Nottingham or York for Law?
I am currently in Year 12 studying psychology, philosophy and politics hoping to apply to study law (LLB) in September for 2025 entry. Right now, I'm struggling to decide between York and Nottingham as my potential firm and insurance choices. I'm guaranteed an offer of BBB from University of York as I'm part of an access programme there. I'm also eligible for the Nottingham contextual offer of AAB. Both of these grades are achievable for me as my current grades range between A*-B. I have mocks in 2 weeks and I am feeling quite confident about them, especially as the subject I struggle the most in (philosophy) has given us a lot of support for the mocks and told us some of the questions in advance to give us the best chance possible to get good grades - no pressure! I love both Nottingham and York equally and know lots of people studying at York through the access programme, as well as other prospective students, particularly for law and medicine. I'm going to both universities for open days, as well as going to York prior to the open day as part of the access programme. I've looked through the modules in each course and the ones I've been looking for are all pretty much identical to the other university. I like the look of the Nottingham modules slightly more, but I think PBL is something that would definitely suit me well and I would probably perform better under this. I also think it may help me during the vacation scheme and TC process, as PBL is meant to replicate how law firms operate. I know most people say that your firm should always have higher grades than your insurance, but I've seen some ways people have gotten around this. Say your form asked for BBB and your insurance asked for AAB, but on results day you got A*A*C, if your firm is oversubscribed they may reject you, but the insurance may give you a place if they have lots of applicants who do not meet the conditions of their offer, or if they still have places, since the equivalent grades would be A*AB, which exceeds the AAB requirement. It was only for this reason that I was considering firming York instead of making it my insurance. As well as this, I recently found out that for both universities, accommodation comes on a first-come first-served basis. The York accommodation is definitely nicer and cheaper, but I'm worried that if I miss the Nottingham offer and have to go to York, there won't be any places in the colleges I'd like to be in (Anne Lister, David Kato and Constantine since they are on Campus East where the law school is). For Nottingham, this doesn't really worry me as much, as most of the accommodations I am looking at still have places. I know that York is ranked higher for law and overall, but Nottingham is more reputable and a big target university for top city firms.
If possible, I would love to hear from students who go to these universities or anyone who knows people who study law at either York or Nottingham. I've listed a few of my questions to make it easier to respond:
1. How have you found the teaching at York/Nottingham for law?
2. What do you think of the facilities at York/Nottingham (e.g. law department building, library, lecture theatres)?
3. What has your experience been when interacting with other law students? Is it a highly competitive environment or are people quite willing to help each other and push each other to succeed?
4. Have you gotten involved with any activities outside of your course that relate to law or that have helped you in your degree (e.g. pro-bono society, sports, debating)?
5. What do you think of the course structure for law?
6. Could you talk about any experiences you've had with the law society (e.g. opportunities, nature of members)?
7. If you are trying to become a solicitor, how have you found the support from York/Nottingham when applying to first year schemes, vacations schemes, TC etc.?
8. What type of person do you think would fit in well at York/Nottingham?
9. I know everyone has different ideas of what diversity, but from a POC perspective, would you say it's diverse (e.g. one in five people are POC)?
10. What do you think of York/Nottingham as a city? Do you find it safe? Is it expensive, and if so, how should you budget? Are there lots of activities and shops nearby?
If possible, I would love to hear from students who go to these universities or anyone who knows people who study law at either York or Nottingham. I've listed a few of my questions to make it easier to respond:
1. How have you found the teaching at York/Nottingham for law?
2. What do you think of the facilities at York/Nottingham (e.g. law department building, library, lecture theatres)?
3. What has your experience been when interacting with other law students? Is it a highly competitive environment or are people quite willing to help each other and push each other to succeed?
4. Have you gotten involved with any activities outside of your course that relate to law or that have helped you in your degree (e.g. pro-bono society, sports, debating)?
5. What do you think of the course structure for law?
6. Could you talk about any experiences you've had with the law society (e.g. opportunities, nature of members)?
7. If you are trying to become a solicitor, how have you found the support from York/Nottingham when applying to first year schemes, vacations schemes, TC etc.?
8. What type of person do you think would fit in well at York/Nottingham?
9. I know everyone has different ideas of what diversity, but from a POC perspective, would you say it's diverse (e.g. one in five people are POC)?
10. What do you think of York/Nottingham as a city? Do you find it safe? Is it expensive, and if so, how should you budget? Are there lots of activities and shops nearby?
Reply 2
Original post by Picnicl
Nottingham. Why do you say the York accommodation is nicer? York University feels like a science park.
The accommodation on Campus East is modern and in an affordable range for me, whereas Nottingham is slightly more pricey for the accommodations I'm looking at. Because the law school is on Campus East, ideally I would want my accommodation to be there. I also like the collegiate system at York because it seems like more of a social environment. You are right about the science park thing. I think that York has been very based in STEM for years now and they're only just branching out to humanities/social sciences and establishing a good reputation in those areas. I don't necessarily mind that there are lots of STEM students, but I worry that I might feel isolated. Why Nottingham over York?
Original post by bibachu
The accommodation on Campus East is modern and in an affordable range for me, whereas Nottingham is slightly more pricey for the accommodations I'm looking at. Because the law school is on Campus East, ideally I would want my accommodation to be there. I also like the collegiate system at York because it seems like more of a social environment. You are right about the science park thing. I think that York has been very based in STEM for years now and they're only just branching out to humanities/social sciences and establishing a good reputation in those areas. I don't necessarily mind that there are lots of STEM students, but I worry that I might feel isolated. Why Nottingham over York?
Beautiful looking campus at Nottingham, Nottingham has several nice looking halls of residence, Nottingham is older which counts in Law. Nottingham is only below Oxbridge, Bristol and Durham for numbers of successful Law graduates (sometimes in the last 10 years Nottingham has been above Bristol).
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 4
Original post by picnicl
Beautiful looking campus at Nottingham, Nottingham has several nice looking halls of residence, Nottingham is older which counts in Law. Nottingham is only below Oxbridge, Bristol and Durham for numbers of successful Law graduates (sometimes in the last 10 years Nottingham has been above Bristol).
Besides rankings and facilities, are there any other reasons why I should pick Nottingham over York for law specifically? My main concern is that I think I might be better suited to the PBL style of learning at York and I'm worried that not picking York over Nottingham will mean that I won't perform as well as I could have. My goal is to get a 2:1 or a 1st, but if I were to get a 2:1, Nottingham has more law related activities to get involved with. Do you think getting involved with these could make my TC and vacation scheme applications stand out more even with a 2:1? I know a 2:1 is still an amazing grade and usually the minimum requirement, I'm just trying to reach my full potential.
(edited 1 year ago)
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Firm and Safety Choice for Law (2025) – Need Advice!
- Nottingham or York for Law?
- York for law or gap year
- Which university should I pick?
- Rejected from 4/5 Uni’s - Feeling Dejected (Law)
- Which Russel Group unis could I realistically get into for law?
- Unsure which unis I could get into for law/should apply for
- York, Exeter or Sheffield Law 2024
- Best University Choices for Law
- bristol law alternative offer
- How competitive is Warwick Law?
- offer waiting time
- UCAS 2025 Law
- Law undergraduate offers
- What University's can I apply to for Law with these Stats?
- Competitive Application for Law (GCSEs, A levels, LNAT?)
- Law offers 2025
- Is it worth sacrificing a guaranteed offer?
- Warwick anxiety
- What uni should I pick?
Latest
Trending
