Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need
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Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need

Ongoing Event

CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25

Sansar Singh ChhikaraUpdated on 25 Sep 2025, 05:38 PM IST

When it comes to ranking NLUs, the NIRF Law ranking is the most popular ranking framework. Every year, NIRF ranks law colleges based on four parameters - Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception (PR). However, students have observed many anomalies. For instance, the 6th most preferred law school, NLIU Bhopal, is ranked 27th in NIRF, below Central University of South Bihar, Jamia Millia Islamia, RMLNLU Lucknow, Saveetha Institute of Medical Sciences, etc.

Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need
Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF

On the contrary, when you look at the cutoffs of NLIU Bhopal over the years and placement statistics, it can be said that NLIU Bhopal is a tier 1 NLU. Furthermore, MNLU Mumbai, RGNUL Patiala, and NUALS Kochi were not even included in the NIRF Law rankings 2025. Instances like these make students not trust the NIRF rankings completely. One good way of judging colleges is how hard it is to get into them. For example, NLSIU Bengaluru has the highest cutoff over the years. The placement statistics, feedback from students, and the learning ecosystem totally justify the high cutoffs of the institute. In this article, we have dug back into the CLAT cutoffs of the last five years and ranked colleges based on the cutoffs.

Top NLUS Based on CLAT cutoffs for last five years

After analysing the last five years' cutoffs of CLAT, it is very evident that NLSIU Bengaluru is the number one-ranked college among NLUs. NLSIU Bengaluru has had an average closing rank of 99 for general category students in the last five years. After NLSIU Bengaluru comes NALSAR Hyderabad, which has an average closing rank of 167 in the last five years. Similarly, WBNUJS Kolkata has an average closing rank of 273. Talking of NLIU Bhopal, it has an average closing rank of 444 and is ranked 6th in terms of cutoffs in the last five years. The table given below shows the list of NLUs ranked based on their cutoffs in the last five years.

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NLUs ranked based on CLAT cutoffs (2021-2025)

Rank

Institute Name

Avg. Closing Rank

1

NLSIU Bengaluru

99

2

NALSAR Hyderabad

167

3

WBNUJS Kolkata

273

4

NLU Jodhpur

373

5

GNLU Gandhinagar

433

6

NLIU Bhopal

444

7

MNLU Mumbai

731

8

RMLNLU Lucknow

745

9

HNLU Raipur

785

10

NLU Odisha

1138

11

RGNUL Patiala

1219

12

NUALS Kochi

1280

13

CNLU Patna

1421

14

GNLU Silvassa Campus

1447

15

DSNLU Visakhapatnam

1643

16

NUSRL Ranchi

1653

17

MNLU Nagpur

1665

18

TNNLU Tiruchirappalli

1817

19

NLUJA Assam

2010

20

MNLU Aurangabad

2156

21

MPDNLU Jabalpur

2195

22

DBRANLU Sonepat

2213

23

HPNLU Shimla

2357

24

RPNLU Prayagraj

2469

25

NLUT Agartala

2549

26

IIULER Goa

2784

*The data given above comprise only general category cutoffs for the last five years.

Top NLUs based on CLAT 2025 Cutoffs

Apart from the last five years, candidates can also judge NLUs based on the last year’s cutoff. It might not be the case that things are necessarily the same as they were five years ago. To get an idea about the latest developments and emerging NLUs, candidates can also check the list of top NLUs based on CLAT 2025 cutoffs. Talking of top NLUs in 2025, the list of the top 5 is the same as the table given above. There are slight changes as we go lower in the list. Check out the list of top NLUs in 2025 based on CLAT cutoffs.

NLU Rank List 2025 based on CLAT Cutoffs

Ranking

College Name

Opening Rank

Closing Rank

1

NLSIU Bengaluru

1

112

2

NALSAR Hyderabad

17

159

3

WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB)

57

327

4

NLU Jodhpur

159

367

5

GNLU Gandhinagar

236

444

6

NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB)

257

480

7

RMLNLU Lucknow

461

780

8

HNLU Raipur

480

807

9

NLU Odisha BA LLB

469

1013

10

RGNUL Patiala

565

1279

11

NUALS Kochi

350

1346

12

CNLU Patna (BA LLB)

882

1398

13

GNLU Silvassa Campus

755

1461

14

MNLU Mumbai

443

1473

15

MNLU Nagpur - BA LLB

722

1529

16

NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB

864

1667

17

DSNLU Visakhapatnam

957

1682

18

TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB

1231

1763

19

DBRANLU Sonepat

626

1930

20

MNLU Aurangabad- BA LLB

1023

1949

21

NLUJA Assam

1163

2141

22

MPDNLU Jabalpur

1371

2243

23

RPNLU Prayagraj

1446

2469

24

HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB

949

2555

25

NLUT Agartala

1964

2855

CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoffs for NLUs

After studying the last five years' cutoffs of the CLAT exam, there are some predictions that can be made for the upcoming session. The CLAT 2026 cutoff for the top 5 NLUs is expected to show stability. Some changes in CLAT cutoffs 2026 can be expected in mid and low-tier NLUs. The following denotes the expected cutoffs for CLAT 2026 based on the previous year's cutoffs.

CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoff

College

Avg Closing (2021-25)

Predicted 2026 Closing

NLSIU Bengaluru

99

122

NALSAR Hyderabad

167

161

WBNUJS Kolkata

273

331

NLU Jodhpur

373

380

GNLU Gandhinagar

433

490

NLIU Bhopal

444

505

MNLU Mumbai

731

1355

RMLNLU Lucknow

745

810

HNLU Raipur

785

820

NLU Odisha

1138

1106

RGNUL Patiala

1219

1361

NUALS Kochi

1280

1348

CNLU Patna

1421

1431

GNLU Silvassa Campus

1447

1088

DSNLU Visakhapatnam

1643

1708

NUSRL Ranchi

1653

1746

MNLU Nagpur

1665

1692

TNNLU Tiruchirappalli

1817

1718

NLUJA Assam

2010

2217

MNLU Aurangabad

2156

1965

MPDNLU Jabalpur

2195

2240

DBRANLU Sonepat

2213

2062

HPNLU Shimla

2357

2624

RPNLU Prayagraj

2469

N/A

NLUT Agartala

2549

3467

IIULER Goa

2784

N/A

What does the CLAT Cutoff for last 5 years say?

  • The CLAT cutoffs for top NLUs have mostly been stable over the past few years. NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata have been the definite top 3 in terms of cutoffs.

  • Many low and mid-tier NLUs have been jumping the ladder when it comes to ranking colleges based on CLAT cutoff. For instance, GNLU Silvassa, which had a closing rank of 1820 in 2023, jumped to 1461 in 2025.

  • Similarly, MNLU Aurangabad, DBRANLU Sonepat and TNNLU Tiruchirapalli have tightened their closing cutoffs, which are directly proportional to the number of students wanting admission in these colleges.

  • Newer entrants in the NLUs list, like RPNLU Prayagraj and NLU Assam, have been seeing the lowest closing ranks when compared with all other NLUs. These NLUs are more like a safety net for general category candidates under rank 2000.

  • NLUs like MNLU Mumbai, MNLU Nagpur, HPNLU Shimla, and NLUJ Assam have shown fluctuations in cutoff, making them unpredictable over the years.

  • All colleges that offer other integrated law courses like BBA LLB, BSc LLM, etc, along with BA LLB have lower closing cutoffs for the latter one. BA LLB is the top priority of candidates in a particular college.

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Hello,

While NLUs are costly, you can still pursue government-funded law education through state-funded universities and their affiliated colleges that accept CLAT scores, such as institutes like Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University.

I hope it will clear your query!!

It is always better to take the CLAT exam right after Class 12 if your goal is to build a career in law, because CLAT UG is specifically designed for admission into integrated five-year law programs like BA LLB, BCom LLB, or BBA LLB. Appearing after Class 12 saves you time, as you complete both graduation and law together in a single course. On the other hand, if you first complete graduation and then plan for law, you will not be eligible for CLAT UG but instead for CLAT PG, which is meant for admission into LLM programs. This path takes longer, because you first spend three or four years on graduation and then add another three years in an LLB program if you choose not to go for an integrated course. So, if you are already sure about pursuing law as your career, writing CLAT right after Class 12 is the smarter and time-saving option, while writing it after graduation makes sense only if you are considering higher studies in law or a shift in career later.

For CLAT, the most important topics are from  Legal Reasoning, Current Affairs & GK, the Indian Constitution, English Language, Quantitative Techniques and Logical Reasoning. For a brief detail you can go through the following link: https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-important-topics

Thank You.