Durham Law

I want to apply to Durham Uni for law but I heard that you need a ton of good GCSE grades. Is this true? If so, I got a 9(A*) in history and 7's(A) in english lang & lit and R.E. Do you think I should still apply

Original post by Anonymous

I want to apply to Durham Uni for law but I heard that you need a ton of good GCSE grades. Is this true? If so, I got a 9(A*) in history and 7's(A) in english lang & lit and R.E. Do you think I should still apply

Hi there

I'm a final year law student at Durham so can offer some advice. From a formal grade requirements perspective, there are no GCSE requirements for law. They do ask you for your GCSE when filling out your application form but these are not determinative of the admission team's decision since they know you can't change your grades now anyway. The more important aspects that you can and should be focusing on are your A-level predicted scores (which are important since you're given an offer based on them), references, personal statement and LNAT. If you think you can make a good application in these aspects, absolutely apply to Durham. Don't let GCSEs prevent you from applying.

In general, you might've heard that it's good to keep 1-2 aspirational choices, 2 achievable choices and 1 where you have a sure-shot chance of an offer from. Depending on the strength of your application, Durham could either be an aspirational or achievable choice. Worst case scenario- even if you don't receive an offer from Durham, you'd still have something to fall back on if you choose your other unis wisely.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask more questions about law or Durham in general and I'd be happy to assist you :smile:

-Himieka

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Durham Students

Hi there

I'm a final year law student at Durham so can offer some advice. From a formal grade requirements perspective, there are no GCSE requirements for law. They do ask you for your GCSE when filling out your application form but these are not determinative of the admission team's decision since they know you can't change your grades now anyway. The more important aspects that you can and should be focusing on are your A-level predicted scores (which are important since you're given an offer based on them), references, personal statement and LNAT. If you think you can make a good application in these aspects, absolutely apply to Durham. Don't let GCSEs prevent you from applying.

In general, you might've heard that it's good to keep 1-2 aspirational choices, 2 achievable choices and 1 where you have a sure-shot chance of an offer from. Depending on the strength of your application, Durham could either be an aspirational or achievable choice. Worst case scenario- even if you don't receive an offer from Durham, you'd still have something to fall back on if you choose your other unis wisely.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask more questions about law or Durham in general and I'd be happy to assist you :smile:

-Himieka

Thank you so much! Quick question; What did you get in the LNAT and how did you do it?

Original post by Anonymous

Thank you so much! Quick question; What did you get in the LNAT and how did you do it?

LNAT basically has 2 parts- Section A has MCQs and Section B has essays. Section A can be very tricky as all the options seem correct however there is always one that seems better suited than the others. To be able to identify this, you'd have to practice as many questions as possible and try to figure out the pattern in reasoning. Books like The Ultimate LNAT Collection are helpful as they give you a reason for why that particular option is correct and then you can follow similar reasoning to identify other answers. Unis don't usually have a minimum or pass grade in the LNAT as the average varies each year.

As for the essay questions, look up previous LNAT topics on google and try and answer them under timed conditions. First, as soon as you read the question, give yourself time to evaluate it and decide which side of the argument you want to be on (either in favour or against). This is very important because unless you know your stance, it will be difficult to think about strong arguments to support it. As for the essay structure, always have three basic components- intro, main body and conclusion. The intro should be brief and give the reader an overall idea of what your essay is about, what you will argue and why. Finish this in 4-5 lines max.

In the main body, think of 3-4 arguments which can persuade the reader to adopt your stance. These could be related to the facts or general principles of law or policy grounds. It is even better if you can imagine a counter-argument to your argument (as in what your opponent would argue) and then counter that. This makes your stance more strong. Always make sure that your arguments are relevant to the question and directly contribute to the stance you're taking.

In the conclusion, again mention briefly what your arguments were and how they have pushed you towards taking one side over the other. Never insert a new argument in the conclusion- that shows a lack of a clear train of thought. This should again be brief, lasting no more than 5-6 lines.

You can see a sample paper on their website and I've also listed some other free resources on this thread to help you prepare for it.

-Himieka

Durham Law

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