The importance of University prestige

Prestige matters a lot, of course going to Oxford gives you better career prospects than Birmingham. Every year there are around 100,000 undergrads graduating with almost identical CVs and extra-curriculars, and the most obvious difference between them is the university they attended. That doesnt mean you wont be able to succeed with a Birmingham degree, but it will a bit harder and doors wont automatically open.

Nothing wrong with taking a gap year, and why would you need to stay at home? I dont know anything about your situation so its hard to say, but if you had good reason to think that taking a year out would give you a good chance of getting into Oxford/UCL/LSE and arent just engaging in wish-fulfilment, then its probably not a bad idea. But realistically, if you didnt get in this year, then why would you get in next year? And what if you lost out on the Birmingham place too?

Oxford obviously gives better career prospects than Birmingham, but I was just wondering whether going to Birmingham would actually be limiting. Surely no two CV's will ever be identical and even then there's always the interview which will certainly not be identical.

I received a conditional offer to study law at oxford this year. However missed it because I got A*A*B instead of the AAA that they asked for. I'd need to stay at home so I can re-sit Biology and get it upto an A. I know I'll find it much harder to get an offer again next time but I'm hoping that a good score on the LNAT can help matters. So yeah, it's a pretty big gamble, but perhaps it's one that can be justified?

This.

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Check whether you are allowed to re-take in a third year! For medicine, which I know is not relevant to you, but is the only example I am aware of, most of the thirty or so med schools will not consider your application if you don't get the grades within two years.

So, just make sure you know whether for Law you are allowed to re-take and that too at Oxford.

Best of luck x

Hey there

Does anyone know whether Nottingham is best for law compared with Birmingham?

Thanks

I called the Oxford college, and they said it should be okay





I'd rate Nottingham above Birmingham.

I received a conditional offer to study law at oxford this year. However missed it because I got A*A*B instead of the AAA that they asked for. I'd need to stay at home so I can re-sit Biology and get it upto an A. I know I'll find it much harder to get an offer again next time but I'm hoping that a good score on the LNAT can help matters. So yeah, it's a pretty big gamble, but perhaps it's one that can be justified?

Hey guys,

I realise there have probably been thousands of post regarding this very matter, but I'd really like to gain advice regarding my particular situation, and I was wondering if you guys would be kind enough to help .

So, a couple of weeks ago I found out that I missed my offer to read Law at Oxford. I was absolutely gutted, but I didn't really have time to reflect on my decision or feel sorry for myself due to the sheer swiftness necessitated by the clearing process. In the end, I managed to secure an offer to read History at Birmingham.

However, now that some time has passed, I'm starting to second-guess this decision. I'm now contemplating taking a gap year and reapplying to the likes of Oxford, UCL, LSE and Durham again. However, the thought of taking a gap year actually depresses me; it's so unplanned and i have a feeling it'd be a pretty grim year having to stay at home. The only real reason I would do it is if it considerably improved my prospects for obtaining a training contract at US / MC firm. I know it's naive to aim for these firms as I have no real experience of what it may be like to work there, but I've always aimed at the most selective institutions and used it as a motivator.

So, I was wondering if I could ask a few questions about my prospects if I went to Birmingham? Would it be significantly more difficult for me to attain a TC at an MC / US with a degree from Birmingham than say a degree from Oxford, UCL, LSE or Durham? Similarly, are there any firms that would practically be off-limits because they recruit almost exclusively from Oxbridge and London? OR is the importance of the prestige of the university exaggerated on TSR? Would a good degree from Birmingham with good extra-curricular and legal work experience place me in a good position for attaining a TC at any firm in the city ?

Thanks you

Take the gap year man. Don't pay 9k a year for Birmingham, it is not worth it. Choose a worse course at an elite university by all means, but, don't attend somewhere like Birmingham. I went to an RG2 university and i regret it.

I don't think LSE take resits
University prestige has become a polarised area
Obviously in law it drags behind but the general census is
oxbridge first
then you have your london three and a couple of top performing northern unis
after this there is really not much difference between all the russell group institutes and their prestige will all be a much of a muchness
Most importantly get a first from any of these institutes and you will be loving life!
The question you have to ask is is it likely with retakes you will get A*AA or above and on top of that an offer from oxbridge for one of the most competitive degrees at the university or is it likely you could bag a first from birmingham
Both routes can put you in a good place to pick up an MC/US TC
On the other hand you have to weigh up another situation, with AAA at A level do you think you could get a 2:1 from oxbridge because it is a harder degree, or will you have more success with a 2:1 from Birmingham over a 2:2 from oxford ??
These are all things to to think about
prestige is the tip of the iceberg and should not really play a part in this quite serious choice you have to make

Alright mate, sorry to hear about this - I went through something very similar - absolutely gut-wrenching!

You have received some good advice, I'll just add advice from another perspective. Attending said universities would enhance your application to City firms, they are more targeted and would make things a little easier (not that Bham will particularly hold you back). Is this slight ease of entry worth a gap year, and the risk associated with it?

Peers of mine have been able to secure Law offers from Bristol/Notts/Warwick and the like with AAA/AAB at A2 level. I can't imagine you struggling either, especially if you had a good enough LNAT/PS to secure an oxford offer; besides, Warwick do not use the LNAT and universities like Bristol are pretty relaxed about it to say the least.

Reiterating this, but as another user said: Do you think you will be able to push that B up to an A? You can't always rely on receiving unconditional offers and the very same could happen if you narrowly miss that A next time round. If that happens, how will you get yourself out of that one?

Really think this one through; try to analyse the risk to come up with a decision.

Let us know what you decide, and good luck with it all!

Nice to see that someone has been converted to Zenomorph's school of thought.

What is rep?

It can and it most probably will. The economy is on the verge of absolute meltdown (within the next 20 years) when (not if) interest rates go up, do you think anyone in the sector is safe in terms of long term job security when you consider this? It is going to be the creme de la creme in the jobs because law firms (like virtually ever other part of the economy) will be squeezed when interest rates kick up. The debt the nation owes stands at 900% of our economy, interest rates are at an all time low and we are still paying 55bn in interest, that is at 0% interest. 1% (100bn) or 2% (200bn) and we become Greece.

I.e. in this context, unless you're going for the elite and 'save yourself', why bother? The only economic situation I can think of which has been worse than ours (because we're worse than all of greece, spain, italy) is the Weimar Republic who had a national debt of 913% of their economy.
Another very historically recent episode? Argentina in the 20th century, similar set of facts.

You can choose to ignore this in making your choice, but, I would advse against this.

My advice as a law graduate: Get an economically helpful degree, (e.g. Economics, Economic History, etc) and just use the degree to help educate yourself on how to escape what is a unique time in history we find ourselves in. Also, forget about the lesser unis, only go for the very top.

I wouldn't disagree with you entirely. Admittedly, those who attend the very debatable 'top 10 universities' are more likely to secure decent job offers, and consequently 'save themselves' as you put it.

However, I wouldn't let the seeming bleak future deter me from studying a pretty rigorous subject like History at a decent university. A fellow TSR user on here and a Southampton Law grad commented on being 1 of 3 from his course to gain TCs from A&O. If this is representative of other standard Russels, (which I don't doubt) surely opportunities for progression from 'non-elite' institutions aren't that woeful. In my opinion, and unfortunately, that's the only justification I can offer, TSR in general, seems to exaggerate the importance of university prestige.

Hey guys,

I realise there have probably been thousands of post regarding this very matter, but I'd really like to gain advice regarding my particular situation, and I was wondering if you guys would be kind enough to help .

So, a couple of weeks ago I found out that I missed my offer to read Law at Oxford. I was absolutely gutted, but I didn't really have time to reflect on my decision or feel sorry for myself due to the sheer swiftness necessitated by the clearing process. In the end, I managed to secure an offer to read History at Birmingham.

However, now that some time has passed, I'm starting to second-guess this decision. I'm now contemplating taking a gap year and reapplying to the likes of Oxford, UCL, LSE and Durham again. However, the thought of taking a gap year actually depresses me; it's so unplanned and i have a feeling it'd be a pretty grim year having to stay at home. The only real reason I would do it is if it considerably improved my prospects for obtaining a training contract at US / MC firm. I know it's naive to aim for these firms as I have no real experience of what it may be like to work there, but I've always aimed at the most selective institutions and used it as a motivator.

So, I was wondering if I could ask a few questions about my prospects if I went to Birmingham? Would it be significantly more difficult for me to attain a TC at an MC / US with a degree from Birmingham than say a degree from Oxford, UCL, LSE or Durham? Similarly, are there any firms that would practically be off-limits because they recruit almost exclusively from Oxbridge and London? OR is the importance of the prestige of the university exaggerated on TSR? Would a good degree from Birmingham with good extra-curricular and legal work experience place me in a good position for attaining a TC at any firm in the city ?

Thanks you