Am I being ridiculous about Law at Sheffield?

Sheffield's law school is not great- the university as a whole is very good, but law is one of their weaknesses. ABB will make it impossible for you to get training contracts with most top/medium firms and make the bar even more difficult (it's mental already due to applicant numbers) because they all use automatic filters that tend to be set at AAB. I'd urge you to redo your Alevels to get those grades up to AAA and apply to higher ranked law schools- his way you a) won't get killed by automatic filters when you apply for jobs and b) won't find yourself handicapped by studying law at a university that isn't great for it.

Good luck.

Here is my post from another thread. I know it's perhaps answering some questions you haven't asked, but I hope you find it of use:

'Well I hope my personal story will be of some use to you. I missed my firm offer (Bristol) by 2 UMS and obtained a place at my Insurance (Sheffield). I was, to say the least, absolutely gutted. I had my heart set on Bristol and in all honesty, didn't even consider the possibility of not achieving the grades. I thought long and hard about my options and ended up taking a gap year. I deferred my place for a year and toyed with the idea of re-taking a few exams and reapplying. Ultimately I decided not to re-take any exams and simply decided to go to Sheffield.

Where am I now? Going into my 3rd year, averaged a 1st in both years of study and just had a Vac Scheme at a Magic Circle firm (to which I find out if I get a job in 2 weeks).

Like you, my chief concern was that perhaps Sheffield wouldn't open any doors for me, and that there would be this invisible glass ceiling over my head. How wrong I was. Sheffield is a great university for all intents and purposes. It was voted university of the year in 2011 and no matter what some arbitrary league table tells you, the most important thing you should know is that it is a respected institution within the legal profession.

However, pushing this aside, you should be under no pretences that the Law School is by no means Sheffield's 'leading light' and whilst people would argue for its inclusion in the top 15 Law Schools in the country, I'd say it's definitely in the top 20, give or take. As I said before, no doors will be closed for you if you go to Sheffield and graduate with a good law degree. But I was under no pretences that, in such a competitive and fierce job market, a bog-standard 2.1 will (I am sure there are exceptions) not get you the top jobs that you may desire. You will have to truly push yourself academically, get relevant work experience and immerse yourself in lots of extra-curricular activities.

I can't stress to you how much of a good time I am having in Sheffield. It's a fantastically student-friendly city and just as an example, its Student Union is constantly ranked #1. Looking through my rose-tinted specs, if all you are concerned about is your employability prospects, then Sheffield is no better and no worse than Birmingham and Lancaster. There is no denying Sheffield is not Oxbridge, UCL, LSE etc., so if you do decide to go for them then I wish you the best of luck, but if you do choose to study at Sheffield I can promise you won't regret it.

Here is a link to some research on the legal profession and what university graduates went to -http://d1d1tdqerevjwu.cloudfront.net...university.pdf. Hopefully this will confirm most of what I have said in my post.'

No that was so helpful, thank you for re-posting it! I definitely am going to get as much extra-curricular as I can fit in and try my hardest to get a 2:1 at least!

Congratulations on the vac scheme, I've heard even those are competitive to get onto! Good luck for the results of your job interview! I think your right also in your other comment, one of my biggest hurdles is still my A-Level grades so will need to re-take a module probably.

I came onto this thread depressed from my missed Bristol offer but now I am so excited to be attending Sheffield!