The Common Law Admission Test is less than a month away, and it is time for candidates to steer their preparations towards their target score. Talking about what is a good score in CLAT 2026, marks above 95 can be termed as perfect. In a score above 95+, candidates can target any NLU they want. When it comes to a safe score in CLAT 2026, a score between 85 to 90 marks can get a student some good NLUs. While a score of 80+ in CLAT 2026 is a decent score but it is in no way a guarantee of tier 1 or tier 2 NLU. In this article we will dive deep into what are the NLUs available in the CLAT 2026 score of 80+, expected cutoff for CLAT 2026 and a lot more.
When it comes to a good score in CLAT 2026 exam, marks above 90+ is almost a guarantee of admission in all tier 1 NLUs. For admissions to tier 2 NLUs, candidates must target a score of at least 85 marks. The below-given table gives candidates a good idea of what is a good score in CLAT 2026.
Performance Level | Mock Test Score Range (out of 120) | Percentile / Outcome Expectation |
Excellent (Top NLUs like NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS) | 105+ | 98–100 percentile (safe for top 3–5 NLUs) |
Very Good (Top 7–8 NLUs) | 90–105 | 95–98 percentile (likely to secure seats in reputed NLUs like GNLU, NLU Jodhpur, WBNUJS) |
Good (Mid-tier NLUs) | 75–90 | 85–95 percentile (admission chances in mid-ranking NLUs, new NLUs) |
Average (Lower NLUs / Private Law Schools) | 60–75 | 70–85 percentile (may get newer NLUs or strong private colleges like JGLS) |
Needs Improvement | Below 60 | Below 70 percentile (requires consistent practice and strategy adjustments) |
A CLAT score of 80 marks will be roughly get candidates a rank under 4000. There are around 3700 seats available in NLUs through CLAT. Depending upon category, candidates can get a tier 2 and 3 NLUs in a score range of 80 to 90 marks. The table given below shows the list of NLUs that candidates can expect in CLAT 2026 mark range of 80-85 marks and 85 to 90 marks.
Marks range | Expected ranks | NLUs available for admission in the mark range |
85–90 | 601–1,700 | WBNUJS Kolkata (BSc.LLB Hons), RMLNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, NLIU Bhopal (BSc LLB), NLU Odisha BA LLB, NLU Odisha BBA LLB, RGNUL Patiala, NUALS Kochi, CNLU Patna (BA LLB), GNLU Silvassa Campus, MNLU Mumbai, MNLU Nagpur - BA LLB, CNLU Patna (BBA LLB), MNLU Nagpur - BBA LLB, NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB, DSNLU Visakhapatnam |
80–85 | 1,701–3,500 | NUSRL Ranchi BBA LLB, TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB, DBRANLU Sonepat, TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BCom LLB, MNLU Aurangabad- BA LLB, NLUJA Assam, MPDNLU Jabalpur, MNLU Aurangabad - BBA LLB, RPNLU Prayagraj, HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB, HPNLU Shimla - BBA LLB, IIULER Goa BA LLB, IIULER Goa BA LLB, NLUT Agartala |
NLU | General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 100 | 700 | 1540 | 3130 | 3400 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 150 | 550 | 1220 | 3273 | 3600 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 300 | - | 4200* | 4750 | 6350 |
NLU Jodhpur | 350 | 980 | 1770 | 5450 | 5950 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 440 | 1120 | 2300 | 5900 | 8570 |
NLIU Bhopal | 480 | 1370 | 1750 | 5760 | 8250 |
MNLU Mumbai | 1470 | 7500* | 8000* | 15600* | 13120* |
HNLU Raipur | 800 | - | 2400 | 7660 | 10500 |
The above given data points have been derived from the last year’s cutoff data .
On Question asked by student community
With an AIR of 34724 and OBC category rank of 7153, chances of getting a seat in DSNLU Visakhapatnam are low in early rounds. However, since you are already invited for counselling, there may be some chance in later rounds depending on seat vacancy and cut-off movement. You should participate
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You can check CLAT LLM counselling details here:
https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-llm-cut-off
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