Beyond the Rank: Life and Law at NALSAR

• To begin with Could you please briefly introduce yourself and share a bit about your journey so far.-

Hello, I am Shritama Goswami and I study at Nalsar. I am currently in the 1^st  year. I studied at Do-Zen for a year before CLAT 2024 as I took the dropper’s batch. My time at Sir’s Institute was pretty fun as I had a group of friends I could prepare with. A competitive friend group is a great instrument in preparation as you motivate each other to succeed. I gave Sunday mock tests in the beginning and during the later stages, gave 2 mocks per week on Saturday and Sunday and analysed them after. The faculty taught us all the concepts and would sit for hours with us after every mock to analyse. Preparation was intense but equally enjoyable.

🧑‍🎓 Life at Law School

• How would you describe your daily life at law school ?

Very happening. At Nalsar, we have an active extra-curricular culture so something is always going on to keep students refreshed from the considerable academic pressure. Classes are from 9 am to 1.30 pm. Then there is a tutorial conducted by 5^th years who teach part of the syllabus. 

🍽️ Food (Mess/Canteen)

• How is the food at your law school in terms of taste, variety (veg/non-veg options), and hygiene? – Non-veg is available for dinner on most days of the week – except Tuesday and Saturday. There is a considerable range of veg options and the breakfast is the best meal out of all meals on all days except Wednesday dinner when Biryani is served.
• Are there good alternatives to mess food nearby (cafes, delivery options)? Nalsar is located at a secluded place so not many cafes are nearby. It takes minimum of 30 mins to get to the city where there are many cafes that students regularly visit. Near the college, there is a breakfast tiffin place, a proper café and 2-3 dhabas. Delivery options are there but take around minimum 30 mins.
• How do students usually manage food when mess food isn’t good? How is the water availability?On campus, there are 3-4 eateries ranging in their price and quality. Students resort to these when mess food is monotonous.

🏡 Hostel Life

• What is the last entry time for hostels? How strict are the hostel rules regarding timings and permissions? There is a curfew imposed on freshmen students for the first month when they have to get back into the hostel compound within 10 pm. After curfew is lifted, there is no timing restriction, neither at the main gate nor at the hostel gate.
• How are the hostel facilities overall (rooms, cleanliness, Wi-Fi, common areas)? All of these are available. Washrooms are cleaned daily and rooms are medium-sized. Wi-fi gets patchy during exams or moots because of heavy traffic.
• What’s the social life like in hostels — are there events, gatherings, study groups? Events are mostly across the entire college, not just intra-hostel. But sometimes, seniors arrange for informal trivia nights in the girls’ hostel and those are great bonding experiences. People make informal study groups and usually, these things happen naturally as people make friends.
• How is the hostel infrastructure? Are the rooms single, double or triple sharing? 1st to 3^rd years are double sharing. Then the last 2 years are single occupancy.
• Is ac facility available? People usually use coolers to get by. ACs can be asked for but usually the wiring is too weak to support one, given coolers also take up the extra electricity. Coolers and AC owners need to pay extra for electricity.
• Does one need their parent’s permission to go out of the campus (as in, is some otp sent to parents) ? Not at all.
• The washrooms are shared by how many people ? 2 washrooms on a floor of 25 people.

📜 Rules & Regulations

• What are the major academic rules and regulations — especially regarding attendance and exams? 75 percent attendance minimum and 67 percent with medical leaves.
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• How strict is the administration regarding discipline and code of conduct? Not very strict. It is a relaxed atmosphere
• Are there specific dress codes for certain activities like moots or presentations? For project presentations, no dress code as such. For moots, black blazer, black trousers and white button-down shirt.

📝 Academics: Internals, Assignments, Unit Tests

• How frequent are the internals, assignments, and UTs (Unit Tests)? Only Mid-sems and end-sems with projects in between.
• Are assessments heavily weighted towards exams, projects, or continuous evaluation? Mid sems (25 marks), projects( 25 marks) and end-sems( 50 marks).

📚 Classes and Timing

• What is the daily class timing like? 9 am to 3.30 pm with one hour lunch break in between.
• Are Saturdays working days at your law school? No, Saturdays aren’t  usually working. Classes are scheduled from Monday to Friday. 
• How hectic is the weekly schedule? Pretty hectic because sometimes classes can extend to 4.30. After that, there are debates and quizzes which are optional but still something to do. Making projects take up a lot of time and energy.

🎉 Semester Breaks

• When are the semester breaks scheduled? And how long are these semester breaks? Nov-dec is the 2-month winter break in 1^st May-mid June is the shorter 1-and-a-half-month break in summer after 2^nd sem.
• Are breaks enough to take internships or refresh properly? Yes, they are appropriate for completing internships and rejuvenating for the next sem.  

🌍 Diversity and National Representation

• How is the national representation at your law school — do students come from all over India? Our law school has students from across all regions of India — north to south, east to west. This pan-Indian representation not only fosters a vibrant cultural atmosphere but also enhances peer learning, as everyone brings unique experiences and viewpoints. It truly reflects the diversity of the country and creates a dynamic and inclusive academic environment.
• How inclusive and diverse is the campus culture? Very inclusive. You get to meet a lot of people from different states and even countries at college.

🛎️ Day 1: Registration and Admission

• What was the Day 1 experience like during hostel registration and college admission? You get assigned a hostel room and roommate by picking a chit. Then you can move in your things into the room. We were called in the morning around 9 am to start the admission/registration process and all the forms and moving take quite a lot of time. Our bank accounts, email ids and student credit portals were opened on that day.
• Are there any important tips for a smooth admission/hostel registration process? Take rest in between because it gets hectic. Eat properly and the campus Kirana store sells room things so no need to worry about those. Mattress can be bought separately after reaching.

⚖️ Moot Court Activities

• What is the culture around mooting at your college? Very active and we consistently do well.
• How early can a first-year student start participating in moots? They can start immediately in open challenges after intro-moot. In second sem, the introductory moot happens which is the first moot that students do.
• Are there internal selections for moots? Intro-moot happens but the ranking/grade there is not useful as anyone can participate in the open challenges and do well. Only a few competitions are allotted based on the grade of intro-moot.
• Is there any special training or mentorship available for moots? Yes, moot mentors are assigned in the first sem and then again just before intro-moot.
• Are the moot courts sponsored by the college? Yes , most competitions are completely reimbursed.

🎯 Extracurriculars

• What extracurricular activities are available at your law school? Debating, quizzing, film-making, sports competitions etc.
• Which activities would you recommend to a 1st year student? All of the above. 1^st year is the best time to try out everything.
• How do extracurriculars help in career building or internships? Speaking skills, knowledge etc. are all improved which are very important skills in this field.
• Are there any limitations of participating in extracurriculars? No , everyone is very welcoming.
• How do you personally balance academics and extracurricular activities? Maintaining a routine with time for both is good enough. It is not very hard to balance both. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

👥 Committees

• What are the major committees and societies in your law school? Moot Court committee, ADR committee, Debating Committee, Academic Committee and Cultural committee are some big ones. Other than this there are Hostel Committee, Students’ Responsibility and Welfare Committee, Mess Committee etc.
• Which committees should a first-year student definitely try to join? If they wish, they can become ad-hoc ones for all these ones to begin with depending on their skills and interests.
• What is the process of getting into a committee? How competitive is the selection for these committees? First there is election among 1^st years to become ad-hoc representatives. 2 candidates are elected – 1 from each section, elected by their batchmates.

🎊 Fests and Campus Life

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• What are the major college fests? There are several fests across two semesters. Around 8 or more. Second semester is completely packed with fests. Major fests are- Awadh Magadh, Southie and Telugu fests.
• How vibrant is the cultural and sports scene at your law school? Cultural scene is pretty vibrant around the Fest time and sports scene picks up around the Trilaterals time.

🏀 Sports Facilities

• • What kind of sports facilities are available on campus? Cricket, football, Kabaddi, badminton, basketball, volleyball, running, table-tennis, tug-of-war, disc throwing are played regularly.
  • Are there any sports teams or tournaments students can participate in? The main tournaments are Trilaterals and ARENA. We can go to other sports events like BITS Goa and other local competitions.
  • How active is the sports culture at your college? Pretty active around Trilaterals time ( 2 months before). Other than that, weekly practices happen,

🎓 Class Representative (CR) Selection and Responsibilities

• How is the CR (Class Representative) selected? Acad Comm. Rep usually handles those duties.
• What are the main responsibilities of a CR? Coordinating with teachers about class timings, presentation timings, even faculty allocation etc.
• How much influence or say does a CR have regarding student concerns? A lot of influence. If you are good, students listen to you.

🏛️ Student Union

• Is there a Student Union at your college? No, rather than a Student Union we have a Student Bar Council.
• How active is the Student Union in addressing student issues or organizing events? The Student Union at our law school is highly active and plays a pivotal role in campus life. It serves as a strong voice for student concerns, regularly liaising with the administration to address academic and welfare-related issues.
• Can first-year students get involved with the Student Union? Yes, through committees of which the SBC is composed of.

🧑‍💼 Key People in the Administration

• Who are the key people in the administration that students should know about? (Dean, Registrar, Warden, etc.) – You will know their names as you come but administration is very student-driven.
• Whom should students approach for different issues like academic help, hostel problems, or disciplinary matters? Hostel wardens are there and seniors provide the best help in all matters.
• “Is there any unwritten advice about how to approach professors or administration to get help more easily?” – just engage with them informally, even outside office hours. They like it when you ask for help for projects, moots and competitions. Don’t tail them when they go out of class. That is disturbing.

Scholarships
What scholarships are available for the students? The Scholarship Cell takes care of that and there are a lot of need-based government scholarships. Other private ones are available too- Kotak, ABS etc.

🛠️ Internship Guidance

• How does the college support students in finding internships? Seniors (moot mentors and others) circulate lists with contact information well before internship season for student usage. They also teach how to write cover letters, emails etc.
• What should a first-year law student do to land good internships? Keep calling the offices and cold-emailing.
• What types of internships are recommended during the first year? Trial courts and NGOs.

❤️ College Likes & Areas of Improvement

• What do you like the most about your college? Subjects, friends, campus.
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• Where do you think the college can improve? Food, location is deserted (although the quiet is pleasing most times), connectivity to the city.

🏆 College Strengths 

• According to you, what are the three biggest strengths of your college? Moot Court culture, Research culture and placements.

🎯 Placements and Career Support

• How strong is the placement cell at your college? Very strong. There is usually 100 percent placement.
• What kind of firms, companies, or organizations usually recruit from your campus? Top firms recruit. A couple students usually get foreign firm placements and some go into prestigious LLM programs at Oxbridge and Ivy Universities, depending on the aims of the students.