The Student Room Group

Dream Course or Dream School?

Hiya,

I originally applied for Law with Politics at Belfast, however was rejected due to not receiving the grades. My insurance was Royal Holloway, again for Law with Politics.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Royal Holloway, but I’ve always loved Belfast. My issue is that I’ve also always loved Law with Politics. I was devastated when I first found out, and went through clearing to gain a politics course with Belfast, but now I’m worried that I’ll be missing out on law and won’t be as desirable to law firms in the future.

For context, I began the Law Society at my school, and have spent time gaining work experience in law firms. I’ve loved my politics alevel as well, and I’ve been in a tizzy ever since the heat of the moment calmed down. I’m excited that I have the chance to go to Belfast, but I’m so scared about whether I’ll be unhappy in the course - even though I really enjoy politics.

What do I do??? I’m so upset and I feel like I’ll make the wrong decision either way. Should I call Royal Holloway for clearing and see if they’ll offer me a place again? Or should I stick with Belfast as I’ll still be happy doing politics?
Original post by Lexa!!
Hiya,
I originally applied for Law with Politics at Belfast, however was rejected due to not receiving the grades. My insurance was Royal Holloway, again for Law with Politics.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Royal Holloway, but I’ve always loved Belfast. My issue is that I’ve also always loved Law with Politics. I was devastated when I first found out, and went through clearing to gain a politics course with Belfast, but now I’m worried that I’ll be missing out on law and won’t be as desirable to law firms in the future.
For context, I began the Law Society at my school, and have spent time gaining work experience in law firms. I’ve loved my politics alevel as well, and I’ve been in a tizzy ever since the heat of the moment calmed down. I’m excited that I have the chance to go to Belfast, but I’m so scared about whether I’ll be unhappy in the course - even though I really enjoy politics.
What do I do??? I’m so upset and I feel like I’ll make the wrong decision either way. Should I call Royal Holloway for clearing and see if they’ll offer me a place again? Or should I stick with Belfast as I’ll still be happy doing politics?

Hii, don’t be discouraged, what grades did you get? You can try calling the uni .
Reply 2
Original post by Prospective-St
Hii, don’t be discouraged, what grades did you get? You can try calling the uni .

I received BCC with a B in EPQ, much lower than I anticipated. I’ve been offered a place with Belfast for politics, and should get an offer from Royal Holloway, I’m just not sure which to pick
Original post by Lexa!!
I received BCC with a B in EPQ, much lower than I anticipated. I’ve been offered a place with Belfast for politics, and should get an offer from Royal Holloway, I’m just not sure which to pick

Have you called Belfast because the course could be available in clearing for lower grades and since you have an offer you can just ask them to change course instead of declining your offer and going through clearing. If that doesn’t work you could try emailing the uni and explaining your situation.
Original post by Lexa!!
Hiya,
I originally applied for Law with Politics at Belfast, however was rejected due to not receiving the grades. My insurance was Royal Holloway, again for Law with Politics.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Royal Holloway, but I’ve always loved Belfast. My issue is that I’ve also always loved Law with Politics. I was devastated when I first found out, and went through clearing to gain a politics course with Belfast, but now I’m worried that I’ll be missing out on law and won’t be as desirable to law firms in the future.
For context, I began the Law Society at my school, and have spent time gaining work experience in law firms. I’ve loved my politics alevel as well, and I’ve been in a tizzy ever since the heat of the moment calmed down. I’m excited that I have the chance to go to Belfast, but I’m so scared about whether I’ll be unhappy in the course - even though I really enjoy politics.
What do I do??? I’m so upset and I feel like I’ll make the wrong decision either way. Should I call Royal Holloway for clearing and see if they’ll offer me a place again? Or should I stick with Belfast as I’ll still be happy doing politics?

HI @Lexa!!

As has already been suggested, it may be worth calling Belfast and asking if they have space on Law and Politics for you.

It is important you go somewhere you like and study a course you enjoy. This is particularly important in a legal career as it is hard to do well in a subject you don't enjoy and you need to try and get grades that reflect the best of your ability as law is a very competitive field.

In terms of your future career as a lawyer, doing a law degree now or doing a law conversion after your politics degree will make little to no difference on your prospects. Lots of qualified lawyers have a conversion course with a different undergrad discipline rather than a law undergrad degree. It is worth checking whether the original joint honours degree you were interested in was a qualifying law degree or not. If it was not, then you would still have to do a law conversion after the course to be able to continue qualifying in any case (this is a question the uni would be able to answer if you get in touch with them). Of course, if it was a qualifying law degree (which is likely) then you wouldn't need to do a conversion after studying it.

Another possible option is starting the politics course and seeing whether you can transfer onto law and politics whilst already at the university. This is a risk move as there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to switch but it isn't completely unheard of and I know many people during my undergraduate degree that did switch course (although this was not at Belfast).

I hope this helps and good luck!
Reply 5
Original post by Lexa!!
Hiya,
I originally applied for Law with Politics at Belfast, however was rejected due to not receiving the grades. My insurance was Royal Holloway, again for Law with Politics.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Royal Holloway, but I’ve always loved Belfast. My issue is that I’ve also always loved Law with Politics. I was devastated when I first found out, and went through clearing to gain a politics course with Belfast, but now I’m worried that I’ll be missing out on law and won’t be as desirable to law firms in the future.
For context, I began the Law Society at my school, and have spent time gaining work experience in law firms. I’ve loved my politics alevel as well, and I’ve been in a tizzy ever since the heat of the moment calmed down. I’m excited that I have the chance to go to Belfast, but I’m so scared about whether I’ll be unhappy in the course - even though I really enjoy politics.
What do I do??? I’m so upset and I feel like I’ll make the wrong decision either way. Should I call Royal Holloway for clearing and see if they’ll offer me a place again? Or should I stick with Belfast as I’ll still be happy doing politics?

I would go with university. If you like the university and they're offering you a place, grab it - because its a lot easier to chop and change once you're physically there - and sometimes you can make a fuss and "engineer" the degree you actually want to be on by choosing particular options. I wouldn't worry at all about wanting to practise law and not having a law degree - that's not a big issue.
I’d go with Belfast if that’s where you want to be. Over 50% of lawyers don’t have a law degree. You can do the undergrad then do the GDL. It’s more money & studying but it’s an option.

Ps you don’t even need a prior law education now to take the SQE. However many of the top firms are insisting you do take some parts of the GDL. Legal Cheek recently said 71% of firms believe those with no prior legal education are not ready for the SQE and it’s not enough to equip you properly with being a lawyer. IMO they introduced it for valiant reasons (to make it more accessible), but in reality I’m not sure it’s quite working out as they hoped. You still need a qualifying law degree or GDL for the Bar.
Original post by Lexa!!
Hiya,
I originally applied for Law with Politics at Belfast, however was rejected due to not receiving the grades. My insurance was Royal Holloway, again for Law with Politics.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Royal Holloway, but I’ve always loved Belfast. My issue is that I’ve also always loved Law with Politics. I was devastated when I first found out, and went through clearing to gain a politics course with Belfast, but now I’m worried that I’ll be missing out on law and won’t be as desirable to law firms in the future.
For context, I began the Law Society at my school, and have spent time gaining work experience in law firms. I’ve loved my politics alevel as well, and I’ve been in a tizzy ever since the heat of the moment calmed down. I’m excited that I have the chance to go to Belfast, but I’m so scared about whether I’ll be unhappy in the course - even though I really enjoy politics.
What do I do??? I’m so upset and I feel like I’ll make the wrong decision either way. Should I call Royal Holloway for clearing and see if they’ll offer me a place again? Or should I stick with Belfast as I’ll still be happy doing politics?

Hi there,

We just wanted to make sure that you managed to find all the information you needed?

If you still need help, feel free to reach out to us.

Best wishes,
Royal Holloway, University of London

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