Careers360 Logo
ask-icon
share
    CLAT Cut-off Trends in the Last 4 Years: Which are the top preferred NLUs?
    • Law Exams
    • CLAT Exam
    • CLAT Cut-off Trends in the Last 4 Years: Which are the top preferred NLUs?

    CLAT Cut-off Trends in the Last 4 Years: Which are the top preferred NLUs?

    Sukriti SahooUpdated on 29 Jul 2025, 04:06 PM IST

    The best tool to know the most preferred NLUs is the past years’ CLAT cut-off trends. The available CLAT cut-off data shows that candidates with the highest scores often opt for top-ranked NLUs such as NLSIU Bengaluru and NALSAR Hyderabad. Candidates were required to provide their NLU preference list after the declaration of the CLAT 2025 result. Aspirants can gain admission into only those NLUs that are part of their preferences irrespective of whether they have a good score in CLAT or not. The CLAT 2025 merit list for all three rounds has been published, which contains the CLAT 2025 cut-off. Read on to find out which NLUs are the top preference among candidates, past CLAT cut-off trends, steps to provide NLU preference, and more.

    This Story also Contains

    1. Indicator of Top Preferred NLUs
    2. Last 4-year’s CLAT Cut-Off Trends
    3. Which are the Top Preferred NLUs?
    4. Top Ranked NLUs in NIRF 2024 Law Rankings
    CLAT Cut-off Trends in the Last 4 Years: Which are the top preferred NLUs?
    CLAT cut-off trends (Image by wayhomestudio on freepik)

    The Consortium of NLUs conducted CLAT 2025 on December 1, 2024, in offline mode. Through the Common Law Admission Test, candidates will be admitted into the 5-year LLB programme of participating CLAT colleges 2025.

    Indicator of Top Preferred NLUs

    The most reliable indicator of the extent to which an NLU is preferred by the candidates is the NLU’s CLAT cut-off rank available in the CLAT merit list. Top-ranked NLUs have very high cut-offs. They often come first in the candidate’s preference list.

    However, it is also important to look at the category-wise cut-offs for a nuanced understanding of the NLU preferences. The CLAT cut-off trends point towards dissimilarities within categories in the same NLU. For instance, the data for CLAT 2024 shows that a general candidate may need around 100 marks (out of 120) for admission into NLSIU Bengaluru, while an ST candidate may only need around 80 marks to gain admission.

    The cut-off for a general category candidate at a lower-ranked NLU may turn out to be higher than the cut-off for an ST candidate at NLSIU Bengaluru.

    Last 4-year’s CLAT Cut-Off Trends

    The CLAT cut-off for general category is often the highest cut-off for any NLUs, so it is the best indicator to understand which NLUs are the top preference among candidates. The cut-off progressively decreases as one moves to other categories such as EWS, OBC, SC and ST. Given below are the opening and closing ranks for general candidates for various NLUs for the last four years.

    The opening ranks indicate which NLUs are most preferred by top-ranked candidates. The closing ranks can help candidates estimate their admission chances in the top NLUs.

    CLAT General Cut-Off Trends

    NLU

    2025

    2024

    2023

    2022

    Opening rank


    Closing rank


    Opening rank

    Closing rank

    Opening rank

    Closing rank

    Opening rank

    Closing rank

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    1112

    1

    102

    1

    114

    1

    85

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    17159

    6

    167

    25

    177

    8

    162

    NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB)

    257480

    311

    450

    186

    463

    241

    451

    NLIU Bhopal (BSc LLB)

    486915

    187

    1047

    WBNUJS Kolkata ( BA LLB)

    57327

    140

    279

    136

    260

    117

    257

    WBNUJS Kolkata (BSc.LLB Hons)

    299711

    289

    1010

    NLU Jodhpur

    159367

    170

    379

    70

    383

    155

    378

    HNLU Raipur

    480807

    434

    791

    481

    805

    430

    756

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    236444

    210

    464

    147

    462

    175

    430

    GNLU Silvassa Campus

    7551461

    593

    1060

    810

    1820

    -

    -

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    461780

    410

    764

    432

    749

    377

    756

    RGNUL Patiala

    5651279

    502

    1250

    563

    1307

    437

    1184

    CNLU Patna (BA LLB)

    8821398

    790

    1358

    628

    1541

    932

    1498

    CNLU Patna (BBA LLB)

    12151555

    1051

    1552

    NUALS Kochi

    3501346

    231

    1136

    638

    1461

    413

    1315

    NLU Odisha

    4691013

    591

    1205

    504

    1207

    470

    1191

    NUSRL Ranchi

    8641667

    637

    1594

    939

    1895

    933

    1603

    NLUJA Assam

    11632141

    1344

    1704

    1375

    2569

    1131

    1979

    DSNLU Visakhapatnam

    9571682

    656

    1390

    538

    2080

    1002

    1589

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BA LLB)

    12311763

    806

    1628

    704

    2045

    807

    1816

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli (BCom LLB)

    12591947

    821

    1711

    MNLU Mumbai

    4431473

    99

    590

    325

    590

    64

    548

    MNLU Nagpur (BA LLB)

    7221529

    491

    1587

    878

    2102

    999

    1657

    MNLU Nagpur (BBA LLB)

    12141623

    611

    1685

    MNLU Aurangabad- (BA LLB)

    10231949

    945

    1832

    1824

    2655

    1390

    2323

    MNLU Aurangabad (BBA LLB)

    13612393

    681

    2115

    HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB

    9492555

    885

    2102

    822

    2816

    1056

    2302

    HPNLU Shimla - BBA LLB

    12982634

    284

    2150

    MPDNLU Jabalpur

    13712243

    1060

    1824

    1696

    2698

    1314

    2262

    DBRANLU Sonepat

    6261930

    503

    2050

    767

    2713

    1094

    2333

    NLUT Agartala

    19642855

    1716

    2243

    -

    -

    -

    -

    Infographics - CLAT General Cut-Off Trends

    Infographics - CLAT General Cut-Off Trends

    Which are the Top Preferred NLUs?

    Analysing the general cut-off ranks for CLAT for the last four years, gives the following list of top preferred NLUs.

    Top 10 Preferred NLUs

    Sl. no

    NLU Name

    1

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    2

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    3

    MNLU Mumbai

    4

    WBNUJS Kolkata

    5

    NLU Jodhpur

    6

    NLIU Bhopal

    7

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    8

    NUALS Kochi

    9

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    10

    HNLU Raipur

    Top Ranked NLUs in NIRF 2024 Law Rankings

    In the NIRF law rankings 2024 released by the Ministry of Education, 15 NLUs find a place in the rank list. Candidates can take the NIRF rankings as reference to provide their NLU preferences for law admission. The NLU rankings as per NIRF law 2024 are given in the table below.

    NIRF 2024 NLU Rankings

    Sl. noNameCityStateNIRF ScoreRank

    1

    National Law School of India University

    Bengaluru

    Karnataka

    83.83

    1

    2

    Nalsar University of Law

    Hyderabad

    Telangana

    77.05

    3

    3

    The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences

    Kolkata

    West Bengal

    76.39

    4

    4

    Gujarat National Law University

    Gandhinagar

    Gujarat

    69.56

    8

    5

    Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University

    Lucknow

    Uttar Pradesh

    55.92

    20

    6

    National Law Institute University, Bhopal

    Bhopal

    Madhya Pradesh

    55.64

    21

    7

    National University of Study and Research in Law

    Ranchi

    Jharkhand

    55.52

    22

    8

    The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

    Patiala

    Punjab

    54.7

    24

    9

    National Law University, Cuttack

    Cuttack

    Odisha

    54.49

    26

    10

    National Law University and Judicial Academy

    Kamrup

    Assam

    53.39

    27

    11

    Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai

    Mumbai

    Maharashtra

    51.7

    31

    12

    Chanakya National Law University

    Patna

    Bihar

    51.7

    31

    13

    Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

    Nagpur

    Maharashtra

    51.43

    34

    14

    National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS)

    Kochi

    Kerala

    47.96

    38

    15

    Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University

    Visakhapatnam

    Andhra Pradesh

    47.94

    39

    How to Provide NLU Preferences?

    The CLAT 2025 counselling registrations closed on May 21, 2025. Candidates were required to provide their NLU preferences after the declaration of the CLAT 2025 result. The NLU admissions 2025 will be done as per the candidate’s rank and preferences given by them. At the time of CLAT 2025 counselling, candidates will be considered for admission into only those NLUs which are part of their preferences. A minimum 15 NLU preferences must be provided. There is no maximum limit.

    Steps to Provide NLU Preferences 2025

    • Login to the CLAT account

    • Click on update NLU preferences

    • Provide the NLU choices in the order of preference

    • Click on submit

    Jindal Global Law School Admissions 2026

    Ranked #1 Law School in India & South Asia by QS- World University Rankings | Merit cum means scholarships | Applications Closing Soon

    Amity University-Noida Law Admissions 2026

    Among top 100 Universities Globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026

    You may also check:

    CLAT 2026 College Predictor
    Know your admission chances in National Law Universities based on your home state & exam result for All India Category & State Category seats.
    Try Now

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: How to provide NLU preferences?
    A:

    Candidates can provide NLU preferences through their login after the declaration of the CLAT 2025 result.

    Q: What is a good score in CLAT?
    A:

    A good score in CLAT is around 100+ marks for the general category, 90-100 for the EWS and OBC category, and 80+ for SC/ST category.

    Q: Is 70 a good score in CLAT?
    A:

    As per the latest available cut-off trends, 70 is not a good score in CLAT for admission into top NLUs. 

    Articles
    |
    Upcoming Law Exams
    Ongoing Dates
    BITS LAT Application Date

    27 Aug'25 - 28 Apr'26 (Online)

    Ongoing Dates
    NLSAT Application Date

    15 Nov'25 - 23 Mar'26 (Online)

    Certifications By Top Providers
    Study from Still Life
    Via Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
    Indian Government and Politics
    Via University of Kashmir, Srinagar
    Literature, Culture and Media
    Via Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
    Ergonomics Workplace Analysis
    Via Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
    Sociology of Development
    Via Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
    Geography of India
    Via University of Mysore, Mysore
    Swayam
     162 courses
    Edx
     129 courses
    Futurelearn
     74 courses
    NPTEL
     74 courses
    Explore Top Universities Across Globe

    Questions related to CLAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CLAT ?


    With a rank of 3917 in CLAT PG, your best options for an LLM include top private universities that accept CLAT scores, along with CUETPG opportunities. Some of the best non-NLU options are BHU, LPU Jalandhar, UPES Dehradun, etc.

    Hello Santosh,

    Domicile cut-offs are unpredictable. You can apply and get a seat only if the domicile category is selected. You can apply, but the chances of getting either of them are rare.

    CLAT is an entrance examination conducted for admissions into law colleges. The qualifying marks vary with the colleges. You should check the details on the website to get a clear idea regarding cut offs for the colleges. You will also get the exam pattern through the article shared.

    The exact number for students appeared for CLAT has not been revealed yet. About 88,657 students appeared Nationwide for CLAT examination.

    Hello, it is highly unlikely to get admission to the GGSIPU Main Campus or VIPS. However, you can target other colleges affiliated with GGSIPU through the counselling process.