Education, Careers & Professional News
Some tips to face the entrance examinations conducted by law schools
Source
The Hindu
Date
2005-03-23
Information
THERE WAS a time when getting into the `best law schools in the country was not considered an achievement, but then the law schools themselves were not great achievements either.
The concept of the national law school and the popularisation of the law option in the last decade has changed the scenario. Though the number of applicants is nowhere as large as that for the Common Admission Test (for the management schools) or the JEE (for the IITs), the competition is still fierce here. Last year, rough estimates say 7,000 students wrote the entrance examinations for 300 seats in the top five national law schools in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal and Jodhpur. This year, the competition is expected to be more intense.
While most of the law schools conduct entrance examinations, there are still a few institutions that admit students based on `merit, wherin admission depends on the marks obtained during the Board and / or the university examinations. Notable among these are the Indian Law Society, Pune and the Government Law College, Mumbai. Each national law school holds a separate entrance examination. Barring NUJS Kolkata, which conducts the examination in January-February, the other colleges hold their entrance examination sometime around May.
The examinations are usually for about two-hours duration and includes both objective and subjective type questions. The subjects tested are: English, analytical reasoning (logic), legal reasoning, general knowledge (including legal awareness) and mathematics.
In English the students are tested in vocabulary, reading comprehension, structuring of sentences among other things; the analytical reasoning section tests students on identifying weak and strong arguments, syllogisms, relationships and sequencing and so on. The legal reasoning section, which evokes the greatest student curiosity, tests students on their ability to correctly apply a principle to a given set of facts and decide whether something is correct or incorrect.
The general knowledge section tests students on their general awareness as well as awareness of basic laws and legal developments; and the mathematics section, the simplest of all sections, tests students mainly in basic commercial maths.
Broadly, preparation for the law entrance examinations can be slotted in two categories — areas that require long-term preparation and areas that do not. The first category comprises general knowledge and English vocabulary (not the entire subject). Whenever you learn new words, from your list of words try them on unsuspecting targets such as your parents. For general awareness, read a good newspaper — to be read daily and not at the end of the week or once in a while. Pick up a weekly magazine to boost your knowledge. Start your preparation for General Knowledge and Vocabulary ideally a year or more in advance.
Never underestimate the role of time management in a competitive entrance examination. Remember your quest is not to get 80 or 90 per cent but to be better than the rest.
Ideally, the last couple of weeks before the entrance examinations should be spent practising papers. Being comfortable with what the papers look and putting yourself under time pressure are great ways to prepare yourself for the big day or days. For LAW entrance related coaching call up LST.