Law Admission Without National-Level Entrance Exam Score

There are various ways to take admission in law colleges in India. However, the candidates are required to have a valid score or rank in a common entrance test. Candidates can take admission without having a valid national level score.

The law profession has been attracting a large number of students who wish for a career in legal practice. But in order to take admission in this ever-growing profession, one has to go through a minimum of 5 years of education. In addition to the 5-year-long process, the students who wish to pursue any one of the full-fledged law programmes in India will have to clear at least one common entrance examinations either at the National, State or University level. However, there are options for the students to get into a law programme without appearing for the national-level law entrance tests such as CLAT, AILET, AIBE, LSAT, etc, and this article explores that in detail.

Those who are not interested in competing on the national level have the option of choosing the state-level common entrance tests for law. However, only certain states across India conduct the state-level entrance tests, for example, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh. The candidates will have to ensure that if they are applying for the state-level law entrance tests, they can take admission in the law colleges that are in the respective state. One drawback of the state-level entrance test is that the score is valid for all the law colleges situated in the respective state and none other than that. There are law entrance tests that are conducted on a smaller scale than state-level entrance tests, which are the University-level law entrance tests. These tests are specific to certain Universities that provide programmes in law along with programmes in other disciplines as well.

However, there are other options for the students to get into a law programme without appearing for or carrying a valid score of a law entrance test at any level. The selection of the candidates is done on the basis of their merit. The merit can be calculated using various other methods that have been defined by those particular colleges or Universities. However, the number of colleges that accept such students have strict eligibility criteria and are fewer in number. Most law colleges in India require the student to carry some kind of score of a common-law entrance test, that has been conducted at any level, i.e. National, State or University level.

State Level Law Entrance Tests

There are many state-level common entrance tests for law, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. However, law colleges across India, mostly do not require the student to have a PG Law CET score of any kind. Most colleges provide admission to the PG Law programme to the interested students on the basis of their merit. On the other hand, students who wish to take admission to the undergraduate programmes in law will be required to have a valid score in any of the common entrance tests for the law. One such entrance test is taken at the state level. The candidates who take the state-level entrance test for law will be able to produce the score they obtained to the colleges that accept the examinations. Here is the list of State Level Entrance Tests:

Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for Law (MH-CET Law):

Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for Law or MH-CET Law is conducted by the Directorate of Higher Education, Maharashtra for the undergraduate programmes of law, which include the 3-year LLB programme along with the 5-year integrated law programmes that are available in the colleges of Maharashtra.
The exam is conducted online and the students will have a duration of 2 hours to complete MH-CET Law.
The candidates planning to appear for MH-CET Law must ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria for the test.
Once the student has appeared for MH-CET Law, they will be able to present their score to any of the top Universities and colleges for Law such as Savitribha Phule Pune University Pune, Shivaji University Kolhapur, University of Mumbai, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad, among many other colleges and Universities in Maharashtra. The students will be able to check the list of all the institutes that accept the MH-CET score for admissions on the official website of MH-CET.

Andhra Pradesh Law Common Entrance Test (AP Law CET)

The students who wish to take admission in the law colleges in Andhra Pradesh will have to appear for AP LAWCET, which is conducted by Sri Krishnadevraya University on behalf of APSCHE.
The students who carry a valid score card of AP LAWCET will be able to take admission in both the 3-year LLB programme as well as the 5-year integrated LLB programmes. AP LAWCET is conducted as a computer-based entrance test for law.
For the purpose of including all the students, AP LAWCET is conducted in both English as well as Telugu languages.
The candidates who have appeared for AP LAWCET will be able to present the score to over 50 colleges in Andhra Pradesh such as School of Law from GITAM University, Dr BR Ambedkar University, Sri Venkateswara College of Law, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam among others which also have LLB programmes in Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test (TS LAWCET)

The students who aspire to pursue law from Telangana have the opportunity to appear for Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test (TS LAWCET). TS Law is conducted by the popular Osmania University.
Like other state-level law entrance tests, the candidates who carry a valid TS LAWCET score will be able to take admission for the undergraduate programmes for law, i.e. 3-year LLB programmes as well as 5-year Integrated LLB Programmes.
TS LAWCET is in Telugu as well as English languages.
The candidates who have a valid score card of TS LAWCET will be able to get admission in different law colleges and Universities in Telangana. Some of the law colleges/universities in Telangana that accept TS LAWCET are Osmania University, Mahatma Gandhi Law College, Dr BR Ambedkar Law College, Padala Rama Reddy Law College along with other colleges and universities in the state.
The candidates will be able to check out the entire list of colleges that accept TS LAWCET scores as valid for admissions during the TS LAWCET Counselling sessions.

Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE)

The candidates who are interested in applying for law colleges in Kerala will require to have a valid score of an entrance examination for law that has been conducted by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations.
The candidates will be asked to appear for a Computer-based examination, which will be for a duration of two hours where the student will have to answer a minimum of 200 objective questions.
There are various law colleges in Kerala, where the student will be able to provide the college with the score they obtained in the Kerala Law Entrance Examinations.
Some of the colleges in Kerala, that accept that KLEE score, are Kerala Law College, Government Law College, Kerala Law Academy among many more colleges, which include both Government law colleges as well as Private Law Colleges in Kerala.
The candidates who have a valid score in KLEE will be able to take admission in any one of the law programmes that are offered by the law colleges in Kerala, i.e. 3-year LLB, 5-Year Integrated LLB as well as the LLM programme which are available in all law colleges of Kerala.

Also Read: Check Out the Different Law Admission Processes for LLB And LLM in India

University Level Law Admission Tests

The students will also be able to take admissions in the various top-level Universities in India which offer law programmes. The candidates who are interested in taking admission directly in their choice of Universities will be able to attempt law entrance examinations that are conducted by the specific Universities. However, the interested candidate will have to ensure whether the University of their choice conducts their own admissions tests or if they accept national or state-level entrance exam scores.

Some Universities conduct entrance examinations for their courses alone, however, the examinations will be conducted at the national level, i.e. they allocate different centres that are situated all across India where they hold their entrance examinations for their admission processes of different courses. Given below is the list of Universities that conduct the law entrance tests for various law programmes:

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Examination (KIITEE)

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Examination, commonly known as KIITEE is an examination conducted by one of the top Deemed Universities, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology for all of its courses, including undergraduate law programmes, such as BA LLB, BBA LLB and B.Sc LLB.
The students who are interested in pursuing an undergraduate course from KIITEE will have to sit for the entrance examinations that are conducted by the Deemed University themselves.
KIIT conducts its entrance examination in online mode, and the students can apply for the entrance examinations every year. The examination is conducted for a duration of 3 hours.
Once the student has appeared for the KIIT entrance examination, the student will also have to take part in the counselling session in order to ensure their admission to the Deemed University, however, the students will be required to check their rank in the examinations.

Lovely Professional University National Eligibility and Scholarship Test (LPUNEST)

Lovely Professional University conducts a Universal LPUNEST entrance examination that is valid for almost all of the programmes that they provide.
In a similar manner, the students who are interested in pursuing their law undergraduate programmes from Lovely Professional University will have to appear for LPUNEST.
However, since the LPUNEST is a University-level entrance examination, the score obtained by the student in LPUNEST will only be applicable for the programme for which the student appeared in LPUNEST.
LPUNEST will be conducted by the University in online mode only.
The students should note that LPUNEST Law is applicable for all undergraduate law programmes such as LLB (Hons), BA LLB (Hons), B.Com LLB (Hons).
LPU also accepts some National Level Law Entrance tests scores such as CLAT and LSAT, apart from their own entrance examination, i.e. LPUNEST, for the purpose of taking admission in the undergraduate law programmes at LPU.

Aligarh Muslim University Entrance Examination BA LLB (AMU BA LLB)

Students from across the state flock to the University to take admission in this University for which the candidates will have to attempt the Aligarh Muslim University Entrance Examination (AMUEE). One such programme on offer is the undergraduate law programme, i.e. BA LLB.
In order to take admission in UG Law programme of Aligarh Muslim University, the students will have to attempt the Aligarh Muslim University Entrance Examinations for BA LLB, also known as AMU BALLB.
AMU BALLB is conducted by the University and the admission test is conducted in offline mode, i.e. it is a pen and paper test, and has a duration of two hours. The students will be asked both, objective as well as subjective type questions.
There are 75 objective questions, each of which will carry 1 mark for a correct answer and 25 negative marking for each wrong answer. The students will also be required to answer 10 subjective-type questions which will carry 2.5 marks for each question and there is no negative marking. The students will also be able to apply for the AMU entrance exam both in offline as well as online mode.

Bharati Vidyapeeth Common Entrance Test for Law (BVP CET)

Bharati Vidyapeeth, a deemed University from Pune offers candidates the option of choosing one of the three undergraduate law programmes.
However, the candidates will be allowed to take admission after they have appeared for the Bharati Vidyapeeth Common Entrance Test Law (BVP CET).
The score that the candidate will score in BVP CET law determines the candidate’s chances of getting admission into BA LLB, BBA LLB or LLB. The candidates will be able to find the application form to the BVP CET on the official website of the Deemed University.
The candidates must ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria before applying for the programme. The BVP CET for law will be conducted in offline mode, i.e. in pen and paper mode. The students will be presented with four sections in the BVP CET for Law admission. The questions will vary from English Grammar to Logical Reasoning, Current Affairs as well as Social Sciences.

Banaras Hindu University UET and PET (BHU UET & BHU PET)

Banaras Hindu University conducts a common entrance examination for various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes which also include different law undergraduate programmes such as BA LLB and LLB programmes of BHU as well as postgraduate law programme such as LLM.
The entrance examinations are conducted at various exam centres across India, thus, allowing students from different parts of the country to take admission at the varsity.
Banaras Hindu University conducts the entrance examinations in both online as well as offline mode. If you wish to pursue either of law programmes at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, you will have to either attempt BHU UET or BHU PET in order to take admission in either of the courses.
The interested candidates will have to ensure that they qualify the eligibility criteria for either the undergraduate or postgraduate programmes for law.
When appearing for BHU UET or BHU PET, the candidates will be asked a set of multiple-choice questions that they will be required to answer. Each of the questions will carry 3 marks each and there are a total of 150 objective or Multiple Choice Questions that they will be required to answer in under 2 hours.
BHU also conducts the entrance examinations in both Hindi as well as English languages.
Once the candidates have appeared for the BHU UET or BHU PET, the varsity will release a course-wise merit list for the students. The students will have to check the merit list and as per the list, the candidates will be offered a seat at the University.

UPES Law Studies Aptitude Test (ULSAT)

ULSAT is a common entrance examination that is conducted by the University of Petroleum Energy Studies (UPES). The varsity provides its aspirants undergraduate law programmes for which the admissions are done on the basis of the score that is obtained by the interested candidates in ULSAT.
The candidates who have appeared for the ULSAT will be able to take admission any of the UG Integrated Law programmes offered by the varsity, such as LLB, BA LLB, BBA LLB, B.Com LLB as well as B.Sc LLB.
UPES Law Studies Aptitude Test comprises 5 different sections that measure the competency of the candidates such as General Knowledge and Aptitude in terms of Law, Logical Reasoning, Numerical/Quantitative Ability as well as Language Comprehension.
The candidates will have to answer a total of 150 questions in the span of 3 hours. Each correct answer carries 1 mark, meanwhile, the candidates will not be punished for any wrong answers that they write.
The entrance examination will be conducted in online mode, i.e. it will be a Computer-Based Test. The candidates will have to complete the examination as part of the complete admission process. Once the candidate has completed the entrance examination, he/she will be called on for a Group Discussion and Personal Interview depending on the performance of the candidate in the ULSAT entrance test.

Also Read: Here's What You Need for Law Admissions at Christ University in 2019

These are some of the top law entrance tests that are conducted for the admission processes for most of the law programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The candidates who are interested in appearing for a law entrance examination that is not a national level entrance examination such as CLAT and LSAT among others will be able to take admission via these state-level or university-level entrance examinations, which are less competitive than the national-level CLAT exams.

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