sociology at durham or law at Southampton?

i can't choose :cry:

what are the gradate prospects like for both?
sociology at Durham - then do a GDL course or,
law at Southampton (bottom of RG for law)

?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Scroll to see replies

Law.

Original post by callum_law

Law.

why? and do you think the grad prospects are any good? do the magic circle firms respect the degree from Southampton?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 3

AmyPilot

Personally would pick sociology (I miss it since finishing A2 last year lol).

Wouldn't go near a law degree - my mum works in the legal profession and doesn't rate it, but if you want to be a lawyer then go straight for the law degree - why waste more time doing the conversion course??

Reply 4

Joepoa

Original post by diamondluck

i can't choose :cry:

what are the gradate prospects like for both?
sociology at Durham - then do a GDL course or,
law at Southampton (bottom of RG for law)

?

Posted from TSR Mobile

You should really consider what course (modules etc) appeals more to you, also bear in mind that going southampton will save you a substantial amount of money.

Reply 5

diamondluck

Original post by AmyPilot

oh lol what are you doing now?
and i don't know tbh, i don't want to be a lawyer but it seems like the only thing i realistically could do :dontknow:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 6

diamondluck

Original post by Joepoa

You should really consider what course (modules etc) appeals more to you, also bear in mind that going southampton will save you a substantial amount of money.

in what ways? i thought both durham/southampton were slightly cheaper than other areas anyway?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 7

TykeDragon

Original post by diamondluck

why? and do you think the grad prospects are any good? do the magic circle firms respect the degree from Southampton?

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm a soton law student and I got into an MC firm :smile:

I got several interviews at other MC/Silver Circle/City firms too! I also know of plenty others from my cohort who got interviews too, in fact a couple friends of mine also got offers from MC/US firms. As long as you get a decent 2.1 and do well written apps, you will get interviews.

A sociology degree from Durham would also stand you in good stead to get an offer and then do your GDL, but you may have a tougher time convincing interviewers why you want to be a lawyer, they may ask why you didn't study law.

Obviously if you have a good answer you'll still be fine (I know in general the firms take around 50% law, 50% non-law, the firm I got into is 60% law/40% law) but I definitely think it's easier to demonstrate an interest in law if you studied it at university.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8

Joepoa

Original post by diamondluck

in what ways? i thought both durham/southampton were slightly cheaper than other areas anyway?

Posted from TSR Mobile

What i meant to say was, out of law or sociology, which pops out to you and which of the two do you see yourself doing. Law at southampton would be cheaper as it is a qualifying law degree hence you don't need to spend on the gdl.

Reply 9

iAmanze

Durham. Far stronger UK brand name.

The degree does not mean anything unless medicine or something like that. Outside of minor exceptions any degree can get into any career.

Reply 10

AmyPilot

Original post by diamondluck

oh lol what are you doing now?
and i don't know tbh, i don't want to be a lawyer but it seems like the only thing i realistically could do :dontknow:

Posted from TSR Mobile

I do psychology and speech pathology (speech and language therapy) - aspects of my sociology studies have proved useful during first year at uni!

Reckon you have to be pretty driven to qualify as a solicitor - such competition for a training contract! My mum says most solicitors she comes across now wish they did something else - which again is not very encouraging.

Assume you are applying for next year - good luck :smile:

Remember the trauma of ucas etc .....

Reply 11

diamondluck

Original post by TykeDragon

I'm a soton law student and I got into an MC firm :smile:

I got several interviews at other MC/Silver Circle/City firms too!

A sociology degree from Durham would also stand you in good stead to get an offer and then do your GDL, but you may have a tougher time convincing interviewers why you want to be a lawyer, they may ask why you didn't study law.

Obviously if you have a good answer you'll still be fine (I know in general the firms take around 50% law, 50% non-law, the firm I got into is 60% law/40% law) but I definitely think it's easier to demonstrate an interest in law if you studied it at university.

that's fantastic! well done :smile:

when did you complete the course?
did you enjoy law? is the work load as large as everyone says it is? and for your personal statement did you include any extra readings?

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

callum_law

Original post by diamondluck

why? and do you think the grad prospects are any good? do the magic circle firms respect the degree from Southampton?

Southampton is a good school. It might not be the biggest name, but its name is still known. I'd not worry on the MC front. In fact, Durham is known for giving its LLB rejects sociology/criminology offers, so the course at Durham might be looked down upon.

However, if you want to study sociology and you think that you'll perform better on the sociology programme than you would a law programme, go right ahead. Law is a very dry subject academically and if you did decide the LLB, you'd be sometimes wishing you'd studied a more "academic" degree. You should brew it over.

Reply 13

TunaTunnel

Neither are STEM so. neither.

Reply 14

diamondluck

Original post by callum_law

what do you mean by "dry subject"? is it intense with huge work loads than other degrees? thankyou for the advice, i definitely will think about this more and weigh up my choices. last resort is clearing right? :lol:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 15

diamondluck

Original post by TunaTunnel

Neither are STEM so. neither.

shoo you

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 16

callum_law

Original post by diamondluck

It's a subject which, after two years, you might find that you're learning about legal principles you do not care a jot about. For some people, sociology is much more stimulating and flexible with regard to modules. You can do the sociology of music, religion and science, and all these interesting things; with law, you have the foundation modules and then commercial, company, law of evidence, and then the odd Women and the Law modules which are sociological but they are few and far between.

Research, research, and do some research about each course. Do not jump into anything.

Reply 17

diamondluck

Original post by callum_law

what are the examination styles like? Are there exams per module? And to get top marks does that include mostly memorising things off by heart or something else?

To me, it sounds like I would enjoy sociology. However I don't like the jobs that I would get after that, hence why I'm thinking of a GDL or just Law. :frown:

I'm researching as much as possible now since I have to start my personal statement very soon.

Reply 18

diamondluck

Original post by AmyPilot

Remember the trauma of ucas etc .....

Sounds awesome :smile:

Oh that does sound discouraging... especially in this day and age where almost everyone does Law so it's nothing special :/
Yeah, 2016 entry. Thanks for all of the help :smile:

I haven't experienced any trauma from UCAS just yet XD

Reply 19

TykeDragon

Original post by diamondluck

that's fantastic! well done :smile:

when did you complete the course?
did you enjoy law? is the work load as large as everyone says it is? and for your personal statement did you include any extra readings?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you

I'm actually still studying there, just going into my final year. I am enjoying studying law yes but as callum_law has pointed out, it is a very dry subject. There are parts that I find incredibly interesting and parts that make you want to rip your eyes out. Reading super long cases about very complex and specific points of law in an already dull area of law sucks, and it takes a lot of willpower to push through it sometimes. But on the whole, I have actually enjoyed studying law for all my gripes!

I didn't enjoy it at all in first year, but I liked second year - I've heard this is quite common with law. I had the same attitude to the legal profession, I was very reluctant in my first year but in second year I knew it was what I wanted to do. It definitely is a lot of work but truth be told it's up to you how much you put in, in first year I didn't do much work at all but in second year I did so you can in effect control your workload. Generally there is a lot to do though.

I'm afraid I don't really remember what I put in my Personal Statement!! But I didn't really discuss pre-uni legal reading, or legal work experience or anything like that, I instead just focused on why I wanted to study law and why I would be suited to it - eg debating experience, essay writing experience, ability to cope with pressure, multitask etc. Also extra curriculars to show you will get involved with the law school are great!

Callum_Law's post about durham/soton made a very good point. Whilst soton isn't a huge name, it is a known name to these firms. Our law society arranged a southampton student only open day to two Magic Circle firms which I attended, these firms actually made the effort to encourage soton applicants. Plus, the law fair sees a lot of big firms, and firms only go to campuses they are interested in. In my experience, as long as your grades and applications are up to scratch, being a soton student works fine.

Obviously Durham is a better name, but I reckon firms would rather you have a 2.1 from Soton than a 2.2 from Durham. The point that Durham offers LLB rejects the sociology course is an interesting point that I was unaware of, but may be worth considering.