NLSIU: shaping the best legal minds
|
It is one of the most sought after law schools in the country
|
ALL SMILES: Graduation day is unforgettable
ARE YOU a good communicator? Do you look at things from a different perspective? Are you able to argue a point and defend your views? Do you have a quick, logical mind and a hunger for knowledge? Then, law may be the ideal career choice for you.
Both challenging and extremely rewarding, law is a profession that employs some of the brightest minds. Bangalore is home to one of the top law colleges in the country, National Law School of India University or NLSIU, that is fast becoming the number one choice for law students all over the country.
NLSIU was established in 1987 by N.R. Madhava Menon and from the day its first batch of students joined in July 1988, the institute hasn't looked back. The university has been ranked by a India Today survey as the best law school in the country for several years now.
Its graduates emerge not only as highly skilled professionals, but extremely confident individuals as well. Moot court sessions, visiting lecturers and additional courses in areas such as cyber law keep the students well informed and uptodate with the latest developments in the field.
Over the years, several graduates from NLSIU have been awarded the prestigious British Chevening scholarship and Rhodes scholarship. To add a few more feathers to its cap, the university also boasts of alumni who are now studying at Harvard, Oxford, London School of Economics and other top universities in the U.K. and the U.S. The Law School is residential, with students residing in hostels. The university has an impressive library and computer centre that allows students to keep up with a course that requires a lot of additional research.
Merit is the criterion
Apart from its many postgraduate programs, NLSIU offers a five-year integrated B.A. LL.B (Honours) course that has become one of the most sought after in the country. The selection for the undergraduate course is purely through merit, on the basis of the all-India admission test conducted on the first Sunday of May every year.
The admission process usually begins in the middle of March with the issue of applications forms that can be obtained by sending a demand draft to the Registrar of the university or can be downloaded off its website.
To be eligible for the test, a student should have completed 10+2 secondary school examination or its equivalent with not less than 50 per cent marks and should be below 20 years of age as on July 1 of the year of admission (22 years in the case of SC/ST candidates).
The university offers 80 undergraduate seats, with a reservation of 15 per cent for SC and 7.5 per cent for ST. NLSIU also offers fee waiver/financial assistance/scholarship in deserving cases.
Following the test in May, admission formalities are completed by the end of June and the course starts on July 1 each year.
Cracking the entrance test of NLSIU is no easy task, but preparation and practice is the key. The test itself lasts for two hours and is for 200 marks. Speed is an important element of doing well. The format of the question paper has remained the same over the years, with one objective section and the other subjective.
The questions cover the areas of General Knowledge, General English, Legal Aptitude, Reasoning and Mathematics. The English, Reasoning and Mathematics sections of the paper are usually in the multiple-choice format that requires students to choose the answers from the options provided. But beware of negative marking. Guessing is risky as incorrect answers result in negative marks that could seriously damage your final score.
The subjective portion requires students to write short descriptive answers and it covers legal aptitude, reasoning and general knowledge. There is no negative marking in this section, but a good knowledge of the subject and a legible handwriting is a must for a good score.
How to prepare
Doing well in the test requires practice, so start preparing while you are in Standard 11 or 12. The best way to study is to solve old question papers, since NLSIU exams often repeat the questions. Question papers of the last 10 years can be obtained directly from the university or by writing to or emailing the Registrar at registrar@nls.ac.in. Further information could also be obtained from www.nls.ac.in.
The English, Reasoning and Mathematics sections of the exam should not pose too much of a problem since they are of the standard of any 10+2 student. However, the other sections may not be so simple. Doing well in the general knowledge section would mean being uptodate with politics, sports, history, literature and current affairs.
The best way to keep yourself cued-in is to read newspapers, quiz books and general knowledge books. The legal aptitude section is what truly tests your legal skills. A typical question from this section will have a legal principle and the facts of a case.
The student will have to then apply the principle and decide on the correct outcome. This section requires students to have a basic understanding of the law, and for those who need help, there are plenty of organisations that are willing to lend a hand.
One such law tutorial is Paradygm Law, a Bangalore-based training program started by NLSIU alumni. It offers correspondence courses and classroom courses, which are spread over several months and also have crash courses for that last-minute preparation. Their website, www.paradygmlaw.com, contains all contact details and information.
Career World also offers students the options of a correspondence, class room or crash course. For more information, log on to www.nluentrance.com. Law School Tutorials is also a popular choice among students as it offers both correspondence and online training for the exam. To sign up for their training programme, visit www.lawentrance.com.
All these organisations provide exhaustive study material including vocabulary lists, math formulae and important general knowledge tips in addition to several model exam papers.
Handy hints
The key to cracking the NLSIU exam is practice. Solving old question papers will familiarise you with the pattern of the exam.
Time yourself while solving mock papers and aim to complete the paper in two hours or less.
Keep yourself abreast with current affairs and important historical events
and dates. It will help you in the general knowledge section.
While solving the objective questions, work backwards and eliminate
options that you know are obviously wrong.
Try to do really well in the objective portion of the paper, as it will
guarantee you marks. It's tougher to score in the descriptive section since
it depends on the evaluator of your paper.
Most importantly, work hard and have faith in yourself. You can turn your dream of being part of the NLSIU into a reality!
Aditi Chatterjee
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
