HELP! International student persuading parents that Durham is a good law school

I recently got my IB marks back and I fulfilled my conditions to study law in Durham.

I researched the overall environment and graduate prospects of Durham (especially for law graduates) and I really like the school and its law programme. Plus, it's pretty affordable when compared to other UK schools in big cities.

However, as I'm an international student and my parents don't know much about UK unis except Oxbridge, LSE, UCL and KCL, they are hesitant to send me to a "random" UK university. My mom would even rather I go to Manchester (which has a higher overall ranking on league tables) than Durham for law.

How do I persuade my parents that Durham is a good place for me? My parents are pretty much only concerned about the respectability and fame of the college, and have never heard of Durham before I told them about it.

Reply 1

RogerOxon

Original post by kitsunex

1. Good overall reputation
2. Reasonable subject ranking
3. Accredited degree
4. Value for money
5. You like it!

Good luck!

Durham University

Durham

Visit website

Reply 2

leehoma

Tell them big law firms like it:
http://www.chambersstudent.com/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities

Reply 3

Gabriela.K

I don't know much about Law in Durham but what I can tell you is that my brother is an international student in Durham (Physics) and he really likes it there :smile:

It has a great environment and when I visited the people were great and really nice!
I think that in the UK, Durham has a much better reputation than Manchester and has a greater student satisfaction, also it has an advantage if having the collegiate system like Oxford and Cambridge (which makes your life as a student much easier) whereas Manchester Uni doesn't have it.

You can compare Durham and Manchester in this link
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=law

Reply 4

Rhthulla

I'm an international student with one parent from the UK, so I can give you a perspective from both sides (I have met my offer to study NatSci at Durham this year btw).

While Durham is quite quiet in the International sphere, it really is one of the best Universities in the UK. It's got plenty of accolades for being high on many league rankings, not just in Law and Academics in general, but also in Sports, Student Experience and popularity with employers. Reading the news page on the Durham website or showing your parents the prospectus should give them an idea of the figures.

Lastly, if you need a real life example, there's me. My Dad who went to one of the Universities you mentioned is very proud that I'm going to Durham, so you know it's held in high regard, and I also chose Durham over UCL when I got offers from both, even though they were virtually identical offers. All the British teachers at my school also respect Durham a lot, so I hope that with these examples you can convince your parents that Durham does have a fantastic reputation.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

Rhthulla

Also, Durham is a member of the Russell Group, which is sort of the UK's equivalent to the US's "Ivy League", if that helps.

http://russellgroup.ac.uk