JGLS to admit up to 75% of its student intake through March LSAT exam

NEW DELHI: Today marks an extraordinary moment in the administration of legal education entrance process in India as Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, the Founding Vice-Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) announced that for the very first time LSAT-India will now be conducted twice in 2021 in order to give students multiple opportunities to pursue their aspirations of their future in legal education.

Law School Admission Council (LSAC) USA, which leads the entrance examination process for legal education worldwide, has taken this bold and innovative step to increase the frequency of the examination for Indian law schools.

LSAT–India will now be available to students first on March 25, 2021 and second one on June 14, 2021. This would enable students with the flexibility to have multiple opportunities to take the examination based on their convenience. The dates have been thoughtfully planned to have one examination placed prior to the 12th standard CBSE Board Examinations and the other post the completion of the same. This will be very helpful to provide additional relief to every student taking the 12th Board Examinations this year and aspiring to study law, especially in the context of the additional duress created by the ongoing pandemic.

Jindal Global Law School, ranked as India’s Number One Law School and 76th in the World by the recent QS World University Rankings 2021 by Subject (Law), and the only Indian Law school to be ranked in the same, feels a sense of commitment to lead such pathways for the youth of India. In this very endeavour, JGLS continues to partner and collaborate with LSAC to advance this initiative, and give the students aspiring to study in JGLS a unique opportunity to secure their future at JGLS very early in the year by the virtue of being able to take the examination in March.

On this occasion, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, the Founding Vice-Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) said, “This is a landmark moment for students pursuing their aspirations in legal education. Jindal Global Law School is committed to providing the students of India a world-class experience not only within the spectrum of our legal education but also by ensuring global standards of best practices in the governance of the admission process. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of these times we live in, it is important to empathize with the additional stress students face today regarding their future, only further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. Therefore, this initiative comes as a great opportunity for students to not only have the flexibility and convenience of multiple attempts at the law entrance examination, but more importantly a chance to secure their future at Jindal Global Law School very early in the year by completing the examination in March itself.

“The placement of this examination schedule in March is such that it will take place when other entrance examinations are not commonly scheduled, and prior to the Board examinations, and therefore, will allow students to take LSAT — India at ease. We truly wish the most seamless experience for the aspiring students, and we are confident that this a great step towards creating more student-centric processes within the Indian Legal Education spectrum. We are grateful to have our ongoing partnership between JGLS and LSAC that is allowing us to enable such innovations for the Indian Legal education.”

Professor (Dr.) S.G. Sreejith, Executive Dean, Jindal Global Law School said, “An early admission process is a very standard process in international universities. Jindal Global Law School has always strived to lead the internationalization of legal education in India, and this effort is yet another step to benchmark JGLS with global legal education best practices. More importantly, taking the March Test and securing admission in April itself will contribute to the peace of mind and emotional wellness of the students by alleviating their anxieties over the future of their legal education. In fact, we anticipate that JGLS will be able to admit up to 75 per cent of their total seats on the basis of LSAT — India March 2021 examination to be held on 25th March. Therefore, we sincerely believe that students taking this examination in March will have a great opportunity to have a head start in their legal education and will be advantaged by the virtue of being able to finalize their future plans well before their Board Examinations.”

While the June examination comes as a wonderful second opportunity, the March examination gives the students an early advantage in securing their future. This initiative particularly brings to the surface some unique advantages for the law aspirants taking the LSAT — India examination in March.

Professor Anand Prakash Mishra, Director of Law Admissions at O.P. Jindal Global University and Associate Dean of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) articulates three key reasons why law aspirants should consider completing their test on 25th March, “Firstly, a chance to secure an admission in JGLS will simply double if you take the examination in March. On an average, more than 3,500 candidates appearing for LSAT — India Test are unable to secure an offer of admission for the 5-year BA/BBALLB programme given the highly competitive landscape we operate in today. If students take the March examination, and if for some unfortunate reason they don’t qualify for the admission process at JGLS, they get a wonderful second opportunity in June to score better and qualify for a seat.

“Secondly, the March Examination is the first law entrance test in the country in the year 2021. When the June examination gets administered, students face extreme pressure to appear in multiple entrance examinations that are usually scheduled around that time of the year. The March Examination will allow students to focus on their legal education entrance without the stress of multiple other examinations. Thirdly, and very importantly, one’s success in the examination in March will help a student secure a seat in JGLS even before they take the 12th Board Examinations. This will play an instrumental role in defining their future well in advance and reducing the undue stress that may be caused during their board examinations. This is extremely important since the ‘Covid-anxiety’ has already caused excessive stress to the youth in today’s time. Therefore, this will help alleviate some of that duress, and help students feel more secure about their aspirations to study in a world-class law school.”