GYG for Year 13 - Aspiring Law Student!
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As promised, a long one!
•
Submitted my UCAS application! After a long summer and first few weeks, I'm glad to announce that my application has officially been sent off to UCAS 
! The only thing left to do is my LNAT, which is in exactly a week. After that, I don't really have to think about this much (thankfully) until I receive communication from Cambridge, which will likely be in late November to early December time. I highly doubt I'll receive any offers before January, as most of my choices put applications for law on hold until the ECD in late January. I also had a chance to influence educational policy in a foreign jurisdiction, which was really exciting and immediately made its way onto my personal statement. Overall, it was a nice addition and it blended well with my overall themes. I had to take the line spacing out of my paragraphs, but I fell within the character limit (around 3900 characters total) and that's all the matters. I know universities are used to reading personal statements with and without line spacing. I sorted out my reference, which took quite a while honestly. The majority of my time last week was spent chasing teachers about to get that sorted and perfected, which it is now. The only things I have to do other than my LNAT are my extenuating circumstances forms for Bristol and Cambridge, my Access to Leeds application and signing up to the individual university application hubs.
•
Continued with my LNAT preparation but in varying amounts. I intended (prior to starting Year 13) to do around 6 hours of LNAT preparation during the week and dedicate one day on the weekend to LNAT preparation in addition to this. Unfortunately, I am being swamped in deadlines, folder checks and exams at the moment, so that has become seemingly impossible. I am very grateful to my Year 12 self for prioritising LNAT preparation over the summer, as I'm less concerned about preparing now. I've stopped limiting my words when writing and just let everything come out, so I can edit where possible afterwards. My scores on the MCQ section have been fluctuating. On week 2, I scored 21/42 on an official LNAT practice test (from the website), which was worrying. Instead of losing motivation, I reminded myself that scores will rarely remain consistent over time. I watched an LNAT advice video as well by a tutor at Jesus College Oxford (on their official YouTube channel), which inspired me to take a new approach to answering questions. This approach seems to be working a lot better for me. After that practice test (still on week 2), I scored 23/42 on an Arbitio practice test and 21/42 on another one. This made me feel a lot better about my progress. Last week (week 3), I scored 12/14 on a short practice test (based in ethics and education) and 30/42 on a science based practice test (technically 29/42 but they put the same answer twice and the one I happened to click was not the one of the two that was selected as correct). I'm a little sceptical of using practice tests from that site now, as there seems to be some errors in terms of the questions and answers themselves. I also wrote a practice essay on censorship in timed conditions, which I found harder than some other essays I've done, but not impossible. With my essays, reading news articles before writing them has helped me to incorporate relevant examples into my answers. Obviously, I won't be able to do that in the real LNAT, but reading around essay topics hopefully will come in handy in terms of adding in relevant examples to the questions. I then sat another Arbitio test and scored 24/42 (very nearly hit my goal of 25/42, but second-guessed my answer on the last question). Overall, I'm not worried about the LNAT that much anymore. I've got almost 10 weeks worth of MCQ practice under my belt and I'm performing well on the essay section consistently. Really whatever happens now happens. I've made peace with potentially not getting into my LNAT university choices, so while I'd be disappointed if I underperformed, I wouldn't be crushed.
•
Visited Cambridge! I haven't been to the city in years and it was so nice to go back, but this time as a prospective student! I had a great day and looked around my top four college choices (as well as getting lost in the maze that is Trinity). My top choice definitely stood out to me most as a relaxed, quieter environment and I was able to confirm that that was in fact the right college for me. I probably won't reveal which college that is in case I get rejected or pooled, but if I receive an offer (which I'm not betting on), I'll make sure to let you all know! I really enjoyed my day though, despite it ending earlier than I expected it to. I was quite tired of walking around and once I'd seen all of the colleges that I wanted to see, I wanted nothing more than to get back home before the peak hour rush!
•
Booked open day tickets for Leeds and will be booking for Bristol! I already had tickets for both university open days, but I wasn't 100% sure I was going to go to Leeds due to the cost of travel increasing by train. I'm now going to both by coach with my friends (one for Bristol, two for Leeds). I'm more excited for Leeds currently, mainly because their law society has really grown on me through social media. I also like how accommodation there is relatively cheap (cannot say the same about Bristol).
•
Completed my first set of tests! I sat my philosophy test on innatism early, as it clashed with the Cambridge open day. I scored 18/25 (1 mark off an A*) which has definitely motivated me to keep going with the essays and essay plans! I love metaphysics of mind (our current topic) and I'm considering studying philosophy as a masters after law now. I definitely want to explore this interest throughout university, to see if its longstanding, like my interest in law has been. I have a folder check for philosophy and politics next week, so my priority at the moment is homework (which is just more essay plans and essays). I sat my politics test on ideologies last out of all my tests, but I feel as though it went the best. Most people chose the harder question, as that was on an ideology that we were learning about in class, whereas I chose the ideology we finished in Year 12 (because I had revised both, already planned and received feedback on the essay for the other ideology and knew that it would be better to just go with the question I find easiest, since that's what I'd do in an exam). I haven't received a grade or feedback on that one yet. I sat my biopsychology test during week 2 and it was honestly okay. I went through so many past papers and questions so I'm not worried. I don't know my grade, but I'm expecting an A/A*. I unfortunately have a full paper 2 mock for psychology in around 3 weeks, so after my LNAT, this will be my priority. I struggle to remember all of research methods, as it's quite chunky.
•
Had my first EPQ session! It was decent and I was with some of my friends, which was nice. My teacher is also really nice. I thought that the EPQ would be very overwhelming in terms of deadlines, but I don't think it will actually impact me at all. Realistically, the topic I picked (flaws in the South Korean legal system) is something I find so interesting to the point that if asked, I could probably write the full 5000 words by the end of October. I also already know the case studies and resources I'm going to use, which makes life a lot easier. I've basically already done most of the hard part, which is sifting through the resources, because that was for my own entertainment. The more fun part of my EPQ is getting to rewatch and take notes on some of my favourite K-dramas that explore one of the themes I'm looking at!
I've done so much in the last few weeks that its all blended together. I probably have missed out a lot, but other than harassing my teachers for essay feedback, I genuinely cannot remember most things. It didn't help that I was sick through half of this time (recovered now, thankfully). I want to get back into my wider reading after my LNAT, but depending on my schedule, we will see. I've pretty much been in school 09:00 - 16:30/17:00 every day in lesson or revising (or procrastinating with friends, but I try to limit that where possible). It's been a rough ride, but only one more week to go till I'm free from this LNAT torment
! P.S. This is my promise to myself (and you all) that I will update every week at a minimum!
good luck, youve got this!!
As promised, a long one!
•
Submitted my UCAS application! After a long summer and first few weeks, I'm glad to announce that my application has officially been sent off to UCAS ! The only thing left to do is my LNAT, which is in exactly a week. After that, I don't really have to think about this much (thankfully) until I receive communication from Cambridge, which will likely be in late November to early December time. I highly doubt I'll receive any offers before January, as most of my choices put applications for law on hold until the ECD in late January. I also had a chance to influence educational policy in a foreign jurisdiction, which was really exciting and immediately made its way onto my personal statement. Overall, it was a nice addition and it blended well with my overall themes. I had to take the line spacing out of my paragraphs, but I fell within the character limit (around 3900 characters total) and that's all the matters. I know universities are used to reading personal statements with and without line spacing. I sorted out my reference, which took quite a while honestly. The majority of my time last week was spent chasing teachers about to get that sorted and perfected, which it is now. The only things I have to do other than my LNAT are my extenuating circumstances forms for Bristol and Cambridge, my Access to Leeds application and signing up to the individual university application hubs.
•
Continued with my LNAT preparation but in varying amounts. I intended (prior to starting Year 13) to do around 6 hours of LNAT preparation during the week and dedicate one day on the weekend to LNAT preparation in addition to this. Unfortunately, I am being swamped in deadlines, folder checks and exams at the moment, so that has become seemingly impossible. I am very grateful to my Year 12 self for prioritising LNAT preparation over the summer, as I'm less concerned about preparing now. I've stopped limiting my words when writing and just let everything come out, so I can edit where possible afterwards. My scores on the MCQ section have been fluctuating. On week 2, I scored 21/42 on an official LNAT practice test (from the website), which was worrying. Instead of losing motivation, I reminded myself that scores will rarely remain consistent over time. I watched an LNAT advice video as well by a tutor at Jesus College Oxford (on their official YouTube channel), which inspired me to take a new approach to answering questions. This approach seems to be working a lot better for me. After that practice test (still on week 2), I scored 23/42 on an Arbitio practice test and 21/42 on another one. This made me feel a lot better about my progress. Last week (week 3), I scored 12/14 on a short practice test (based in ethics and education) and 30/42 on a science based practice test (technically 29/42 but they put the same answer twice and the one I happened to click was not the one of the two that was selected as correct). I'm a little sceptical of using practice tests from that site now, as there seems to be some errors in terms of the questions and answers themselves. I also wrote a practice essay on censorship in timed conditions, which I found harder than some other essays I've done, but not impossible. With my essays, reading news articles before writing them has helped me to incorporate relevant examples into my answers. Obviously, I won't be able to do that in the real LNAT, but reading around essay topics hopefully will come in handy in terms of adding in relevant examples to the questions. I then sat another Arbitio test and scored 24/42 (very nearly hit my goal of 25/42, but second-guessed my answer on the last question). Overall, I'm not worried about the LNAT that much anymore. I've got almost 10 weeks worth of MCQ practice under my belt and I'm performing well on the essay section consistently. Really whatever happens now happens. I've made peace with potentially not getting into my LNAT university choices, so while I'd be disappointed if I underperformed, I wouldn't be crushed.
•
Visited Cambridge! I haven't been to the city in years and it was so nice to go back, but this time as a prospective student! I had a great day and looked around my top four college choices (as well as getting lost in the maze that is Trinity). My top choice definitely stood out to me most as a relaxed, quieter environment and I was able to confirm that that was in fact the right college for me. I probably won't reveal which college that is in case I get rejected or pooled, but if I receive an offer (which I'm not betting on), I'll make sure to let you all know! I really enjoyed my day though, despite it ending earlier than I expected it to. I was quite tired of walking around and once I'd seen all of the colleges that I wanted to see, I wanted nothing more than to get back home before the peak hour rush!
•
Booked open day tickets for Leeds and will be booking for Bristol! I already had tickets for both university open days, but I wasn't 100% sure I was going to go to Leeds due to the cost of travel increasing by train. I'm now going to both by coach with my friends (one for Bristol, two for Leeds). I'm more excited for Leeds currently, mainly because their law society has really grown on me through social media. I also like how accommodation there is relatively cheap (cannot say the same about Bristol).
•
Completed my first set of tests! I sat my philosophy test on innatism early, as it clashed with the Cambridge open day. I scored 18/25 (1 mark off an A*) which has definitely motivated me to keep going with the essays and essay plans! I love metaphysics of mind (our current topic) and I'm considering studying philosophy as a masters after law now. I definitely want to explore this interest throughout university, to see if its longstanding, like my interest in law has been. I have a folder check for philosophy and politics next week, so my priority at the moment is homework (which is just more essay plans and essays). I sat my politics test on ideologies last out of all my tests, but I feel as though it went the best. Most people chose the harder question, as that was on an ideology that we were learning about in class, whereas I chose the ideology we finished in Year 12 (because I had revised both, already planned and received feedback on the essay for the other ideology and knew that it would be better to just go with the question I find easiest, since that's what I'd do in an exam). I haven't received a grade or feedback on that one yet. I sat my biopsychology test during week 2 and it was honestly okay. I went through so many past papers and questions so I'm not worried. I don't know my grade, but I'm expecting an A/A*. I unfortunately have a full paper 2 mock for psychology in around 3 weeks, so after my LNAT, this will be my priority. I struggle to remember all of research methods, as it's quite chunky.
•
Had my first EPQ session! It was decent and I was with some of my friends, which was nice. My teacher is also really nice. I thought that the EPQ would be very overwhelming in terms of deadlines, but I don't think it will actually impact me at all. Realistically, the topic I picked (flaws in the South Korean legal system) is something I find so interesting to the point that if asked, I could probably write the full 5000 words by the end of October. I also already know the case studies and resources I'm going to use, which makes life a lot easier. I've basically already done most of the hard part, which is sifting through the resources, because that was for my own entertainment. The more fun part of my EPQ is getting to rewatch and take notes on some of my favourite K-dramas that explore one of the themes I'm looking at!
I've done so much in the last few weeks that its all blended together. I probably have missed out a lot, but other than harassing my teachers for essay feedback, I genuinely cannot remember most things. It didn't help that I was sick through half of this time (recovered now, thankfully). I want to get back into my wider reading after my LNAT, but depending on my schedule, we will see. I've pretty much been in school 09:00 - 16:30/17:00 every day in lesson or revising (or procrastinating with friends, but I try to limit that where possible). It's been a rough ride, but only one more week to go till I'm free from this LNAT torment
! P.S. This is my promise to myself (and you all) that I will update every week at a minimum!
absolutely amazing!!!
feel free to pm me if you need a hand with politics or EPQ 🙂
feel free to pm me if you need a hand with politics or EPQ 🙂
Thank you so much! I will keep this in mind if I have any questions later on - appreciate the help
Aw no, that's frustrating but in my experience, provisional licenses are usually quick to come! When is your new test date?
October 10th. I’ve emailed my school to try and get an official letter of identity confirmation from them (as it’s listed as an accepted form of ID in the UK on the LNAT website), so hopefully that should help my chances of getting in. The test centre I’ve booked for has awful reviews with some of the most recent being people who were turned away for not having everything in order in terms of identification. This is worrying me quite a bit, but my plan is to bring the accepted letter from my school, as well as my expired passport, school ID, birth certificate - literally anything I can to plead my case, regardless of whether it’s accepted or not. The letter should be enough in theory but I’m sceptical after seeing all those negative reviews. My situation with the provisional license is also a bit complicated as I need a signature for it. I am very much so preparing myself for the worst (meaning no Cambridge), which is a shame because I’ve worked so hard to get here. I did email both the Cambridge Faculty of Law and my college’s undergraduate admissions team to let them know my situation and ask about the potential status of my application. In my panic, I looked at some other universities that I would consider applying to if I had to switch Cambridge out. Luckily, Warwick have changed their contextual criteria, which I now meet, so that’s an option. I like the course but I’m not fully sold on the university itself. I’m also considering just applying to a London university instead - most likely KCL. I like their PPL course and meet the contextual requirements, but the LNAT MCQ score they want is usually quite high. I’m hoping and praying they let me in on the test day, but in all honesty, I’m more embarrassed and disappointed with myself than anything. My school are very good with paperwork things generally, so I think I should be able to sort things out. Not entirely sure about the stamp that they want on the letter though
Mistakes happen. Just bring any paperwork you may need on the test day, just in case. Try and stay calm and keep prepping for the LNAT, don't let this discourage you! Hope everything works out!
Thanks so much! I’m trying to stay as calm as possible and pray that the situation gets resolved tomorrow. I tried calling my test centre yesterday but the number was out of service, so I’ll try to contact them through LNAT Customer Service on Monday!
Hope that goes well!!
I also received my first UCAS track updates today - Nottingham and Birmingham both gave me conditional offers for law! I was a little nervous at first, thinking that I had been rejected so quickly by two of my choices, but this was definitely a great way to end the day. It turns out that, despite being eligible for the enhanced contextual offer, because my postcode no longer qualifies under the standard contextual offer, I am not eligible for any contextual offers at Nottingham, which meant that the offer from them was AAA. I am eligible for a contextual offer at Birmingham, so I was surprised to see that the offers they gave me were AAA (standard) or AAB + A in the EPQ (reduced). I'm not sure whether me doing an EPQ makes me ineligible for a contextual offer or if there was some confusion in admissions, but I'm going to email them tomorrow to get clarity, because I did everything correctly on UCAS. Either way, I've got two solid university offers to study a course that I love - couldn't get better than that
!I also received my first UCAS track updates today - Nottingham and Birmingham both gave me conditional offers for law! I was a little nervous at first, thinking that I had been rejected so quickly by two of my choices, but this was definitely a great way to end the day. It turns out that, despite being eligible for the enhanced contextual offer, because my postcode no longer qualifies under the standard contextual offer, I am not eligible for any contextual offers at Nottingham, which meant that the offer from them was AAA. I am eligible for a contextual offer at Birmingham, so I was surprised to see that the offers they gave me were AAA (standard) or AAB + A in the EPQ (reduced). I'm not sure whether me doing an EPQ makes me ineligible for a contextual offer or if there was some confusion in admissions, but I'm going to email them tomorrow to get clarity, because I did everything correctly on UCAS. Either way, I've got two solid university offers to study a course that I love - couldn't get better than that
!So glad you've managed to get your LNAT situation sorted!! Also congrats on your offers!!
I also received my first UCAS track updates today - Nottingham and Birmingham both gave me conditional offers for law! I was a little nervous at first, thinking that I had been rejected so quickly by two of my choices, but this was definitely a great way to end the day. It turns out that, despite being eligible for the enhanced contextual offer, because my postcode no longer qualifies under the standard contextual offer, I am not eligible for any contextual offers at Nottingham, which meant that the offer from them was AAA. I am eligible for a contextual offer at Birmingham, so I was surprised to see that the offers they gave me were AAA (standard) or AAB + A in the EPQ (reduced). I'm not sure whether me doing an EPQ makes me ineligible for a contextual offer or if there was some confusion in admissions, but I'm going to email them tomorrow to get clarity, because I did everything correctly on UCAS. Either way, I've got two solid university offers to study a course that I love - couldn't get better than that
!congrats on your offers!!
Thank you so much! I’m feeling very relieved about the LNAT situation, but still a little nervous as I won’t be able to visit or contact my centre before my test date. Good luck with your applications too!
Thanks so much!
Thanks, I hope everything goes well on your LNAT day, which I'm sure it will!
I also received my first UCAS track updates today - Nottingham and Birmingham both gave me conditional offers for law! I was a little nervous at first, thinking that I had been rejected so quickly by two of my choices, but this was definitely a great way to end the day. It turns out that, despite being eligible for the enhanced contextual offer, because my postcode no longer qualifies under the standard contextual offer, I am not eligible for any contextual offers at Nottingham, which meant that the offer from them was AAA. I am eligible for a contextual offer at Birmingham, so I was surprised to see that the offers they gave me were AAA (standard) or AAB + A in the EPQ (reduced). I'm not sure whether me doing an EPQ makes me ineligible for a contextual offer or if there was some confusion in admissions, but I'm going to email them tomorrow to get clarity, because I did everything correctly on UCAS. Either way, I've got two solid university offers to study a course that I love - couldn't get better than that
!congrats!!
Thank you!!
sending you lots of positive vibes and good luck!!! you’ve got this 😊
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