in organizing curricular activities, from college fests to talks by eminent scholars. These activities are not only good for branding, but also in giving a proper recognition and many other benefits. Even recruitment committees in most of the top NLUs are run by students, while private colleges usually have permanent staff to do that work.

Moreover, the student bodies at NLU gives the active students a chance to build their resume by adding a Position of Responsibility. The students working in curricular and extra-curricular activities learn how to work in teams, how to solve a problem and most importantly how to communicate. These students also get an opportunity to interact with experts and famous advocates and hence can build up smart professional network since the very beginning.

Overall, these activities in NLUs help the student in his all-round development since a very young age, and by the time they leave NLUs, they have not just improved their interpersonal skills, but have also build up a strong network. And not to forget, that NLU campuses have the finest infrastructure among all law colleges in India.

Competition

To get into an NLU, you need to ace CLAT/AILET exams, and the percentage of students getting admitted into NLUs is close to 4%. This means, the college accept only the top merit students. Better the students, better the competition. And the best growth opportunities could be found only in a competitive environment. The NLUs always promote a competitive attitude within the students and this competition motivates the students to be always on their toes.

NON – NLU COLLEGES

It’s not just the NLU students who get advantages of being an “NLU Student”, but non-NLU students also get some advantages. Let’s discuss a few of them:

Modern Infrastructure

One undeniable fact is that NLUs mostly follows the old and traditional pedagogy of teaching which can make the institute lag behind when it comes to modern teaching techniques. However, private law colleges are equipped with better infrastructure and have an update pedagogy and teaching method which helps the students understand the subject better. The classrooms in private law colleges are equipped with great facilities, including, e-learning platforms, audio-visual learning experience and air-conditioned classrooms. These colleges prioritize the comfort of their students and usually have everything a student might need.

Less Stress and Pressure

One of the advantages of being a non-NLU student is that you will not have to go through the extra pressure which the NLU students face. All you have to do is ace in your internships and exams. However, same cannot be said for NLU students. They face constant pressure of being the best and getting the best opportunities, be it in internships, or jobs, or moots or exams. And if you fail even once, you will be known as a loser. NLU students are under too much peer pressure, family pressure and social anxiety. All this puts the students a few inches from having a mental breakdown.

Motivated Peers

Since NLU students are aware of fact that they do get priority during internships and jobs, they often suffer from superiority complex. Most of the NLU students do not work as hard as they should since they assume that landing a great job is to be all and end-all of law school experience whereas they can put these 5 years to far better use. Any non-NLU student could overcome these with systematic development, planning and focused execution of such plans. Non – NLU students work towards making their college better, creating more opportunities for them. A sincere non-NLU student is more likely to explore, work hard, and take opportunities more seriously. A non-NLU student who uses his or her 3 or 5 years well is likely to do far better after graduation.

Diversity

NLUs only teaches you law, however, in private colleges, the students get an opportunity to interact with students from other departments and courses, such as management, engineering, mass communication, agriculture etc. which proves beneficial to expand the reach and improve versatility among these law students.

Further, even private law colleges in India provides its students with the opportunity to participate in various events, from moots, trial advocacy to MUNs, private universities does it all.

So, NLU or Non-NLU, which is better?

It indeed is true that NLU students get an advantage over the non-NLU students because they do enjoy the superiority and priority which the get for being a student of the most prestigious law college in India. They do also are benefitted because of the “brand factor.”

However, your college can only provide you with an opportunity, but if you are not willing to grasp the opportunity or are not ready to put in the amount of effort and hard work required, then it be NLU or Non-NLU, you will never be successful.

Just because you did not get into NLU does not put an end to your law career. There are many good and senior advocates and attorneys who have not studied in NLUs. And always remember,

it is your drive to succeed that will make a difference and not the college.