Reply 1
starting preparation too early is not a good idea so i wouldnt be doing practice questions just yet but definitely read things like the news and academic journals just to keep yourself sharp.
i bought arbitio this application cycle and got 31 in my LNAT but i think it’s really important to consider your aspirations when deciding whether to buy it or not. if you only plan to apply to 1 lnat uni then its not as crucial as if youre applying to 3+. i applied to 4 lnat unis (cambridge, lse, ucl and durham) so it was a non-negotiable for me
i bought arbitio this application cycle and got 31 in my LNAT but i think it’s really important to consider your aspirations when deciding whether to buy it or not. if you only plan to apply to 1 lnat uni then its not as crucial as if youre applying to 3+. i applied to 4 lnat unis (cambridge, lse, ucl and durham) so it was a non-negotiable for me
Reply 2
Original post
by genie1000Hi, I'm in Year 12 and hoping to sit the LNAT next year for university. What are the best things that I can do right now to prepare? I know many only start revising over the summer but I wanted to get a headstart. I've seen a few people saying Arbitio is a good resource although you have to pay, should I invest and start that now? I've also started looking at LNAT ninja, although those don't offer solutions and I'm not sure how accurately it reflects the sort of questions you'd get in the actual LNAT. Would anyone have any advice to help me? Thanks!
Focus on your mocks and start practicing for the LNAT after you've got your predicted grades. No matter how good your LNAT score is, it most likely won't outweigh mediocre/bad predictions.
I do genuinely think it's true that you don't need to spend money on lots of paid resources. But if you want to pick one, I would probably go with Arbitio (from my personal experience) as it does have very difficult texts and good essay questions. I got Arbitio as a present and honestly, I do think it was useful. However, it's not necessary and there are other ways of practicing reading large chunks of difficult texts on screen.
Make sure you practice with online resources! I had no issue reading physical texts, but reading on a screen for 95 minutes was much harder for some reason (and gave me headaches, so you want to prepare for that).
For the essay, read the news and think of the arguments around each issue you read about. If it's a legal issue or case, go read the judgements if you're interested. Practice sticking to the word count!! I spent almost 10 minutes in the essay cutting it down to 750 words (the word limit). You only have 40 minutes for the essay, so that's 1/4 of my time! Also remember to turn the word check off in docs/word.
Watch Dr Williams' video on the Jesus College YouTube (it's called How to Smash your LNAT, I think) and Eve Cornell's video. They were both super helpful.
Reply 3
Original post
by genie1000Hi, I'm in Year 12 and hoping to sit the LNAT next year for university. What are the best things that I can do right now to prepare? I know many only start revising over the summer but I wanted to get a headstart. I've seen a few people saying Arbitio is a good resource although you have to pay, should I invest and start that now? I've also started looking at LNAT ninja, although those don't offer solutions and I'm not sure how accurately it reflects the sort of questions you'd get in the actual LNAT. Would anyone have any advice to help me? Thanks!
Revise over the summer, it's too early right now and you have more important things to focus on like doing well in current classes to get high predicted grades. I would advise you to avoid textbooks like the Ultimate LNAT guide because they are way easier than the real thing. You could buy Arbitio but I did well without it. The LNAT official website have practice tests and a simulation of the real thing that I would recommend, it's free.
Hold back until summer then over the holidays do a few questions everyday to get familiar with the technique and weirdness of the lnat test.
For the essay section look up sample essays (which you can also find on the official LNAT website) and get familiar with the structure of it. Write a few under timed conditions and see if you can someone to mark them. I got one of my essays marked by a teacher.
Reply 4
8
Wow, thank you guys for all for the replies, all of your advice is extremely appreciated!
Reply 5
8
Hi guys! I've been having more higher education stuff at school which has me quite worried to be honest, as my school has really emphasised how competitive law is. I really want to get into a good university (hopefully Oxbridge), do you think I am better off applying for another subject (e.g., History, Classics: both of which I do enjoy) and then converting? I'm not especially passionate about either, and other people have stressed to me if I want to do law in the end I'm better off with a law degree. Also for anyone with law Oxbridge experience, I was wondering if you think it's necessary to consider things like tutors/places at different colleges for law when choosing a college, or more prioritise things like accommodation/student life. Thank you !
Reply 6
Original post
by genie1000Hi guys! I've been having more higher education stuff at school which has me quite worried to be honest, as my school has really emphasised how competitive law is. I really want to get into a good university (hopefully Oxbridge), do you think I am better off applying for another subject (e.g., History, Classics: both of which I do enjoy) and then converting? I'm not especially passionate about either, and other people have stressed to me if I want to do law in the end I'm better off with a law degree. Also for anyone with law Oxbridge experience, I was wondering if you think it's necessary to consider things like tutors/places at different colleges for law when choosing a college, or more prioritise things like accommodation/student life. Thank you !
i have an offer for cambridge law and i was probably feeling the same this time last year, concerned that i couldnt get in. genuinely the best advice is that you should just apply. also other courses are also so competitive as well so i dont think its a great idea to selectively decide what course to do based on admissions.
i can’t speak on actual experience bc ive not started yet nor got the grades to meet my offer but when deciding a college i picked based off the community and location. the location is close to the law faculty and for law you have lots of lectures. i may be wrong but i think you may have supervisions/tutorials at different colleges sometimes so idk if colleges with the best tutors matters
Reply 7
Original post
by genie1000Hi guys! I've been having more higher education stuff at school which has me quite worried to be honest, as my school has really emphasised how competitive law is. I really want to get into a good university (hopefully Oxbridge), do you think I am better off applying for another subject (e.g., History, Classics: both of which I do enjoy) and then converting? I'm not especially passionate about either, and other people have stressed to me if I want to do law in the end I'm better off with a law degree. Also for anyone with law Oxbridge experience, I was wondering if you think it's necessary to consider things like tutors/places at different colleges for law when choosing a college, or more prioritise things like accommodation/student life. Thank you !
Apply for what you are most passionate about and what you enjoy because you will spend the next 3-4 years of your life studying this subject. If you love studying the Law and are enthusiastic then go for it! You do not need a law degree to study law. You can do a law conversion at the end of your degree and employers don't really differentiate between law and non law degrees, it just means an extra year of study. Law is very competitive but schools will warn you so people who aren't genuinely interested don't just apply because it has a good reputation and they want to become lawyers. If you're aiming for Oxbridge all degree courses will be competitive.
Choosing the college depends on the person everyone has a different process. Some people just spin a wheel, others focus on looking for the prettiest college, the best accommodation, the best financial aid etc. It depends on what is most important to you. Do some research on colleges and pick the one you feel suits you the best. Many people have told me the open day is good time to see which college you 'click' with.
Reply 8
Original post
by genie1000Hi guys! I've been having more higher education stuff at school which has me quite worried to be honest, as my school has really emphasised how competitive law is. I really want to get into a good university (hopefully Oxbridge), do you think I am better off applying for another subject (e.g., History, Classics: both of which I do enjoy) and then converting? I'm not especially passionate about either, and other people have stressed to me if I want to do law in the end I'm better off with a law degree. Also for anyone with law Oxbridge experience, I was wondering if you think it's necessary to consider things like tutors/places at different colleges for law when choosing a college, or more prioritise things like accommodation/student life. Thank you !
Preface: I haven’t started my degree yet, my only experience is with applying for law at Cambridge and getting an offer in Jan.
Should you apply for another (less popular) subject? Nope. Apply for the subject you’re most passionate about because the interviewers will be able to tell. The statistics are very scary but look at this way - they make offers to some around 230-250 people. That’s a huge number and you’re very capable of being in that number.
When picking a college, prioritise accommodation and vibes. Visit on open day and talk to the admissions tutors. I picked mine because of the beautiful accommodation, large grounds (largest college based on size), the relatively small law cohort, them being the home of Isaac Physics and the fact that they had the highest proportion of state-school students at Cambridge. They were also known for having a very strong academic focus, but I suspect that will apply to many colleges.
Nothing wrong with picking based on vibes. But do check typical entry requirements! This year, for example, Selwyn, St John’s, Churchill, Sidney Sussex, Corpus (I think?) and undoubtedly many more gave out A*A*A or A*A*AA offers for law (if you do 4 subjects). Sidney Sussex and Churchill, as far as I knew, are the only ones that openly declared their higher requirements. So ask!
Reply 9
8
Thank you all for your advice! To be honest, I'm not sure if I absolutely 'love' law, but I have enjoyed the further reading I've done, and two essay competitions, so I'm still not that sure where I stand, but I'm conscious I probably need to to decide soon. I'm also wondering how much did you guys revise over Easter in Y12? My exams are in June, and my school has not told me to start revising. Is it good enough just to go over what we've done and not start things like past papers/exam technique for now? I really appreciate your help!
Reply 10
Original post
by genie1000Thank you all for your advice! To be honest, I'm not sure if I absolutely 'love' law, but I have enjoyed the further reading I've done, and two essay competitions, so I'm still not that sure where I stand, but I'm conscious I probably need to to decide soon. I'm also wondering how much did you guys revise over Easter in Y12? My exams are in June, and my school has not told me to start revising. Is it good enough just to go over what we've done and not start things like past papers/exam technique for now? I really appreciate your help!
depends… what subjects do you take?
Reply 11
Original post
by genie1000Thank you all for your advice! To be honest, I'm not sure if I absolutely 'love' law, but I have enjoyed the further reading I've done, and two essay competitions, so I'm still not that sure where I stand, but I'm conscious I probably need to to decide soon. I'm also wondering how much did you guys revise over Easter in Y12? My exams are in June, and my school has not told me to start revising. Is it good enough just to go over what we've done and not start things like past papers/exam technique for now? I really appreciate your help!
If you enjoy the content and are interested in the subject enough to study it for at least 3 years, that's good. Over Easter last year, I didn't do as much as I should have (my exams were in May) but I did do about 4 hours of revision every day. Definitely start things like past papers/exam technique - unless you do a subject that has only a few past papers/resources available. If so, don't exhaust them but do practice exam technique.
Don't wait for your school to tell you to revise. In sixth form, you're expected to take a lot more control of your independent study, so don't rely on them to tell you when to start. Best of luck for your exams!
Reply 12
Original post
by genie1000Hi guys! I've been having more higher education stuff at school which has me quite worried to be honest, as my school has really emphasised how competitive law is. I really want to get into a good university (hopefully Oxbridge), do you think I am better off applying for another subject (e.g., History, Classics: both of which I do enjoy) and then converting? I'm not especially passionate about either, and other people have stressed to me if I want to do law in the end I'm better off with a law degree. Also for anyone with law Oxbridge experience, I was wondering if you think it's necessary to consider things like tutors/places at different colleges for law when choosing a college, or more prioritise things like accommodation/student life. Thank you !
Study whatever interests you most. About half of the practising lawyers in the UK have law degrees. Quality of education matters more than degree subject when seeking training positions in the legal profession. Do not worry about which tutor is at which Oxford or Cambridge college, because (1) successful applicants are often admitted by a college other than the one applied to, and (2) it is usual to be tutored at colleges other than your own.
Reply 13
Original post
by Stiffy ByngStudy whatever interests you most. About half of the practising lawyers in the UK have law degrees. Quality of education matters more than degree subject when seeking training positions in the legal profession. Do not worry about which tutor is at which Oxford or Cambridge college, because (1) successful applicants are often admitted by a college other than the one applied to, and (2) it is usual to be tutored at colleges other than your own.
So would you recommend when applying to apply to the version with any college instead of a specific one ?
Reply 14
If you can visit some colleges, pick the one you like best, and see what happens. Try not to fixate on one college, or indeed on one university.
Reply 15
8
Original post
by eirufifodoeidepends… what subjects do you take?
I take Maths History Latin and Chinese!
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