Law degree

Hi!

I’ve recently completed my 3 year law degree, so if you have any questions about studying law, the course (will differ for universities but I can still give tips / advice / my thoughts), work load.. anything, then please ask!

Tasha :-)

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Hey Tasha! I’m currently in Year 12, and I’m considering studying law at university. I just wanted to ask what it’s like studying law, how much reading you’re expected to do, best ways to revise and study, and how to prepare for the LNAT. Also, what we’re your thoughts on criminal law and family law as these are the topics I’m most interested in? Also, how did you find the workload over the 3 years? Thanks so much for creating this thread btw x

Reply 2

Joleee

what made you choose the University of Law?
i'm very introverted and shy. is there a lot of debating and arguing in class?
how were you assessed (is it more exam or essay based)?
did you do a dissertation? (and what was the title? just curious)
if you do your LLB at U of Law, do you get a discount on the LPC or BPTC? (you doing one this fall?)

Reply 3

KlausC

Original post by The University of Law Students

hi, one question here, I wonder what is a "dissertation" like I mean I can understand as an assessment but not quite when it is as a module. I saw most uni provide a module is called that. What is the exact content? Thanks.

Reply 4

Ali-liyyah

Hey Tasha! I’m going into Year 13 in September and I wanted to ask how you prepared for studying law at university, what other universities you applied to study law at, what was the workload like, what type of questions do they tend to ask (can you give an example of both and exam question and an essay question please?) and what is University of Law's take on those who do an EPQ? Thanks in advance for your help x

Reply 5

Rluxgord

I will be studying the LLB in September at the Guildford site, I will be commuting each time so was wondering how many days did you have to attend each week?

Reply 6

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hi!

I never had to take the LNAT so don’t have advice on this sorry!

I absolutely loved studying law, I’m going on to study my postgrad. The reading will differ for each module, but I reckon 2-4 hours a week per module (with 3 modules a term) so anywhere from 6-12 hours! Some will only require 1-2 a week, some will be 4. It really does depend but it’s not difficult as long as you stay ok top of it! You always have lectures first, then seminars (we call them workshops). As you have the lectures first, you will already have an understanding of the topic before you begin your preparatory reading so sometimes you can just skim chunks of it!

Personally, I found the best way to revise / study would be to hand write my notes (I’m quicker that way it’ll depend on you!) then, when the term was coming to an end I would type them all up, combining sections (for example, week 3 and week 4 may have been on the same topic. And each lecture is linked to a seminar so I combined those). From this, I made condensed notes with exams structures on. I would read through these as frequently as possible, while also attempting the mocks, consolidation tasks and specimen papers! I also made flash cards sometimes and went through them with friends!

I absolutely loved both those modules!! In fact, I want to become a family solicitor so itsmy favourite one! Criminal is super interesting. Our uni does the criminal exam by way of oral exam - you are given a case and asked to present it in front of an examiner for 10 mins, going through the legal requirements to see whether theyre guilty e.g. did they have actus reus, men’s rea etc. They’re my favourite type of exams because you can practice lots, it’s only infront of 1 person, and you’re allowed one side of A-4 notes with you.

In second year you’re allowed to pick options, which is when I chose to study family law. Really enjoyed it

Hope this helps!! X

Reply 7

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by Joleee

Hi Joleee!

I chose the uni for a couple reasons - 1) I wanted to study in London for the opportunities 2) all of the lecturers have practiced law themselves. This was major for me because I went to a college where I had a psychology teacher trying to teach me history 🤦🏻*♀️ the teachers at ULaw really know what theyre on about and aren’t just reading from a textbook 3) this wasnt an initial reason I chose it, however the employability team is AMAZING - they have helped me so so much, with CV’s, mock interviews, training contract applications, theyvehelped me gain pro-bono too (Free legal experience)

Nope there’s definitely not debating or arguing in class at all! In lectures, you all just sit & listen / watch (obvs you can ask questions if you want at any time) and the teachers will also ask questions to the class at times, but they dont pick on people. The seminars are much smaller and interactive - you are given 2-3 tasks during and will usually work with your table on them (you will also have completed prep tasks beforehand which You’ll go through) but they definitely don’t make you argue against each other. Sometimes the teacher may split the class up (for example 2 tables will debate the “for” side and 2 tables “against” in certain modules, but not often, and even then you can ask to not be the one to speak in your group!!)

The exams are all different and there’s 3 types. First, written timed exams - you have 2 hours, it’s closed book, 10 multiple choice questions and then you pick 2 longer questions to answer (can be problem based or essay based depending on what you choose... there’s always 6 questions to choose from). Oral exams- given a scenario of a client and you have 10 mins to go through the answer out loud, as if you were a solicitor speaking to a client. It’s only in front of 1 examiner so it’s not as nerve wracking as having to do it in front of a whole class! The examiner will then ask you a couple questions at the end. You’re allowed notes with you too. Then there’s courseworks, 2,000 words each that you do in your own time and usually have around a month to do!

I didnt do a diss. However, I did choose modules that are similar. In 2nd and 3rd year you get to choose 3 modules yourself. in second year I chose to do an Extended Essay (3,000 words on the impact that Lasting powers of attorneys have on family relationships) it was a single module and in third year I chose a Research Project (6,000 words on whether anonymity should be given to defendants in sexual offence cases). This was a double module. I’m much better at courseworks than exams, hence why I chose to do them! Also, you have no lectures or seminars for them.. you just have a supervisor.. so I got lots of time off haha.

Yes you get an alumni discount of £500 for the LPC (unsure on BPTC but it is probably similar) and you also get to add a Masters for free! So I’m going to be doing my LPC with an LLM in a month (the LLM is the masters)

I hope this helps!!

Reply 8

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by Rluxgord

I will be studying the LLB in September at the Guildford site, I will be commuting each time so was wondering how many days did you have to attend each week?

Hi! In first year i was in 3-4 days a week. Each day you had a 2 hour lecture and 2 hour seminar... depends how long breaks are but they try not to have big gaps- usually 20 or 40 mins which is nice.

You always get at least 1 day off. For me, it was Wednesday’s!

In second and third year you pick modules so can pick ones that don’t have lectures & seminars (research based modules) if you like, that’s what I did!

Reply 9

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by KlausC

Hi,

So we don’t have/ call them dissertations, but offer similar modules - in second year you can choose an Extended Essay (3,000 words, counts as 1 module) and in third year a Research Project (6,000 words, counts as 2 modules).

They are research based, and there are no lectures of seminars for them. You choose a title (theresa list of qbout 15, or you can make up your own title but it has to be approved). Then, you write haha! You have a supervisor throughout and it’s up to you to make appointments with them / stay in contact - you don’t HAVE to but itsa good idea.

So essentially they are just essays that are independent - you don’t get taught the info you have to research it all yourself.

Hope that helps! It’s not as scary as it sounds, theyre actually my favourites! Your supervisor can read drafts etc too

Reply 10

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by Ali-liyyah

Hi! I didn’t actually prepare at all haha, you don’t need to! I didn’t even study law at college. You get taught how to do the different types of exams etc. If you wanted to prepare, you could buy a book e.g. the secret barrister to spark your interest and understanding a bit. It’s also a good idea to stay up to date with current affairs in the news. Being organised is key - buy folders and plenty of notepads and pens.

Initially, I applied to Lincoln, East Anglia, and I cannot remember the rest, it was a while ago now!!

The workload differs for each module in all honestly, but roughly you do 6-12 hours per week of preparatory reading / completing preparatory tasks. You always get at least 1 full day off which is really nice.

When you talk about what questions they ask, do you mean in exams? If so, I’ll give you an example of criminal litigation and evidence questions (this is a DIFFERENT module to the normal criminal module)
Essay example: Herbert Packer identifies two models, namely crime control and due process to evaluate how our criminal process operates. How effective do you believe these models are in evaluating our criminal process? Are there any other ways that our criminal process could be better evaluated?
Problem: much harder to type this because they are usually long as they give a back story. But you’d be given lots of info on a person or a situation and then asked to talk about certain things. Example - you’re given info on a case that you’re asked to review. the evidence is weak (it’s a confession but the client says he only confessed because he panicked) and the client has never had convictions before and says he’s innocent. You may be asked a couple things such as: 1) are the magistrates likely to accept jurisdiction in this case? Give reasons for your answer 2) taking into account the advantages of trial in magistrates court and trial in crown court from a defendants perspective, where would you advice he be tried if he is given the choice?

These are exam style questions.. don’t panic if they don’t make sense because you haven’t learned any of it yet!! It would make sense if you had haha!

if you were on about questions teachers ask them they will be much simpler and if you don’t know it’s no stress at all!

regarding the EPQ, I’m not entirely sure! Was it an essay on law? If so it’s definitely worth mentioning!! I would suggest ringing us on 08082530665 for more info on your EPQ question!!

Hope that helps x

Reply 11

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by Joleee

Just adding to my last reply, I was quite shy to start with! But everyone is so lovely, you are with your tutor group who you meet in first year for your first year seminars so you get to know everyone well! We have societies etc that can help you become less shy (if you like) such as mooting societies, model United Nations, debate club, but of course you don’t have to!

Reply 12

amber2106

Hi thanks for creating this thread. I'm going to university of law this September! My campus is in Guildford. My question is how was ur student accommodation experience? I was fortunate enough to get into through clearing. But I'm really struggling with student accommodation. Do you kno if university of law have their own student accommodation because I cant see any info on that. only seem to find flat shares and some accommodation which goes up to nearly £1000 a month.
Any advice appreciated :smile:

Reply 13

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by amber2106

Hi! So the uni accommodation provided by our uni is offered to people who choose our uni conditionally I’m pretty sure, which unfortunately means it doesn’t apply to you.

I applied through clearing too, and in my first year went on spareroom.com and shared a flat with 2 other students (not from the uni). In my second and third year I shared with different students and we used rightmove.com to find a flat together. There’s also the options of halls (which is student accommodation) that aren’t provided by our uni but I’m unsure what there is in Guildford as I was in London! Is there a uni of law Facebook page / group you’re on? I know there are some housemate ones which you may want to join to see if there’s any info for Guildford!

Reply 14

amber2106

Original post by The University of Law Students

Wow. Thanks for letting me that's really helpful! I will definitely look into those options especially the idea about finding housemates thanke again

Reply 15

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by amber2106

Wow. Thanks for letting me that's really helpful! I will definitely look into those options especially the idea about finding housemates thanke again

No worries at all and good luck!

Reply 16

RV3112

Original post by The University of Law Students

Our uni does the criminal exam by way of oral exam - you are given a case and asked to present it in front of an examiner for 10 mins, going through the legal requirements to see whether theyre guilty e.g. did they have actus reus, men’s rea etc. They’re my favourite type of exams because you can practice lots, it’s only infront of 1 person, and you’re allowed one side of A-4 notes with you.

Purely out of curiosity, was this the only assessment you had for this module?

Reply 17

The University of Law Students

Official Rep

Original post by RV3112

Purely out of curiosity, was this the only assessment you had for this module?

Hello RV3112

For criminal law you are assessed using the oral exam. But you are also required to write an 800 word coursework, this is a critical evaluation question and tends to be an area of criminal law that causes great discussion. These test different abilities and gives you as a student the opportunity the express your opinion on topics.

I hope this helps :smile:

Any other questions please ask

Tabby
(Student Rep)