Which NLU Can I Get With CLAT Rank 100 to 500 in 2027?

Short answer first

Rank 100 to 500 covers NALSAR down to RMLNLU and HNLU, depending on counselling rounds and category. Here’s the band-wise breakdown based on CLAT 2026 closing data, the most recent verified figures available.

Rank 100 to 200: NALSAR Hyderabad confirmed, NUJS Kolkata from Round 2
Rank 200 to 300: NUJS Kolkata, GNLU Gandhinagar, NLUJ Jodhpur entering
Rank 300 to 400: NLUJ Jodhpur confirmed, RMLNLU Lucknow opening, HNLU Raipur
Rank 400 to 500: RMLNLU Lucknow and HNLU Raipur confirmed, CNLU Patna entering
Cutoffs shift 20 to 80 ranks year to year. These are projections, not guarantees.
Category students (SC/ST/OBC) have significantly lower cutoffs at every NLU

Every year, thousands of students get their CLAT result and immediately search for one thing: which NLU is actually within reach?

I’ve been answering this question for 15+ years. And the honest version of the answer has two parts. First, here’s what the data says. Second, here’s what the data can’t tell you, because cutoffs move, counselling rounds matter, and a lot depends on what you do after you get your rank.

Let’s start with the numbers.

“The most common counselling mistake I see is students who look at Round 1 closing ranks and think the conversation is over. It isn’t. Some of the best NLU placements I’ve seen came from students who got an upgrade in Round 3 that they didn’t think was possible when they saw their rank.”

Manav Lawania, Founder, MEGA LAW & G.K.

The numbers you need: CLAT 2026 closing ranks

These are the verified CLAT 2026 counselling figures for the General category. They’re the best predictor we have for 2027. Treat them as a realistic range, not a fixed cutoff.

NLU	City	Expected Range 2027	CLAT 2026 Actual	Year-on-Year Risk
NLSIU Bangalore	Bangalore	90 to 125	~108 to 115	Low
NALSAR Hyderabad	Hyderabad	145 to 185	~168	Low
NUJS Kolkata	Kolkata	310 to 370	~343	Medium
GNLU Gandhinagar	Gandhinagar	320 to 420	~370	Medium
NLUJ Jodhpur	Jodhpur	340 to 400	~364	Medium
RMLNLU Lucknow	Lucknow	420 to 540	~480	Medium
HNLU Raipur	Raipur	460 to 580	~520	Medium
CNLU Patna	Patna	500 to 680	~580	High
NUALS Kochi	Kochi	550 to 750	~620	High
NLU Odisha	Cuttack	500 to 700	~580	High

One important note: NLU Delhi (home of the top law programme in India by many rankings) uses AILET, not CLAT. It’s not on this list. If you’re targeting NLU Delhi, you need to appear separately for AILET. Also, the figures above are General category. SC/ST/OBC cutoffs are significantly lower at every NLU listed here.

Rank 100 to 200: what's actually available

Best realistic option: NALSAR Hyderabad

NALSAR closed at around rank 168 in the General category in CLAT 2026. That makes rank 100 to 200 a solid band for NALSAR. If your rank is in the 150 to 200 range, you’re competitive for NALSAR but not guaranteed. If you’re in the 100 to 150 range, you’re likely in.

NLSIU Bangalore is in the picture only if you’re at the top of this band, around rank 100 to 120. NLSIU has been closing in the 108 to 115 range. A rank of 130 to 200 is realistically not NLSIU territory in the General category.

NUJS Kolkata and GNLU Gandhinagar can enter the picture in this rank range from counselling Round 2 onwards, when students with higher ranks take upgrades to NALSAR or leave for other programmes. Watch the Round 2 and Round 3 lists carefully if you’re in this band.

Rank 200 to 300: a genuinely strong position

NUJS Kolkata, GNLU Gandhinagar, NLUJ Jodhpur entering

This is a better rank band than many students give it credit for. You’re not getting NALSAR at rank 250 in the General category. But you’re in range for NUJS (closed ~343 in 2026), GNLU (~370) and NLUJ Jodhpur (~364). These are excellent NLUs with strong placement records and real career outcomes.

The thing about rank 200 to 300 is that students in this band often underestimate how much counselling round strategy matters. NUJS Kolkata, GNLU and NLUJ have been clustering together in their closing ranks. The difference between who gets which one often comes down to how they play the upgrade option in Round 2.

If you’re at rank 230 and you lock NUJS in Round 1 without waiting, you might miss an upgrade that doesn’t come. But if you wait too long and don’t lock, you might lose NUJS to someone with a lower rank who locked earlier. This is why having a clear preference order before counselling opens is essential.

Rank 300 to 400: more options than you think

NLUJ Jodhpur, GNLU, RMLNLU Lucknow

Rank 300 to 400 is where mid-tier NLU competition got significantly tighter from 2025 to 2026. NLUJ Jodhpur closed around rank 364. GNLU was around 370. RMLNLU Lucknow starts opening up in this range. HNLU Raipur is also realistic here.

The big shift in this band between 2025 and 2026 was that students started choosing NLUs like NLUJ and GNLU more deliberately, for placement outcomes and campus quality, rather than as backup picks. That pushed cutoffs up. Expect the same in 2027.

If you’re at rank 350, you should realistically be targeting NLUJ or GNLU as your primary options. NUJS is a long shot in this range unless significant upgrades open in Round 3.

Rank 400 to 500: still solid NLUs available

RMLNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, CNLU Patna

Rank 400 to 500 is not a crisis. RMLNLU Lucknow, which is one of the better mid-tier NLUs, has been closing around rank 480. HNLU Raipur is confirmed in this range. CNLU Patna starts entering possibility here. NUALS Kochi as well.

The thing I tell every student in this rank band: you’re going to an NLU. That’s not a consolation. There are hundreds of thousands of students who take law entrance tests in India and never reach an NLU. Rank 400 to 500 in CLAT puts you in the top fraction of a percent of all people who tried.

What matters now is knowing which NLU in this range suits you, and using counselling rounds smartly to get the best possible option.

Why cutoffs change every year (and how much they move)

Three things drive year-on-year movement in NLU cutoffs:

Paper difficulty. A harder paper compresses the top ranks. More students cluster in the 50 to 100 mark range, which changes which rank bands fill which NLUs. CLAT 2026 had one of its more compressed top-rank pools in recent years, which is partly why mid-tier cutoffs tightened.

NLU seat changes. When an NLU adds seats, its cutoff often drops slightly. When a new NLU joins the CLAT list, it absorbs students who would have gone elsewhere. This moved some cutoffs in 2025 and could do so again in 2027 depending on which NLUs are on the list.

Student preferences shifting. NLUs have reputations that change. A placement year that goes particularly well for one NLU shifts where top-ranked students want to go. This moved GNLU’s cutoff up considerably between 2023 and 2026 as its placement numbers improved.

The practical result: expect 20 to 50 rank fluctuation at most NLUs year on year, and up to 80 ranks at NLUs where something significant changed in reputation or seats.

Counselling round strategy: the part most students ignore

This is where rank 100 to 500 students consistently leave value on the table.

Most students look at their Round 1 allocation, see a good enough NLU, and lock it. That’s often a mistake. Round 2 and Round 3 see significant upgrades as students with higher ranks leave seats to take better options. A student at rank 280 who got HNLU in Round 1 might find NUJS or GNLU available in Round 2 because rank 200 students upgraded to NALSAR.

The general rule: don’t lock before Round 2 unless you’re completely certain about your choice. The upgrade option exists for a reason. Use it.

For rank 100 to 200, the key watch is Round 2 NUJS movement. For rank 200 to 300, watch Round 2 NUJS and GNLU. For rank 300 to 500, Round 3 RMLNLU and HNLU movement can be significant.

What about category? SC, ST and OBC cutoffs

Category cutoffs at every NLU are significantly lower than General category cutoffs. A few examples based on CLAT 2026 data:

NLU	General (approx.)	OBC (approx.)	SC (approx.)	ST (approx.)
NLSIU Bangalore	~108	~180 to 220	~320 to 380	~500 to 700
NALSAR Hyderabad	~168	~280 to 340	~420 to 500	~600 to 900
NUJS Kolkata	~343	~500 to 620	~700 to 900	~800 to 1200
NLUJ Jodhpur	~364	~520 to 640	~750 to 950	~900 to 1300
RMLNLU Lucknow	~480	~700 to 850	~900 to 1100	~1100 to 1500

These are approximate. Category cutoffs vary more year to year than General cutoffs because the cohort in each category is smaller and the statistical fluctuation is higher. If you’re in an OBC, SC or ST category, the official counselling list for your category is what matters, not the General list.

One important thing about home state quota: Many NLUs reserve 25% or more seats for home state students. If you’re from Rajasthan and targeting NLUJ, or from Gujarat and targeting GNLU, your effective cutoff is lower than the figures above because you’re competing in a smaller pool for those seats. This can make a significant difference.

How to think about your NLU choice beyond the rank

The rank gets you in. After that, it’s about what you do inside.

I’ve counselled students who chose NLUJ over NUJS because of the clerkship culture in Jodhpur. Students who chose RMLNLU over NUJS because they wanted to practise in the north and Lucknow gave them a better network for that. Students who turned down GNLU because they genuinely felt more at home in Kolkata.

These aren’t wrong decisions. They’re real decisions that take the whole picture into account. Placement data matters. Location matters. Campus culture matters. The rank tells you what you can get. What you should get depends on more than the closing rank.

For the detailed breakdown of each NLU including fees, placement data and what campus life actually looks like, see the complete NLU guide at megalaw.in/top-law-colleges/

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get NLSIU with rank 150?

In the General category, NLSIU has been closing around rank 108 to 115. Rank 150 is outside that range in most years. It's not impossible if seats open up in later rounds but it's not a realistic primary target. NALSAR is your realistic top option at rank 150.

Is NUJS or GNLU better for placements?

Both are strong. NUJS has historically had the edge in corporate law placements, largely because of its Kolkata location and strong alumni network in that city and Mumbai. GNLU has been closing the gap. The difference isn't large enough to choose GNLU over NUJS if you're in range for both, but it's also not large enough to call GNLU a meaningfully inferior choice. See the full comparison for placement data.

What's the difference between NLUJ and RMLNLU?

NLUJ Jodhpur has stronger overall placement numbers and a more established national reputation. RMLNLU Lucknow has a specific strength in North India corporate and government law placements, partly because of its Lucknow location near the Allahabad High Court circuit. If you're choosing between them and both are within your range, it depends on where you want to practise.

How much can cutoffs move between CLAT 2026 and 2027?

Most NLUs move 20 to 50 ranks year on year. Occasionally one NLU moves more if something significant changed (reputation, seats, a particularly strong placement year). The ranges in the table above are deliberately wide enough to account for normal year-on-year movement. Don't use 2026 exact figures as guaranteed 2027 cutoffs.

I have rank 480. Should I wait for Round 3?

Depends on what you're offered in Round 1. If you get RMLNLU in Round 1, you might want to lock it rather than risk losing it for a marginal upgrade. If you get HNLU or CNLU in Round 1 and you'd genuinely prefer RMLNLU, check what Round 2 shows before locking. Decisions made in a panic at Round 3 often don't work out. Decide your preference order before Round 1 opens.

Manav Lawania, founder and CLAT AILET mentor at MEGA LAW & G.K., Agra

About the Author

Manav Lawania, India's Teens & Twenties Mentor. Founder of MEGA LAW & G.K. and UsefullBooks, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Former Intelligence Officer, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. 17 years of teaching experience and 4,000 to 5,000 students counselled for CLAT and AILET. Manav scored 13 out of 100 in Class 12 before rebuilding his own path, and that comeback is the lens he brings to every student he now mentors. He writes and teaches under the belief that CLAT preparation is as much about having the right data as it is about having the right mindset.

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