Spot Rounds Lower NLUs Admission Bar: CLAT 2025 Cut-Offs Fall from AIR 2,800 to 12,000

Admission Trends in NLUs

• NLUs offer a combined intake of over 3500 in 5-year integrated LLB courses, of which around 1500 seats are offered in the all-India general category. While the top NLUs have higher competition, the lower/newer NLUs have fewer takers.

• NLSIU, for example, is preferred by most of the NLUs; as a result, the seats are filled during CLAT counselling. There was no spot round admission. In fact, 85 to 90 students from the top 100 opt for NLSIU every year, resulting in intense competition and a success rate of less than 0.4% from 60,000 candidates.

• After NLSIU, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata, NLU Jodhpur, GNLU Gandhinagar and NLU Bhopal are the most preferred NLUs. The preference order among the majority of students remains as given above. NALSAR Hyderabad, while filling the vacant seat, made it clear that only CLAT AIR 200 or below-ranked candidates can apply during the spot round.

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• These universities are followed by the tier 2 NLUs such as RMNLU Lucknow, MNLU Mumbai, NLU Odisha, NLU Ranchi, NLU Kochi and NLU Patna. Cutoffs in these universities remain between All India Rank 800 - 1500 during CLAT counselling. They drop marginally in spot rounds due to the exercise of “betterment” or the “exit” option by some students.

• Tier 3 or newer NLUs face challenging situations, and the spot round admissions are held in several rounds. A majority of students either prefer upgrading to a higher NLU or opt for non-NLUs. The cut-offs in these universities would thus slide by over 200% in several cases.

Why do students exit lower ranked NLUs?

• They are relatively new and yet to establish themselves

• These NLUs often struggle during the placements, while the higher-ranked NLUs have offered significantly better opportunities.

• Infrastructure in newer NLUs; for example, RPNLU Prayagaj, established in 2022, is yet to get its own campus and residential facility. It is currently functioning in an engineering college in Phaphamau. Similarly, NLU Sonipat has recently got its campus in Sonipat, Haryana. NLU Tripura is also setting up its campus. But they are still in the initial development phase.

• Competition with non-NLUs: Delhi University, Jindal Global Law School Sonipat, Symbiosis Law School, GLC Mumbai, are often preferred by students over tier 3 NLUs.

How CLAT Cut-Offs Fall from Counselling to Spot Round?

The spot round dropped the admission by over AIR 5,000 in at least two NLUs and by over 3,000 in seven NLUs. Among these is NUSRL Ranchi, the 22nd best law school according to NIRF Law rankings 2024. It released 12 rounds of merit lists to fill the vacant seats. Overall, at least 12 NLUs which conducted spot round admissions saw the cutoffs dropping by over 1000 ranks from the CLAT counselling in the general category. Only NLSIU Bangalore did not announce any spot round admissions. As of September 1, 2025, some NLUs are still conducting spot round admissions. The detailed drop across NLUs is shown below.

CLAT 2025 Cut-Offs: Counselling vs Spot Round Admissions

Key takeaways

The data given above shows cut-off declining massively in several newly established NLUs. Whereas, top-ranked NLUs such as NALSAR, GNLU Gandhinagar, NLU Bhopal and NUJS Kolkata are sliding marginally. In the mid-tier NLUs, the drop is between 300-800 ranks. MNLU Aurangabad did not provide the CLAT ranks of candidates shortlisted in the spot round. However, considering the student preference for the university, the cut-offs are likely to have dropped, similar to MNLU Nagpur or MPDNLU Jabalpur.

In conclusion, the data above make it clear that CLAT counselling is not a dead-end in the admission process at NLUs. The spot round admissions can drastically change the cut-off scenario and help the students secure seats even if they do not qualify through the CLAT counselling.