[rsandhu15]

I need some help deciding which school would be the best for me.

I will be studying Law. I am looking for information based on the standard of education (good professors, research opportunities) and some info in terms of student life. (btw, i'm not from the uk-eu so visiting isn't an option)

Okay sooo!

I have offers from:

The University of Liverpool
The University of Sheffield
University of Leicester
The University of Brighton

All the advice is much appreciated in advance.
<3
-R

[amyelizabeth2681]

(Original post by rsandhu15)
I need some help deciding which school would be the best for me.

I will be studying Law. I am looking for information based on the standard of education (good professors, research opportunities) and some info in terms of student life. (btw, i'm not from the uk-eu so visiting isn't an option)

Okay sooo!

I have offers from:

The University of Liverpool
The University of Sheffield
University of Leicester
The University of Brighton

All the advice is much appreciated in advance.
<3
-R

If I were you, if you want prestige and research opportunities I'd look closely at Liverpool and Sheffield. They're both Russell Group and, particularly Sheffield does well in law. Read up on the Russell Group here http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/home/

Also, I visited the University of Leicester and had an offer to do law there (I'm a law student as well starting in September) but ultimately didn't go (long story). The campus is absolutely lovely, student life is apparently pretty good (they're the only uni in the UK to have their own 02 arena), and lately, they've been getting ranked fairly high in the league tables over the law few years. I wouldn't write them off completely, it really is a good uni. My last option would probably be Brighton, when I was doing my uni research to where I was going to apply it never really popped out at me, but that was just me. I'm curious though, why these five? Hope it helps!

[rsandhu15]

(Original post by amyelizabeth2681)
If I were you, if you want prestige and research opportunities I'd look closely at Liverpool and Sheffield. They're both Russell Group and, particularly Sheffield does well in law. Read up on the Russell Group here http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/home/

Also, I visited the University of Leicester and had an offer to do law there (I'm a law student as well starting in September) but ultimately didn't go (long story). The campus is absolutely lovely, student life is apparently pretty good (they're the only uni in the UK to have their own 02 arena), and lately, they've been getting ranked fairly high in the league tables over the law few years. I wouldn't write them off completely, it really is a good uni. My last option would probably be Brighton, when I was doing my uni research to where I was going to apply it never really popped out at me, but that was just me. I'm curious though, why these five? Hope it helps!

Hey thank you so much for your quick response. I feel like I'm leaning towards either Sheffield or Leicester.

Also the reason I applied to Sheffield and Liverpool is because of what I was told/read about regarding the RG schools. Leicester because I understand it is gaining in reputation each year and there is a large international students population there, so it seemed like a well rounded school that would be a comfortable fit. And honestly, Brighton was just thrown in there as a sort of insurance I'd be accepted but definitely will not be my choice.

[amyelizabeth2681]

(Original post by rsandhu15)
Hey thank you so much for your quick response. I feel like I'm leaning towards either Sheffield or Leicester.

Also the reason I applied to Sheffield and Liverpool is because of what I was told/read about regarding the RG schools. Leicester because I understand it is gaining in reputation each year and there is a large international students population there, so it seemed like a well rounded school that would be a comfortable fit. And honestly, Brighton was just thrown in there as a sort of insurance I'd be accepted but definitely will not be my choice.

Ah ok, gotcha. Well either one you choose, either Sheffield or Leicester, they're both very good unis. The only difference, in terms of prestige, is Sheffield is a bit more established in terms of reputation, but Leicester is definitely getting up there. Personally when I visited Leicester, the town was lovely, nice city centre and the university is definitely a campus uni (all buildings are in one location). The student Union also seemed very active and there's pretty much a society for everything and the friends I have that go to Leicester love the student nightlife. Think the only downer was that the accommodation student village was about 15 min from the campus on bus, which was a bit of a trek because you aren't actually living on campus (assuming you'll be staying in student accommodation). I've never visited Sheffield, so I'm afraid I can't offer much guidance concerning the student life there, but I've heard good things about it. Good luck!

[thelawstudent]

i've applied to sheffield law this sept and i chose sheffield because of the law school is very respected amongst top law firms and chambers and has a very impressive alumni record in law to prove this - http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/law/alumni/profiles . moreover, the sheffield law society (edward bram) is over a 100 years old meaning that law has been taught at sheffield for a long time - establishing a very solid reputation of legal education at sheffield http://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/index.p...y-law-society/
in terms of social/night life, sheffield student union has consistently been voted as one of the best unions in the country with over 200 societies to join; plenty to keep you busy socially. being a russell group and a red brick is very important in law which is why i ultimately chose sheffield.
you can also look at http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/ and compare the law departments (and the general overview of the uni itself) of different unis where you can properly look at percentages of those getting 2.1's/1sts etc, total number of undergrad law students of each law department and even the percentage of international students studying law.
in this case, the standard of education at sheffield is excellent. you can't go wrong at all at sheffield. from your list, i'd choose sheffield over liverool and brighton but although leicester has been catching up fast (i applied there too, the area seemed a bit 'rough' really), it is because sheffield has a long established reputation as a russell group + red brick, as mentioned already, that i rejected leicester regardless of its rise in national league tables (which are unreliable to an extent anyway).

[Spyro91]

I usually try to swoop in on these posts to try to advocate Sheffield; however, it seems my job has been done for me. Thank you "thelawstudent".

I'm a recent graduate from Sheffield and have had a fantastic time. If you have any questions about please do feel free to ask

Should just say to balance this Leicester is a really good uni though and the most important thing (once you've settled on a Russell Group Uni) is to be happy with where you are studying.

[thelawstudent]

(Original post by Spyro91)
I usually try to swoop in on these posts to try to advocate Sheffield; however, it seems my job has been done for me. Thank you "thelawstudent".

I'm a recent graduate from Sheffield and have had a fantastic time. If you have any questions about please do feel free to ask

Should just say to balance this Leicester is a really good uni though and the most important thing (once you've settled on a Russell Group Uni) is to be happy with where you are studying.

the amount of threads i come across where sheffield is being questioned/compared for either its quality, reputation etc etc.. why!? unless it's oxbridge/ucl/lse vs sheffield then there's nothing wrong with sheffield at all!

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by thelawstudent)
the amount of threads i come across where sheffield is being questioned/compared for either its quality, reputation etc etc.. why!? unless it's oxbridge/ucl/lse vs sheffield then there's nothing wrong with sheffield at all!

On the contrary, there is a certain amount of fashion in universities generally and law schools in particular. That fashion really only exists at undergraduate level and doesn't impact on employers, academics and the general public, so it would be wrong to call it prestige. Nor does it seem to have much to do with research quality or having star academics. It seems to be little different from saying that aquamarine is "in" this year.

One would have to say that at present Sheffield is "in" where Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool and to some extent Manchester and Bristol are out.

[rsandhu15]

Okay looking at both RG schools liverpool & Sheffield...which is better in terms of education and ALSO living accommodations, because I would be staying on campus as an international student...I really need my own bathroom etc, I heard liverpool doesn't have much of a private ensuite option--their website isnt' very clear!


P.S any Leicester supporters in the house?!

[roh]

(Original post by thelawstudent)
although leicester has been catching up fast (i applied there too, the area seemed a bit 'rough' really), it is because sheffield has a long established reputation as a russell group + red brick, as mentioned already, that i rejected leicester regardless of its rise in national league tables (which are unreliable to an extent anyway).

To quote many esteemed TSR users U mad Bro?

Oadby's absolutely dripping money, I will never again be able to afford to live in an area that nice! The area where halls is was once the richest square mile in Europe! If you mean the campus itself, that's halfway between town, which is like most city centres neither rough nor particularly posh, and an area which got reviewed in the Guardian as a place worth moving to (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011...gate-leicester). It really isn't rough.

(Original post by rsandhu15)
Okay looking at both RG schools liverpool & Sheffield...which is better in terms of education and ALSO living accommodations, because I would be staying on campus as an international student...I really need my own bathroom etc, I heard liverpool doesn't have much of a private ensuite option--their website isnt' very clear!


P.S any Leicester supporters in the house?!

I'm at Leicester so will tell you my experience/cheerlead for it (can't compare to Sheffield really as I never visited the uni because it's near where I live and I didn't want to be that close to home. City's nice though).

Leicester as has been said has been moving up league tables recently and this appears to be a constant thing as it has now settled in the THES 'table of tables' (which smashes the 3 main ones together) for a few years now and, hopefully, doesn't show signs of moving.

This does seem to be trickling through to law firms and I know plenty of graduates who've left for TCs at MC, SC, American, City and good Regional firms. This is a list of all those who attended the 2010 Law Fair and of them A&O seem particularly keen, sponsoring events such as the law ball throughout the year. Coming to our law fair is a good sign I feel because Leicester isn't a particularly big university, so to come here is more expensive per student met than somewhere like Birmingham or Manchester. Freshfields don't come to the law fair but they sponsor pretty much anything the French Law Society does and send up a few lawyers a couple of times a year to chat to us, if you just get a mate who does Law with French or Maitrise I'm sure you could sneak onto one of these.

If we're talking famous alumni (and I don't get how this relevant really but ho hum) we have the former Chair of the Bar Council and current head of Brick Court Chambers, who are rumoured to be pretty handy. He's still involved with the uni, as you can guess from his profile being on the website, and as well as lecturing he also gives an annual talk on life at the Bar which is very good.

Although Oadby is 15 mins from campus it really isn't too bad, particularly as a lawyer as you don't have big hours, and I reckon it's worth it for the amazing atmosphere up at halls, something I personally feel the university under sells. In second and third years you will likely live in Clarendon too which means being between a 2 and 10 minute walk from campus whereas at most universities you move further away for the later years (which is when you'll spend more time in the library til late). If you want to you can also go to City Living accommodation which is about 5 mins from campus but personally I'd recommend Oadby if you do come to LE.

Socially, absolutely everyone seems to do a society of some sort and it really does seem that people get properly involved in uni life, I've certainly noticed this compared to my friends at other universities. Slight advantage we have in this is that we aren't particularly good at sport, so those teams which at other unis may be shut off to an elite on scholarships/sports science students are made up of normal students, which trickles down as there are then more places in the 3s and 4s for others. Full list here: http://leicesterunion.com/clubs (you click on the tabs like 'media' at the top to get the full range).

Facilities are pretty good right now. Library is brand new and reeeally nice, you're going to be seeing a lot of it so this is a bonus. As mentioned the Union has an 02 Academy and its own club (in which your dancing powers the speakers, which I think is really cool for some reason) which is good and the whole SU has been refurbished to the tune of 30 odd million quid in the last couple of years. Sports wise we've got a gym and swimming pool up at Oadby and the same on campus, both of which will be brand spanking new this September.

Nightlife's good if you're into it, different student night each day of the week with a couple on Mondays and a range of music to choose from, particularly if you branch out beyond the student bubble. Few nice bars too if you fancy something classier than the gloriously sticky carpeted Republic/Liquid (don't see why you would though, they're immense ).

Academically I like the course. There's a good range of options and some of the star lecturers take courses (Chris Clarkson for Criminal, Cosmo Graham for Competition for example) in their specialist area rather than teaching mainly Postgrad. I've always found the teaching to be very good and have no complaints on that front, and our student satisfaction scores suggest this is something that is widely felt.

Hopefully I've supported Leicester enough there for you! If you have any qs just quote or PM me.

Also, if you choose Liverpool or Sheffield as well you'll have a great time I'm sure, both really good unis.

[Routhy]

I've just finished my first year at UoS studying English and Russian, feel free to shoot me any questions