uni options for law

Im very unsure on my uni options. I'm predicted A*A*A plus epq. I've picked Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and maybe Sheffield as a safe(Dont want to stay in London) Im unsure on my safe option (sheffiled) because its not really "safe" if it requires 3 As 😭😭. I have looked at Cardiff, Liverpool, Reading, but I am not convinced. I think I still want it to be a russel group for the employability rates but atp i don't even know. Maybe I Should replace Birmingham with Sheffield hence I dont know much about Brum (i picked it cuz ive only heard good things, but its only ther3 to fill up space ngl) Pls help😭😭

Reply 1

bibachu

Universities Forum Helper

13

Original post by gaiuscolumbus12.

Im very unsure on my uni options. I'm predicted A*A*A plus epq. I've picked Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and maybe Sheffield as a safe(Dont want to stay in London) Im unsure on my safe option (sheffiled) because its not really "safe" if it requires 3 As 😭😭. I have looked at Cardiff, Liverpool, Reading, but I am not convinced. I think I still want it to be a russel group for the employability rates but atp i don't even know. Maybe I Should replace Birmingham with Sheffield hence I dont know much about Brum (i picked it cuz ive only heard good things, but its only ther3 to fill up space ngl) Pls help😭😭

I’m a fellow law applicant this year and submitted my application a while ago to study law at Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Leeds. Some factors you may wish to consider that I used personally to finalise my choices were location, course, accommodation, student life and career prospects.

At almost any RG, you’ll have good career prospects, simply due to the vast array of connections these institutions have to employers in various sectors. However, when making my choices, I was specifically looking at universities that would target specific companies and employers within the commercial industry, whether that be commercial law firms or other businesses. I also was looking for universities with particularly high research quality rankings, as research is something I’m also interested in pursuing. Note that rankings aren’t always an accurate or reliable indicator, but generally speaking, if a university is consistently ranked highly across multiple sources, it’s likely that they have a good reputation.

The course was probably the most important thing to me when finalising my choices. I would urge you to make sure that you are picking courses that you genuinely would be happy to study for the next 3 years or so. I was looking for specific modules that weren’t always offered at other universities, which is something that influenced my decisions. For example, I was drawn to Bristol and Cambridge due to their comparative law modules (and some others at Cambridge like Roman law and legal history). Interestingly, I was not drawn to Leeds as much for their modules, since they are quite limited in range, but more so for the actual course structure, which is quite career focused but also is well suited to my interest in socio-legal matters. There were other universities with courses that I liked as much or nearly as much as my choices, like UCL, but coupled with location and other factors, my choices trumped them for me personally. I’m also from London and have no desire to stay in London for university, but I knew I wanted to be in a big city or at the very least, in a student focused city. Out of all of my choices, Cambridge would be the anomaly, but the nature of Cambridge as both a city and a university make up for it not being a “big” city, as the city is naturally very student focused.

Student life and accommodation almost go hand in hand. This is something that varies quite a lot between my choices, but in some way, I feel comfortable with the student life at each of them. My top choice at the moment would be Birmingham, as I’m not banking on a Cambridge offer. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did when I went to the open day last week, but it was actually really good. Birmingham as a city has, in my opinion, an unfair reputation. The dangers really only exist in certain parts, which is the same as London or really, any big city. The university itself is a little further out but only a quick train ride, which conveniently takes you straight from the city centre to campus. In terms of law, the course seems intense, but well suited to people who want to be challenged academically. The teaching seems particularly good from what I’ve heard and as a university, Birmingham has a lot of opportunities in many sectors. I think, correct me if I’m wrong, Birmingham and Manchester are the most targeted universities by employers nationwide. Birmingham also will give you a reduced offer for taking the EPQ of AAB + an A in the EPQ. Sheffield is a good safety choice, but I would look more into the course if you haven’t already, as it seems quite criminal law focused (which I believe is their speciality).

Any of these choices would be appropriate, but one of the most important factors to also consider is the entry requirements. You should be looking to choose a safety choice that would essentially meet your “worst case scenario” grades. For me, my “worst case scenario” grades would be around 3-4 grades lower than my predicted grades, which left me picking safety choices with entry requirements of AAB - ABB. Luckily, I qualify for contextual offers, so was able to apply to all RG universities with no issues, but if you are not, this may be something worth reconsidering - particularly if you aren’t confident that you will achieve at least AAA if worst comes to worst in your A levels. At the end of the day, this is a very personal choice, but your choices should serve your personal interests best. Best of luck to you :smile:

Original post by gaiuscolumbus12.

Im very unsure on my uni options. I'm predicted A*A*A plus epq. I've picked Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and maybe Sheffield as a safe(Dont want to stay in London) Im unsure on my safe option (sheffiled) because its not really "safe" if it requires 3 As 😭😭. I have looked at Cardiff, Liverpool, Reading, but I am not convinced. I think I still want it to be a russel group for the employability rates but atp i don't even know. Maybe I Should replace Birmingham with Sheffield hence I dont know much about Brum (i picked it cuz ive only heard good things, but its only ther3 to fill up space ngl) Pls help😭😭

Hi there,

Im glad to hear you have looked at Cardiff, sorry to hear you are not convinced though!
Im in my fourth year here and love it. Many of my friends do law and they all really enjoy it, many of them now doing their Masters.
Can I ask if there is any reason you are unsure on Cardiff? Or if you have any questions?
Not to sound too bias, but I do think Cardiff is the best city to be a student in, and the uni and student community is so good!

Grace - Cardiff Uni Student Rep :smile:

Reply 3

LawStudent456

22

Your options are simple really - just apply for the top RG unis outside of London

I’m assuming you want a big city uni - hence the Durham/Exeter exclusion.

Sheff/Liverpool/Newcastle are best insurance options that over the past years have been available in clearing/accepted students with lower grades

Notts are very strict when it comes to grading and the number of firsts they hand out. You can look on whatdotheyknow to find the statistics. Defo something I would consider.

Reply 4

Prince hamdan

4

Original post by gaiuscolumbus12.

Im very unsure on my uni options. I'm predicted A*A*A plus epq. I've picked Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and maybe Sheffield as a safe(Dont want to stay in London) Im unsure on my safe option (sheffiled) because its not really "safe" if it requires 3 As 😭😭. I have looked at Cardiff, Liverpool, Reading, but I am not convinced. I think I still want it to be a russel group for the employability rates but atp i don't even know. Maybe I Should replace Birmingham with Sheffield hence I dont know much about Brum (i picked it cuz ive only heard good things, but its only ther3 to fill up space ngl) Pls help😭😭

Seriously?

uni options for law

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