KCL Vs Nottingham?

Hello pls give me some advice regarding these two unis' law courses as I am going to make my decision soon to go to one of them this yr. Which is academically better? There are different optional courses in the 2nd and 3rd year so which school's options are better? Does the choice of options matter in future?

Reply 1

Miya

Both are excellent for Law- I'd say they are equally rated for law, Choose where you think you'd be happiest the most, in a campus uni or living in central london. Both have a completley different atmosphere but i know notts has a high number of students from singapore so maybe you'd feel more comfortable there.

Reply 2

TommehR

13

I'd basically echo what Miya said. With regard to reputation (domestic and international) they are both virtually identical. I'm sure that the options offered are pretty similar for the most part and besides, there won't be any objectively better set of options. It will all be based upon what you find more interesting.

The only really distinguishing factors have to do with location. While Nottingham has the benefit of both a campus and large city nearby I just don't think it can really match London, in many different respects (apart from cost of living...). London has pretty much everything you could ever want with regard to art, culture, entertainment, etc. I would normally make the point here, that as KCL is in London you are near to all of the big city firms and so can just hop on a tube-train and nip along to their offices for interviews at very little expense, both financial and with regard to time. However, if you are planning on going back to Singapore to practise, this point is essentially null and void.

Reply 3

jaydee

OP

Hey thx so much for ur advices..personally i prefer a quieter and more picturesque environment. But what bothers me is people here in Singapore keep on telling me that kings' reputation is better( probably more recognised here) and i will have better employment opportunities...:s
It seems that King's has a more attractive range of optional courses such as international trade law and banking law.. :s-smilie:

and there are pretty much singaporeans everywhere so I'm happier if i could make more international pals.. :biggrin:

Reply 4

helki

1

I wouldn't say kings has a better rep, they're about equal. Kings is in London which helps give it more status, but it depends if you would like to live in london or on a campus.

Reply 5

Fa|ique

1

jaydee

Hey thx so much for ur advices..personally i prefer a quieter and more picturesque environment. But what bothers me is people here in Singapore keep on telling me that kings' reputation is better( probably more recognised here) and i will have better employment opportunities...:s
It seems that King's has a more attractive range of optional courses such as international trade law and banking law.. :s-smilie:

and there are pretty much singaporeans everywhere so I'm happier if i could make more international pals.. :biggrin:

Hey, am from Singapore as well, and I can tell you that from the law firms that I've checked out, Nottingham is just as well regarded as King's College London. IMO, I find the fact that KCL is in London isn't such a big deal...

And, frankly, I don't care whether there's a single Singaporean student going to whichever uni I go to... Kind of why I'm pursuing an overseas degree, to actually meet people from all over the world, rather than being stuck with Singaporeans all the way...

However, you have to decide where you want to go for the next three years. If you prefer a more picturesque environment (like me...), then I would pick Nottingham. I thought the optional modules offered were just as good anyway from what I checked out on the net...

Reply 6

Knogle

16

Hi,

As a Singaporean, I think that the only reason Kings is regarded as marginally better is because of its location in London, and membership as part of the UoL. Nottingham is an excellent choice for LLB Law, and i don't think you could go wrong with either. :smile:

Reply 7

jaydee

OP

Hey thx so much everyone. Heard that Kcl just topped a mooting competition in UK..does it mean the quality of teaching is better there? Or is it just because of 5 gifted law students?

Reply 8

Fa|ique

1

jaydee

Hey thx so much everyone. Heard that Kcl just topped a mooting competition in UK..does it mean the quality of teaching is better there? Or is it just because of 5 gifted law students?

I don't think so... Mooting competitions don't have any bearing on teaching quality of the university...

Reply 9

mtbab

17

ummm don't choose nottingham, but i'm saying that based on the place not the course, the courses at both uni's are great so i can see why you are stuck, but the notts campus is a hole, i stayed there the weekend just gone for an Exploring Law workshop, I could not live there for a whole year! but thats just my opinion on the place, the courses are both v good, but talkin to some notts students they said pastoral care is pretty shocking and chances of catching a lecturer out of lectures are pretty slim as v. into research but i guess kcl would be the same.

Reply 10

jaydee

OP

mtbab

ummm don't choose nottingham, but i'm saying that based on the place not the course, the courses at both uni's are great so i can see why you are stuck, but the notts campus is a hole, i stayed there the weekend just gone for an Exploring Law workshop, I could not live there for a whole year! but thats just my opinion on the place, the courses are both v good, but talkin to some notts students they said pastoral care is pretty shocking and chances of catching a lecturer out of lectures are pretty slim as v. into research but i guess kcl would be the same.

Haha what do u mean by a 'hole'? Since u said kcl is the same as nott in terms of pastoral care and lecturer approchability...that means both places are equally bad? Can someone from Nott and Kcl law give me some feedback from their experiences? :redface:

Reply 11

Miya

I so agree, notts campus is a hole its dead, outside the campus its such a dump, seriously notts isnt the best place to live, actually its voted the worst place to live in the UK. However their law school is pretty good, but ask yourself could you live there?

Reply 12

jaydee

OP

Hmm, i've never been there before and i've got no idea of what life in Nott is like...Actually up till this point i've only heard good comments about nott-it's peaceful, it's picturesque, it's got a cohesive community...and condusive environment for studying? Is it a very boring place? I've only been to London and well it's a gd place for shoping and all sorts of entertainment...

Reply 13

mtbab

17

the campus it is quite pictureesque with a nice little hilly,grassy field in the middle, but if you get a bad hall (dont go to Hugh Stewart) the halls are CRAP! that said Cripps which is really posh on the outside is nearly as bad, yeh and the campus is practically in the mid of nowhere so buses into town, not that there much in town, go to the nottingham and kcl forums and ask people there what its like

Reply 14

TommehR

13

jaydee

Hmm, i've never been there before and i've got no idea of what life in Nott is like...Actually up till this point i've only heard good comments about nott-it's peaceful, it's picturesque, it's got a cohesive community...and condusive environment for studying? Is it a very boring place? I've only been to London and well it's a gd place for shoping and all sorts of entertainment...

Haha, Nottingham? Peaceful? Picturesque? Cohesive community? I don't think I'd agree with this. Maybe parts of the campus are, but the area as a whole isn't brilliant. Not that London is brilliant either. But I think if you are going to go to university in a city, you might as well go to one of the best ones in the world. :p:

Reply 15

Fa|ique

1

Middle of nowhere? It's just about 1-2 miles from Nottingham City Centre according to the Nottingham forum, as well as ex-students whom I spoke to in Singapore... Check out the Nottingham sub-forum, and let current students tell you what it's really like...

Reply 16

Miya

go to Notts if you prefer the campus environment, as your likely to feel lost and alone in a place like london. Anyway you seem keen on notts! You probably wont need to go into the city all that often as everything is on campus.

Anyways good luck deciding!

Reply 17

TheVlad

Oh trust me, you'll be going into the city several nights a week during your first year. The nightlife is that good. Taxi on ly costs about £5 (divided between 5 people don't forget) and you're in town in 5 mins.

Then when you have to go into Notts during the day, for any reason, it will look weird. I was so used to teh cnetre lit up by streetlamps at midnight I got very confused during teh daytimne.

Reply 18

kidney thief

11

although many people here have said that the two courses are just as respected as each other (which, in all honesty, they probably are), you should also think about the actual modules you will be learning:

if you want to do modules such as "legal method" and "A critical introduction to law" (both compulsory 1st year modules) with the possibility taking "International Wildlife Law" in the 2nd year to look forward to, then go for Nottingham.

if, on the other hand, you just want to get on and learn some actual, proper law, then go for KCL (1st year options: Contract, Public, Criminal, European).

you know what to do :wink:

Reply 19

TheVlad

Legal Method and Critical Introduction are all part of the same module that is only covered in the first semester when you are settling in. It is rather interesting actually, as it is an introduction to a philosophical interpretation of law. After all a university degree isn't just about learning laws like a more complex version of A level law. It encourages the student to think about what law is, who makes it, what it should be.. rather than just mindlessly memorising cases. And anyway, at least we do a proper contract law module, rather than just "elements of contract".

The fact that International Wildlife is an option doesn't really say anything. You can take something more to your tastes instead. After all the option of Anti-discrimination law at KCL 2nd year doesn't sound that exciting either.

KCL Vs Nottingham?

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