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Bolton University law LLB
I am thinking of going to the University of Bolton to study law this september. I want to become a solicitor afterwards and was wondering if the universities reputation may be a problem. I didnt finish college and after doing an access course part time at Bolton I have been given an offer. As far as I know the access course will only get me into Bolton (unless anyone can tell me different?)
The University doesnt sit very well in the league tables but after looking around the facilities seem fine. I just want to know if there is a realistic chance of employment afterwards should I do well or if I'm wasting three years of my life?
The University doesnt sit very well in the league tables but after looking around the facilities seem fine. I just want to know if there is a realistic chance of employment afterwards should I do well or if I'm wasting three years of my life?
Reply 1
Hi Aceking
I'm a 2nd year LLB Law Student at Bolton - private message me if you want an honest answer !
I'm a 2nd year LLB Law Student at Bolton - private message me if you want an honest answer !
Original post by Aceking
I am thinking of going to the University of Bolton to study law this september. I want to become a solicitor afterwards and was wondering if the universities reputation may be a problem. I didnt finish college and after doing an access course part time at Bolton I have been given an offer. As far as I know the access course will only get me into Bolton (unless anyone can tell me different?)
The University doesnt sit very well in the league tables but after looking around the facilities seem fine. I just want to know if there is a realistic chance of employment afterwards should I do well or if I'm wasting three years of my life?
The University doesnt sit very well in the league tables but after looking around the facilities seem fine. I just want to know if there is a realistic chance of employment afterwards should I do well or if I'm wasting three years of my life?
Hi, I'm Tom and I'm on an Access course now, also planning on studying law in 2011. Did you complete your Access course? Assuming that you did, if you got good grades, that will (in theory) get you into any university, subject to their conditions.
Law, as you probably know, is one of those areas where university prestige is undoubtedly important. It's not the only thing that employers look at, but if you want to end up with a job in a magic circle firm, there's a perception that you'll be immediately disadvantaged against an applicant from one of the russell group / red brick unis.
If you're going through UCAS, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't apply to a range of different universities as well as Bolton. The worst that they can do is turn your application down, and if you've already got an unconditional offer from Bolton, then you're not losing out by trying...
Email university admissions departments, tell them your qualifications and ask if they'll consider you if you don't want to risk wasting your time going through UCAS. Would you mind posting on here how well you did on your Access course? I assume that it was one of the Access courses that was ungraded, rather than the new type that have graded credits (pass/merit/distinction)?
Edit: Just saw that this post was originally from June. I assume that you are applying for 2011 entry now?
(edited 14 years ago)
Original post by D.R.E
There's a university in Bolton?
Theres been a university in Bolton for a while it used to be called BIHE before it was awarded its university status D.R.E
Original post by wizardtop
Theres been a university in Bolton for a while it used to be called BIHE before it was awarded its university status D.R.E
I see. In any case, I think he(?) should take Tom's advice; Access Courses are excellent preparation for university wherever you do them so he(?) should certainly apply to other more reputable institutions.
Reply 7
Hi, i'm Emma am currently on a gap year after starting at leeds university on the criminology and criminal justice course this year and finding that the course and the university wasn't right for me. I have an offer from bolton uni to start on the law course in sept 2011, after having a bad time at leeds bolton seemed to be exactly the right sort of place i wanted to study at, with the tutors being extremely welcoming and seeming to want to support all the students academically. It would be great to know any first hand opinions of the law course there, all i know is that the law degree is standardized by the SRA ,but it would be great to know the standard and manner of lectures/seminars ( at the open day i was told no more than 40 in a lecture which is great since in leeds i was in lectures of almost 200! )and what oppurtunities students have doing this degree at bolton.
Cheers
Cheers
Reply 8
If I had a choice again I wouldn't touch Bolton with a barge pole
Yes the tutors are welcoming - they are eager to build up the law school as this will equal more students and for them job security and more pay
Are they supportive - yes to some extent, most of them in the first year are, but they have insufficient resources, the library is terrible and many of the students are foreign and quite frankly don't have the brains or the motivation to do very well
The methods of assessment used in the first year are very easy compared to whats in store for your third year which is a nightmare, as the majority of the topics are taught by one woman who is useless and extremely biased
My biggest problem is that despite the fact that it looks as though I will graduate with a high 2:1 solicitors shred your cv as soon as they see the words Bolton uni
With tuition fees on the increase Bolton is sadly not going to provide good value for money in terms of your job prospects afterwards so my advice would be to consider alternative courses - Ilex etc if your only option is Bolton
Yes the tutors are welcoming - they are eager to build up the law school as this will equal more students and for them job security and more pay
Are they supportive - yes to some extent, most of them in the first year are, but they have insufficient resources, the library is terrible and many of the students are foreign and quite frankly don't have the brains or the motivation to do very well
The methods of assessment used in the first year are very easy compared to whats in store for your third year which is a nightmare, as the majority of the topics are taught by one woman who is useless and extremely biased
My biggest problem is that despite the fact that it looks as though I will graduate with a high 2:1 solicitors shred your cv as soon as they see the words Bolton uni
With tuition fees on the increase Bolton is sadly not going to provide good value for money in terms of your job prospects afterwards so my advice would be to consider alternative courses - Ilex etc if your only option is Bolton
Reply 9
Oh come on bolton isnt that bad, Im about to graduate next month from there. I started to do the llb at manchester met, but found that the travelling was bit much and I didnt like the fact that the tutors didnt know or learn your name, nor could you ever get hold of one for advice if you needed to..
Bolton is totally different, the majority of tutors are great, and cant do enough, and know you from the first year and your name. They are more personal and theres no problem with dropping into the office to see any of them if they are in, for a chat on the course etc. They generally are busy yes, but nowhere near as unapproachable as manchester. Yes Bolton hasnt the credability that other better established uni' s are for the llb, but then again its only been doing it a few years so give it chance!
I would have been lucky to get a 2.2 at manchester as I was struggling with some of the subjects in the second year,
after redoing it at bolton, (I ran out of the 5year time limit at manchester)
I found the same subjects far easier, and what I didnt understand I got help with.
The library is not so bad, ive seen worse, and with the resources you get online access to athens etc, so most of the reports etc are on there anyway..
All in all Ive found it good, im predicting to get a high 2.1 with 2 results to come in, and have already been helped to get a work shadowing week in manchester solicitors by the tutors.. and secured an interview this week for a training contract again via the tutor.. So I would recommend it personally. It was more accessible as the traffic is not nearly so bad to bolton as Manchester, and it was easier for me as a mature student with kids to get to..
Finally the bursary was far easier to get than manchester where I didnt stand a chance too.. I would suggest that you weigh up all the pros and cons of all of them and dont discount it because its not got the established reputation the others have.
Bolton is totally different, the majority of tutors are great, and cant do enough, and know you from the first year and your name. They are more personal and theres no problem with dropping into the office to see any of them if they are in, for a chat on the course etc. They generally are busy yes, but nowhere near as unapproachable as manchester. Yes Bolton hasnt the credability that other better established uni' s are for the llb, but then again its only been doing it a few years so give it chance!
I would have been lucky to get a 2.2 at manchester as I was struggling with some of the subjects in the second year,
after redoing it at bolton, (I ran out of the 5year time limit at manchester)
I found the same subjects far easier, and what I didnt understand I got help with.
The library is not so bad, ive seen worse, and with the resources you get online access to athens etc, so most of the reports etc are on there anyway..
All in all Ive found it good, im predicting to get a high 2.1 with 2 results to come in, and have already been helped to get a work shadowing week in manchester solicitors by the tutors.. and secured an interview this week for a training contract again via the tutor.. So I would recommend it personally. It was more accessible as the traffic is not nearly so bad to bolton as Manchester, and it was easier for me as a mature student with kids to get to..
Finally the bursary was far easier to get than manchester where I didnt stand a chance too.. I would suggest that you weigh up all the pros and cons of all of them and dont discount it because its not got the established reputation the others have.
Interesting comments by both Learnerlawyer and Shelllanc.
Learnerlawyer is right. The facilities are pitiful and the reputation of the whole university (which naturally taints law) is dire.
But Shelllank made some good points too. When I graduated from Bolton last year I can honestly say that I had a great experience. This was entirely due to the personal touch. It came from the experienced lecturers and tutors spending time with me and nurturing my ability. They knew everyone's name and were so generous with their help and support, certainly to me.
Would I go there now? Not a chance. Before I graduated the insane management at Bolton wrecked their one and only asset. The good lecturers and tutors were either bullied into taking early retirement or into redundancy. In their place were placed cheap young replacements who are not even a shadow of the former staff. I know this because I have got friends who still have the sorry misfortune of being trapped in the Bolton LL.B. They tell me that during one vital third year module (Equity & Trusts) they had to swap the lecturer three times because the first two were completely incompetent. Three different lecturers in one semester! If they had not 'cooked the books' no one would have passed at all!
There is also a female student at Bolton now who is doing a PhD in law. This same student not only scraped her pass in her Bolton LL.B, she was also caught cheating at Land Law. But they just don't care do they. It's not about standards but the money.
Yet the worst of it, they tell me, is the now pervasive "couldn't be bothered" attitude among the teaching staff. Given what happened to the good and committed staff you can't really blame them. At the graduation ceremony none of the current lecturers could be even bothered to talk to any of the students and their families. Frankly, I am surprised that they showed up at all! So very different from only a short time ago.
So now the course is not worth £9 a year let alone £9,000.
Learnerlawyer is right. The facilities are pitiful and the reputation of the whole university (which naturally taints law) is dire.
But Shelllank made some good points too. When I graduated from Bolton last year I can honestly say that I had a great experience. This was entirely due to the personal touch. It came from the experienced lecturers and tutors spending time with me and nurturing my ability. They knew everyone's name and were so generous with their help and support, certainly to me.
Would I go there now? Not a chance. Before I graduated the insane management at Bolton wrecked their one and only asset. The good lecturers and tutors were either bullied into taking early retirement or into redundancy. In their place were placed cheap young replacements who are not even a shadow of the former staff. I know this because I have got friends who still have the sorry misfortune of being trapped in the Bolton LL.B. They tell me that during one vital third year module (Equity & Trusts) they had to swap the lecturer three times because the first two were completely incompetent. Three different lecturers in one semester! If they had not 'cooked the books' no one would have passed at all!
There is also a female student at Bolton now who is doing a PhD in law. This same student not only scraped her pass in her Bolton LL.B, she was also caught cheating at Land Law. But they just don't care do they. It's not about standards but the money.
Yet the worst of it, they tell me, is the now pervasive "couldn't be bothered" attitude among the teaching staff. Given what happened to the good and committed staff you can't really blame them. At the graduation ceremony none of the current lecturers could be even bothered to talk to any of the students and their families. Frankly, I am surprised that they showed up at all! So very different from only a short time ago.
So now the course is not worth £9 a year let alone £9,000.
(edited 5 years ago)
I agree completely, the management have wrecked everything over the last 10 years, so the University of Bolton's reputation is rightly rock bottom.
As it happens, only this week the University of Bolton put out some interesting PR, which as usual is already backfiring on them...
bit.ly/30fVilJ
(see the comments for the detail you need on calibre of Law tutors).
As it happens, only this week the University of Bolton put out some interesting PR, which as usual is already backfiring on them...
bit.ly/30fVilJ
(see the comments for the detail you need on calibre of Law tutors).
Reply 12
I think that this is the link to which BigMelz refers:https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17836028.free-legal-advice-centre-run-university-bolton-students/
I would like to thank him for bringing it to my attention as well. The key thing is not the article but, I would venture to suggest, the correspondence in the publication which it produced. That reveals far more than the PR does.
If you are thinking of going to the University of Bolton to study Law, I have this advice.
Buy a mirror. Then look in it. If you conclude that you are looking at a thoroughly stupid person who is willing to throw away £27,000 on a degree that is not worth a teabag, then Bolton is the place for you.
If not the mirror will still come in handy AND you will do something much more worthwhile with your life, time and money.
I would like to thank him for bringing it to my attention as well. The key thing is not the article but, I would venture to suggest, the correspondence in the publication which it produced. That reveals far more than the PR does.
If you are thinking of going to the University of Bolton to study Law, I have this advice.
Buy a mirror. Then look in it. If you conclude that you are looking at a thoroughly stupid person who is willing to throw away £27,000 on a degree that is not worth a teabag, then Bolton is the place for you.
If not the mirror will still come in handy AND you will do something much more worthwhile with your life, time and money.
(edited 5 years ago)
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