From CLAT Dropper to NLU Jodhpur: Ajay Kumar Choudhary Shares Mocks Strategy, Common Mistakes & Campus Life

Ajay Kumar Choudhary is a fourth-year BA LLB (Hons.) student at NLU Jodhpur, pursuing Constitutional Law Honours. During his time at law school, he has been actively involved in academics, mooting, legal aid, and research. He currently heads the Legal Aid Cell at NLU Jodhpur and also serves as the research head of the Centre for Essential Labour and Employment Laws. He has also represented the university in moot court competitions and completed internships at the Supreme Court, the High Court, district courts, and law firms.

Alongside his law school journey, Ajay runs a YouTube channel, KaeyCee, where he has documented his four years at NLU Jodhpur. In this interview with Careers360, he shares his CLAT preparation strategy, approach to mock tests and current affairs, and advice for aspirants preparing for CLAT 2027. He also talks about academics, internships, mooting, legal aid, and placements at NLU Jodhpur.

Careers360: Tell us about yourself and what motivated you to pursue law.

Ajay: I am Ajay Kumar Choudhary, a fourth-year Constitutional Law Honours student at NLU Jodhpur. I run a YouTube channel called KaeyCee where I have shared my law school journey for four years. As a child, I wanted to become an IS officer, but over time, a lot changed. Honestly, there was no single moment of realisation. In Class 11, one of my friends was preparing for CLAT. I did not know much about it, but it sounded good, and I wondered what I would do after graduating anyway. So I started preparing for CLAT. I couldn't clear it the first time, so I took it again.

Careers360: How was your CLAT preparation? Did you follow a daily study routine?

Ajay: I am a dropper. In my first attempt, I did not prepare seriously. CLAT 2022 was held in May 2022 and CLAT 2023 in December 2022, so I had about six months. I did not need a full year, since I had already prepared once.

During those six months, I studied about 10 to 12 hours a day. I gave three mocks every week and a sectional test daily. I spent one and a half hours every day on current affairs. I did not give legal reasoning much attention because I was confident in it. My weak area was logical reasoning, and I worked hard on it, scoring 28 out of 30 on the final exam.

Careers360: Which section of CLAT was the most challenging?

Ajay: In my year, it was current affairs. In 2023, some questions were so unusual I wondered how they came to exist. For example, one asked you to name a minister whose son is a footballer who had won an award. I got tricked by a few questions like that, but the other sections were fine. Quantitative techniques were fine for me, and most people can do it easily. It shouldn't take more than a month to get comfortable with it.

Careers360: With CLAT coming up in December, how should students divide their time between mocks, practice, revision, and current affairs?

Ajay: First, divide your calendar and decide what to focus on each week. For current affairs, you need to cover the last year. If it is September now, cover January to September in the first two weeks of October, using two or three compilations.

After that, focus on your mistakes rather than reading new material. Give more mock test and sectional tests by timing them. Current affairs should take no more than six or seven minutes in a 25-minute window. Also experiment with your attempt order. I used to go legal, English, general knowledge, critical reasoning, then quant, and I kept changing that pattern. Don't go back to basics after mid-October. Give the notes one last glance before then and spend the rest of your time on mocks and sectionals.

Careers360: What is one mistake you made during your CLAT preparation?

Ajay: Not being serious in my first attempt. Please do not plan on a drop. I regret mine, even though I got into a good college. Give your 100% the first time. My second attempt came only six months later, but if you are taking CLAT this year without seriousness, you will have to prepare for another full year until December.

Careers360: Any advice for aspirants hoping to get into NLU Jodhpur?

Ajay: First, do not target one particular NLU. NLU Jodhpur is in the top five, but your target should be NLSIU or NALSAR. In terms of CLAT rank, Jodhpur usually comes around third or fourth. I run a YouTube channel, and I tell aspirants that NLU Jodhpur will burn you out. It is one of the most competitive and most practical colleges in India. I do not get much time to make videos, and if I were at NALSAR, NUJS, or GNLU, my channel might look very different. The schedule is hectic, but it shapes you. I am genuinely grateful to this college. I have learned about 70 to 80 percent of what I know about life in these four years.

Careers360: Can you give some examples of how NLU Jodhpur challenges students?

Ajay: The semester is only four months long, and there is a 70% attendance criterion with no exemption for internships. If you leave for internships in October, 30% of your attendance is gone. The first week is easy, but after that come intra-moots, conferences, and committee work.

I am the Legal Aid Cell head at NLU Jodhpur, so I supervise the cases that come in from different people. I am also the research head of the Centre for Essential Labour and Employment Laws, where we are organising a certificate course next month and a stakeholder summit, and I am on the core team handling registrations. On top of that come exams: I had a CA today, one two days ago, a project submission before that, and more coming, with seven or eight exams still pending. It is four years, but it feels like it passed in a month. The one thing I would change is that students should get more free time in the summer.

Careers360: What made you choose NLU Jodhpur, and has the college met your expectations?

Ajay: Honestly, I was not planning on it. I wanted NALSAR, and I was not focused on any particular NLU, but you have to go somewhere, and this is where I got in after my drop. So I had few expectations. It is a tier-one NLU with an established name, which made me expect good infrastructure. The campus is old and not that well planned, but it is a beautiful, lush green 55-acre campus and you feel the vibe.

In the first semester or year, your expectations may feel shattered, but they are actually being built. There are countless moots, conferences, and events, and it is up to you to grab the opportunities. Big legal personalities visit often. I was with the CJI when he came for the Vice Chancellor's convocation, with Professor Faizan Mustafa when he visited, and with Mr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy of NLSIU, who told me he watched my videos. I also took part in the India Technical and Economic Corridor programme hosted by NLU Jodhpur. If you give it your 100%, there is a lot to learn.

Careers360: How have internships, mooting and other opportunities shaped your law school journey?

Ajay: We have an internship and placement cell. There is no formal tie-up as at some NLUs, but because NLU Jodhpur is tier-one, firms email the cell when they want interns, and internships are allotted based on your batch rank.

I have two internships scheduled for December and January, one at Saraf & Partners and one in the Bangalore office of another firm. Before that, I did mostly litigation, since corporate did not interest me, plus one or two internships at boutique law firms, and internships at the Supreme Court, High Court, and district courts. I also did two or three research internships under professors.

In mooting, I have represented my university at several competitions, including a criminal trial advocacy competition. GNLU Moot is coming up in February, and I may take one more. I am not naturally a mooting person. I speak in public through my YouTube channel, but I took up mooting because I believe that if you are afraid of something, you should face it. That is what I did throughout college.

I should also mention the Legal Aid and Awareness Committee, which is known across Indian law schools as a model for legal aid committees. We run projects like Shilpa for women's empowerment and right-to-education projects that get children admitted to schools. We have adopted two villages, and we collaborate with an NGO on a project for under-trial prisoners and with UNICEF.

Careers360: How is NLU Jodhpur for placements, especially in corporate firms and litigation?

Ajay: The college is corporate-oriented because the fees are high. Even students who want to go into litigation usually start in corporate to recover that investment. As a tier-one NLU, placements are strong. I will not share an exact figure, but for the 2027 batch, it was around 40% this semester and will grow. Companies come with a package criterion above Rs 15 lakhs. We could have 100% placement, but the college holds out for bigger packages than other law schools. Overall, the placement rate is around 60 to 70%, and some students choose higher studies instead.