Law at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) opinions?

Original post by Geographer98

Hey guys,
I'm Italian and I got an offer to study law (LLB) at Queen Mary.
I need to be sincere: my dream university was King's, but got rejected because I miserably failed the LNAT.
Anyway, I've seen that Queen Mary was ranked as the 3rd UK university for law just after Oxbridge by The Guardian in 2016 (but I'm kinda doubtful about it) and QS World University Ranking ranked it 35th for law (the year before it was 45th!). Somebody even told me that now Queen Mary's law department is even better than King's.
I've seen that is a very up and coming university and that is very "prestigious" just for its law department.
I tried to find out something about QMUL law here in this forum, but somebody says that it's over rated, somebody else says that is under rated... Really, I can't understand.
My dream job is to be an international lawyer/barrister specialized in human rights and international law: do you know Amal Clooney? Yeah, something like that. I know, I'm very ambitious, but I'm 19 and I think that everybody at this age has a dream. The fact is that Amal Clooney attended Oxford...
What do you think of Queen Mary's law and of the campus in general? Please, I need advice!

Hey there,

I wanted to respond to this because I've been through a similar thought process and I have similar career goals. I'm starting the LLB senior status program at Queen Mary in September and I'm an international student.

To start, you're going to find many different opinions here on TSR. People have all sorts of standards for what they think is a good or prestigious school. I've come across comments that made me feel that anything less than Oxbridge was worthless and I was a failure for not reaching that standard. I've seen others that draw the line after the top Russell Group schools, or the RG altogether. There's also a significant section of the internet that is thrilled (for good reason) to get into a university at all. It is genuinely not worth measuring yourself and your achievements based on what people say on an internet forum. You are the only person who gets to assign worth to your accomplishments, and getting into a highly ranked school such as Queen Mary is significant.

At the end of the day, it's up to you to research the school and see if it would be a good fit for you. Queen Mary has an excellent Human Rights program and some extremely accomplished academics in the field, if following in Amal's steps is your goal. You will undeniably get an excellent education and there seems to be a great campus community. Regardless of what anybody tells you, the name of your school isn't the most important thing in the world. If you're the type of person to be successful, you're going to be successful no matter where you graduate. The current mayor of London studied at the University of North London and obviously he did quite well. Just work hard during your LLB, get involved in extracurriculars, and you'll open plenty of doors for yourself.

Best of Luck.

Reply 2

btchls

Hey there! Congrats on the offer! I also got an offer from Queen Mary too but am leaning towards Warwick as my firm choice. I think you should research on what you would like to gain out of university rather than on the prestige factor. For example, for me, I prioritise employment opportunities above anything else and this depends on where/what you want to work at/as after you graduate. While QM doesn't have the overall reputation, I do think Queen Mary has a great law (and like you said, very up and coming) department. Probably the best department in the uni itself, alongside Dentistry and Medicine. Rankings are also I feel very subjective and you cannot use it to measure the prestige factor.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Tati1998

7

If you don't mind me asking, what grades did you get at AS and GCSE?

Reply 4

OP

Hey guys,
thank you for your replies!
I need to be sincere, I still need to think. While I'm very glad that I received an offer by Queen Mary, the fact that I didn't receive an offer by King's makes me a bit disappointed. But, as I stated before, somebody told me that Queen Mary's law dept is even better thank King's.
I've also researched QMUL offer rate and here it says that is just 42%
http://university.which.co.uk/queen-mary-university-of-london-q50/law-3-years-9000-m100-416497
And on their website it says that they receive more than 3,000 applications each year, but accept just 265 students.
In all honestly, based on these statistics, I can't understand if I should consider myself lucky or not: if I should accept the offer and go to Queen Mary or take a gap year.

Original post by Tati1998

If you don't mind me asking, what grades did you get at AS and GCSE?

I'm EU (Italian precisely) so I don't have AS and GCSE.
But my predicted grade was good: 95%, the equivalent of A*AA.

Reply 5

xxxoooxxx

It sounds as though you could still be happy at QMUL. but from what i've read your heart seems set on Kings/Oxford. To be honest, what's one extra year for a further 3 at your preferred choice?
Uni is exspencive especially if your an international/EU student so you want to make sure you are defiantly making the right choice for you!

QUOTE=Geographer98;70866966]Hey guys,
thank you for your replies!
I need to be sincere, I still need to think. While I'm very glad that I received an offer by Queen Mary, the fact that I didn't receive an offer by King's makes me a bit disappointed. But, as I stated before, somebody told me that Queen Mary's law dept is even better thank King's.
I've also researched QMUL offer rate and here it says that is just 42%
http://university.which.co.uk/queen-mary-university-of-london-q50/law-3-years-9000-m100-416497
And on their website it says that they receive more than 3,000 applications each year, but accept just 265 students.
In all honestly, based on these statistics, I can't understand if I should consider myself lucky or not: if I should accept the offer and go to Queen Mary or take a gap year.

I'm EU (Italian precisely) so I don't have AS and GCSE.
But my predicted grade was good: 95%, the equivalent of A*AA.

Reply 6

Yagmur_9898

Hey!

Just like you I have applied for King's as well as Queen Mary University. I was rejected by King's as I did not do well in my LNAT either. But now, i have chosen Queen's as my firm choice. I have both attended King's and Queen's open days and I recently went to Queen's offer holder day. I can gladly say that I am happy choosing Queen Mary because if I got into King's there was going to be too much competition, although, there will be some competition in Queen's it will not be as much, this means that I can focus on my studies rather than focusing on competing with other students.

In addition, I went to both university's taster lectures, I don't know about you, but I do not like to be in lecture room filled with 100s of students. I feel like you will not get the attention you need if you don't understand something or if you want to ask a question during the lecture, you will less likely to get your question answered. However, in Queen's the lecture rooms were quite small so I assume that you will not get students no more than 30 in a class but I am not an expert I don't know how many people will be assigned to per class.

In terms of campus atmosphere, I can tell you that I have seen much better campuses. The university itself isn't in the best area of London since it is in Mile End. I was so worried about this and I was contemplating whether to put Queen's as my firm just based on this but I realised how wrong I was, at the end of the day, I will be in London and London isn't the safest place to live. The campus itself is huge, I got lost in it like 5 times. Accommodations are 100% better than ones in King's and is lot cheaper.

Plus, Queen's does one year in industry with a very famous American Firm in London. I don't know if you would be interested in that but it sounds amazing.

I hope this kind of helps.

Good luck.

Reply 7

OP

Original post by Yagmur_9898

I can gladly say that I am happy choosing Queen Mary because if I got into King's there was going to be too much competition, although, there will be some competition in Queen's it will not be as much, this means that I can focus on my studies rather than focusing on competing with other students.

Well this doesn't make me very happy! :frown:

I mean, you're saying that is not so competitive, at least not competitive as King's...and for a subject like law, it's important to go to a competitive uni...
At this point I don't know if I should take a gap year, focus on passing the LNAT and reapply for King's...
Somebody told me that there could be a difference between Queen Mary and UCL, but between Queen Mary and King's there's practically no difference and that Queen Mary is even better for law. Don't know if I should believe it or not honestly.

The only thing that makes me happy is that it's a campus uni, so you have sports, facilities, student union, language centre, library and stuff all in one place and never get bored. I don't think it's the same for King's.

Original post by Yagmur_9898

Plus, Queen's does one year in industry with a very famous American Firm in London. I don't know if you would be interested in that but it sounds amazing.

Yeah, I've seen that, it's awesome! But I think that I would apply for a year abroad instead.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 8

Yagmur_9898

Original post by Geographer98

Well this doesn't make me very happy! :frown:

I mean, you're saying that is not so competitive, at least not competitive as King's...and for a subject like law, it's important to go to a competitive uni...
At this point I don't know if I should take a gap year, focus on passing the LNAT and reapply for King's...
Somebody told me that there could be a difference between Queen Mary and UCL, but between Queen Mary and King's there's practically no difference and that Queen Mary is even better for law. Don't know if I should believe it or not honestly.

The only thing that makes me happy is that it's a campus uni, so you have sports, facilities, student union, language centre, library and stuff all in one place and never get bored. I don't think it's the same for King's.

Yeah, I've seen that, it's awesome! But I think that I would apply for a year abroad instead.

As I said again, I am not an expert but if you look at league tables King's College higher up so it is possible that there will be a bigger competition. I am not saying that Queen's will not have competition at all. Queen's is an amazing university and I am so happy that I chose it as my firm. Like you, I like to have a friendly competition but I will also would like to have a break from that competition. When I visited King's I got the feeling that there, competition will never end, which isn't what I was looking for in a university.

Honestly, the best advice i can give you is that to really go for what you think is best for you. I mean, I know it is going to sound quite cliche but listen to your heart. Just like you, I have big dreams, I want to be a Barrister as well and for me Queen Mary is the best option.

And just because one university may be more competitive than the other that doesn't necessarily mean they are not a good university. Queen's is a very good university and one of the best for law.

I just think that all this decision making is very personal. Again, go for what you think is best for you. Plus, level of competitiveness can vary from person to person, someone who goes to King's may think Queen's is more competitive and vice versa.

I hope this helped.

:smile:

Reply 9

Yagmur_9898

Original post by Geographer98

Well this doesn't make me very happy! :frown:

I mean, you're saying that is not so competitive, at least not competitive as King's...and for a subject like law, it's important to go to a competitive uni...
At this point I don't know if I should take a gap year, focus on passing the LNAT and reapply for King's...
Somebody told me that there could be a difference between Queen Mary and UCL, but between Queen Mary and King's there's practically no difference and that Queen Mary is even better for law. Don't know if I should believe it or not honestly.

The only thing that makes me happy is that it's a campus uni, so you have sports, facilities, student union, language centre, library and stuff all in one place and never get bored. I don't think it's the same for King's.

Yeah, I've seen that, it's awesome! But I think that I would apply for a year abroad instead.

Also, Queen's and King's have the same entry requirements and they are both Russel group universities, I am sure there is going to be friendly competition among students.

:h:

Reply 10

OP

Original post by xxxoooxxx

It sounds as though you could still be happy at QMUL. but from what i've read your heart seems set on Kings/Oxford. To be honest, what's one extra year for a further 3 at your preferred choice?
Uni is exspencive especially if your an international/EU student so you want to make sure you are defiantly making the right choice for you!

Hey, sorry, I've just now seen your reply.
You're right, and that's what I'm worried about. University is expensive and staying in a place you don't like it's not a good idea.
But I've seen that Queen Mary is now a top law school in the UK and it's improving more and more.
In QS Ranking, it was under 50th in 2014. In 2016, two years later, it was 35th! The Guardian ranked it 3rd in UK in 2016 and it even has a legal advice centre to practice.

I'm just a bit sad that I didn't receive an offer from King's... yeah, my heart was set there. But now I'm seeing the pros of QMUL. It's a campus uni, so I would have facilities, sports, student union and so on all in one place. It seems awesome. Even if King's law school is sooooo beautiful, damn!
I need to think about it and please, I also need more advices too!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 11

Yaboi

17

I don't know too much about Law itself but I was a QMUL Grad in a different subject (Econ), I know the uni prides itself on the Law and Medical schools above all others and they, without doubt, get great treatment and I know a fair few of the Law guys get training contracts at top firms.

But It seems your heart is set elsewhere, it's a 3 year commitment and you can never do your first undergrad again. It will impact the rest of your life, if you REALLY want to go Kings etc and can't bare the potential regret then just take the gap year and wait.

Reply 12

Tati1998

7

I'm sort of in the same boat. I wanted to study at UCL but got rejected because of my LNAT. But I have an offer from QMUL. I was wondering if I could do my first year at QMUL and if I'm still keen on going to UCL, transfer at the end of the year.

Reply 13

Mieleki

7

Original post by Tati1998

I'm sort of in the same boat. I wanted to study at UCL but got rejected because of my LNAT. But I have an offer from QMUL. I was wondering if I could do my first year at QMUL and if I'm still keen on going to UCL, transfer at the end of the year.

I think that UCL does not accept transfers.

Original post by Geographer98

Well this doesn't make me very happy! :frown:

I mean, you're saying that is not so competitive, at least not competitive as King's...and for a subject like law, it's important to go to a competitive uni...
At this point I don't know if I should take a gap year, focus on passing the LNAT and reapply for King's...
Somebody told me that there could be a difference between Queen Mary and UCL, but between Queen Mary and King's there's practically no difference and that Queen Mary is even better for law. Don't know if I should believe it or not honestly.

The only thing that makes me happy is that it's a campus uni, so you have sports, facilities, student union, language centre, library and stuff all in one place and never get bored. I don't think it's the same for King's.

Yeah, I've seen that, it's awesome! But I think that I would apply for a year abroad instead.

I would disagree. King's definitely has the edge over Queen Mary, unfortunately. Check this out (bear in mind that it does not control for the number of graduates) - http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities
Additionally, I believe King's has higher salaries 5 years after graduation and King's has a lower acceptance rate + is objectively much more famous around the globe. I don't want to spoil your dream, I just want to make sure that you do not make your decision based on a likely false view.

Reply 14

Leini

Also, if King's is your dream school, you could always do your LLB at Queen Mary and then do an LLM at King's later on. That might be a better option than taking a gap year.

Reply 15

OP

Original post by Mieleki

I would disagree. King's definitely has the edge over Queen Mary, unfortunately. Check this out (bear in mind that it does not control for the number of graduates) - http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities
Additionally, I believe King's has higher salaries 5 years after graduation and King's has a lower acceptance rate + is objectively much more famous around the globe. I don't want to spoil your dream, I just want to make sure that you do not make your decision based on a likely false view.

The fact is that I don't know if it would be worth the risk of waiting 1 year to apply again for King's...
What I've been told is that King's obviously has the better overall reputation and is internationally known, but that QMUL law department is awesome and one of the best in UK, it's like that the university itself is known just for the law school, which is now practically on pair with King's. I've already seen the website that you mentioned and the percentage of trainees from King's is far higher, but keep in mind that QMUL is a very up and coming law school that is improving more and more each year.
I'm trying to be objective so I don't know if my view is right or wrong, and I accept every opinion!

Original post by Leini

Also, if King's is your dream school, you could always do your LLB at Queen Mary and then do an LLM at King's later on. That might be a better option than taking a gap year.

Well I think that King's is a good law school for an undergraduate, but for an LLM I would go to a much more prestigious university in America such as New York University.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 16

Leini

Original post by Geographer98

Well I think that King's is a good law school for an undergraduate, but for an LLM I would go to a much more prestigious university in America such as New York University.

If you're seriously considering doing an LLM, the school where you obtain your LLB matters even less; what will be most important is getting stellar grades in your undergraduate degree. (Obviously you still have plenty of time to make decisions about an LLM)

Reply 17

OP

Yeah, I will surely take an LLM and I will consider taking a year abroad while doing my LLB.
But I think that, if we talk about law, the university where you attended your undergraduate is very important, if not the most important thing.
It's not like economics where the uni in which you attended your undergraduate is not the most important thing, so you can always go to a much better one for your master.
Unfortunately for law the university where you've done your undergraduate is fundamental.
In this case I don't know if QMUL is actually well regarded or not, especially if I want to be a barrister.

Reply 18

nataliamiernik16