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Do i have a shot of getting into russel groups with AS level grades aabb or abbb?

For context, I study abroad but plan to study law in the UK. The international A-level courses I do involve first year (AS) and second year (A2) external exams, with a grade A being the highest possible grade for first year AS exams. I've received half of my AS results, and I got an A for English Literature and a B for history, although I plan to get it remarked and hopefully achieve an A, as I think I'm close to the grade boundary. I'm waiting on Edexcel Biology and Psychology tomorrow, and I feel like I got two Bs or an A and a B. I may be able to pull off A*AAA or A*AAB for my A2s, but with my current AS results and predicted results for tomorrow, do I have a shot at Oxbridge/ Russel group unis? Considering the standard offer is A*AA or AAA.
Original post
by cloverbean
For context, I study abroad but plan to study law in the UK. The international A-level courses I do involve first year (AS) and second year (A2) external exams, with a grade A being the highest possible grade for first year AS exams. I've received half of my AS results, and I got an A for English Literature and a B for history, although I plan to get it remarked and hopefully achieve an A, as I think I'm close to the grade boundary. I'm waiting on Edexcel Biology and Psychology tomorrow, and I feel like I got two Bs or an A and a B. I may be able to pull off A*AAA or A*AAB for my A2s, but with my current AS results and predicted results for tomorrow, do I have a shot at Oxbridge/ Russel group unis? Considering the standard offer is A*AA or AAA.

Oxford or Cambridge - both very competitive, very difficult to say for certain. I'd advise that there is no harm in applying - it'll be 1 choice out of 5 in your UCAS application.

Russell Group - you know this means nothing right? Your AS grades would make a decent application at lots of fairly competitive Law schools, whether the university is part of the self-selected Russell Group or not. But please, don't pay any attention to the RG label.

Reply 2

Original post
by 04MR17
Oxford or Cambridge - both very competitive, very difficult to say for certain. I'd advise that there is no harm in applying - it'll be 1 choice out of 5 in your UCAS application.
Russell Group - you know this means nothing right? Your AS grades would make a decent application at lots of fairly competitive Law schools, whether the university is part of the self-selected Russell Group or not. But please, don't pay any attention to the RG label.

I see, thank you! Just out of curiosity, why shouldn't I pay attention to the RG label?
Original post
by cloverbean
I see, thank you! Just out of curiosity, why shouldn't I pay attention to the RG label?

Because the Russell Group are a group of unis who all decided that they were going to form a collective group. Some of those unis then used that as badge to sell their university as being somehow "the best". They gave themselves that label. It so happens that these universities are some of the most popular in the country - that's also because lots of them are in large cities. It doesn't mean that the quality of teaching in every course that university offers is somehow better than non-RG. Volunteers here will always say that whether their uni is RG or not isn't something an undergraduate student is going to notice on their course.

Reply 4

Original post
by 04MR17
Because the Russell Group are a group of unis who all decided that they were going to form a collective group. Some of those unis then used that as badge to sell their university as being somehow "the best". They gave themselves that label. It so happens that these universities are some of the most popular in the country - that's also because lots of them are in large cities. It doesn't mean that the quality of teaching in every course that university offers is somehow better than non-RG. Volunteers here will always say that whether their uni is RG or not isn't something an undergraduate student is going to notice on their course.

Ah so it's more of a marketing technique, I see thanks!
Original post
by cloverbean
Ah so it's more of a marketing technique, I see thanks!

Correct :yes:

Reply 6

Hey, I'm assuming it's too late but unfortunately for Law, the Russell Group is hugely important.

There are a lot of (if not most of) the big law firms which will only accept Oxbridge/Russell Group universities. Unless it's the likes of St Andrews, generally if you're looking to go into law, you should be prioritising the Russell Group.
Original post
by Carpetshiz
Hey, I'm assuming it's too late but unfortunately for Law, the Russell Group is hugely important.

There are a lot of (if not most of) the big law firms which will only accept Oxbridge/Russell Group universities. Unless it's the likes of St Andrews, generally if you're looking to go into law, you should be prioritising the Russell Group.

Source? :smile:

Reply 8

Original post
by 04MR17
Source? :smile:

It's just general knowledge :smile:
Original post
by Carpetshiz
It's just general knowledge :smile:

General knowledge based on?
Do you work for a large law firm?

We've seen the same claim made a lot of times and seen it debunked each time. If you know differently that would be very helpful to us for giving future advice but I'm just trying to qualify your statement a little bit. :smile:
Original post
by Carpetshiz
Hey, I'm assuming it's too late but unfortunately for Law, the Russell Group is hugely important.

There are a lot of (if not most of) the big law firms which will only accept Oxbridge/Russell Group universities. Unless it's the likes of St Andrews, generally if you're looking to go into law, you should be prioritising the Russell Group.

I would like to debunk this, as while having the RG label certainly doesn't hurt, it is not vital. The perception that "there are a lot of (if not most of) the big law firms which will only accept Oxbridge/Russell Group universities" is frankly outdated. If you look at the Legal Cheek pages for most firms, including Magic Circle, you will see a proportion of trainees that have come from non-Oxbridge, non-RG universities. There may be a couple/a few that tend to just recruit from Oxbridge and RG, but that's just not the norm anymore. Firms are increasingly aware of the benefits of recruiting talent from a variety of different backgrounds.

Reply 11

Original post
by Carpetshiz
It's just general knowledge :smile:

In other words, a myth. Pease don't propagate myths. Many law firms recruit university-blind.

Russell Group universities are well represented in the legal profession because of the academic quality of their graduates, not because of brand names or exclusive hiring policies. The Russell Group is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I add that, if a law firm had hiring policy of "Russell Group graduates only", it would immediately lose an indirect race discrimination claim, because of the demographics of the UK student population.

Reply 12

Original post
by Carpetshiz
Hey, I'm assuming it's too late but unfortunately for Law, the Russell Group is hugely important.
There are a lot of (if not most of) the big law firms which will only accept Oxbridge/Russell Group universities. Unless it's the likes of St Andrews, generally if you're looking to go into law, you should be prioritising the Russell Group.

The OP wishes to study law. St Andrews does not offer law as an undergraduate subject. It is prudent to inform yourself before expressing an opinion.

Reply 13

Original post
by cloverbean
For context, I study abroad but plan to study law in the UK. The international A-level courses I do involve first year (AS) and second year (A2) external exams, with a grade A being the highest possible grade for first year AS exams. I've received half of my AS results, and I got an A for English Literature and a B for history, although I plan to get it remarked and hopefully achieve an A, as I think I'm close to the grade boundary. I'm waiting on Edexcel Biology and Psychology tomorrow, and I feel like I got two Bs or an A and a B. I may be able to pull off A*AAA or A*AAB for my A2s, but with my current AS results and predicted results for tomorrow, do I have a shot at Oxbridge/ Russel group unis? Considering the standard offer is A*AA or AAA.

I followed the Scottish system and had 5 A’s at Higher (equivalent to AS levals) and predicted another 3 A’s at higher this year aswell as an A and B at my advanced highers (considered just above A levels) this year and got rejected from the two Russel groups I applied to because law is just so competitive. However check if you count as widening access as that lowers grade requirements. Also look into the LNAT as some Russel groups want this and if you do well on that it will definitely help your chances for the unis that look at them. But ultimately I swear part of it is lusk so deffo apply for two reach schools and this may be Russel Groups. But also remember back ups as RG is not everything, good luck!

Reply 14

Russell Group Uni's are highly regarded, so if you can get into one, I would. It just makes job applications beyond uni easier, because many firms (not all) specifically ask for a minimim of a 2:1 from a Russell Group uni. There are a few uni's which aren't in the Russell Group, which are still highly regarded, eg St Andrews and Bath.

Have a look at some firms to see what their requirements are. It tends to be the larger names which want the highest grades from the prestigious unis. A local law firm may have different requirements - it depends what you are after.
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 15

Original post
by inspir8tion
Russell Group Uni's are highly regarded, so if you can get into one, I would. It just makes job applications beyond uni easier, because many firms (not all) specifically ask for a minimim of a 2:1 from a Russell Group uni. There are a few uni's which aren't in the Russell Group, which are still highly regarded, eg St Andrews and Bath.
Have a look at some firms to see what their requirements are. It tends to be the larger names which want the highest grades from the prestigious unis. A local law firm may have different requirements - it depends what you are after.

Perhaps you could point me to the website of a law firm which "specifically ask for a minimim of a 2:1 from a Russell Group uni".

I'm happy to wait.
:ditto: me too
“Oh no, not this again!” Etc.

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