CLAT, AILET, LSAT India: Key Differences, Syllabus, Pattern, Difficulty Level & More

CLAT, AILET, LSAT India: Key Differences, Syllabus, Pattern, Difficulty Level & More

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Anupama
Anupama Mehra
Assistant Manager – Content
Updated on Sep 19, 2024 11:30 IST

Planning to appear for law entrance exams but confused which one to take? Read the article below to know key differences between the three best law entrance exams in IndiaCLAT, AILET and LSAT.

CLAT, AILET and LSAT are the three most popular law entrance exams in India. Every year thousands of students appear for these exams to secure admission to a prestigious law school in India. However, while not all students always want to appear in all the three law entrance exams, they are often seen confused on which one to take. In this article, we have listed out key differences in CLAT, AILET and LSAT India. Read on to know how CLAT, AILET and LSAT India are different from each other concerning colleges accepting exam scores, test patterns, syllabi, difficulty levels, eligibility criteria and more.

What is CLAT, AILET and LSAT India?

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a law exam conducted by the Consortium of NLUs to offer admission to candidates in law courses offered at 24 National Law Universities (NLUs). All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) is an exam conducted by NLU Delhi to offer admission to candidates in law courses offered by it only. On the other hand, Law School Admission Test-India (LSAT India) is an entrance exam conducted by Law School Admission Council (LSAC) to offer admission to candidates in various private law schools in India.  

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Check some key differences between the three exams below:

Parameters

CLAT

AILET

LSAT India

Conducting body

Consortium of NLUs

NLU Delhi

Pearson VUE on behalf of LSAC

Exam level

National

National

National

Courses offered

  • BA LLB (Hons)
  • LLM
  • PhD

Duration of courses

Integrated LLB – 5 years

LLM – 1 year

Integrated LLB – 5 years

LLM – 1 year

PhD – 5 years

Integrated LLB – 5 years

LLB – 3 years

Participating/associated colleges

24 NLUs

NLU Delhi

26 private law schools

Frequency of exams

Once in a year

Once in a year

Twice in a year

Application fee

INR 4,000 (INR 3,500 for reserved categories)

INR 3,050 (INR 1,050 for reserved categories)

INR 3,799

Difference between CLAT, AILET and LSAT India Eligibility

Tabulated below are the key differences between CLAT, AILET and LSAT India exams concerning their eligibility criteria:

Law Exams Eligibility Parameters

CLAT

AILET

LSAT India

Educational Qualification

UG courses: Class 12

PG courses: LLB degree

UG courses: Class 12

PG courses: LLB degree

PhD: LLM degree

UG courses: Class 12/graduation

Minimum marks in qualifying exam

UG courses: 45% (40% for SC/ST)

PG courses: 50% (45% for SC/ST)

UG courses: 45% (40% for SC/ST)

PG courses: 50% (45% for SC/ST)

PhD: 55% (50% for SC/ST)

UG courses: 45-50% (vary from college to college)

Age limit

UG courses: No age limit

PG courses: No age limit

UG courses: No age limit

PG courses: No age limit

UG courses: No age limit

Also Read: CLAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria, Minimum Marks, Age Limit 

Q:   Which is more difficult, LSAT India or CLAT?

A:

CLAT is more difficult than LSAT India because of the time constraint. Candidates have only two hours to solve 150 questions in the exam. However, the time limit to solve 92 questions in the LSAT India exam is 2 hours and 20 minutes. Thus, it is difficult for candidates to complete all questions in the CLAT exam within such a short time limit. Moreover, the CLAT question paper includes questions from Current Affairs and General Knowledge. However, the LSAT India question paper does not include questions on Current Affairs and General Knowledge. Consequently, the LSAT India is comparatively easy because of its question paper pattern.

Q:   What is a good rank for CLAT?

A:

Students who wish to be admitted to this university should strive for a score of roughly 70% (80-84 marks) or above under the revised pattern. Because the CLAT cut-off marks are lower for reserved categories, a rank of about 4000 would be suitable for admission. According to CLAT 2024 analysis, candidates from the general category should aim for a score of 90 or more in order to be admitted to one of the top three NLUs. In CLAT 2024, 60–70 points are considered a decent score for SC/ST categories. The Consortium of NLUs will release the closing rank of candidates for each round at the time of CLAT counselling.

Q:   What is a good CLAT score?

A:

Aspirants who appeared for the CLAT 2025 Exam should have a clear idea about a good CLAT score. CLAT is a very competitive exam and candidates need to score high to clear the cutoff. All those candidates who appeared for the CLAT 2025 are advised to check out the previous year's CLAT cutoff scores and get a fair idea of the trends that are being followed by the NLUs in the country.  A score above 100 is definitely considered as a good score for CLAT 2025. Candidates must note that the expected CLAT cutoff score for NLUSIU Bangalore is 100 plus, whereas, for NLU Kolkata, NLU Jodhpur and NLU Bhopal, the expected score is between 94 to 98. Candidates who wish to take admission into NALSAR Hyderabad they need to score between 98 to 100. 

Difference between CLAT, AILET and LSAT India Exam Pattern & Syllabus

Tabulated below are the key differences between CLAT, AILET and LSAT India exam pattern and subjects for UG courses:

Law Exam Pattern Parameters

CLAT

AILET

LSAT India

Exam mode

Offline

Offline

Offline

Exam duration

120 minutes (2 hours)

90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes)

140 minutes (2 hours 20 minutes)

Type of questions 

Objective (based on Comprehension passages)

Objective

Objective

Exam subjects & sections

  • English Language
  • Current Affairs including General Knowledge
  • Legal Reasoning
  • Logical Reasoning
  • Quantitative Techniques
  • English Language
  • Current Affairs & General Knowledge
  • Logical Reasoning
  • Legal Aptitude
  • Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability)
  • Analytical Reasoning
  • Logical Reasoning – 1
  • Logical Reasoning – 2
  • Reading Comprehension

 

Total questions 

120

150 

92

Total marks

120

150

420-480 score band and percentile

Negative Marking

-0.25 for incorrect answer

-0.25 for incorrect answer

Not applicable

Also Read:

CLAT exam pattern CLAT syllabus
AILET exam pattern AILET syllabus
LSAT India exam pattern LSAT India syllabus

Difference between CLAT, AILET and LSAT India Difficulty Level

One of the big questions to ask when deciding whether to appear for one, two or all the three law entrance exams is, ‘what is the difficulty level of CLAT, AILET and LSAT India?’ The overall difficulty level of an exam can be decided by considering the parameters mentioned in the table below:

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Law Exam Difficulty Parameters

CLAT

AILET

LSAT India

Difficulty level of questions

Moderate

Moderate to difficult

Moderate to difficult

Negative marking

-0.25 for incorrect answer

-0.25 for incorrect answer

No negative marking

Level of competition

Moderate (approx. 60,000 candidates appear for over 3,500 seats of 22 NLUs)

Difficult (approx. 19,000 candidates appear for nearly 200 seats at NLU Delhi)

Easy to moderate (approx. 10,000 candidates appear for seats at over 25 associated colleges)

Overall difficulty level

Moderate to difficult

Difficult

Easy to moderate

Also Read:

CLAT exam analysis AILET exam analysis LSAT India exam analysis

CLAT, AILET and LSAT India: Which Exam to Choose?

Since the subjects from which questions are asked in all the three law entrance exams are similar, there is not much difference in the preparation strategy for CLAT, AILET and LSAT India. Therefore, if not heavy on pocket, candidates are advised to appear for all the three law entrance exams.

Appearing in all the three exams open up more options for candidates concerning securing admission in law schools in India.

Q:   What is a good AILET 2025 score?

A:

A good score for AILET as per last year's cut off marks for each category are as under:
General - 93.25 marks
Scheduled Caste - 59.75 marks
Scheduled Tribe - 58.5 marks
Persons with Disabilities - 64 marks
Kashmir Migrant - 35.25 marks
Residents of Jammu and Kashmir - 54.25 marks.

Q:   Is CLAT a tough exam?

A:
Dear Student, A competitive entrance exam tests your aptitude for the subject. Be it law or fashion or design, be it CLAT NIFT, or NID. With so many aspirants vying for limited seats in the premier institutes of the country, you have to display a very high level of aptitude for the chosen field. If you are good in your basics then CLAT exam is not a tough journey to cross. It depends on your level of knowledge, dedication and your preparation. In the initial level it is not easy but a regular practice can make it easy for you to pass the CLAT Exam. If you are going to sit for CLAT exam then it is very much important to know about the CLAT Exam pattern, syllabus, questions type. There are five important Topics which you need to focus on CLAT exams. These five topics are English comprehension, Mathematics, Logical Reasoning, Legal Aptitude, General Knowledge and Current Affairs. Depth knowledge and good practice can only give you the success. You can get in touch with any good law entrance coaching, they will help you to clear your CLAT exam. If you want to kick start a successful career in law, it is important to get admission into a good law college. There are a number of top law colleges in India that you can apply for, but you should know the admission process. Most of the colleges or universities that offer courses in law have their own entrance examinations. One of the most recognised examinations is CLAT which stands for the Common Law Entrance Test. The test score of CLAT is accepted by major universities as well as law colleges in India. There are multiple universities from where you can do 5-year LL.B. Like IILM University Gurugram offers BBA LL.B. & B.A. LL.B. & LL. M. with Moot Court Internship, Seminar, Workshops, Experiential Learning along with Inter-Disciplinary Curriculum. For more details check their website https://iilm.edu.in.

Q:   Which is the No. 1 university in CLAT?

A:

Since 2018, the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru has maintained its position as the top-ranked law college in India according to the NIRF rankings. 

Q:   What is considered a good score in AILET?

A:
A good score for AILET as per last year's cut off marks for each category are as under: General - 93.25 marks Scheduled Caste - 59.75 marks Scheduled Tribe - 58.5 marks Persons with Disabilities - 64 marks Kashmir Migrant - 35.25 marks Residents of Jammu and Kashmir - 54.25 marks.

Q:   Is CLAT LLM exam tough or easy?

A:

CLAT is one of the highly competitive law exam and is considered to be one of the toughest exams to clear. However, aspirants should not worry, as with the right preparation and attitude you can definitely ace in the CLAT exam. The toppers of CLAT have suggested that aspirants should trust BA LLB books and a habit to read newspaper daily to crack the CLAT PG exam. The difficulty level of CLAT paper is usually moderate. For complete insights on CLAT paper difficulty level, check analysis for current and previous years above. 

Important FAQs regarding Differences between CLAT, AILET & LSAT India

Q: Which is better? LSAT or CLAT?

A: Since, CLAT is a gateway to the prestigious NLUs in India, it is a better law entrance exam than LSAT India. Through LSAT, candidates can secure admission in various private law colleges in the country.

Q: Which is more difficult? CLAT or AILET?

A: Considering previous year trends of the question paper difficulty level and the level of competition for both the exams, AILET can be considered more difficult than CLAT. 

Q: Can I give all CLAT, LSAT and AILET?

A: Yes, if eligible, you can appear for all the three law entrance exams in a single year.

Q: Is LSAT and CLAT same?

A: No, through LSAT India, you can secure a seat in any of the private law colleges accepting exam scores. On the other hand, through CLAT you can secure admission in NLUs and various other colleges acceptig exam scores.

Q: Which is the best NLU in India?

A: As per NIRF ranking 2023, NLSIU Bangalore continues to be the best law college in India.

About the Author
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Anupama Mehra
Assistant Manager – Content

"The pen is mightier than the sword". Anupama totally believes in this and respects what she conveys through it. She is a vivid writer, who loves to write about education, lifestyle, and governance. She is a hardcor... Read Full Bio