How is CLAT different from AILET? Key differences in Pattern, Syllabus, Difficulty Level

How is CLAT different from AILET? Key differences in Pattern, Syllabus, Difficulty Level

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Anupama
Anupama Mehra
Assistant Manager – Content
Updated on Nov 8, 2024 14:52 IST
CLAT vs AILET, the two most competitive law entrance exams in India are distinguished based on the exam pattern, difficulty level, and syllabus. Read here to know more.
How is CLAT different from AILET? Key differences in Pattern, Syllabus, Difficulty Level

Candidates seeking admission into prominent law colleges in India are well aware of the fact that they have to appear and qualify the entrance exams accepted by the colleges. In India, the National Law Universities (NLUs) are among the top-tiered law colleges to study law and, at present, the total number of NLUs in India is 25. For admission to these NLUs (excluding NLU Delhi), candidates have to appear in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Admission to NLU Delhi is through the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET). In this article, we have shared differences in key features of CLAT and AILET exams including exam pattern, difficulty level, and admission criteria. 

Also Read: CLAT Questions for Practice with Solutions: Free PDF Download

As a relief to law aspirants, both the law entrance exams have similar test patterns for UG law programmes i.e.

  • The question papers of CLAT are based on subjects including English, General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Elementary Mathematics (Quantitative Techniques), Legal Aptitude & Reasoning and Logical Reasoning.
  • This year, the Consortium of NLUs announced some notable changes in the exam pattern of CLAT by reducing the number of questions to 120 from that of 150.
  • The exam pattern of AILET has been changed as well since NLU Delhi removed Elementary Mathematics and Legal Aptitude section from the question paper. This changed the section-wise weightage of AILET question paper. Other than this, AILET exam mode, duration, and pattern remains the same.

Let us understand, the key features of both the law entrance exams on this page below. 

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Difference between CLAT UG and AILET UG Exam Pattern

The major differences and similarities in key features of AILET and CLAT exam pattern 2025 are as under:

Subject

Features of CLAT 2025

Features of AILET 2025

Exam mode CLAT is conducted in a paper-based test mode. AILET is also conducted in a paper-based test mode.
Exam timings 2:00-4:00 PM.  10:00-11:30 AM. 

Test duration

120 minutes 

90 minutes

Type of questions 

Objective-type of question-based on Reading Comprehension passages of about 300-450 words. 

The questions are completely multiple-choice based in all sections. 

Total questions 

120

There are 150 MCQs in total. 

Negative Marking

+1 for a correct answer
-0.25 for an incorrect answer

+1 for a correct answer
-0.25 for an incorrect answer

Also Read:

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:   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:   Is 4000 a good rank in CLAT?

A:

A CLAT rank of 4000 is not considered as a good rank to get admission to one of the top NLUs. However, candidates who belong the reserved category still have chance to secure admission to NLUs with a CLAT Rank of AIR 4000.With the exam pattern for CLAT changing, candidates must aim to score above 100 to secure admission to one of the best NLUs in the country. Before starting the CLAT Preparation 2025 candidates need to understand how the marks are divided in each section. 

Section-wise Weightage of Questions and Marks

Subjects 

Question and Marks for CLAT 

Question and Marks for AILET

English including Comprehension

28-32 questions of 1 mark each 

50 questions of 1 mark each 

General Knowledge including Current Affairs

35-39 questions of 1 mark each 

30 questions of 1 mark each 

Quantitative Techniques 

13-17 questions of 1 mark each 

Removed

Legal Aptitude/ Reasoning 

35-39 questions of 1 mark each 

Removed

Logical Reasoning

28-32 questions of 1 mark each  

70 questions of 1 mark each 

Total

120 questions and marks

150 questions and marks

Also Read: 

Difference between CLAT LLM and AILET LLM Exam Pattern

In case of PG courses of AILET and CLAT for LLM course, the exam pattern is distinct from each other. Check below the difference in CLAT LLM and AILET LLM paper as under:

Features

CLAT LLM Pattern

AILET LLM Pattern

Exam mode

Pen-paper mode

Pen-paper mode

Exam duration

2 hours

1 hour 30 minutes

Subjects

Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, other law subjects including contemporary issues

Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Law of Contract, Jurisprudence, Law of Tort and International Law

Type of questions

Objective as well as subjective questions

Multiple-choice questions

Total questions

120 multiple-choice questions

102 questions

  • 100 multiple-choice questions
  • 2 Descriptive questions (there will be 8-10 descriptive questions, out of which the candidate has to attempt only two questions)

Total marks

120 marks

150 marks

Marking scheme 

  • +1 for a correct answer
  • -0.25 for an incorrect answer

Multiple-choice questions:

  • +1 for a correct answer
  • -0.25 for an incorrect answer

Descriptive questions:

  • Each question carry 25 marks 

The difference in CLAT and AILET Application Fees

There is a huge difference in the application form fees of AILET and CLAT and it can be understood from the table below:

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Categories CLAT application fees AILET application fees
General/Other Backward Class (OBC)/ Persons with Disability (PwD)/ Non-Resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)/ Overseas citizens (OCI)/ Kashmiri Migrant INR 4,000 INR 3,050
Scheduled Class (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) INR 3,500 INR 1,050
BPL candidates from SC and ST categories INR 3,500 Exempted

Which is tougher – CLAT or AILET?

Before appearing for the law entrance exams, the aspirants want to know which one is difficult to crack. If you compare the number of applicants per seat then definitely AILET is a tougher exam as compared to CLAT. It can be confirmed as under:

  • More than 60,000 candidates appear in CLAT admission to 2,644 UG seats and 914 PG seats 
  • Approximately 19,000 candidates appear for 110 seats - BA LLB, 70 seats - LLM, and 18 seats - PhD 

Thus, in CLAT approximately 20 candidates compete for a seat at CLAT participating NLUs, whereas in AILET around 100 candidates are competing for a seat at NLU, Delhi.

However, an important fact to consider is that the majority of the applicants apply for both AILET and CLAT exams. Since NLU Delhi is ranked among the top five NLUs of India it makes it tougher to get admission in. Whereas, the difficulty level of CLAT question paper and AILET questions paper can be understood by the fact that the latter exam has tougher questions in Legal Aptitude which is based on core law topics. Moreover, now the CLAT Consortium has modified the test paper by increasing the comprehensive type of questions, to make it easier for candidates.  

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. 

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:   What is the highest 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:   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:   When should I start preparing for CLAT 2025?

A:

The ideal time to start preparing for the CLAT exam varies from person to person and depends on several factors such as your familiarity with the subject, the level of understanding of the topics covered in the syllabus, and the amount of time and effort you can devote to the preparation. However, as a general guideline, it is recommended that you start preparing for the exam at least 6-8 months before the exam date. This will give you sufficient time to cover the entire syllabus, revise the important topics, solve mock tests and previous year papers, and identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you are already familiar with the subject and have a good understanding of the topics covered in the syllabus, you can start preparing for the exam 3-4 months before the exam date. However, if you are new to the subject or need to improve your understanding of the topics, you may need to start preparing earlier. It is important to note that the CLAT exam is a highly competitive exam, and the level of competition is increasing every year. Therefore, it is important to start preparing early and stay consistent with your preparation. With a focused approach and consistent effort, you can increase your chances of qualifying for the CLAT exam.

Read More: 

Important FAQs regarding CLAT & AILET

Q: Which is better - CLAT or AILET?

A: Both CLAT and AILET are equally good as both give opportunity to secure admission in the prestigious National Law Universities in India. However, through AILET candidates can secure admission only in NLU Delhi. On the other hand, through CLAT, candidates can secure admission in 24 NLUs in India. 

Q: Which law entrance exam is more difficult - CLAT or AILET?

A: The difficulty level of AILET is usually higher than CLAT. To check complete details, click on CLAT exam analysis and AILET Exam analysis links.

Q: Can I get admission in NLU without CLAT?

A: For admission in UG-level courses (such as BA/BBA LLB) and PG-level courses (such as LLM) offered at NLUs, it is mandatory for candidates to appear for either CLAT or AILET. 

Q: Is the syllabus and exam pattern for CLAT and AILET different?

A: The exam pattern and syllabus for CLAT and AILET are different. So candidates need to refer to the specific pattern and syllabus when preparing for any of these exams. 

Q: Do I need to adopt different preparation strategies for CLAT and AILET?

A: You can keep the same preparation strategy for CLAT and AILET as the paper pattern and syllabus for both the exams are largely similar.

Q: What is the application fee for CLAT and AILET?

A: The application fee for CLAT is INR 4,000 for the General category and INR 3,500 for SC/ST category. On the other hand, the AILET application fee is INR 3,050 for the General category and INR 1,050 for SC/ST category.

Q: How many seats are offered through CLAT and AILET exams?

A: The seat intakes for both the law entrance exams are as follows:

CLAT 2024:

  • UG courses - 2, 644 seats
  • PG courses - 914 seats

AILET 2024:

  • BA LLB - 110
  • LLM - 70
  • PhD - 18 

Q: In which modes are CLAT and AILET exams conducted?

A: Both CLAT and AILET are conducted in offline mode as pen-paper tests. 

Q: What is the duration of CLAT and AILET exams?

A: CLAT exam is of two hours duration while AILET is of 90 minutes duration.

Q: Is there negative marking in CLAT and AILET exams?

A: Yes, there is negative marking of 0.25 marks in both CLAT and AILET exams.

Q: How many questions are asked in CLAT and AILET exams?

A: In both the exams, total 150 questions are asked in UG level. 

Q: What type of questions are asked in CLAT and AILET exams?

A: In CLAT 2024, objective-type MCQs will be asked for UG and PG admission. AILET UG will have only MCQs, but PG paper will have both objective and descriptive questions. 

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