If you used Clearing in 2024, how did you find it?

is my future career as a lawyer doomed ?

okay so not looking for advice, rather a harsh and honest reality check will suffice.

story time - i am an international student and just graduated with an ib diploma. i have always excelled in academics and was in the top percentile in school and expected to pass with a 40+. However, things started going downhill for me since the past year, my mum got diagnosed with terminal cancer following which she experienced several complications during the surgical procedures in addition to the chemotherapy, i dont want to use this as an excuse but will acknowledge that being the sole caretaker for my single mother and younger brother did take a toll on my studies. the first hit came when i recieved a 36 in my mocks that became my predicted and couldnt apply to my dream uni ( LSE ). while this was disappointing, i still applied to several other tier 2 russell group uni's, as well as one private uni ( the university of law ). the private uni was recommended by my counsellor as she was a big advocate for specialized universities. after recieving conditional offers from all my options i chose one of the rg uni's as my firm and uni of law as my insurance. till the day that i recieved my results i had completely mentally prepaired myself to go to my firm as it was more prestigious. until that ill fated day that i got the news that i had only scored a measly 24 ib points and only passed by the skin on my teeth.

current predicament - my results were sooooo far below anything i could possibly imagine that my self esteem dived off of a cliff. i was so strapped for choices as because even in uni of law i didnt get into the regular llb course and instead got transferred to the 4 year program with an integrated foundation year. i didn't have time to go through the entire clearing process as i had to make the quickest possible decision as I had to apply for a visa and taking a retest for my ib exams was out of the question as that was a huge emotional and mental burden that i didnt want to carry again. my mother who is now in remission suggested that i should go with what i already had in hand and should not take any risk as i am only 17 and still had time.

hence, i have accepted the offer, paid the deposit and set my mind on doing the best i can to graduate with a first class degree. i also desire to do my postgraduate masters degree before i start working. however as i deepdived into the depths of quora and reddit, i read some terribly negative opinions about the university of law and its undergraduate courses. so is the prestige of the uni really THAT important? is there any chance of getting into a high ranking UK or European uni for masters after? or a good job? or is my future legal career truly doomed ?

Reply 1

Labradoodle1

I'm extremely sorry to hear about what you have gone through. I hope you realise that this isn't your fault in any way at all. I have no knowledge of law whatsoever (so I could be wrong about anything I say in this reply), but I always got the impression that the prestige of a law degree matters more than most other degrees. You can still get a job as a lawyer no matter where you went, but the better legal firms do have a preference for better universities from my understanding. And to be honest, the university of law has an absolutely terrible reputation. It's one of the very few for-profit universities in the uk and has even been described as a scam by people. I wouldn't even recommend a UK student to go there from what I've heard, let alone an international student who would be paying significantly higher fees. I'd recommend you to retake IB if that's possible. A degree is an absolutely huge investment of time and money and I definitely wouldn't rush into a decision for the sake of it. I absolutely do have faith in you to succeed as a lawyer though (your history of academic excellence speaks for itself, and I'm certain you could return to that level under better circumstances). I just don't think the university of law is going to help you achieve your goals. Please don't give up. I know it must feel terrible to be in your situation right now, but I'm certain you're going to succeed :smile: