Suyash Manjul's Review On Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University - [RMLNLU], Lucknow

I took an entrance test organized by the University itself. However, now the admission are taken on the basis of an all India test called Common Law Admission test (CLAT).

The course curriculum was dynamic and kept on changing. Lecturers often had liberty to create their own course structure. It is very difficult to find balance between what the industry wants from law students and what expertise the teachers have in law schools. It is difficult to find teachers with experience in the industry and hence a lot of what they did was academic.

Like most government universities the college did not provide internship. There was however an internship and placement cell that helped students land internships and the cell also had its funds allocated by the university. The standard to internship was usually the industries best, most of the students either interned with first and second tier law firms. Stipend could range somewhere between 20000-to-nothing at all.

Placements was improved gradually. It is difficult to disclose packages because at times this information is not public but some alumni got placed in the best firms with packages upwards of 12 Lakhs P.A. which is more that what a lot of MBA graduates get. There weren't a number of companies that came but the Law firms did come to recruit most first and second tier law firms were the choice of students.

Campus life was amazing. Nothing could beat it. There was easy connectivity to the rest of the city and public conveyance was easily available. A canteen was there which was fairly good if not great and evenings were chilled out. Tennis court, a play ground, an very big swimming pool, gym and badminton facilities were there.

Fee structure is feasible. For the five years course I had to shell out something between 3.5 Lakhs to 4 Lakhs which includes the hostel fee. This costs usually covered the college and all other fees mess charges were separate. Given the fact that we had a great library, centrally heated classrooms and single occupation rooms from 3rd years, this was cheap for a five year course.

Since it is a national law university (of the standard of IITs) getting a loan was not difficult. Some rebate was available to the economically backwards and reserved category students.

The gender ration is an average of 55-45 between girls and boys. The crowd is fairly diverse but not ideal. The campus is safe and peaceful with occasional disturbances. The cultural side is vibrant and we have festivals like SPOCULIT and FENZA and several other mostly programs such as Journal festival and Cultural festivals.

Exams structure is mostly regular with a semester system. We had two end terms and two mid terms. Exams usually were held through the week i.e. from Monday to Saturday. It was a little hectic but nothing the students could not handle. The difficulty level of papers could vary according to the teacher and the marking of the answer-sheets could vary significantly from teacher to teacher.

A notification was issued in a Daily newspaper. After which forms had to obtained by sending a demand draft. After which a prospectus and form was send. Once the form was filled and submitted, the admit card for the entrance test was send through post. After the entrance test results were declared and separate counselling took place for selected and wait-list candidates.

Faculty, is what makes or breaks a college. The issue with government aided institutes is that the government tends to have a lot of interference in the recruitment process but this does not mean the quality of the faculty was compromised, the best of what was available was recruited. The problem with law schools is that there is a shortage of good faculty, most good faculty is already engaged in central.