CLAT 4th Counselling Round Likely to See More Allotments Than Round 3 — Here’s Why!

Why does 4th round see higher allotments?

Between the 3rd and 4th rounds of allotments, there is a gap of over 60 days. During this period, many students actively compare NLUs with non-NLUs to improve their prospects.

• Law schools across the country would be in the final stage of the admission process in April-May, pulling away students from lower-ranked NLUs.

• Students who chose the float option earlier must make a final call; either accept the seat or completely exit.

• Exercise of the ‘Exit option’ creates more vacancies in NLUs, which are eventually filled through fresh allotments.

After the fourth round, there is no float option. Accept the seat or exit from counselling. So, by the structure of CLAT counselling, it becomes the most decisive round of NLU admission.

Non-NLUs competing with NLUs

April and May are the most active months for law school admissions in India. Several Non-NLUs draw the students away from lower-ranked NLUs. Some of them accept CLAT, while others conduct separate entrance tests.

For example, GLC Mumbai and ILS Pune are preferred over tier 3 NLUs. These law schools will accept students through the MH CET Law around the same time.

JGLS Sonipat and BITS Law School are also actively competing with tier 2 and tier 3 NLUs. Among public universities, Delhi University has been a centre of attraction for law aspirants. The university competes with many tier 2 NLUs, including NLU Odisha, NLU Patna, NLU Kochi, and RMNLU Lucknow. The general category closing rank for the BA LLB program at DU was close to AIR 1500 last year.

The university introduced 5-year LLB programs recently and has no placement records to market the courses; However, its overall reputation, perception among students, and central location have worked well in attracting students.

By May, the law schools of Symbiosis International University (SIU) also complete the admissions in BBA LLB and BA LLB courses, vacating some seats in lower-ranked NLUs.

Tier 1 NLUs allotment in 4th round

Tier 1 NLUs remain competitive from the first round. An overwhelming majority of students freeze the allotments. Data shows that general category candidates up to AIR 110-120 choose NLSIU. NALSAR Hyderabad remains the second most preferred, which closes general category admissions by around AIR 160-165.

WBNUJS, NLU Jodhpur, GNLU Gandhinagar and NLIU Bhopal are the remaining NLUs in the tier 1 category. WBNUJS and NLU Jodhpur close general category admissions between AIR 330-360. GNLU and NLIU (BA LLB) are available up to AIR 450-480.

So, even in the upcoming 4th and 5th rounds of allotments, general category students with AIR 500 or above will not be able to secure allotments in tier 1 universities. Even spot rounds are rare in these universities.

Expected Final Closing Ranks in Tier 1 NLUs

Tier 2 NLUs:

RMNLU Lucknow, MNLU Mumbai, NLU Odisha, NLU Ranchi, CNLU Patna, and NLU Kochi are in the tier 2 universities. MNLU remains competitive due to its low all-India seats, and the general category admission closes between AIR 500 and AIR 550.

RMNLU, HNLU Raipur, and NLU Odisha close general category admission by AIR 1000.

Currently, after the third round, RMNLU Lucknow's closing rank is AIR 779, HNLU Raipur at 770, and NLU Odisha (BA LLB) at AIR 832. NLU Odisha general category cut-off may drop up to 1000 or 1100 by the fourth round.

RMNLU and HNLU are expected to see marginal drops. Having said this, RMNLU set AIR 1500 as a benchmark for admission during spot rounds held in the previous year. HNLU Raipur accepted AIR 1112, and NLU Odisha was open for AIR 1667.

Tier 2 NLUs admission: 3rd round vs spot round of last year

CNLU Patna and NUALS Kochi, the remaining two NLUs in the group, have strong reputations and placements. However, NLUs like RMNLU and RGNLU Patiala are often preferred over these due to locational advantage. CNLU, which closed at AIR 1400 in the final round, again dropped to AIR 1981 during spot rounds last year.

Emerging NLUs

Admissions in lower-ranked NLUs or new NLUs are highly volatile during the 4th and 5th rounds. Students prefer to explore better NLUs in the fourth round. Many also consider non-NLU options. So even when the all-India general category may close by around AIR 2800, the multiple spot rounds change the cutoff game entirely.

MNLU Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad), for example, release 8-9 spot round allotment lists after the central counselling. Cutoffs would drop from a very competitive AIR 1600-1700 to 3700-3800.

As of the third round, the MNLU Nagpur cutoff for the BA LLB program stands at AIR 1306 in the general category, MNLU Sambhajinagar at AIR 1573; this is expected to drop further to 1500 for Nagpur and 1900 for Sambhajinagar in the fourth round.

GNLU Silvassa

GNLU Silvassa is another example where students are driven by the perception of GNLU Gandhinagar, its main campus, over any robust data.

The campus was established recently, in 2022. It enjoys the legacy and reputation of the Gandhinagar campus. Considering that GNLU Silvassa remains a new NLU with no graduating batch yet, different faculty from its main campus, and no placement records, puts it at the level of tier 3 NLUs.

As of the third round merit list, GNLU Silvassa's closing rank for the general category is AIR 1348, and it is expected to drop further in the upcoming rounds, up to AIR 1500.

Last year, GNLU Silvassa BA LLB cut-offs dropped from AIR 1468, which was better than many established NLUs such as MNLU Nagpur (AIR 1529), DSNLU (AIR 1682), and NUSRL Ranchi (AIR 1667). During the spot round, GNLU Silvassa cutoffs dropped to AIR 4943.

NLU Tripura

Similarly, NLU Tripura, which was established recently, faces two problems; firstly, similar to GNLU Silvassa, it is yet to establish itself. Secondly, the university faces unique geographical challenges. It is situated on the eastern side of Bangladesh, far away from the rest of the country, which means distance and connectivity create significant barriers.

By the nature of the CLAT counselling structure, the university closed general category admissions at AIR 2229 last year, but the spot round experienced extreme swings as many students declined the admission offers. This resulted in the university releasing multiple merit lists during spot rounds, and the general category saw a staggering drop to AIR 19,365.

Universities such as NLU Sonipat, HPNLU Shimla, NLU Vishakhapattnam, which are also at emerging stages but considered better options than those established in the last 3-4 years, including NLU Tripura and NLU Prayagraj.

Quick Reference: What to Expect in Rounds 4 and 5

Bottom Line

The slowdown in the third round of NLU admission is not the end. This is a dynamic phase of counselling where students compete for top NLUs and top private and government law institutes with NLUs. Previous data shows that many students exercise the exit option after the third round, after the fourth round, no float option is available. Students whose CLAT rank is close to last year’s final cutoff should have genuine reasons to approach the counselling with optimism.

For law aspirants, the advice is simple: identify the opportunities in tier 2 NLUs through historic CLAT cutoff data. If they appear accessible, participate in the counselling till the final round. Once the central counselling is over, actively follow the official websites of those NLUs for spot round opportunities and apply separately. Simultaneously, explore the best non-NLU law schools through other law entrance exams; do not confine yourself to NLU-tag.