Birkbeck's Legal Method (Certificate of Higher Education)

Hello TSR!

- I am 18 year old, born and raised in London; and I have just finished my second year of A Levels.

- I have found a course entitled "Legal Method (Certificate of Higher Education) [CertHE]" which is provided by Birkbeck, University of London. I will be attending the open evening on the 26th of June.

- If I achieve 50% or more with this course, I will be guaranteed a place in Birkbeck's Law LLB. However, if I achieve 70% or more, then top unis such as UCL, KCL, QMUL etc. will also consider this course as an entry requirement for their Law courses.

I do have some questions regarding this course which I'm hoping some people on this sub-forum might have the answer to. I'll try to condense each question as much as possible.

1. If I pull a student loan for this CertHE course, will I be able to pull a student loan for my Law degree as well or is it "one or the other"?

2. As the course costs £3,600 (inc. trade union discount), can I pull a loan of just £2,000 and self-fund the rest?

3. If I come out with a 2:1/1st class Law degree (in addition to extra-curricular activities); will employers question this CertHE qualification, even if I get a very high percentage?

That is all. Thank for reading this and I hope to hear from this sub-forum soon.

Hey. I'm not sure why you want to do a CertHE if you already have A levels. If a law degree is your ultimate goal, could you not apply directly for the LLB at Birkbeck or any other university you're interested in?

1. Yes. Everyone is entitled to a student loan which covers the full length of their degree plus one extra 'gift' year. The 'gift' year is normally used by people who drop out and then start a new degree, but you can use it to do a CertHE if you want.

2. Yes, of course.

3. If you do a CertHE and stay with Birkbeck to do a LLB, you wouldn't put the CertHE on your CV because it is counted as the first year of the law degree - I doubt Birkbeck would even issue you with a certificate. If you go somewhere else, you will have an extra qualification on your CV from a reputable university - no employer will view that as a negative.

Thanks for your reply. The reason why I'm undertaking this course is because I don't feel as though my A Level grades are up to scratch. So, for that reason, I think it's best to do this course as my A Levels will probably not be able to get me into a university.

Bear in mind that if you intend to become a solicitor or barrister they will look at your A level grades. If your A level grades are not up to scratch, this may hinder you anyway as you won't pass the initial screening of AAB/ABB. It depends how bad we're talking when you say 'not up to scratch'.

Well, I am aware that some law firms require AAB/ABB as the A Level entry requirement. However, there are some law firms whereby they concentrate solely on your degree and also other experience/life achievements. I guess A Levels would be ideal but it doesn't seem to be a "be all and end all" requirement. Also, I have heard that the Law degree itself is extremely hard and very few come out with a 1st or a 2:1... which leads me to think that surely a Law firm wouldn't mind if you had an extremely strong degree with poor A Levels instead of an average degree and average A Levels. It's a challenging degree which I'm prepared to work for as it's also very rewarding as well.

Not 'some' - the majority ask for those. And I don't know where you got 'very few come out with a first or 2:1' from, loads and loads of law students get a 2:1! Having actually done the degree myself I don't dispute that it's hard and rewarding but if you look at the entry requirements for lots of firms, even the regional ones often ask for AAB/ABB at A level, and because there are so many graduates they can afford to be picky about who they recruit. I suggest you do a bit more research just in case - if you've actually gone out and found some firms that don't care about your A levels that's great, but they won't be the majority.

Alright, thanks for the tips. In that case, as I probably will have poor A Level results, I'm going to just make sure to have lots of extra curricular achievements under my belt.

Well yeah that is a good idea but make sure you don't spread yourself too thin. If you're doing badly on A levels you may find you struggle with law - I got good A levels and I found it absolutely DIRE for the first two years, I did a lot of volunteering and extra stuff which meant less time for studying, etc. And barely any of my extra stuff has been mentioned in any of the interviews I've sat, it always comes down to whether or not you got the right degree and A level grades. Can you not work extra hard this year to drag your grades up at all?

I've finished A Levels, which is why I'm doing the Certificate of Higher Education this year. If it's absolutely necessary, I will just do my A Levels after my Law degree if it's impossible to find work due to being frequently turned down by employers on the basis of not having good A Levels.

I've finished A Levels, which is why I'm doing the Certificate of Higher Education this year. If it's absolutely necessary, I will just do my A Levels after my Law degree if it's impossible to find work due to being frequently turned down by employers on the basis of not having good A Levels.

Oh I see. What did you get if you don't mind me asking? And it depends what kind of firm etc you will be aiming for, you said you'd found some that don't care much for A levels but if you change your mind over the course of the degree and decide to aim higher you might get stuck. After all, if you did manage to get a first from a great uni and decide you do want to aim for the top firms it would be a shame if your A levels hindered you. The one thing I remember from many networking events at my uni was that law graduates with AAB or higher and a 2:1 or first are ten a penny so that's why they have those grades as the basic filter - the extra stuff only comes into play once you've passed those filters. If you apply online and they use a filter for AAB or above, even with a first you won't get past it. That's the only problem really

I'm confused, have you only just sat your A level exams?

Yes. I've just finished my A2 exams and now I'm currently awaiting my results.

I'm not too sure yet. I feel like I've done well in my A Level exams but I did hardly any studying for them. Thankfully, my family does know people in the legal world so I do have that on me. In regards to A Levels, I personally find it extremely difficult to focus on multiple disciplines at once. I got good GCSE results (A* to C) but I've realized that if I'm focusing on just one subject I can do really well (I did well on my first year of A Level law for that reason).

Anyway, the reason why I'm not going to do another two years of A Level is because I want to get into university as soon as possible and complete the certificate and Law degree. Besides, I've heard good things about the Legal Method (Certificate of Higher Education) and it can act as a good substitute for A Levels. If I've been declined from all the law firms I've applied for on the basis of having poor A Levels, then I will do A Levels again or look for other jobs in which a law degree can be used.