CLAT LAW Entrance Exam – What You Must Know
If you want to be a lawyer or a legal professional, taking CLAT entrance test is a must. CLAT is a national level entrance test that screens aspirants for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes at premier Law institutes i.e. National Law Universities. But, before you take the exam, let’s understand all important aspects about the CLAT entrance exam and how to crack it.
Every year, nearly 60,000 law aspirants take up CLAT entrance exam vying for one of the 2900 odd seats available at National Law Universities. If you are also one of them, it is important for you to understand the key aspects of CLAT Entrance exam. So, let’s discuss the key aspects of CLAT Law entrance exam.
What is the CLAT Entrance Exam?
The Common Law Admission Test is a national level entrance exam that is conducted by the consortium of the National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. Every year, a National Law University is entrusted the task of organizing the CLAT exam, on rotational basis. CLAT is termed as the gateway to National Law Universities and law aspirants who want to join BA LLB (Hons), BSc LLB (Hons), BBA LLB (Hons), BSW LLB (Hons), BCom LLB (Hons) and LLM programmes at the following NLUs:
| CLAT Participating Institutes |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore |
| National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal |
| West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences, Kolkata |
| National Law University, Jodhpur |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar |
| Ram ManoharLohiya National law University, Lucknow |
| Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala |
| Chanakya National Law University, Patna |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack |
| National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi |
| National Law University and Judicial Academy, Guwahati |
| DamodaramSanjivayya National Law University, Vishakhapatnam |
| Tamil Nadu National Law School, Trichy |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad |
Who can appear for the CLAT Entrance Exam?
Law aspirants who want to appear for CLAT must qualify the following eligibility criteria:
- Academic Eligibility: Completed 10+2 or equivalent examination with minimum
- 45% aggregate marks for General / OBC / Specially abled candidates
- 40% aggregate marks for SC / ST category students
Final year candidates can also apply and appear for CLAT exam
- Age Limit: There is no age limit to appear for CLAT Entrance exam.
CLAT Entrance Exam Pattern
CLAT entrance exam is conducted in an online format. The exam comprises of 200 questions from 5 key sections which are to be answered in 120 minutes. The Legal Aptitude and General Awareness sections comprise of 50 questions each while the Logical Reasoning and English / Verbal Ability sections has 40 questions each. The Mathematics / Quant section has 20 questions in the CLAT Exam. In terms of marking scheme, test takers are awarded +1 mark for every correct answer while 0.25 marks is deducted from the overall score for each wrong answer.
| Section |
No of Questions |
Total Time |
| Logical Reasoning |
40 |
120 minutes |
| English/Verbal Ability |
40 |
|
| Legal Aptitude |
50 |
|
| Mathematics/Quantitative Aptitude |
20 |
|
| General Awareness |
50 |
|
| Marking Scheme: +1/-0.25 |
||
CLAT Entrance Exam Schedule
Generally, the CLAT Exam notification is released in the month of December. The CLAT application process starts in the month of January and continues until March end. After the completion of application process, the CLAT admit cards are issued in the month of April and the CLAT Exam is held in mid-May. As per the general practice, the CLAT Exam answer key is released two days after the exam. The CLAT Result is announced by the end of May. The month of June is marked by the declaration of CLAT Cutoff and merit list followed by the commencement of the counselling process.
That covers all the important aspects about CLAT Law entrance exam. For more informative videos about education and career, please stay tuned to www.jagranjosh.com.