becoming a barrister with a degree from a poly!?!?

Is it possible, I know there is some snobbery about what university you went to at the bar, but has anyone with a degree from a from a new university ever became a barrister? is it common? is it even possible???

Get a high first, then do an LLM at Oxbridge/LSE/UCL. Then you will be competing on an (almost) even keel with Oxbridge undergrads with a 2.1

In my opinion, somebody with a high first from an ex-poly, plus a high mark in an LLM from one of those universities (especially the BCL) will be in a significantly better position than somebody who 'only' has a 2:1 from Oxbridge. To suggest that somebody who obtained a 2:1 from Oxford is better than somebody with a high mark on the BCL (with all the academic requirements that admission to that course brings) is a bit silly.

Frankly, the contention that a 66+ from Oxbridge (which are a dime a dozen) are more highly regarded than a Poly First is misguided--as Poly Firsts have not been watered down to the point where they fail to represent a level of achievement worth of at least an interview (at which point, academics begin playing only second thidle). I'm also personally insulted by your failure to include Bristol and Durham into your LSE/UCL category, but that is admittedly a secondary point

If I had followed through with asking TSR administrators to give me a 'sarcasm on' and 'sarcasm off' buttons above my posts, the latter would be on. If you look at the comparative statistics, there may be 5-10% of Firsts in a law course at a second-tier University and even less within an Ex Poly--a far smaller figure than that of 66+'s at Oxbridge. Uniqueness attracts attention, even if it's a case of 'big fish in a small pond'---a First from an Ex Poly will almost certainly attract a pupillage interview but the same will not be the case for a 66% from Oxbridge.

A First from an Ex Poly will almost certainly attract a pupillage interview but the same will not be the case for a 66% from Oxbridge.

I have been told that undergrad degrees come first and foremost in legal applications. A first from an ex poly is not, by all accounts, too difficult to obtain. If you got a high (66+) 2.1 from Oxbridge you are in a pretty unbeatable position afaik (provided you have the personal qualities and gift of the gab), regardless of what people from 'non-Oxbridge' or even non-LSE/UCL institutions obtain in their undergrad degrees and at postgrad. Not saying whether or not this is right, etc (that argument isn't for me, and I don't honestly care), just that it seems to be the case going on everything I have personally seen/heard/been told. But I would personally suggest that a good LLM should surely make up for a crappy undergrad institution. Logic would seem to suggest that is the case...

Well, we obviously have had exposure to very different types of people with Oxbridge 65%+. Seriously, you do realise that there are so many Oxbridge applicants relative to the number of top sets that merely the name of University and a fairly dull 66+-short-of-70% does not stand out in itself. My sample of 65+ is focused exclusively on those Oxbridge students applying for pupillage--yours is evidently far wider and thus less relevant to this discussion.

I was aware you'd deploy the grading-incongruence argument--as all firsts are externally marked, usually by top professors at the foremost universities (at least that's what our dean tells me...) in that discipline, there is a definite lack of standards as far as 2:1's are concerned (so I wouldn't suggest a 69% from Oxford= 69% from Oxford Brookes), but not with regard to Firsts.

I think Simon's post supports my view to the extent that any sort of First will very likely lead to an interview. Those with 'fluff' Firsts from Polies would then, whenever appropriate, be differentiated from more able candidates from institutions with higher standards.

I suppose you may well have been an exception---could your OLPAS form have been flawed in some way, perhaps indicating an interest in the academic side of things rather more than the Bar?

With respect, I don't believe so and my experience accords with that of my peers on the BVC.

Is it possible, I know there is some snobbery about what university you went to at the bar, but has anyone with a degree from a from a new university ever became a barrister? is it common? is it even possible???