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Law firms

I was wondering, do law firms in London look at the overall ranking of the university you attended or do they look at the ranking your university received for law?
Original post by Fatma_1
I was wondering, do law firms in London look at the overall ranking of the university you attended or do they look at the ranking your university received for law?

To my awareness most don’t focus on the reputation of a university - they are far more concerned about your grades, your experiences, skills and characteristics and how you present these.
Reply 2
Original post by Nightwish1234
To my awareness, most don’t focus on the reputation of a university - they are far more concerned about your grades, your experiences, skills and characteristics and how you present these.

Really? I've heard the University reputation is something they look at; I was hoping that was false and I could show myself with my grades ad experience.
Original post by Fatma_1
Really? I've heard the University reputation is something they look at; I was hoping that was false and I could show myself with my grades ad experience.

I’ve heard a range of things - some blind mark your application so they never know your university. Perhaps there are some which care about your universities name, but I personally wouldn’t be interested in a place that values rankings over my achievements. It is the case that those that went to better universities seem more employable, but I believe this is because they come away with far more skills and experience than at some softer universities.
Reply 4
So I wouldn't be discarded because I'm not going to a Russel group?
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 5
Both really, I'm worried that even if I got a 2:1, my application wouldn't be as strong as someone who came from an RG.
Reply 6
What if a university that's not an RG is high in ranking overall but somewhat low in ranking for the course law. Does that ruin things?
Original post by Fatma_1
What if a university that's not an RG is high in ranking overall but somewhat low in ranking for the course law. Does that ruin things?

Original post by Fatma_1
Both really, I'm worried that even if I got a 2:1, my application wouldn't be as strong as someone who came from an RG.


If the only difference in your applications is that you did not go to a Russel Group university, then no you are not disadvantaged. A 2:1 is a 2:1 regardless of where you study.
Reply 8
Original post by Nightwish1234
If the only difference in your applications is that you did not go to a Russel Group university, then no you are not disadvantaged. A 2:1 is a 2:1 regardless of where you study.

Thank you. That made me feel a lot better.
Original post by Fatma_1
Thank you. That made me feel a lot better.

It is worth bearing in mind that unfortunately the standards of teaching and legal experience available at different universities do differ - so although your grades may be equal, your performance in interview or overall contents of the application may be different from that of a student who attended a top RG university as a result. For example, from attending three different universities (two for my LLB and another for my LLM) I felt a notable difference in the standard of marking alone - what was a strong first at one was a low 2:1 at the other. This is not to discourage you, but to highlight that you will need to put in a lot of hard work to meet the very high expectations of law firms and chambers.
Rankings do not matter alone, but the actual quality of the university will.
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 10
Original post by Nightwish1234
It is worth bearing in mind that unfortunately the standards of teaching and legal experience available at different universities do differ - so although your grades may be equal, your performance in interview or overall contents of the application may be different from that of a student who attended a top RG university as a result. For example, from attending three different universities (two for my LLB and another for my LLM) I felt a notable difference in the standard of marking alone - what was a strong first at one was a low 2:1 at the other. This is not to discourage you, but to highlight that you will need to put in a lot of hard work to meet the very high expectations of law firms and chambers.
Rankings do not matter alone, but the actual quality of the university will.

Putting that in mind, if you were to choose between Royal Holloway and the university of law, which would be your option considering this in mind.
Original post by Fatma_1
Putting that in mind, if you were to choose between Royal Holloway and the university of law, which would be your option considering this in mind.

I don't think I can really advise you here - it is about where you feel you will perform best. Your grades are very important. In my eyes they are fairly equal in terms of teaching, but I have never been a student at either of them, so do not have personal experience to speak from.

I would chose the university I feel that I would be happiest at, as if you are happy you will be more motivated to work hard and seek out extracurricular opportunities to bulk up your application. Other things you might want to consider might be location (UoLaw is fairly central and living costs are high, RHuL accommodation can be quite far from the actual campuses but more affordable. RHuL also has very aesthetic campuses); how the courses are organised and examined; if they have bar/law societies and the events they offer; etc. The list goes on.

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