1 Year Law Conversion application help
i want to apply for a history degree at manchester or leeds and then a 1 year law conversion but i’m not sure how it works and how i apply? can i do it at the same uni? is it funded by student loans? how do i apply? i’m so confused about the whole process
Thew best process is that in y ear 2 or 3 of your history degree you apply for law vacation schemes and training contracts as firms recruit well ahead. If you are lucky enough to get one who sponsors your post grad they will take care of all that - eg City Consortium firms pay for a PGDL and SQE 1 and 2 course for their future trainees. To get those you need too exams, of course also put all the hard work into applications and do law things at niversity eg join law society, try to get involved in legal things, ideally some time in a law firm just seeing what it is like.
If you cannot get a firm to pay then you have the difficult decision of whether to do an SQE course without a law conversion first - I think it is better to do the law conversion although not strictly necessary for solicitors now (barristers must do it - different route)., You could get a student finance masters loan for a PGDL/SQE masters course
80% of future solicitors use BPP or University of Law for their post grad work including just about all leading law firms so you are probably better of using them for the post grad law.
Law has a kind of UCAS for lawyers for post grad called the Central Applications Board. you can apply from about Sept of year 3 of your degree or later that academic year and most undergraduates get places - it is just a question of who can pay the fees, rather than competing to apply.
The SQE system is quite complicated but above is the basics. In theory you can do your 2 years of on job training/training contract even with voluntary work in law now BUT (massive but) cobbled together not very good 2 years of training is not going to help you get a newly qualified job.
If you cannot get a firm to pay then you have the difficult decision of whether to do an SQE course without a law conversion first - I think it is better to do the law conversion although not strictly necessary for solicitors now (barristers must do it - different route)., You could get a student finance masters loan for a PGDL/SQE masters course
80% of future solicitors use BPP or University of Law for their post grad work including just about all leading law firms so you are probably better of using them for the post grad law.
Law has a kind of UCAS for lawyers for post grad called the Central Applications Board. you can apply from about Sept of year 3 of your degree or later that academic year and most undergraduates get places - it is just a question of who can pay the fees, rather than competing to apply.
The SQE system is quite complicated but above is the basics. In theory you can do your 2 years of on job training/training contract even with voluntary work in law now BUT (massive but) cobbled together not very good 2 years of training is not going to help you get a newly qualified job.
Original post by z8846
i want to apply for a history degree at manchester or leeds and then a 1 year law conversion but i’m not sure how it works and how i apply? can i do it at the same uni? is it funded by student loans? how do i apply? i’m so confused about the whole process
Hi @z8846!
I am currently doing a law conversion at the University of Law having studied an English degree at the University of Exeter and would wholeheartedly recommend doing one! In terms of the application for the course, you usually have to apply at least one month before intending to start the course but can apply far before that (I think I applied in November for a course starting the next September). Although there is no strict cut-off point for applying for the course, I would recommend applying early so that you can confirm your place on the course that you want to do. I am unsure if you can study a conversion at the universities that you are considering doing your undergrad degree at, but for the University of Law and BPP I know that you apply through LawCAB which is an independent application portal. Your application requires very similar details as your undergrad application including a breakdown of your grades, a personal statement and references. In general, I would say the entire application process is quite straightforward and you should have no issues in completing it
The PGDL (law conversion) is not funded by student loans but you can do a MA Law at the University of Law which will allow you to access student funding. With the MA, you do exactly the same course as the PGDL but instead of finishing in May, when the PGDL course finishes, you then write a dissertation which is submitted in August. Once you have completed the MA Law, you will have done both the conversion and obtained a Master's level degree in Law so it is 100% worth the extra work! If you do not want to do the additional dissertation but need help with funding, you could always look at applying for a scholarship. I know the University of Law offers a wide range to help with the fees!
I hope this helps a bit and let me know if you have any more questions!
Sophie
Student Ambassador at the University of Law
Original post by UniofLaw Student
Hi @z8846!
I am currently doing a law conversion at the University of Law having studied an English degree at the University of Exeter and would wholeheartedly recommend doing one! In terms of the application for the course, you usually have to apply at least one month before intending to start the course but can apply far before that (I think I applied in November for a course starting the next September). Although there is no strict cut-off point for applying for the course, I would recommend applying early so that you can confirm your place on the course that you want to do. I am unsure if you can study a conversion at the universities that you are considering doing your undergrad degree at, but for the University of Law and BPP I know that you apply through LawCAB which is an independent application portal. Your application requires very similar details as your undergrad application including a breakdown of your grades, a personal statement and references. In general, I would say the entire application process is quite straightforward and you should have no issues in completing it
The PGDL (law conversion) is not funded by student loans but you can do a MA Law at the University of Law which will allow you to access student funding. With the MA, you do exactly the same course as the PGDL but instead of finishing in May, when the PGDL course finishes, you then write a dissertation which is submitted in August. Once you have completed the MA Law, you will have done both the conversion and obtained a Master's level degree in Law so it is 100% worth the extra work! If you do not want to do the additional dissertation but need help with funding, you could always look at applying for a scholarship. I know the University of Law offers a wide range to help with the fees!
I hope this helps a bit and let me know if you have any more questions!
Sophie
Student Ambassador at the University of Law
I am currently doing a law conversion at the University of Law having studied an English degree at the University of Exeter and would wholeheartedly recommend doing one! In terms of the application for the course, you usually have to apply at least one month before intending to start the course but can apply far before that (I think I applied in November for a course starting the next September). Although there is no strict cut-off point for applying for the course, I would recommend applying early so that you can confirm your place on the course that you want to do. I am unsure if you can study a conversion at the universities that you are considering doing your undergrad degree at, but for the University of Law and BPP I know that you apply through LawCAB which is an independent application portal. Your application requires very similar details as your undergrad application including a breakdown of your grades, a personal statement and references. In general, I would say the entire application process is quite straightforward and you should have no issues in completing it
The PGDL (law conversion) is not funded by student loans but you can do a MA Law at the University of Law which will allow you to access student funding. With the MA, you do exactly the same course as the PGDL but instead of finishing in May, when the PGDL course finishes, you then write a dissertation which is submitted in August. Once you have completed the MA Law, you will have done both the conversion and obtained a Master's level degree in Law so it is 100% worth the extra work! If you do not want to do the additional dissertation but need help with funding, you could always look at applying for a scholarship. I know the University of Law offers a wide range to help with the fees!
I hope this helps a bit and let me know if you have any more questions!
Sophie
Student Ambassador at the University of Law
omg thank you so much!!! this has been extremely helpful! as i’m applying for a history degree (so my personal statement would be about history) and you mentioned you had to do another ps for law - would i need to research books and read stuff etc the same way i would as if i were applying for a law degree? and is it okay if i could see your law personal statement as an example please? thank you!!
People doing the PGDL / law conversion after their first degree apply via the Central Applications Board and have to write a statement but as long as you have a good first degree eg on target for a 2/1 or even 2/2 you will get a place as long as you are able to pay the fees - it is completely different from applying for university. So do not worry about the PS at that stage although it is worth during your non law degree doing lots of law things at university to help your future legal career.
Original post by z8846
omg thank you so much!!! this has been extremely helpful! as i’m applying for a history degree (so my personal statement would be about history) and you mentioned you had to do another ps for law - would i need to research books and read stuff etc the same way i would as if i were applying for a law degree? and is it okay if i could see your law personal statement as an example please? thank you!!
Hi @z8846!
I am glad that you found the info I gave useful! In terms of the personal statement, it is quite different from your undergrad personal statement. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of mine to show you but I basically said why I wanted to convert to law and a couple of skills I had from my first degree/ life experiences that are transferable to working as a layer (organisation, advocacy etc.). I think they just want to see you are sure of your decision to convert to law so there is no real need to do lots of research etc. (I certainly didn't). I hope this helps!
Sophie
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Career Change to Become a Solicitor with a 2.2
- What are my chances of securing a good legal training contract?
- GDL or Senior Status LLB..? Help!
- Is it worth getting into law at 28?
- Advice on career pathways? Psychology work placement/Law GDL
- Police Officer to Solicitor…
- LLB in the netherlands
- Solicitor? Lawyer? LLB?
- How difficult is it to get into a law conversion course?
- Philosophy vs Law If I want to get Into Law
- Lawyer progression
- english at a RG or law at a non RG
- MA Law (Conversion) choice any advice appreciated
- can I get into law with a social science degree?
- For realistic prospects at the civil Bar, should I do a second BA degree/LLB?
- Law conversion / GDL
- Stuck on what to do next…
- Psychology Conversion Degrees
- Postgraduate conversion courses and funding
- Law Conversion Timeline
