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Personal statement for law

Im currently at a2 and when i finish my exams and recieve my results i will be applying for uni (first time). I have pretty much nothing extra curriculam to write about and so i was wondering what i could do from August- december/january to boost my personal statement for law- Should I read law books if so which ones?- Should i look for a week or two of work experience in a law firm?-should i sit through a trial at a crown court?Is there anything else that you recommend me doing before I apply to boost my chances?Btw Im probably going to get ABB but hopefully AAB so i will be applying to one or two russel group and the rest lower in the uni league table with the lower entry requirements.Thanks in advance

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Reply 1
Original post by martinnmartin
I have pretty much nothing extra curriculam to write about and so i was wondering what i could do from August- december/january to boost my personal statement for law-


I have moved your thread to the Law forum :smile:
Original post by martinnmartin
Im currently at a2 and when i finish my exams and recieve my results i will be applying for uni (first time). I have pretty much nothing extra curriculam to write about and so i was wondering what i could do from August- december/january to boost my personal statement for law- Should I read law books if so which ones?- Should i look for a week or two of work experience in a law firm?-should i sit through a trial at a crown court?Is there anything else that you recommend me doing before I apply to boost my chances?Btw Im probably going to get ABB but hopefully AAB so i will be applying to one or two russel group and the rest lower in the uni league table with the lower entry requirements.Thanks in advance


See:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Writing_a_Personal_Statement_for_Law
http://university.which.co.uk/advice/personal-statements/personal-statement-advice-law-students
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jul/26/writing-a-personal-statement-for-law

Sitting through trials (even the boring ones in the magistrates courts) is likely more helpful than work experience stuffing envelopes.

Have you thought about doing an EPQ? If you have free time over the summer to do the basics on a law related topic this will not only give you some useful things to write about in your PS it will demonstrate an enthusiasm for the subject and give you a qualification that could help your application.
Yes but I want to apply before January so how can I complete the epq from september to Jan and then write about it in my PS?

Posted from TSR Mobile
Look at the links PQ gave you. Understand that you are going to study law which is different from practice. When you talk about your motivations they need to be genuine, so having done research and getting a grips of what it involves will help. Its easy to spot someone who doesnt know what they are talking about or whose reasons seem superficial.
Original post by martinnmartin
Yes but I want to apply before January so how can I complete the epq from september to Jan and then write about it in my PS?

Posted from TSR Mobile


I'm suggesting that you complete your EPQ over the summer and submit it in the Autumn - there's a November deadline for EPQ if you study with AQA http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/projects/aqa-certificate/EPQ-7993/administration and a January deadline for Edexcel.

You should have got a substantial amount finished before the deadline.
Reply 6
All of the things you have mentioned will help to show an interest in law.

Even if it is envelope stuffing, work experience shows you've put yourself out there and spent a bit of time in a legal environment.

Sitting through a trial would be very useful, even if you just go for a day. It will give you something to talk about if you have to go to an interview so try and form an opinion on whatever happens.

Reading is also a great way to show interest. For my personal statement I read "Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer" which is the autobiography of Michael Mansfield QC. It actually turned out to be a really interesting read and he is a very relevant and prominent figure in the legal world.

You don't have to know exactly what you want to do, you just need to show a genuine interest and commitment.

Good luck :smile:
Thanks so much I will check that book out over the summer

Posted from TSR Mobile
Try to get as much work experience as you can. Even if it is a day here and there, it stills gives you somethings to talk about in your personal statement.
Original post by evalilyXOX
Try to get as much work experience as you can. Even if it is a day here and there, it stills gives you somethings to talk about in your personal statement.


work experience isn't good preparation for an academic law degree. An LLB is not vocational - a PS that demonstrates that an applicant doesn't understand that is more likely to be rejected.
Reply 10
Original post by martinnmartin
Im currently at a2 and when i finish my exams and recieve my results i will be applying for uni (first time). I have pretty much nothing extra curriculam to write about and so i was wondering what i could do from August- december/january to boost my personal statement for law- Should I read law books if so which ones?- Should i look for a week or two of work experience in a law firm?-should i sit through a trial at a crown court?Is there anything else that you recommend me doing before I apply to boost my chances?Btw Im probably going to get ABB but hopefully AAB so i will be applying to one or two russel group and the rest lower in the uni league table with the lower entry requirements.Thanks in advance


Work experience at a law firm is useful to have early on (I did work experience at a local high street solicitors and national commercial firm Blake Morgan LLP before I applied for Law), however it is not absolutely necessary. Trips to the courts (I visited the Supreme Court with college and went to the local Crown Court to watch cases) are also good too. I also did the Bar Mock Trial and was a barrister in it which is something good also. You will need to find and do some extra-curricular somewhere as otherwise you are just like every other applicant with a set of grades! You need to put things in that show why you are passionate about law. Obviously getting into a Russell Group will be competitive, but those not in it maybe less so.
Reply 11
Original post by PQ
work experience isn't good preparation for an academic law degree. An LLB is not vocational - a PS that demonstrates that an applicant doesn't understand that is more likely to be rejected.


This is complete BS. I did two lots of work experience prior to university and it gave me a reason for wanting to study law. It showed I had thought beyond the degree and into my career prospects. Yes the LLB is a very academic degree, but you have to think beyond those three years. Work experience is always a good idea before applying to any sort of course. It shows you've put yourself out there, made a positive choice towards shaping your future. In absolutely no way is a candidate with work experience more likely to be rejected.
Original post by Hann95
This is complete BS. I did two lots of work experience prior to university and it gave me a reason for wanting to study law. It showed I had thought beyond the degree and into my career prospects. Yes the LLB is a very academic degree, but you have to think beyond those three years. Work experience is always a good idea before applying to any sort of course. It shows you've put yourself out there, made a positive choice towards shaping your future. In absolutely no way is a candidate with work experience more likely to be rejected.

A candidate demonstrating only an aspiration to a career with no recognition of or enthusiasm towards the academic subject they're going to study for 3 years is likely to be rejected.

Remember who assesses a law PS and who teaches on a Law degree - people who have studied law and then dedicated their life NOT to being a solicitor or barrister but to the academic study of law. That's their career focus and that is what they're admitting applicants to study for 3 years.

Work experience can be USEFUL but it isn't DESIRABLE over any other interaction with the law in practice and academic understand of law and the topics to be studied DURING YOUR DEGREE.
Original post by Hann95
In absolutely no way is a candidate with work experience more likely to be rejected.

Don't misrepresent my words please
Original post by PQ
An LLB is not vocational - a PS that demonstrates that an applicant doesn't understand that is more likely to be rejected.
Reply 13
Original post by PQ
A candidate demonstrating only an aspiration to a career with no recognition of or enthusiasm towards the academic subject they're going to study for 3 years is likely to be rejected.

Remember who assesses a law PS and who teaches on a Law degree - people who have studied law and then dedicated their life NOT to being a solicitor or barrister but to the academic study of law. That's their career focus and that is what they're admitting applicants to study for 3 years.

Work experience can be USEFUL but it isn't DESIRABLE over any other interaction with the law in practice and academic understand of law and the topics to be studied DURING YOUR DEGREE.

Don't misrepresent my words please


Okay for starters, most law lecturers come from a background of practice. Off the top of my head I can only think of one lecturer in three years that I've met that didn't practice, and I'm not just referring to my university alone.

No one on here has said it is a.) essential or b.) the only thing someone should be doing to show an interest. If you read my earlier post you will see other thing I've suggested to show genuine INTEREST and COMMITMENT. Those are the things universities are looking for and work experience is one way of demonstrating that.

You were actively discouraging someone from undertaking work experience due to your own completely misguided opinions.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Hann95
You were actively discouraging someone from not undertaking work experience due to your own completely misguided opinions.

So you don't agree that sitting through trials would be more useful in gaining an insight into law (and demonstrating that interest) than stuffing envelopes in a solicitors office for a week?
Reply 15
Original post by PQ
So you don't agree that sitting through trials would be more useful in gaining an insight into law (and demonstrating that interest) than stuffing envelopes in a solicitors office for a week?


I think it would be as useful and OP has more than enough time to do both.
Reply 16
Original post by PQ
So you don't agree that sitting through trials would be more useful in gaining an insight into law (and demonstrating that interest) than stuffing envelopes in a solicitors office for a week?


I also think it's important for OP to consider his career aspirations beyond writing his personal statement.

Admittedly some do but not all firms have you envelope stuffing. For my first placement, I went to a large corporate firm who had me shadowing the trainee during her tasks and she offered me the chance to have a go at some of her work. On my second placement, I was mainly filing and photocopying, but I got to talk to the solicitor I was shadowing about LASPO which had just been implemented at the time. She also gave me a lot of very valuable advice and warned me of the competitive nature of law. I've since decided that I do want to practice and the areas that I want to practice in not by what I've studied, but by seeing its application in the real world. By the same token, someone can undertake a few work experience placements and realise that they hate the legal world and want nothing to do with it thus saving forcing themselves down a path that they don't want to take simply because they didn't know what they wanted to do.
Original post by Hann95
I think it would be as useful and OP has more than enough time to do both.
I disagree but fair enough - most PSs that I've read that talk mainly about work experience, especially the stuffing envelopes WE that is typical, show very little insight or understanding of either the academic study of law or the legal professions. The largest group of applicants that we would reject for law would be those that didn't understand the degree course they were applying to. I'd suggest you re-read the thread and look specifically at the post I was responding to when you jumped all over me. I was objecting to someone advising the OP to "Try to get as much work experience as you can" to have a good PS. Would you agree that a PS that is focused just on work experience is likely to be a poor PS for a law degree? Or that devoting time to getting "as much work experience as you can" to the exclusion of other activities would be far from ideal?
Original post by PQ
work experience isn't good preparation for an academic law degree. An LLB is not vocational - a PS that demonstrates that an applicant doesn't understand that is more likely to be rejected.


Yes but a PS that understands the role of the law in society as well as the recognition of the role of a solicitor is very important.

Law is not only about the ability to learn cases (which will be demonstrated through the applicant's academic ability), but is also about its application and practice (which work experience will demonstrate).

Not only that, but work experience demonstrates a drive to learn about the profession, as it is much easier to pick up a book about the law than get out there and experience law in its practice.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Hann95
I also think it's important for OP to consider his career aspirations beyond writing his personal statement.Admittedly some do but not all firms have you envelope stuffing. For my first placement, I went to a large corporate firm who had me shadowing the trainee during her tasks and she offered me the chance to have a go at some of her work. On my second placement, I was mainly filing and photocopying, but I got to talk to the solicitor I was shadowing about LASPO which had just been implemented at the time. She also gave me a lot of very valuable advice and warned me of the competitive nature of law. I've since decided that I do want to practice and the areas that I want to practice in not by what I've studied, but by seeing its application in the real world. By the same token, someone can undertake a few work experience placements and realise that they hate the legal world and want nothing to do with it thus saving forcing themselves down a path that they don't want to take simply because they didn't know what they wanted to do.
I agree work experience is hugely valuable for making career choices (especially if you're privileged enough to make good contacts and have a useful experience but that IS the minority) - but that isn't what you're doing when applying for an LLB. Most people with an LLB do not go on to work in the legal professions. While an LLB is a pre-requisite for entry into some careers it isn't a vocational course. A LOT of applicants fail to grasp that fact and a focus on work experience as the best preparation for an LLB or the best experience to write about in a PS just adds to that misconception.

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