Hidayatullah National Law University BA+LLB Review By Shashank K

I was a nervous student in 2015, having just given CLAT waiting for counseling to know which college I was getting into. I was allotted Hidayatullah National Law University, which had got the tag of "Best Upcoming NLU" that year. I was excited and eager to become a part of this university. The joining process was smooth. CLAT marks and school documents were checked and my admission was confirmed after paying the fees. Being from Delhi, moving to a different city (Raipur) was making me feel nervous as well as excited. However, the scenic environment at Naya Raipur where the college is situated changed all my thoughts. I was mesmerized by the quality of location, as well as the campus.

The courses offered by the college are B.A. LLB (Hons.) and LLM. The BA Hons is in Political Science. I joined the 5 years integrated BA LLB program. I had an interest in pursuing law as my mother works at a law firm and I developed an inclination towards the field after seeing her work. The first three years are focused more on Arts subjects (Economics, Political Science, English, Sociology) with some minor law subjects. The final 2 years (years 4 and 5) are focused purely on law with major law subjects such as CPC, CrPC, IPC. These subjects are very useful for a budding lawyer.

We had different faculties for every subject. Most of them were Assistant Professors having done Ph.D. The faculties understood, empathetic, and student-friendly. While the primary method of teaching was English, sometimes Hindi was used to help understand students who don't have good command in English. The faculty mostly lived on the same campus and were available for help outside college hours too. Most of the faculty had over 5 years of teaching experience. There were guest faculty too who were practicing lawyers or judges in various courts which provided for fantastic and engrossing learning sessions. There were frequent guest lectures and additional academic activities.

Our college had recruitment as well as an internship placement cell. It was student-run with a faculty member heading the committee. Right from the first year, students were helped in securing internships with various NGOs, law firms, as well as practicing lawyers. When it comes to placement, many students opted for government jobs or Judiciary. But for students, who wanted corporate jobs, there were many placement offers and up to 70% of the students opting for placements got offers from multiple companies. The average package received by students was in the range of 8 LPA with highest going for as much as 24 LPA.

The college was completely residential with students coming from all across India. In the first year, the rooms were shared between two students. From the 2nd year onwards, every student got a separate room. The boy's and girl's hostels are separate. The average cost of a hostel was around 60,000 per year. There was a gym, badminton court, TV room, as well as a mess downstairs. The quality of mess was decent, with non-veg served two times a week. There were 4 meals a day (Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Hi-Tea, and Dinner). There were guards placed at the entrance of every hostel gate and there was a supervisor/helper available for any needs.

The campus is huge (70 acres) and is situated on the outskirts. The area is New Raipur, which is one of the smart city projects undertaken by the Modi government. The campus consists of a state of the art library, separate hostels for boys and girls. There is a faculty quarter for all the faculty members residing. There's a tennis court, cricket field, football field, as well as an amphitheater for students' convenience. For those getting bored of the mess food, there's a cafeteria serving the latest delicacies. There are 2 academic blocks, one for juniors, and one for seniors. There is also a campus doctor available and ambulances in the campus for any medical needs.

The campus life was the best part of the whole experience. Right from the start, there are various clubs for whose initiation is done by seniors. There are theater clubs, music clubs, debating clubs, dance clubs, etc. Students are free to join any of those clubs and participate in the activity. All the clubs are student-run and there are various inter-college as well as intra college activities organized by the clubs. There's an annual fest called Colossus which is huge and famous musicians headline the event. College makes you feel like you're at your home away from home. Everyone is warm and for students who can't go back home during Holi, Diwali, the college organizes events to make you not feel left out.