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Is it worth applying for vac schemes with low grades due to mitigating circumstances?

Hi there! (Bit of a trigger warning - sensitive topic)

I'm going into my my second year of my LLB (at a Russell-group) come September and I've just sat my deferred exams.

So I'll spare the details why but just around Christmas of 2018 I'd became seriously depressed and was diagnosed with Generalised anxiety disorder. Over the next 7 months I self-harmed a lot and ended up trying to take my own life. Before my sudden decline in health began I was smashing the essay work, getting 2:1s and even got a first in one. I was attending every seminar, every lecture etc.

In my exams I've just sat I'm convinced I haven't done that well, I'm either guessing I would have achieved a 2:2 but I won't rule out the potential I may have got a third. I'm heavily medicated and am still struggling to cope with my mental health, but I am getting better.

I came (back) to university as a career change, coming from a graduate consultant role in London for an international marketing firm. I came back knowing I can achieve the grades but I did not foresee anything like this happening. My plan was to apply for vacations0 schemes going into my second year (and training contracts In my third and at this point I just don't know if my applications would be disregarded just like that, as a result of poor grades.

I know that firms take into account mitigating circumstances but my circumstances don't exactly show me as a favourable candidate right now. But here's a bit of a brief overview of some things I have so far:

- I already have a strong 2:1 English BA from a redbrick uni.
- I have have pro bono work experience
- I'm on a university sports team
- I've been elected president of a society come September
- I have a year and a half experience working in a graduate consultant role (career changer)

So I wondering if I did get a 2:2/third in light of my circumstances, do I even bother applying for vacation schemes?

And do I tell firms the seriousness of these mitigating circumstances?

Honestly any help, feedback or advice would be so appreciated.

Thanks x

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

Carolinec1206

Hi there

If I was you I would apply regardless of the grades you get in the first year.
I myself didn't apply in my second year despite having a low 2.1 on average as I believed that I will get rejected straight away and I didn't have any mitigating circumstances.
What I learnt is that not applying was a mistake. I applied for vac schemes in my third year and still got rejected from every single one despite having only one module with 2.2.
I had a friend who had a 1st from most of his modules in the first year and when he applied in his 2nd year he still got rejected but in his 3rd year he was got 2 vac schemes despite his grades being the same.
I believe that practice would help. Therefore, even if you do get rejected, applying this year will help you get a feel with applications and practice which will be useful for next time when you're applying with 2.1 or better. Also, don't forget that it's just your 1st year and you had serious mitigating circumstances(which I would always speak about in the applications). You will achieve better grades in your 2nd and 3rd year which will demonstrate how good you're and your 1st year marks won't matter. There're plenty of people who got 2.2 or worse in their 1st year without mitigating circumstances and still ended up with a 1st from their degree so don't worry.
Moreover, you have experience in different field and did some pro bono work which will be really useful because your grades are not everything and they should never define you especially at such an early stage.
Keep your head up and even if you face rejections don't let them put you down.

Reply 2

aspiringlawyerNW

Original post by Throwaway909

How come you're doing an LLB if you have a 2:1 in an undergraduate degree? Wouldn't a GDL have been the better, cheaper option?

On a personal level, are you at a place with your mental health where you think you'll be able to cope with the vac scheme application process? Because if you haven't managed to address the issues you've struggled with, perhaps the added stress of applying to law firms isn't the best of ideas. I hope that doesn't sound harsh. I'm not trying to talk you out of your plans, it's just something that you should consider carefully.

Reply 3

username4448686

There is no harm in applying. The worst that can happen is that you end up exactly where you are now, but with a bit more experience in writing applications. It's still a net gain.

Re: mitigating circumstances, if you do get a 2:2, you pretty much have to include mitigating circumstances to be considered by many law firms. There may be some which are happy to take students who get a 2:2, but I've not really heard of them (or targeted or worked in any such law firm), so I can't comment on them in any great detail.

However, I will roughly repeat what I've said in another thread. Many firms will consider mitigating circumstances, but the danger is that mitigating circumstances can work against you. Don't fall for the law firm PR. Ultimately, law firms run a business and, like any other company, if your circumstances are such that you are likely to be an inconsistent, unreliable or problematic employee, there is every incentive not to hire you. On the other hand, if your mitigating circumstances were isolated or transient and are unlikely to impair your future performance in the workforce, they can be used to mitigate your bad grades.

So when you write about your mitigating circumstances, the question you need to answer is this: can you show that you've materially resolved or overcome your difficulties and emerged out as a stronger and more resilient person? Junk everything that suggests that by the time you enter the workforce, you will still be unable to keep with (1) stress, (2) a heavy workload, (3) deadlines or (4) difficult colleagues.

Is it worth applying for vac schemes with low grades due to mitigating circumstances?

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