Hello guys,
I recently had a bit of a crisis following rejection to read law at Oxford. I convinced myself that it was now impossible for me to ever work at a top London firm/chambers. This was mainly a result of what I had read on this website. I then spoke to a friend's sibling, who graduated from Exeter and had secured a job in the Magic Circle. He told me that the university you attended is becoming less important, and top positions are not at all dominated by Oxford and Cambridge graduates but by all top Russell Group universities collectively. I was considering studying law at Durham, and he said that my chances of getting in are virtually equal to that of an oxford graduate now, and he told me to look up statistics to back up his claims. At first I thought he was saying this to make me feel better (I had a little break down after Oxford rejection, lol), but it seems he does have a case.
http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/media/1067/what_is_a_good_university.pdfThis shows that Durham/Bristol/Nottingham etc... are really only just behind Oxford and Cambridge (individually).
US firms, however, seemed to hire exclusively from Oxbridge - is this a big deal?
Top Russell group universities also had a strong showing at regional firms, although I'm more interested in working London.
http://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universitiesDurham and Nottingham are almost level with Oxford and Cambridge here, and many other Russell Groups have a strong showing.
This forum portrays Oxbridge as a path to riches in the legal industry, and I convinced myself that it was an Oxford or bust situation for me but this doesn't seem to be true. It looks as if it gives you only a slight advantage over universities such as Nottingham, Durham, and Bristol.
Can the data shown here be trusted, or is London law really dominated by Oxbridge?
On another note, I'm predicted 5A* at A level, if I manage 4A* and an A do you think it's worth me reapplying to Oxbridge? Is it even worth it? I go to a pretty awful comprehensive if that would help my application in anyway? It obviously didn't the first time around, as incredibly prepared and polished applicants from top schools wiped the floor with me when I went for an interview at my chosen college. I'm unsure if I want to become a solicitor or barrister.