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Can I Get Into Law?

Okay so I just got AAAAB in my highers.
I want to go study law at Glasgow Uni which is like the 2nd or 3rd best law school in the UK so it’s not going to be easy to get in. I’m presuming most students applying will have received 5 As which I’m still gutted I didn’t get.

I need some advice on what subjects to study at AH I’m thinking Maths, Modern Studies and Spanish.

My higher results :
English - A
Maths - A
Geography - A
Spanish - A
Modern Studies - B

I doubt I’ll get an unconditional, am I likely to get a conditional?

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Original post by fucthesqa
Okay so I just got AAAAB in my highers.
I want to go study law at Glasgow Uni which is like the 2nd or 3rd best law school in the UK so it’s not going to be easy to get in. I’m presuming most students applying will have received 5 As which I’m still gutted I didn’t get.

I need some advice on what subjects to study at AH I’m thinking Maths, Modern Studies and Spanish.

My higher results :
English - A
Maths - A
Geography - A
Spanish - A
Modern Studies - B

I doubt I’ll get an unconditional, am I likely to get a conditional?


I wouldn’t say 2nd or third, but probably top 10. Your grades seem good though, if you have work experience that’ll give you a better chance too.
Original post by S.carter
I wouldn’t say 2nd or third, but probably top 10. Your grades seem good though, if you have work experience that’ll give you a better chance too.

It is actually currently 3rd in the UK rankings, down one place from 2nd last year! With those grades and a great personal statement, I'd say you're likely to receive a conditional offer! Depending on where you live, widening participation lowers grade requirements for more disadvantaged areas!
Original post by fucthesqa
I want to go study law at Glasgow Uni which is like the 2nd or 3rd best law school in the UK so it’s not going to be easy to get in.


Original post by bellebags
It is actually currently 3rd in the UK rankings, down one place from 2nd last year! With those grades and a great personal statement, I'd say you're likely to receive a conditional offer! Depending on where you live, widening participation lowers grade requirements for more disadvantaged areas!

It's a great Law school but I'm afraid it's definitely not top 3 as far as reputation goes. Maybe that's the case on certain league tables, but I might not believe them too easily...

In Scotland, Edinburgh is definitely number 1 and many law firms only end up taking graduates from UoE. Glasgow comes in second here and maybe top 10 or 20 within the context of the rest of the UK.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by bellebags
It is actually currently 3rd in the UK rankings, down one place from 2nd last year! With those grades and a great personal statement, I'd say you're likely to receive a conditional offer! Depending on where you live, widening participation lowers grade requirements for more disadvantaged areas!


It’s not 3rd, I don’t know what rankings you are looking at. No way it would’ve been above Cambridge or oxford last year, who are pretty consistently the top two in the UK.
Original post by fucthesqa
Okay so I just got AAAAB in my highers.
I want to go study law at Glasgow Uni which is like the 2nd or 3rd best law school in the UK so it’s not going to be easy to get in. I’m presuming most students applying will have received 5 As which I’m still gutted I didn’t get.

I need some advice on what subjects to study at AH I’m thinking Maths, Modern Studies and Spanish.

My higher results :
English - A
Maths - A
Geography - A
Spanish - A
Modern Studies - B

I doubt I’ll get an unconditional, am I likely to get a conditional?

I know someone who got AAAAB at Higher and they applied to do Law at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee. They got unconditionals at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee and a conditional of BB at Advanced Higher from Glasgow. They have just graduated from Edinburgh despite getting the BB required for Glasgow and haven't regretted choosing Edinburgh for a minute.
Original post by animalmagic
I know someone who got AAAAB at Higher and they applied to do Law at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee. They got unconditionals at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee and a conditional of BB at Advanced Higher from Glasgow. They have just graduated from Edinburgh despite getting the BB required for Glasgow and haven't regretted choosing Edinburgh for a minute.


Hello all,
How are you all? I cannot answer your questions specifically but I can point you to the Clearing website for Aberdeen so that you have it handy should you need it. I did a search myself and there are law degrees on that site which include specific law degrees and joint law degrees. Joint law degrees offer you some very interesting disciplines such as languages, business, creative industry areas, economics, accountancy, European legal studies, English law, and an accelerated law degree. Good luck and try not to worry!
Original post by S.carter
It’s not 3rd, I don’t know what rankings you are looking at. No way it would’ve been above Cambridge or oxford last year, who are pretty consistently the top two in the UK.


On the website TheCompleteUniversityGuide it is ranked 3rd under under UCL different websites day different things. Just because Oxford or Cambridge are the most known for law doesn't mean it is the best out of all the different Unis in the UK (I'm not saying it isn't the best but there are still competitors)
Original post by xlizzy
On the website TheCompleteUniversityGuide it is ranked 3rd under under UCL different websites day different things. Just because Oxford or Cambridge are the most known for law doesn't mean it is the best out of all the different Unis in the UK (I'm not saying it isn't the best but there are still competitors)


I go by the Times university guide rankings. Like others have said, Edinburgh is the top in Scotland. I’m not saying Glasgow isn’t good, but most people would not consider it to be top 3.
I was only stating what the league table I look at says not saying it's the right one. you need to calm down 😂
Original post by animalmagic
I know someone who got AAAAB at Higher and they applied to do Law at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee. They got unconditionals at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Dundee and a conditional of BB at Advanced Higher from Glasgow. They have just graduated from Edinburgh despite getting the BB required for Glasgow and haven't regretted choosing Edinburgh for a minute.


I would have said doing English AH would be advisable for Law if you want an offer from Glasgow? The person I know did English and History at AH and crashed another two Highers and got As for those.
Reply 11
Original post by fucthesqa
Okay so I just got AAAAB in my highers.
I want to go study law at Glasgow Uni which is like the 2nd or 3rd best law school in the UK so it’s not going to be easy to get in. I’m presuming most students applying will have received 5 As which I’m still gutted I didn’t get.

I need some advice on what subjects to study at AH I’m thinking Maths, Modern Studies and Spanish.

My higher results :
English - A
Maths - A
Geography - A
Spanish - A
Modern Studies - B

I doubt I’ll get an unconditional, am I likely to get a conditional?

Wait and find out a) how close you are to an A in modern studies as you may get a remark(I know you thought you were on track for an A) and b) try and find out your bands and if they're good apply to a couple of universities down south.
Original post by 123543
Wait and find out a) how close you are to an A in modern studies as you may get a remark(I know you thought you were on track for an A) and b) try and find out your bands and if they're good apply to a couple of universities down south.


Why would they want to apply to go down South and pay tuition fees when they have plenty of good Scottish universities to apply to? Also any offer from a English university would be conditional on Advanced Highers I presume.
Reply 13
1. Because some universities are a pain up here about getting AAAAA in one sitting. Universities down south are far more bothered about your abilities in English and other essay-writing subjects than your abilities in other irrelevant subjects. It's because they're comparing us against students that have done 3 A-Levels.
2. University acceptance rate up here for Scottish students is much lower than English students.
3. Not everyone wants to practice law in Scotland.
4. The GDL/LPC/BPTC will cost if you ever want to go down south.

Yeah, it would be conditional on AH.

(Original post by animalmagic)
Why would they want to apply to go down South and pay tuition fees when they have plenty of good Scottish universities to apply to? Also any offer from a English university would be conditional on Advanced Highers I presume.
Wow, that pdf has so much useful information! Do you know where to find the same sort of document for other universities, like UCL, LSE, QMUL, Kings and Bristol? :smile:
Glasgow is only ranked highly on the CUG because of how entry standards are calculated for Scottish qualifications vs English qualifications.

I hate Oxford as much as the next person but CUG putting Glasgow above Oxford is 100% banter on their part.
UCL, LSE, Bristol would be great :smile:
I would say in response to your points:

1. Not really for Law except for Glasgow in my experience, possibly depending on how good the personal statement is.
2. I don't know the exact stats but I would have thought anyone with decent grades at Higher would be able to study Law somewhere in Scotland.
3. There are duel Scottish/English Law degree options in Scotland.
4. Surely they don't cost more than 3 years of tuition fees and even if practicing in Scotland you still have to do the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice after your degree.

Original post by 123543
1. Because some universities are a pain up here about getting AAAAA in one sitting. Universities down south are far more bothered about your abilities in English and other essay-writing subjects than your abilities in other irrelevant subjects. It's because they're comparing us against students that have done 3 A-Levels.
2. University acceptance rate up here for Scottish students is much lower than English students.
3. Not everyone wants to practice law in Scotland.
4. The GDL/LPC/BPTC will cost if you ever want to go down south.

Yeah, it would be conditional on AH.

(Original post by animalmagic)
Reply 18
Update :
Turns out I'm 1 mark away from an A in modern studies which is quite sad.
I'm picking up the form from school tomorrow to get it remarked or whatever they do.

Regarding universities, I'm not really wanting to go down south as it is quite far from friends and family and alongside that tuition fees.
Glasgow and Edinburgh University are the two I am set on, I'll obviously attend both open days to grasp which one I prefer more. Yeah to be honest, I did use the league tables to say the Glasgow was 3rd best, now reading the responses it may be that isn't so accurate. Since Glasgow has the LNAT that also led me to believe it edges Edinburgh?
Reply 19
Original post by animalmagic
I would say in response to your points:

1. Not really for Law except for Glasgow in my experience, possibly depending on how good the personal statement is.
2. I don't know the exact stats but I would have thought anyone with decent grades at Higher would be able to study Law somewhere in Scotland.
3. There are duel Scottish/English Law degree options in Scotland.
4. Surely they don't cost more than 3 years of tuition fees and even if practicing in Scotland you still have to do the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice after your degree.


Don't really want to argue, but I got AAAAB and was warned by Edinburgh when I contacted them that they haven't been able to give out offers to students that haven't achieved AAAAA recent years. Acceptance rates for English students to Edinburgh for Law are way higher than Scottish - I'm talking 20% vs 70%. I'm aware of dual options, I'm not saying these don't exist - I'm saying that don't immediately disregard England as a viable option. It's not going to be free to train to be a practicing lawyer anyway.

Of course, you can get a fantastic degree up here and I am by no means advocating against it, all I'm suggesting is that remember there are Universities down south too.

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