Ground Realities of Law School: A Deep Dive into NLU Assam

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

My name is Arihant Baid. I am a 1^st year law undergrad student at National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. Basically, I am from Rajasthan but born and brought up in Assam. Graduated my class 12^th with Commerce but ended up pursuing law because of some strange reasons (I don’t prefer telling the reason). I came to know about Clat in 2023 and after Class 12^th , I took a gap year and started preparing for the same from Kolkata. My hobbies if you wish to know are playing badminton, listening to songs and long evening walks.

🧑‍🎓 Life at Law School

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

Most of my daily chores in law school include going to classes in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, then either sleeping or going to library just after lunch. Later in the evening I go to play Badminton then have dinner and post dinner either I play volleyball or go to library – good thing about our library is that it remains open till 12 at night, so I happen to spend a lot of time there.

🍽️ Food (Mess/Canteen)

• How is the food at your law school in terms of taste, variety, and hygiene?

Taste of the mess food is really average and over time it gets frustrating to eat the same food again and again, Variety is also limited where in someday in the breakfast they serve south Indian and the factor of hygiene is good. They keep on doing regular cleaning of the mess.

• Are there good alternatives to mess food nearby (cafes, delivery options)?

The campus has 2 cafes where one can find good alternatives to the mess food and these cafes remain open 6 days a week, so they are good enough as an alternative to mess food. Also, there are small stalls and restaurants nearby where good food is available. The food delivery options are very easily available here and it becomes more convenient as they deliver directly to the respective hostels.

• How do students usually manage food when mess food isn’t good? How is the water availability?

Online food delivery options, the café in the campus and the stalls outside the campus helps us to manage when the mess food becomes monotonous. The drinking water facility is really good as it is available in each floor and for 24 hours. The hostels also have water cooler filters which provide cold drinking water day and night.

🏡 Hostel Life

• How strict are the hostel rules regarding timings and permissions?

They are quite lenient, hostel is closed at 12 a.m. , with leniency in permissions for night stays and coming back later than said time.

• How are the hostel facilities overall (rooms, cleanliness, Wi-Fi, common areas)?

The hostels are far better than most, we have lifts, house keeping staff, pest controlling, wi-fi connectivity, washing machines, laundry rooms, a common refrigerator, water cooler and water purifiers on each floor along with a differently abled persons bathroom.

• What’s the social life like in hostels — are there events, gatherings, study groups?

Yes, we have various events and gathering held in college at various intervals plus the library provides a great ambience for group studies.

• How is the hostel infrastructure? Are the rooms single, double or triple sharing?

1st and 2nd year students have double sharing rooms, while 3rd, 4th, 5th years and LLM students have single rooms.

• Is ac facility available?

AC Is not available in the hostels

📜 Rules & Regulations

• What are the major academic rules and regulations — especially regarding attendance and exams?

75% attendance is mandatory.

• How strict is the administration regarding discipline and code of conduct?

They treat us adults and consider us responsible enough to know our duties and discipline

• Are there specific dress codes for certain activities like moots or presentations?

Yes, Mooters and presenters are required to follow the dress-code: Black formals.

📝 Academics: Internals, Assignments, Unit Tests

• How frequent are the internals, assignments, and UTs (Unit Tests)?

We have a mid semester exam, an end semester exam, projects, viva, presentations and assignments each semester.

• Are assessments heavily weighted towards exams, projects, or continuous evaluation?

Our college focuses on active learning, basically the process and journey of learning that we undergo while making those projects and assignments. Our exams are problem based rather than direct patterns which makes us use our leaning practically rather than depending just on theory.

📚 Classes and Timing

• What is the daily class timing like?

We have classes from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

• Are Saturdays working days at your law school?

No They aren’t.

• How hectic is the weekly schedule?

It does get exhausting sometimes.

🎉 Semester Breaks

• When are the semester breaks scheduled? And how long are these semester breaks?

We get two official internship breaks in an academic year, one in the month of January (entirely) and the second one in the month of July (entirely).

• Are breaks enough to take internships or refresh properly?

Honestly, the duration of these internship breaks is less according to me because it is important to learn in internships which can happen when we stay there for longer period of time. Some people who stay really far away from their homes, it becomes difficult to manage going home as well as doing internship in the one-month span.

Concerns regarding the same have been raised by the students and the admin is looking into the matter.

🌍 Diversity and National Representation

• How is the national representation at your law school — do students come from all over India?

while around 50% students are from the same state, the remaining are from different parts of the country.

• How inclusive and diverse is the campus culture?

We have a very inclusive environment here with people from different cultures and all of us are learning everyone’s culture.

🛎️ Day 1: Registration and Admission

• What was the Day 1 experience like during hostel registration and college admission?

The paperwork was easy and systematic as we were informed previously about what is required. It was exhausting but exciting to meet all the new people that i will be spending the next of my 5 years with.

• Are there any important tips for a smooth admission/hostel registration process?

Keep all your documents ready along with photostat copies.

⚖️ Moot Court Activities

• What is the culture around mooting at your college?

The culture of mooting is really good. People here show active participation in moots mainly National ones and sometimes international ones. Also since the batch size is just 60, we get a lot of opportunity to participate in moots and other competitions as well.

The college provides reimbursement for the expenses which are incurred by the teams during the competition. They provide this reimbursement once every semester to each student. I believe, this is a good way of motivating students to participate more and is actually working.

Even I had participated in a National moot court competition which took place in Chennai this year in the month of February.

Also our college organizes two indigenous moot court competitions namely Vox Anatolis (2024-25 online) Vox had witnessed participation from around 80 colleges including the prestigious ones such as the NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS, SLS PUNE, NIRMA, etc., and the other one named GSM – Gurjeet Singh Memorial Moot court competition, which is yet to happen for 2024-25.

• How early can a first-year student start participating in moots?

As soon as the CBM which stands for Capacity Building Moot, the compulsory moot court competition strictly for the first years gets over, the first year students become eligible to participate in any other taking place outside the University.

• Are there internal selections for moots?

When there is a clash between two or more teams to participate in the same competition, the moot court committee conducts a memorial round and if required oral rounds, to select any one of the teams.

• Is there any special training or mentorship available for moots?

During the CBM, a special training session takes place making students well acquainted with the of mooting culture. Special mentors are allotted to each team who help them to understand the process of research, drafting the memorials, writing citations, etc. They also take trials and benchmark before the final rounds so that the student can learn about the etiquettes which needs to be followed in the court room.

🎯 Extracurriculars

• What extracurricular activities are available at your law school?

Sports, Debate team, Mooting, Other group activities such as cultural competitions etc.

• Which activities would you recommend to a 1st year student?

Join as many clubs as possible: debate clubs, moot, cultural, NSS, sports etc.

• How do extracurriculars help in career building or internships?

Mooting helps in connecting with other people and even associates, also stimulates the courtroom experience. Debate helps with polishing the vocal skills that are central for us. Other clubs can be helpful in relaxing and refreshing the mind.

• Are there any limitations of participating in extracurriculars?

No There aren’t any limitations.

• How do you personally balance academics and extracurricular activities?

This differs person to person. It’s not always easy or perfectly balanced, but with time I’ve gotten better at it.

👥 Committees

• What are the major committees and societies in your law school?

NSS, Legal Aid Cell, Pro-bono cell, Moot Court Committee, Debate and Literary Committee,  Academic Committee, Recruitment Committee,  Internship Committee, Sports Committee,  Mess Committee, Cultural Committee, Library Committee, Student Welfare Committee, Hostel Committee, Scholarship Committee, Art and crafts among others

• Which committees should a first-year student definitely try to join?

Debate clubs

• What is the process of getting into a committee? How competitive is the selection for these committees?

Some Committees do have elections, others are volunteering.

🎊 Fests and Campus Life

• What are the major college fests?

ADUJ, ABHIVEERA, etc.

• How vibrant is the cultural and sports scene at your law school?

They are a big deal with a lot of people coming from other institutions, new people, lots of exposure.

🏀 Sports Facilities

• What kind of sports facilities are available on campus?

Volleyball Court, table tennis, badminton court, cricket field, football field.

• Are there any sports teams or tournaments students can participate in?

yes.

• How active is the sports culture at your college?

We have frequent sports events, both within and outside the college.

🎓 Class Representative (CR) Selection and Responsibilities

• How is the CR (Class Representative) selected?

They are elected by the class.

• What are the main responsibilities of a CR?

Informing us about the syllabus, changes in academic curriculum, about examination, schedules etc.

• How much influence or say does a CR have regarding student concerns?

Highly Influential.

🏛️ Student Union

• Is there a Student Union at your college?

Yes There is a Student’s Bar Council.

• How active is the Student Union in addressing student issues or organizing events?

 It is relevant, but not all of the committees under it are very active.

• Can first-year students get involved with the Student Union?

Yes, Representatives are present from every batch.

🧑‍💼 Key People in the Administration

• Who are the key people in the administration that students should know about? (Dean, Registrar, Warden, etc.)

Our Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Sub- Registrar, Assistant Sub- Registrar, and Wardens.

• Whom should students approach for different issues like academic help, hostel problems, or disciplinary matters?

The faculty and administration are very helpful and friendly, students can easily approach them.

 Scholarships

• What scholarships are available for the students?

There are merit based scholarships, EWS scholarships, etc.

🛠️ Internship Guidance

• How does the college support students in finding internships?

We have an internship cell consisting students representatives from each batch that is devoted for this

• What should a first-year law student do to land good internships?

One should focus on their grades first and learning a few practical skills along the way.

• What types of internships are recommended during the first year?Usually first years should stick to NGO internships as they do not have proper knowledge to work in a practical law setting yet.

❤️ College Likes & Areas of Improvement

• What do you like the most about your college?

The ambience, the faculty, the timings and the amenities that we get.

• Where do you think the college can improve?

In placements

🏆 College Strengths

• According to you, what are the three biggest strengths of your college?

1. It is one of the most important law colleges of not only Assam but the entire North-East. The judges, prominent advocates of various courts of Guwahati are well aware of the quality of this college and thus give a lot of preference to the students of NLU Assam. If one decides to practice litigation in North-East, there are ample amount of scope which this college can provide.
2. The lesser academic pressure in this college give us a good amount of time to explore other domains from learning any new subject alongside college degree, or doing any online internships or part time internships in any local firm, or exploring growth in sports, preparing for various competitions, etc.

🎯 Placements and Career Support

• How strong is the placement cell at your college?

previously, it wasn’t that good, but this year a lot of our seniors have landed great PPOs.

• What kind of firms, companies, or organizations usually recruit from your campus?

Consulting forms mostly