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I need help with choosing University from the UK (I'm Canadian :)) & advice!

Hi :smile:
I'm a Canadian student who had aspired to study in the U.K, however I'm facing a ton of problems and was wondering if anybody could help clarify some issues for me? :smile:

I applied to LSE, Kingston, Queen Mary, Kent & Greenwhich for my LLB (My choices were limited because I couldn't take the LNAT)

I went to some seminars in Canada about Universities in the UK
Queen Mary asked for a 75% average
LSE - 90%
Greenwhich - 70%
Kingston - 70%
Kent - 75%

When filling out UCAS I entered my predicted grades averaging to about 85%. I got my first semester marks (4 out of my 8 courses) and my average was 94%.

HOWEVER... I've gotten offers from Kent, Greenwhich, and Kingston, but I've been rejected from Queen Mary & LSE. LSE I can understand, not getting to LSE, but I'm pretty surprised I didn't get into Queen Mary (it was my top choice!) :frown:
What can I do? I like Kent but it's so far and I'd prefer to stay in London... anybody have any suggestions/advice? Can I call them?

Also, out of Kingston, Kent, or Greenwhich, which one is the best?


Sorry but the long message, but I'd really appreciate any help! :smile:

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Reply 1
Ugh all the typos in my title :frown:

I need help with choosing a university from the UK (I'm Canadian :smile: ) & advice! **


Sorry! I was typing in a rush :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by miss.sukhi
Ugh all the typos in my title :frown:

I need help with choosing a university from the UK (I'm Canadian :smile: ) & advice! **


Sorry! I was typing in a rush :smile:


Out of the three I would say Kent. However, you could take a risk and reject the 3 universities you got offers from and use UCAS Extra.
Reply 3
Original post by forex
Out of the three I would say Kent. However, you could take a risk and reject the 3 universities you got offers from and use UCAS Extra.


I assumed as an international student I wouldn't apply to use UCAS Extra?
Reply 4
Original post by miss.sukhi
I assumed as an international student I wouldn't apply to use UCAS Extra?


Heres all the info: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/offers/extra
Reply 5


Thanks! I think I'll pass though... it seems to risky
What about the University of Derby ? Would you be interested?
Reply 7
judging from the ranking and league tables, paying international fees for an LLB at any of those universities really wouldn't be worth it. greenwich especially would be a waste of money imo. you should ask yourself what you're trying to get out of your LLB in the end. do you want to practice law? and if so where? waiting and applying next year to more prestigious universities which require LNAT would be more prudent than settling for something middling just to get a degree going asap.
Reply 8
Original post by interactus
judging from the ranking and league tables, paying international fees for an LLB at any of those universities really wouldn't be worth it. greenwich especially would be a waste of money imo. you should ask yourself what you're trying to get out of your LLB in the end. do you want to practice law? and if so where? waiting and applying next year to more prestigious universities which require LNAT would be more prudent than settling for something middling just to get a degree going asap.


That's true. I did get accepted into my top three Canadian choices, which are prestigious in Canada, but not as good as the U.K. I'd rather stay in Canada but the thing is that in Canada, I can't go straight into law. I'd have to do an undergrad degree in the Arts (4 years), and then go to law school (3 years_ - which is a bigger waste of time and money. I was thinking that I'd settle going to kent for my LLM and then doing my masters at a prestigious university, if that makes sense. Also, LSE alone is asking for 15,000 pounds a year, which is way out of my range.
Reply 9
Original post by IneedSomeHelp
What about the University of Derby ? Would you be interested?


Is it in London?
Reply 10
Original post by miss.sukhi
Hi :smile:
I'm a Canadian student who had aspired to study in the U.K, however I'm facing a ton of problems and was wondering if anybody could help clarify some issues for me? :smile:

I applied to LSE, Kingston, Queen Mary, Kent & Greenwhich for my LLB (My choices were limited because I couldn't take the LNAT)

I went to some seminars in Canada about Universities in the UK
Queen Mary asked for a 75% average
LSE - 90%
Greenwhich - 70%
Kingston - 70%
Kent - 75%

When filling out UCAS I entered my predicted grades averaging to about 85%. I got my first semester marks (4 out of my 8 courses) and my average was 94%.

HOWEVER... I've gotten offers from Kent, Greenwhich, and Kingston, but I've been rejected from Queen Mary & LSE. LSE I can understand, not getting to LSE, but I'm pretty surprised I didn't get into Queen Mary (it was my top choice!) :frown:
What can I do? I like Kent but it's so far and I'd prefer to stay in London... anybody have any suggestions/advice? Can I call them?

Also, out of Kingston, Kent, or Greenwhich, which one is the best?


Sorry but the long message, but I'd really appreciate any help! :smile:


To be honest Queen Mary's isn't in the best area of London and some people find the environment outside the gated community a bit intimidating so I wouldn't be too sad.

Kent isn't too far from London if you're based at Canterbury... there's a train into the centre in about an hour. However you're right that its not actually in London itself and if you really want the capital city experience then you'll have to choose between Kingston and Greenwich. I only know Kingston which is a fairly rich suburban/families/commuters/students environment to the south of the river, attached to the suburb of Richmond (tube at Richmond). Greenwich is being redeveloped generally as part of the Olympics. Try researching the actual areas and looking at pictures etc to get a feel for which one would be best for you. You can use Google map to walk the streets too.

Good luck choosing.

:smile:
Nop. It is close to nottingham. In Derbyshire.
Reply 12
Original post by miss.sukhi
Is it in London?


No it isn't. I don't think you'd like it as its a long way to London. In the North Midlands.


:smile:
I think Kent is better than Greenwich and Kingston. In fact Kingston is a long way from central london. Kent is also about an hour on the tube.

King's College London is quite reputable for Law, and City University. Have you applied to any of them ?

http://www.city.ac.uk/law
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 14
Original post by miss.sukhi
That's true. I did get accepted into my top three Canadian choices, which are prestigious in Canada, but not as good as the U.K. I'd rather stay in Canada but the thing is that in Canada, I can't go straight into law. I'd have to do an undergrad degree in the Arts (4 years), and then go to law school (3 years_ - which is a bigger waste of time and money. I was thinking that I'd settle going to kent for my LLM and then doing my masters at a prestigious university, if that makes sense. Also, LSE alone is asking for 15,000 pounds a year, which is way out of my range.


the thing is, I'm not sure if a 3 year LLB alone from the UK would be acceptable in Canada without the added 3 to 4 year undergrad degree first. I've heard of people having to do another law degree altogether in Canada/US after getting their LLB in the UK. either way, you will have to do at least 4 courses dealing with canadian law when you get back to canada. in case you would decide to stay in the UK, you have to remember, the british pay a lot of attention to league tables and university rankings. also, an exclusively LLB degree isn't necessary to become a solicitor in the UK. what unis in canada did you apply to and what for? what is your home province?
Reply 15
Is it too late to apply to Derby?

Also, is there any chance that if I get my school's guidance to department to call up Queen Mary, that they'd reconsider my application? With a 94% average I could get any undergrad law program in Canada! I'm so stressed! :frown: Is Queen Mary fairly hard to get into in the UK?
Reply 16
Original post by IneedSomeHelp
I think Kent is better than Greenwich and Kingston. In fact Kingston is a long way from central london. Kent is also about an hour on the tube.

King's College London is quite reputable for Law, and City University. Have you applied to any of them ?

http://www.city.ac.uk/law
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx


I would have to write the LNAT to be considered :frown:
London Universities are generally viewed as being of higher prestige. Derby University is very good for Law, at least that's that the students voted on the National Student Survey. (Not sure if its popular in Canada though). I am not saying that they are as good as Oxford or Queen Mary, but they are okay. Would it be worth the travel ?

Kent is also considered quite prestigious (not of the likes of Oxford or Queen Mary!), but it has an award-winning Law school, at least in the UK.

Hope this helps :smile:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/law/
http://www.derby.ac.uk/law/llb
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by miss.sukhi
I'm planning to stay/work in the UK! My boyfriend and his family all live in London. :smile:
I'm from Ontario. I applied to the University of Toronto (Saint George), the University of British Columbia, Queen's, the University of Waterloo and McMaster. I received unconditional offers from all of them (:


don't take this the wrong way, but don't plan your life around your bf atm as seeing as your profile says you're only 17 now, lots could change and it might happen that in a few months from now he decides that he doesn't know what he wants and decides to chuck you away.

that being said, as you're planning on paying international fees, if I were you, this is what I would do. (this is really good advice, so please think about it as I hate seeing people make poor decisions)

settling for a middling university in the UK whilst paying international fees just isn't worth it at all. seeing as you'll get good grades, don't accept any of these universities. wait another year, take the LNAT and apply to top unis. I understand that oxbridge, UCL, LSE etc have much higher fees but there are excellent universities well known for law like durham, newcastle, nottingham which you should really look into as they rank much higher than the ones you're considering now.

also, if you can't afford tuition fees for the top London unis, don't look into 'lesser' unis just because of their location. think about it. you'll need to focus on your studies, and even if you were to live in london, with the traffic and transit times, how often would you really see your bf? I would rather live in a smaller city, attend a higher ranking uni, and perhaps plan weekends with the boyfriend.

that being said, you can now:

a) attend a uni in canada for a year and see how you get along there. I'd go for Toronto or UBC mainly because they are better known abroad because of the name, and names mean everything in UK/Europe.
b) get a tier 5 youth mobility work visa, move to england and work there for a year. see how you like the country and the people. you might find that it's not a good fit at all, or you might love it. go and visit the universities and law departments. either way, it's better than spending 20 000 pounds a year for a middling university just because you want to go there asap.
I study Law at CCCU in Canterbury which is also where the Kent Uni main campus is situated and there are about 400 Canadian law students studying there if you're looking for other Canadians. Not too far from London either, an hour on the train?

I wouldn't recommend Greenwich. Not the nicest areas of London and the University isn't amazing.

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