CLAT 2026 Round 2 Cut-Offs: Top NLUs Freeze Early as IIULER Goa Sees Mass Exits

Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 22 Jan 2026, 02:31 PM IST

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has published the second round allotment on January 22. Allotments are available for all 26 NLUs and a non-NLU - IIULER, Goa. The latest round of allotment shows closing ranks shifted marginally in top NLUs from the first round, indicating higher competition and seat acceptance among students. NLSIU, the top-ranked university, announced only 16 fresh allotments in the second round. All remaining 294 seats have been locked and accepted. NALSAR Hyderabad and NUJS Kolkata also accepted just 17 and 13 students, respectively.

In contrast, universities such as IIULER Goa are witnessing a higher rejection rate. IIULER Goa’s BBA LLB program was rejected by 44 out of 61 students who were offered admission in the first round. These students either exited from counselling or floated their admission options in NLUs. The second round has new allotments for 48 students to fill the vacant seats and additional seats. It got a similar response last year as well, when 43 new BBA LLB allotments were announced in the second round.

Other universities with weaker preference rates are NLU Prayagraj (26 new allotments from 60) and NLU Tripura (23 new allotments from 60). These universities, along with other tier 3 NLUs, experience a sharp drop in CLAT cutoffs, often falling by over 5,000 ranks for general category students.

Three factors explain the falling CLAT cut-offs for tier 3 law schools: a poor perception among students, availability of better NLUs through float, and lastly, competition from non-NLUs, which includes both private universities and several state government-run universities and law colleges.

BA LLB remains the top course

Another noticeable insight is course preference. The CLAT cut-offs for BA LLB are more competitive than those of other integrated LLB programs. A majority of students have preferred BA LLB over BBA LLB or any other form of integrated LLB course, despite these courses offering a specialised first degree course along with LLB.

Take the example of NLU Jodhpur, where the general category BA LLB cut-off closed at AIR 340 in the second round and BBA LLB at AIR 405. Similarly, CNLU Patna general category admission for BA LLB was closed at AIR 1172, and BBA LLB at AIR 1339.

BA LLB has been a go-to option among students mainly due to the flexibility it offers and a general perception of BA among students of it being an easier option than BCom, BSc, or BBA, allowing better handling of an integrated course in the university.

Mid-tier NLUs: Smart options, how they would change

NLUs such as RMNLU, MNLU Mumbai, HNLU Raipur, NUALS Kochi, RPNLU and NLU Odisha are considered the best among tier 2 NLUs. The mid-tier NLUs are good options considering they do not have competition similar to NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS or NLU Jodhpur.

MNLU Mumbai remains an anomaly in tier 2 NLUs, as it offers very few all-India seats, resulting in higher competition under the general category, which brings cut-offs closer to those of tier 1 NLUs (below 500). The remaining second-tier universities have been accessible at higher ranks.

Most of these universities will accept students up to AIR 1500 by the time of the final round. During spot rounds, the general category cut-offs for these universities fall drastically. For example, NUSRL Ranchi, which closed general category admissions with an AIR 1667 during central counselling, accepted students at AIR 7096 in the spot round last year.

CNLU Patna BA LLB cut off fell from AIR 1555 to AIR 2366 for general category students last year. Similarly, RMNLU Lucknow dropped from AIR 780 to AIR 1500 during the spot round.

The CLAT counselling is being held in five rounds this year, followed by spot rounds. As the students exercise freeze, float and exit options, the cutoffs will change accordingly. It not only shows a stiff competition among students, but also reflects students' perception of universities.

The older universities have enjoyed a better perception, despite the addition of new NLUs every year. IIULER Goa, a private institute, drew students’ attention; however, the massive use of the float/exit option shows that the university’s affiliation to the NLU Consortium has done little in shaping the students’ perception of it.

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