UNI applications and Law
I'm a little lost about what i should do when getting ready to apply for UNI. There are so many opportunities to do but I fear they will overwhelm me if i try to do to much but I don't want to leave it too late.
I want to study law (which type I'm not sure of yet) at UNI preferably a top Russel group school to give myself a good chance of getting a job in future.
Is anyone who is at UNI or in year 13 have any really good suggestions about what activities I should be doing or unique things i could do to stand out!
From what i gauge i need to at least read 10 law related books and visit at least 1 real court session.
I'm a little lost about what i should do when getting ready to apply for UNI. There are so many opportunities to do but I fear they will overwhelm me if i try to do to much but I don't want to leave it too late.
I want to study law (which type I'm not sure of yet) at UNI preferably a top Russel group school to give myself a good chance of getting a job in future.
Is anyone who is at UNI or in year 13 have any really good suggestions about what activities I should be doing or unique things i could do to stand out!
From what i gauge i need to at least read 10 law related books and visit at least 1 real court session.
I'm a fellow Year 12 student looking to apply for law in September and I think I can help you a bit with the process. Firstly, studying law at university won't necessarily guarantee you a job in law in the future. From what I've gathered, it's better to study a subject you genuinely have a passion for and then convert to law later, if there's something else you'd rather study right now. Around half of trainee solicitors at top city law firms don't have an undergraduate degree in law, so if job prospects are your only motivation, you might want to look more into law as a subject. The study of law and practising law are vastly different. Law school doesn't really teach you how to be a lawyer or work in law, it mainly teaches you the theory and foundations behind the law.
I don't think you need to read 10 law related books as this seems excessive and most likely, you won't have space for it on your personal statement. If you are reading that many law related books then that's great, but I wouldn't overwhelm yourself with this many tasks. Maybe 3-4 in topics you're interested in? Another great thing to use is podcasts. Many law firms actually put out their own podcasts for different areas of law, so I would suggest looking into that. You could also watch lectures about specific legal areas either online or in person. Universities put out lots of events for different courses, so if you're interested in Russell Group universities, looking at upcoming events in their law departments might be a good shout.
In terms of activities, you should ideally have an extra-curricular activity that is helping you develop skills that would be needed or are useful in the study of law. If your school has a debate club, is involved in mooting competitions or have any programs for you to demonstrate leadership, analysis or research skills, you should try and participate in one or more of these. You don't necessarily need to use this on your personal statement, but I think it helps universities see how you are actively developing your skills in your free time. Attending one court session is useful, but be aware that there are different types of courts that will deal with different types of cases. If you plan to use this on your personal statement, you should probably focus on courts and cases that deal with your area of interest (e.g. crown court for criminal law cases).
Law firms offer lots of opportunities for work experience - some of them even paid - so I would look into any opportunities at firms you can find. You might be able to find some shadowing schemes in chambers, but this may be harder to obtain so do your research. To make yourself stand out, you want to tailor your experiences to your specific areas of interest in law, rather than having a general overview of the mandatory topics in law. You could have a niche interest and make your experiences relevant to this area, whether they are in legal or non-legal contexts.
Some things I have done to demonstrate my interest in different areas of law:
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Work experience in general surgery (health law)
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Attending a judicial review in the High Court (medical law)
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Networking days at a silver circle firm (commercial law - real estate)
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Going to talks by legal professionals that my school holds as part of a programme (navigating legal careers)
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Listening to law firm podcasts (commercial law - competition and real estate)
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Engaging with content creators who study law, practice law or teach law (commercial law + legal insight)
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Reading an ethics book about transplants (medical law + public law)
Obviously, not all of these are going to get used on my personal statement as this would be way too much to include. These are just examples of things I've done to help you firstly, make sure you are certain you want to study law and secondly, help you to think of ways to do activities that align with your interests. If you do decide to study law, I hope this has helped you and good luck on your journey!
I'm a little lost about what i should do when getting ready to apply for UNI. There are so many opportunities to do but I fear they will overwhelm me if i try to do to much but I don't want to leave it too late.
I want to study law (which type I'm not sure of yet) at UNI preferably a top Russel group school to give myself a good chance of getting a job in future.
Is anyone who is at UNI or in year 13 have any really good suggestions about what activities I should be doing or unique things i could do to stand out!
From what i gauge i need to at least read 10 law related books and visit at least 1 real court session.
Hi there
It is great that you are seeking out opportunities at an early stage. Applying for Russel group Universities for law can definitely give you a huge advantage when applying for jobs. Here are some things that may be useful for your applications:
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work experience- in the law sector, work experience is quite key, whether this is in person or online virtual programmes. However, depending on your location, it may be difficult to obtain in person experiences- try actively searching for opportunities on firm's websites that are near you. Or if you have the budget, perhaps look at some insight day programmes (usually 1-day long) that are in London. This will demonstrate your interest in entering a law career. For virtual programmes, many large firms will offer these on their websites, so have a look into these. There are also other platforms such as Vantage that offer online opportunities.
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MOOCs- although I have not done these myself, many students have recommended these. 
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work shadowing- if you are able to get an insight into what a solicitor/ barrister's work is like, it would look amazing on your application.
However, I do understand that firm opportunities are quite hard to gain depending on your location. Here are some other things that may help your application stand out:
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Non-legal work experience: many law schools, and law firms appreciate that it is a competitive industry. They often therefore look for transferrable skills. It is important to elaborate and demonstrate what you have learnt in your previous roles, and how those skills can be useful in the law industry.
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Reading: whilst reading law related books will be good, I do not think you need to read too many. In my personal statement, I chose 2 books to discuss in depth without space to talk about the others. So whilst you may read quite a few, make sure to only discuss the useful ones and spend more space on other valuable aspects that you want to discuss.
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Extra-curricular activities: this can range from sports (e.g. being a Team leader), negotiation events, mooting events, business-initiation incentives, charity work... you can use this to portray yourself as an all rounder. 🙂 Though spend less time discussing this in your personal statement and more on your actual experiences and studies.
It is normal not to know what area of law you want to go into at this stage, and some may not know until they actually start practicing and gaining hands on work experience. In my opinion, once you get into University, many more opportunities will be open to you: Vacation schemes, insight days, training contracts etc. These will assist you in deciding what area of law you will want to go into. Also, any networking events that you attend may also be useful in gaining further insights. (During my first year, I attended the in person LawCareersNet.Live event, and I found it really useful. I am not sure if this is open to lower years, but you should check it out.) 🙂
I hope this helps.
Chloe
University of Kent student rep
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