The Student Room Group

Law Degree that hard?

i know this is a very stupid question

grade boundaries are really high for nearly all universities
is law really hard?
especially for someone not studying traditional subjects?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Original post by Rkamali
i know this is a very stupid question

grade boundaries are really high for nearly all universities
is law really hard?
especially for someone not studying traditional subjects?


Very much so - this year's a beast. My exams start on Tuesday and I feel drained (I've done 6 hours of revision solely on Contract today), so I'll come back to answer in more detail in a fortnight if you want (and you quote me to remind me!).
Reply 2
Original post by Rkamali
i know this is a very stupid question

grade boundaries are really high for nearly all universities
is law really hard?
especially for someone not studying traditional subjects?


Round this time of year it's pretty brutal cos of exams and law is exam heavy.

I don't think the grades reflect degree difficulty though, they are just driven up by demand and the fact the unis figure if they can fill the course with AAA students why not?

At my uni Law is AAA and though I do work hard and have to put a lot of hours in around this time of year I don't think it's any harder than my housemates' subjects, Chem and Physics, which have some of the lowest offers at the uni.

If you're willing to put the effort in your A Levels aren't too important. Unis like traditional subjects because they prove you can do it more, but if you know you can then don't sweat it. After all, most people come to Law with no prior knowledge so someone's intimate knowledge of the Russian Revolution from History (common for law students) isn't really going to help them, though they may have a slight headstart in terms of essay writing you'll soon catch up.
Reply 3
Original post by Tortious
Very much so - this year's a beast. My exams start on Tuesday and I feel drained (I've done 6 hours of revision solely on Contract today), so I'll come back to answer in more detail in a fortnight if you want (and you quote me to remind me!).


thank U!
yhh plz do give more detail when ur free from this hectic period!
Reply 4
Original post by roh
Round this time of year it's pretty brutal cos of exams and law is exam heavy.

I don't think the grades reflect degree difficulty though, they are just driven up by demand and the fact the unis figure if they can fill the course with AAA students why not?

At my uni Law is AAA and though I do work hard and have to put a lot of hours in around this time of year I don't think it's any harder than my housemates' subjects, Chem and Physics, which have some of the lowest offers at the uni.

If you're willing to put the effort in your A Levels aren't too important. Unis like traditional subjects because they prove you can do it more, but if you know you can then don't sweat it. After all, most people come to Law with no prior knowledge so someone's intimate knowledge of the Russian Revolution from History (common for law students) isn't really going to help them, though they may have a slight headstart in terms of essay writing you'll soon catch up.


thank U soo much for advice :smile:
i am ready to work hard but I havent studied law in college so have no knowledge of how it is like.
However it does intrigue me
So jus confused atm
biomedical science is pretty tough
Original post by practice is key
biomedical science is pretty tough


:curious: Relevance?
Reply 7
Original post by SimplyEccentric
:curious: Relevance?


LOL

but yhh I do agree biomed is difficult, my friends sister does it and I have seen the work load :/
Biology isn't a strong point on mine :frown:
For me (just finished first year), throughout the whole year it was not difficult at all.

Then the exam period came and I PAID for not working hard enough throughout the year. It was hideously painful and difficult.

But I mean overall, I'd say that it's not as hard as some make it out to be. If I just did as much work outside of school as I did at A-level then I'd say it wasn't much harder than A2.

Disclaimer: I haven't received my final results yet...... could change everything.
Reply 9
Law is very hard indeed. Lot of reading is required. I'm in 2nd year.
Having completed my law degree and my BPTC....the honest answer is yes it is hard. First year I found fine tbh, second year manageable and third year ALOT of work. But I should say the workload of third year does not compare to the amount of work required on the BPTC.

I agree with the above..make sure you like reading and can take in information quickly.

It is not just the academic side either, if you want a career as a barrister or a solicitor you have to fit in a lot of extra curricular activities around your degree in order to be considered for such jobs.

Also, I should say I did not study law at college and I don't think it makes any difference.

D
Original post by SimplyEccentric
:curious: Relevance?


sorry i got bored thats da first fing that came to mind lool
Original post by practice is key
sorry i got bored thats da first fing that came to mind lool


Please tell me this guy's trolling.
It's hard work but if you're willing to put the work in, it's manageable. It's only if you don't work during the year and then try to sit an exam on patchy knowledge that it becomes a struggle.
Reply 14
Ok slightly scared now!
Original post by Devil's_Advocate
Having completed my law degree and my BPTC....the honest answer is yes it is hard. First year I found fine tbh, second year manageable and third year ALOT of work. But I should say the workload of third year does not compare to the amount of work required on the BPTC.

I agree with the above..make sure you like reading and can take in information quickly.

It is not just the academic side either, if you want a career as a barrister or a solicitor you have to fit in a lot of extra curricular activities around your degree in order to be considered for such jobs.

Also, I should say I did not study law at college and I don't think it makes any difference.

D


Like what exactly? Intrigued. Thinking about going into social policy & law in 2013. Thanks
Reply 16
No, not really. It's hyped up so much and everyone thinks it's the toughest degree going but it's really not. If you treated it as a full time job doing 9-5 every day and the odd weekend and night here and there it's perfectly manageable. Obviously in the final year, like any subject, you have to be more dedicated and put more work in.

But overall, I'd say it's over hyped.

Original post by practice is key
biomedical science is pretty tough

Funny you should say that, my girlfriend did biomedical science, and comparably - I'd say her degree was much tougher than law. (studied at the same university by the way)

Original post by Jiraya Sama
Like what exactly? Intrigued. Thinking about going into social policy & law in 2013. Thanks

Just be a rounded person. Get involved with sports, charity work, volunteer, part-time job. At the end of the day, a firm will not hire you if you have no social skills and cannot relate to the client. Being academic will get you through the door, once you're in an interview, you can forget your academic abilities and you're interviewed by personality and mental strengths.
Reply 17
Original post by Rybee
No, not really. It's hyped up so much and everyone thinks it's the toughest degree going but it's really not. If you treated it as a full time job doing 9-5 every day and the odd weekend and night here and there it's perfectly manageable. Obviously in the final year, like any subject, you have to be more dedicated and put more work in.

But overall, I'd say it's over hyped.


Funny you should say that, my girlfriend did biomedical science, and comparably - I'd say her degree was much tougher than law. (studied at the same university by the way)


Just be a rounded person. Get involved with sports, charity work, volunteer, part-time job. At the end of the day, a firm will not hire you if you have no social skills and cannot relate to the client. Being academic will get you through the door, once you're in an interview, you can forget your academic abilities and you're interviewed by personality and mental strengths.


I'm with this guy. Although I haven't had my results back, it hasn't been half as stressful as I'd expected this year.

As for extra-curricular, you just need to be doing stuff that you enjoy and that makes you stand out. I enjoy politics (both student and national) so I got involved in the SU elections and am now an officer, and I got involved in the newspaper as News Editor. These things are what employers are going to want to hear about in interview because they are what make you, you.

Also if you look at the kind of questions you get in any interview (not just for Law), they can't be answered by referring to your degree:

"Tell me about a time when you had to work as a team to get a task done"
"Err yeah, this one time we did a formative presentation in class.."

Never gonna work.

"As a member of the <insert sport> committee, I worked with the X, Y and Z to ensure that Freshers week was both enjoyable for current members and attracted new members by..." sounds a hell of a lot better!
Reply 18
Original post by Rkamali
Ok slightly scared now!


You should be! Haha. What A levs are you doing? Predictions...?
Reply 19
After completing both the LL.B in 2 different unis and also the LPC in another uni I'd say it isn't a hard degree to pass or in a way even to get a 2:2 isn't that hard as long as you put in the effort and understand the concepts as well as know how to apply the law.

What is extremely hard is to get a 1st and getting a 2:1 can be harder than other subjects as it requires far more reading and understanding of the subject than many other subjects. As with everything in law it is all about how good you are analysing and putting forward your argument.

One thing to remember is when you read law you should never ever underestimate the workload you would be facing and leaving things to the very last moment, you can go that route in finance or marketing or even mathematics but doing that in law is absolutely nothing but asking for trouble hence having a very good time management skill is important.

Quick Reply

Latest