Are universities more lenient to international students?

Even non-international students can plausibly do that, although it might depend on exactly which universities/courses are in question. Oxbridge/LSE/UCL/Imperial/Warwick/Edinburgh I think might be a bit more borderline; likewise for medicine/dentistry/vet med courses which don't specifically say they don't consider predicted grades, may be an issue - doubly so as an international applicant to med/dent as those have strictly capped student numbers for both home and international students. For most other unis and courses it's reasonable to have one or two "aspirational" choices among the 5 you are applying to

Oh okay! Thank you. If it helps, I'm planning to study Law. I haven't gotten my predicted grades yet but I think I might be able to get AAA. I want to try KCL and LSE (though probably not LSE because it's almost Oxbridge level?). What do you think? Is KCL reasonable? LSE may be too "aspirational" right?

Oh okay! Thank you. If it helps, I'm planning to study Law. I haven't gotten my predicted grades yet but I think I might be able to get AAA. I want to try KCL and LSE (though probably not LSE because it's almost Oxbridge level?). What do you think? Is KCL reasonable? LSE may be too "aspirational" right?

LSE law is more competitive than Oxbridge law purely in terms of applicants vs acceptances, so I'd probably suggest not applying there with AAA as their standard offer is A*AA if I recall. That said the law and anthropology course there is AAA standard offer, if you are interested in combining those two areas. You would need to have a strong personal statement engaging with both sides of the course though as LSE are very heavy on the PS, and that might weaken it for single honours law courses elsewhere (unless very thoughtfully written).

As above KCL is also very competitive for law and requires A*AA so again, a bit more borderline in my opinion, although if it's one of your only "aspirational" choices it's fine to try and roll the dice there.

Note Oxford law standard offer is AAA so well worth considering

Okay. Thanks so much. I need to think my choices over then. Maybe QMUL would be more reasonable if I want to apply for London unis. I saw they had clearing for international students this year which only required AAA. I guess LSE would have to wait. I've always wanted to go to LSE so I guess fingers crossed LSE for LLM.

Oxford is still Oxford 😭 quite intimidating.

Well you meet the requirements on paper for Oxford so unless there is another reason it's unrealistic or undesirable (e.g. cost) no reason not to apply

Notably LSE most years is more competitive in purely statistical perspectives than Oxford or Cambridge law so if you were considering LSE realistically, you certainly can/should be considering Oxford.

You know what? Maybe I will. Thank you for the encouragement. I don't know how to tell my school though. Lots of people have already decided that they would apply to Oxbridge at the beginning of Year 12 and so joined the Oxbridge preparation club. Also, I don't exactly have the reputation of being a smart student.

But, yeah. I've never thought of applying to Oxbridge. So, thanks a lot for this.

Well you meet the requirements on paper for Oxford so unless there is another reason it's unrealistic or undesirable (e.g. cost) no reason not to apply

Notably LSE most years is more competitive in purely statistical perspectives than Oxford or Cambridge law so if you were considering LSE realistically, you certainly can/should be considering Oxford.

Where is better for law tho?

Oxford has fewer modules but is much more likely to get a higher paying job after graduation, also one of my close friends in the year below is planning on applying to Oxford PPE, and I’d want to put in a good word for him.

On the contrary, LSE has many more modules and also u can also pick from other courses modules, it’s in a similar respect to Oxford, plus it’s an LLB program. It’s also £10,000 cheaper than Oxford per year so less financial stress on my dad. But there’s a problem with this as well, idk if this is a soft or hard requirement but you are expected to have a strong pre-16 academic profile (eg: GCSE grades 7-9 range) with math and English no lower than 6.

Outcomes are going to be similar betwen Oxford and LSE law. However bear in mind while LSE may be cheaper in terms of tuition fees, London is extraordinarily expensive and I suspect they will ultimately have a similar cost accounting for that vs the heavily subsidised costs of living in college in Oxford (also the shorter terms in Oxford - shorter terms = less money being spent on your accommodation/food etc, and also more time to look for part-time/casual employment and/or paid internships/placements etc).

I think it's pretty common for students applying to law at Oxford to also apply to law at LSE and vice versa, unless they really don't want to live in London or outside of London respectively.

Note that there is no "putting in a good word" for people you know. That's not how admissions at Oxford (or in the UK in general) works.

I have a flat in Mayfair, so that's covered. Meals I'd be given an allowance from my mum of 300 quid per week. Transport I'd rely on child tickets to save $$$.