Reading Between CLAT Cut-Offs: Evidence of Massive NLU Preference Order Failures
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Reading Between CLAT Cut-Offs: Evidence of Massive NLU Preference Order Failures

Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 16 Dec 2025, 05:53 PM IST

The CLAT cutoffs for NLUs showed massive preference order failure last year. Several students who could get tier 1 NLUs, including GNLU Gandhinagar, NLU Jodhpur, and NLIU Bhopal, were pushed to mid-tier or lower-ranked NLUs such as NLU Odisha, RGNUL Patiala and NUALS Kochi, GNLU Silvassa, and MNLU Nagpur. While some might be driven by their choice, the majority of cases reveal incorrect NLU preference orders submitted by students, choosing lower-ranked NLUs over the top ones.

Reading Between CLAT Cut-Offs: Evidence of Massive NLU Preference Order Failures
Reading Between CLAT Cut-Offs: Evidence of Massive NLU Preference Order Failures in CLAT

When Merit Fails to Convert into Opportunity

While creating an NLU preference order might not appear to be a big deal during the time of counselling, the differences in academic environments, infrastructure facilities, internship and placement opportunities reveal the missed opportunity.

What the Previous CLAT Cut-Offs Reveal

NLU Jodhpur, the third most preferred NLU among CLAT colleges, closed it all India general category admissions at AIR 367. However, a student with a better rank (AIR 350) was provisionally admitted to NUALS Kochi, a mid-tier NLU. Similarly, students at AIR 772, 849, 855, 891, 901, 925, 995 opted for GNLU Silvassa, a newly established off-campus of GNLU Gandhinagar, when these students could easily get admissions in mid-tier NLUs such as RMLNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, NLIU Bhopal (only BSc LLB), NLU Odisha, RGNUL Patiala, NUALS Kochi and CNLU Patna (BA LLB).

CLAT General Category Cut-Offs Last Year

NLU Name

Opening Rank

Closing Rank

NLSIU Bengaluru

1

112

NALSAR Hyderabad

17

159

WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB)

57

327

NLU Jodhpur

159

367

GNLU Gandhinagar

236

444

NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB)

257

480

MNLU Mumbai

443

558

WBNUJS Kolkata (BSc.LLB Hons)

299

711

RMLNLU Lucknow

461

780

HNLU Raipur

480

807

NLIU Bhopal (BSc LLB)

486

915

NLU Odisha BA LLB

469

1,013

NLU Odisha BBA LLB

552

1,176

RGNUL Patiala

565

1,279

NUALS Kochi

350

1,346

CNLU Patna (BA LLB)

882

1,398

GNLU Silvassa Campus

755

1,461

MNLU Nagpur - BA LLB

722

1,529

CNLU Patna (BBA LLB)

1,215

1,555

MNLU Nagpur - BBA LLB

1,214

1,623

NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB

864

1,667

DSNLU Visakhapatnam

957

1,682

NUSRL Ranchi BBA LLB

1,164

1,760

TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB

1,231

1,763

DBRANLU Sonepat

626

1,930

TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BCom LLB

1,259

1,947

MNLU Aurangabad- BA LLB

1,023

1,949

NLUJA Assam

1,163

2,141

MPDNLU Jabalpur

1,371

2,243

MNLU Aurangabad - BBA LLB

1,361

2,393

RPNLU Prayagraj

1,446

2,469

HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB

949

2,555

HPNLU Shimla - BBA LLB

1,298

2,634

IIULER Goa BA LLB

1,314

2,784

IIULER Goa BBA LLB

1198

2832

NLUT Agartala

1,964

2,855

The Off-Campus Illusion: Choosing an Unproven Campus Over Established NLUs

Ignoring RMLNLU Lucknow and HNLU Raipur in place of GNLU Silvassa can be a big career-defining blunder. While RMNLU Lucknow and CNLU Patana are established national law universities with median salaries ranging from Rs. 7-10 LPA, GNLU Silvassa, riding on the legacy of its main campus, is yet to establish itself, and it manages to admit meritorious students who could otherwise take admission in tier 2 NLUs. There is not even one graduating batch at GNLU Silvassa yet.

Some students who could get admission to RMNLU Lucknow and HNLU Raipur ended up taking admission in MNLU Nagpur (a relatively new NLU and lower-ranked university), and DBRANLU Sonepat, a tier-3 NLU which was set up in 2012, but started functioning only in 2019.

Career Impact & Long-Term Consequences

All these incidents make it clear — if NLU preferences are mismanaged this time, we might see meritorious students finding themselves in lower-ranked NLUs; a move that can cost them massively later, either in the form of infrastructure deficit in universities, lack of academic support, peer learning and eventually, placements. Therefore, a well-rounded understanding of counselling, especially the NLU preference order, is of utmost importance.

The consortium provides a window of around six to seven days. Irrespective of who registers first for CLAT counselling, the allotments are purely based on merit cum preference. So students must do a background check of universities before filling out the NLU preference order. Careers360 has also prepared an NLU preference order, which is based on placement data and the universities' standing among the legal community.

Looking beyond NLUs

While all tier-3 NLUs carry the prestigious NLU tags. They may not be at par with the top NLUs, at least at this time. Most of the tier-3 NLUs are newly established and still at a development stage. General category students who are getting a CLAT rank of 1600 or below are likely to get admission in these universities during the counselling. The spot rounds may help them move up to the higher-ranked NLUs. However, admission options at this stage must also be floated in the top non-NLUs. For example, Nirma University can be preferred over NLU Sonipat, MNLU Aurangabad, NLU Tripura, or even GNLU Silvassa. Similarly, other non-NLU options include Symbiosis Law School Pune, Jindal Global Law School Sonipat, GLC Mumbai, ILS Pune and Army Institute of Law, Mohali. Some of these will accept CLAT, while others conduct separate entrance exams.

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

Start preparing for CLAT by first understanding the exam pattern and syllabus, which includes English, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Make a simple daily routine and begin with basics read newspapers regularly for current affairs, practice comprehension passages for English and legal sections, and solve basic

Hello

With an AIR of 9076 and EWS rank of 846 in CLAT 2026, getting a top NLUs is unlikely, which is why you didn’t get a seat in the first round. However, you still have some chances in lower-tier NLUs like NLU Odisha, NLU Assam, NLU Tripura, NLU Meghalaya,

Hello

With a CLAT 2026 score of 60.75, AIR 17,715, and OBC-NCL rank 3,347 as an out-of-Delhi candidate, getting a seat in the Faculty of Law, Delhi University is very unlikely. DU’s cut-offs for OBC candidates are usually much higher, even in later rounds. You should keep backup options like

Hello,

With AIR 10542 and OBC rank 1843, getting top NLUs is unlikely. However, you still have chances in newer or lower ranked NLUs like NLU Assam, NUSRL Ranchi, MNLU Nagpur/Mumbai, especially in later or vacancy rounds. Also consider good private law colleges as backup options.

Since you scored 8000 AIR in CLAT, getting into top NLUs may not be possible, so it is a good idea to look for affordable and good law colleges.


State government law colleges are usually low in fees, and have decent reputation. Some options include Government Law College, Mumbai, Faculty