Law

Does no one do law around here?

Reply 2

Elle

I personally prefer Warwick or Nottingham over Durham, but they hold pretty much the same prestige for Law.

Reply 3

Haha, thanks for the reminder. I'm currently in an Asian time zone you see :smile:

Actually, I have been browsing these boards for a while, and there seems to be a trend of people either supporting or completely against the university. Wanted to see how Durham fared, particularly in the law department.

How does the university's law department compare to other big hitters such as LSE, Warwick, Nottingham and Bristol? Oxbridge is in a class of its own obviously.

Reply 4

Why do you prefer them over Durham Elle?

Reply 5

Naraty

Haha, thanks for the reminder. I'm currently in an Asian time zone you see :smile:

I personally like Durham very much. But I have ask a couple of people in my country (in asia), some don't really know where's durham, sad to say. So maybe Nottingham and Warwick will be better.

Or perhaps you should check it out with your local Law Society.

Reply 6

I did check actually, and all 4 universities are recognised. Nottingham and Warwick do seem to be more well known around my area though, so I'm kinda in a dilemma as to where to go.

Reply 7

Elle

Naraty

Why do you prefer them over Durham Elle?

Durham was one of my top choices when I was choosing where to apply for Law, but after some research I changed my mind. I don't really like Durham's location and (this is just from what I've heard) the student population is very secluded from the rest of the town. One of my tutors also told me that the teaching quality is not up to scratch and that the Uni is very old-fashioned in the way it operates. I don't know how true this is, but I preferred the overall picture given by other Uni's. There's no doubt that Durham is one of the top Uni's to study in for Law but I think it just boils down to a personal preference of the environment you want to study in.

Reply 8

Warwick looks like a brick jungle. Nottingham looks nice but Durham's scenery is currently tipping the balance for me. How about LSE? Is that a nice place to study? What's the campus like?

Reply 9

Naraty

I did check actually, and all 4 universities are recognised. Nottingham and Warwick do seem to be more well known around my area though, so I'm kinda in a dilemma as to where to go.

Ok, I am living in Singapore, all 3 of them are pretty equal in ranking as well... it all boils down to which environment you like.

So what type of person are you?

Reply 10

Elle

Naraty

Warwick looks like a brick jungle. Nottingham looks nice but Durham's scenery is currently tipping the balance for me. How about LSE? Is that a nice place to study? What's the campus like?

LSE has buildings scattered around central London so there is no real campus as such... but you can't beat London in terms of scenery.

Reply 11

Hahaha, I'm from Singapore :smile:

Least I know it exists.

I'm ok with clubbing, nightlife etc.. My focus on which university to go to is actually academic. However, as there doesn't seem to be much seperating the four, I'm stuck! Durham appears to suck where it comes to nightlife though.

Reply 12

Naraty

Hahaha, I'm from Singapore :smile:

Ok, Hi mate :smile:

I am not too sure about Warwick and Nottingham.. I know Durham is pretty sucky in nightlife.. but I do think one of our supreme judge is from Durham.

Have you consider Bristol? It's a nice mix of both academic as well as nightlife.. it's also quite on par with Durham, Nottingham and Warwick back in our country.

Reply 13

If you can go into NUS, don't bother going to study law in UK. It is more expensive and it takes a slightly longer time to be able to practice law in singapore. (when i say practice, i mean able to go to the bar)

If your intention is not to go to a london based university, I would say Bristol has a nice blend of academic and night life. But you must make sure your grades are able to see you through (which most likely shouldn't be a problem as I have a friend who got BCC yet gone to study in KCL Law's faculty)

Ok, I am off, Dinner TIme! hehe..

Reply 14

Lolz.. so this is where potential lawyers from Singapore's come to meet?

Well heya! :smile:

I can answer a few of your questions here because I've been through the entire decisions process. I used to study in Singapore too.. ex RGS girl (didn't like it there) but will start uni at Durham in Oct.

Well I applied to Warwick, Nottingham AND Durham.. but hated LSE the moment I saw it. Of course, that's a totally personally thing but it was smack bang in London, no campus, and from what I've heard, nearly everyone from SEA (with money) goes there. I'm not too pleased with the fact that people with AABC at AS level are accepted to read Law at LSE - this is for South East Asians... but nevertheless, I believe that the LSE ranks VERY highly for law and carries that prestige necessary in the job market.

However, me being quite cynical... decided not to apply there although my 6As gave me a good chance of being accepted. Furthermore, for Overseas students, check out the fees at LSE! Looking at the site, its 10,100pounds p.a. while for Durham it is 7,900 pounds p.a. Living in London is also nearly doubly expensive and when you're looking at an exchange rate of S$3.2:1 pound, you're talking serious cash.

Reply 15

Those fees I quoted are for full time undergraduates for Law, JUST tuition fees. When you factor in the living fees, places such as Durham and Warwick are much cheaper than London. Warwick's fee breakdown is similar to Durham's.. slightly cheaper but the difference is negligible.

Academically, I really don't think there is that much difference between Warwick, LSE, NOttingham and Durham. If you think about it, unless you're the BEST student at each uni, you have nothing to complain about because there will always be a challenge. Getting a 1st or 2.1 gives you wide scope in the job market later on. From talking to lots of potential employers, WHERE you did your degree isn't all that important as we make it out to be (when you talk about the top few unis).. its what you learnt from it that determines your employability.

Reply 16

Interesting indeed..

Erm, Baby Angelz how could taking a degree be longer as compared to taking one in NUS? Is it due to the law conversion course? I can get into NUS though. I've always thought that a overseas university offered greater job prospects..

I agree about LSE. What troubles me though is that LSE is a household name in Singapore. As for Durham, only students coming to the UK have actually heard of it, with exceptions of course. :smile:

Oh, and two of our justices have sons studying there hehe..

Reply 17

Lastly.. one of my overseas friends who went over to the UK to check out unis sent me a very good testimonial of the unis he saw. This info, together with personal research and hearsay (mind you, very subjective).. this is what I got out of it.

LSE: as above

Warwick: concrete jungle and awful 1960s architecture BUT extremely good business school and law faculty, good ties with industry, strong international community esp if you're singaporean/malaysian (singaporean's have one full scholarship a year given to best student), good student union.... and the likes. It's an up and coming uni... looks like its got lots of potential. I think all accomodation is self-catered and you have to move out in the second year.

Nottingham: FIrst thing from personal opinion, it is FLOODED with Malaysians/Singaporeans/Bruneians and the likes. Well that's an exaggeration, but nearly all SEAs I know choose Notts because as long as they have ONE A, they are likely to gain entry there. It looks very nice, some say artificial, and you're bound to meet someone you know there coz' of the sheer numbers applying. There are limited number of scholarships... Fees are slightly higher than Warwick and Durham but cannot compare to the priceyness of LSE. Some talk about the crime rate there. Accomodation is good... wide range of self catered and catered. They're quite good with accomodation for internationals..

Durham: My favourite after months of agonising. Some say its awful coz' of the lack of social life, but that doesn't bother someone like me coz' I don't party, don't drink and I'm basically very boring. Of course, you may seek more from a university, but I'm concerned with security, peace and scenary. Harry POtter was shot at Durham Castle and Cathedral... umm.. its very pretty.. and its sooooo small. The collegiate nature of the uni is quite appealing to me, particularly if you can bag yourself a good college. St Johns, MY college, is just less than 10 mins walk from the Law dept. Since you live in the college in the first year, you have self-catered places to live..umm.. accomodation varies from college to college, with Collingwood and Van Mildert supposedly having the best accomodation. Despite the 'Castle'-fever, we're advised not to apply there because accomodation for first years is quite shoddy and due to the high applicant :tongue:

lace ratio, you may get dumped into some other college that you may not like.

Reply 18

Naraty

Oh, and two of our justices have sons studying there hehe..

NUS, because of the difficulty of getting in, plus the competition there offers very good job prospects. However, you'll be a digit amongst the many there (being in the Singapore system, I can testify to it being many times more difficult than any other system I've been in).. and job prospects overseas as you say, might be fewer out of the SEA region.

In the end, I suggest you choose a uni based on YOUR own preference, not based on supposed reputation. You can always do your postgrad and what have you in LSE in later years.. education is only a spring board.. and NO COMPANY wants to be flooded by only LSE graduates. Having a degree from another very good university adds more perspective into the job market... I would advise you against merely following the crowd and instead use your own instincts to decide.

Reply 19