advice please? Law clearing and bad alevels

hello,
I got my alevel results yesterday and it was a major shock. I'm a "head down, revise and do the best you can" kinda girl so when I saw I got BDD yesterday I honestly froze and checked to see if my name was on the results as I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a fall from my predicted AAA. I've spent yesterday and today completely in tears as I feel my life is over and I've tried to get into law through clearing but my Ds can only get me so far.

I have got a place now at Westminster university but my judgement is clouded by all the information i hear from people about how the likelihood of doing well in a law career if you are not from a russel group let alone bad alevels. I can not afford to take a foundation year or retake alevels as im not in the financial position to take those steps nor am i mentally in the right place. i will throw up at the thought of having to redo everything. My grades aren't changing so a gap year isn't what i need or want either so i feel very lost and hopeless.

my dream is to be a barrister and im worried all this has made that dream a lot more unlikely to attain so i was wondering whether anyone knew what my chances are looking like? i also wanted to know if there was a way to do the bar vocational course after uni as i heard its very expensive and i was wondering about the funding options? im sure scholarships etc would need better stats and grades etc and im not looking like a worthy candidate right now.

also if anyone has studied law at Westminster i would love to know what life is like for you now and how your career in law is going? is Westminster decent? i know its not the best and ive heard very mixed reviews so im very worried about it.

lastly, i know this post seems like a mess [like me rn ] but i also wanted to know about transfers in uni. if i decide to do my 1st year at Westminster [no other options] is there a chance i could transfer 2nd year to SOAS if my alevels are bad? if i worked hard and aimed for 1st class in my 1st yr of uni then would there be any chance i can look for transferring to other unis or does that seem silly to do?

i would appreciate and advice right now as i have no clue on what to do and although this will probably be a minor life event to me in 10 years time, right now it feels like the end of the world for me and i would love some help so that i can overcome this part. thank you

hello,
I got my alevel results yesterday and it was a major shock. I'm a "head down, revise and do the best you can" kinda girl so when I saw I got BDD yesterday I honestly froze and checked to see if my name was on the results as I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a fall from my predicted AAA. I've spent yesterday and today completely in tears as I feel my life is over and I've tried to get into law through clearing but my Ds can only get me so far.

I have got a place now at Westminster university but my judgement is clouded by all the information i hear from people about how the likelihood of doing well in a law career if you are not from a russel group let alone bad alevels. I can not afford to take a foundation year or retake alevels as im not in the financial position to take those steps nor am i mentally in the right place. i will throw up at the thought of having to redo everything. My grades aren't changing so a gap year isn't what i need or want either so i feel very lost and hopeless.

my dream is to be a barrister and im worried all this has made that dream a lot more unlikely to attain so i was wondering whether anyone knew what my chances are looking like? i also wanted to know if there was a way to do the bar vocational course after uni as i heard its very expensive and i was wondering about the funding options? im sure scholarships etc would need better stats and grades etc and im not looking like a worthy candidate right now.

also if anyone has studied law at Westminster i would love to know what life is like for you now and how your career in law is going? is Westminster decent? i know its not the best and ive heard very mixed reviews so im very worried about it.

lastly, i know this post seems like a mess [like me rn ] but i also wanted to know about transfers in uni. if i decide to do my 1st year at Westminster [no other options] is there a chance i could transfer 2nd year to SOAS if my alevels are bad? if i worked hard and aimed for 1st class in my 1st yr of uni then would there be any chance i can look for transferring to other unis or does that seem silly to do?

i would appreciate and advice right now as i have no clue on what to do and although this will probably be a minor life event to me in 10 years time, right now it feels like the end of the world for me and i would love some help so that i can overcome this part. thank you

hello,
I got my alevel results yesterday and it was a major shock. I'm a "head down, revise and do the best you can" kinda girl so when I saw I got BDD yesterday I honestly froze and checked to see if my name was on the results as I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a fall from my predicted AAA. I've spent yesterday and today completely in tears as I feel my life is over and I've tried to get into law through clearing but my Ds can only get me so far.

I have got a place now at Westminster university but my judgement is clouded by all the information i hear from people about how the likelihood of doing well in a law career if you are not from a russel group let alone bad alevels. I can not afford to take a foundation year or retake alevels as im not in the financial position to take those steps nor am i mentally in the right place. i will throw up at the thought of having to redo everything. My grades aren't changing so a gap year isn't what i need or want either so i feel very lost and hopeless.

my dream is to be a barrister and im worried all this has made that dream a lot more unlikely to attain so i was wondering whether anyone knew what my chances are looking like? i also wanted to know if there was a way to do the bar vocational course after uni as i heard its very expensive and i was wondering about the funding options? im sure scholarships etc would need better stats and grades etc and im not looking like a worthy candidate right now.

also if anyone has studied law at Westminster i would love to know what life is like for you now and how your career in law is going? is Westminster decent? i know its not the best and ive heard very mixed reviews so im very worried about it.

lastly, i know this post seems like a mess [like me rn ] but i also wanted to know about transfers in uni. if i decide to do my 1st year at Westminster [no other options] is there a chance i could transfer 2nd year to SOAS if my alevels are bad? if i worked hard and aimed for 1st class in my 1st yr of uni then would there be any chance i can look for transferring to other unis or does that seem silly to do?

i would appreciate and advice right now as i have no clue on what to do and although this will probably be a minor life event to me in 10 years time, right now it feels like the end of the world for me and i would love some help so that i can overcome this part. thank you

hello,
I got my alevel results yesterday and it was a major shock. I'm a "head down, revise and do the best you can" kinda girl so when I saw I got BDD yesterday I honestly froze and checked to see if my name was on the results as I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a fall from my predicted AAA. I've spent yesterday and today completely in tears as I feel my life is over and I've tried to get into law through clearing but my Ds can only get me so far.

I have got a place now at Westminster university but my judgement is clouded by all the information i hear from people about how the likelihood of doing well in a law career if you are not from a russel group let alone bad alevels. I can not afford to take a foundation year or retake alevels as im not in the financial position to take those steps nor am i mentally in the right place. i will throw up at the thought of having to redo everything. My grades aren't changing so a gap year isn't what i need or want either so i feel very lost and hopeless.

my dream is to be a barrister and im worried all this has made that dream a lot more unlikely to attain so i was wondering whether anyone knew what my chances are looking like? i also wanted to know if there was a way to do the bar vocational course after uni as i heard its very expensive and i was wondering about the funding options? im sure scholarships etc would need better stats and grades etc and im not looking like a worthy candidate right now.

also if anyone has studied law at Westminster i would love to know what life is like for you now and how your career in law is going? is Westminster decent? i know its not the best and ive heard very mixed reviews so im very worried about it.

lastly, i know this post seems like a mess [like me rn ] but i also wanted to know about transfers in uni. if i decide to do my 1st year at Westminster [no other options] is there a chance i could transfer 2nd year to SOAS if my alevels are bad? if i worked hard and aimed for 1st class in my 1st yr of uni then would there be any chance i can look for transferring to other unis or does that seem silly to do?

i would appreciate and advice right now as i have no clue on what to do and although this will probably be a minor life event to me in 10 years time, right now it feels like the end of the world for me and i would love some help so that i can overcome this part. thank you

Perhaps @Crazy Jamie you could shed some light? I imagine it would be an uphill battle with Westminster University and those grades, even with a first. But I’ve got little to no experience with the bar so I’ll defer to my more learned friend.

So for the purposes of pupillage applications this is obviously not a great start. A-Levels are taken into consideration on pupillage application forms, and BDD will certainly not go down well in the marking framework for any set. For those that have minimum A-Level grades, it will certainly come under that minimum.

However, it isn't the end of the world. Even if you don't specify extenuating circumstances, sets are becoming more aware that a lot can change in candidates' lives between A-Levels, university and applying for pupillage. You've suggested that BDD isn't your true level because you were predicted AAA, but now you're going to have to prove it. The fact that you're going to Westminster doesn't really matter. Standard of university rarely directly impacts pupillage application marking. But you really, really need to get a First now, and you need to follow that up with a Very Competent or an Outstanding on the Bar course. If you do that, even without specifying extenuating circumstances there is a good chance that some sets will see the BDD as a blip and not reflective of your true level. If you then build an otherwise strong application, it can still be realistic for you to obtain pupillage. You really have not given yourself any room for error now though. So you need to process this, but then ultimately put it behind you and look forwards to your undergraduate degree.

It's alright, I've also applied for law this year. The fact you've managed to get an alternative course offer for law through clearing is a big deal in itself given how competitive law is. With regards to the myths you've heard about having to go RG to have a law career, it's totally not true. You can still very straightforwardly aim for regional firms and I'm sure with your dedication that you can probably get a first in your degree which will help you stand out. Like you said, this will seem insignificant in the future so push on!

Hi @med2023,

Firstly, although this is clearly a stressful situation for you, remember to stay calm and not to panic
At the end of the day, your A Level results are not the be-all-and-end-all. If you can achieve a good grade in your Law LLB then there is no reason why you wouldn't be able to have a very successful career in Law. Once you have your LLB and do the bar exams it is these two grades that chambers will be particularly interested in.

Also, when it comes to funding the bar course there are several different ways of doing this. Firstly, you can try for a scholarship (I don't think your grades will hold you back) but of course this is very competitive with approx. 20% success rate if my memory serves me right. Or, you could try and get a scholarship with the university/ institution you will be taking the bar course with. I know that the University of Law offers certain awards to for both advocacy scholarships and academic achievement awards (these are for your performance in the bar selection process not A levels or degree!). Finally, you could take a private loan with an organisation set up to help people fund their bar course which, like a normal uni loan, would have to be paid back. Sometimes the interest rate or the period in which you have to pay this loan back is not as good as with SFE so you could consider doing your bar course as a LLM which will make it a Masters course and therefore, would make you eligible for a usual Masters loan with SFE.

I hope this helps and keep your chin up! Your law career is certainly not over and, as you said, in the future this will be a minor life event.

Sophie

I got a DCC, went to Essex for year 1. Last week I was able to transfer to SOAS since I got a first in my 1st year of University. My advice would be to focus in law school, predicted AAA shows dedication and capability so I know it is achievable for you. Furthermore, get relevant work experience. Best of luck!

all you can do now is put your head down work twice as hard and get the best grade possible its no point thinking ahh im at this uni its this rank so and so, whats done is done just do the best you can and learn from your mistakes. best of luck.