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QMUL, UoB, City or Brunel for an LLB?

I'll start with a little bit of a background. I'm applying to universities as an international student to an LLB program. I already heard back from QMUL, University of Birmingham, City university of London. They all require me to take a foundation year. And I'm still waiting for a response from Brunel.

As I'm not from the UK, I honestly don't know much about which one's good and which one's not. My consultant keeps saying that London is the best for law students as it will give me networking opportunities. He also thinks Russell Group means a lot.

But I'll describe what I'm looking for. Obviously, a good education (I prefer a mix of academic and practical learning) is what my parents are pouring out all their lives savings for. So it has to be a legit and recognized university for law. I personally also want an active university life, make friends, have fun, extracurricular activities and enjoy university life. Good networking opportunities are most welcome. I'll also need part time jobs, so, job opportunities would be nice. Also I'm Queer, I couldn't express myself in highschool as it was quite a harsh environment. I want to be able to more open in university. I don't wanna go through the same experience for another 3-4 years... So yeah there's that.

So please, if you're from the UK and are knowledgeable about this, please help me out, which one would you recommend . And if you have any other universities in mind, feel free to mention them
Original post
by Baary
I'll start with a little bit of a background. I'm applying to universities as an international student to an LLB program. I already heard back from QMUL, University of Birmingham, City university of London. They all require me to take a foundation year. And I'm still waiting for a response from Brunel.
As I'm not from the UK, I honestly don't know much about which one's good and which one's not. My consultant keeps saying that London is the best for law students as it will give me networking opportunities. He also thinks Russell Group means a lot.
But I'll describe what I'm looking for. Obviously, a good education (I prefer a mix of academic and practical learning) is what my parents are pouring out all their lives savings for. So it has to be a legit and recognized university for law. I personally also want an active university life, make friends, have fun, extracurricular activities and enjoy university life. Good networking opportunities are most welcome. I'll also need part time jobs, so, job opportunities would be nice. Also I'm Queer, I couldn't express myself in highschool as it was quite a harsh environment. I want to be able to more open in university. I don't wanna go through the same experience for another 3-4 years... So yeah there's that.
So please, if you're from the UK and are knowledgeable about this, please help me out, which one would you recommend . And if you have any other universities in mind, feel free to mention them

That's a tough decision.

I personally would look from 2 perspectives.

First, what are the criteria for progression from Foundation to LLB? Are the requirements reasonably achievable? Put it in context, a reasonably well regarded uni (I am not going to mention it's name publicly) requires overall 80% in International Foundation for processing to LLB.

Second, what are the course structures of the LLB programmes? I haven't look into that of Brunel. I personally prefer Birmingham and Queen Mary. City UoL's modules generally have lower credit values than the other unis. I might afraid that the modules might not be as in-depth.

Just my naive personal views.

Reply 2

Original post
by cksiu
That's a tough decision.
I personally would look from 2 perspectives.
First, what are the criteria for progression from Foundation to LLB? Are the requirements reasonably achievable? Put it in context, a reasonably well regarded uni (I am not going to mention it's name publicly) requires overall 80% in International Foundation for processing to LLB.
Second, what are the course structures of the LLB programmes? I haven't look into that of Brunel. I personally prefer Birmingham and Queen Mary. City UoL's modules generally have lower credit values than the other unis. I might afraid that the modules might not be as in-depth.
Just my naive personal views.


You make good points. Qmul requires 70% and UoB 60% in all modules and 65% in English to progress to LLB

Reply 3

Original post
by Baary
I'll start with a little bit of a background. I'm applying to universities as an international student to an LLB program. I already heard back from QMUL, University of Birmingham, City university of London. They all require me to take a foundation year. And I'm still waiting for a response from Brunel.
As I'm not from the UK, I honestly don't know much about which one's good and which one's not. My consultant keeps saying that London is the best for law students as it will give me networking opportunities. He also thinks Russell Group means a lot.
But I'll describe what I'm looking for. Obviously, a good education (I prefer a mix of academic and practical learning) is what my parents are pouring out all their lives savings for. So it has to be a legit and recognized university for law. I personally also want an active university life, make friends, have fun, extracurricular activities and enjoy university life. Good networking opportunities are most welcome. I'll also need part time jobs, so, job opportunities would be nice. Also I'm Queer, I couldn't express myself in highschool as it was quite a harsh environment. I want to be able to more open in university. I don't wanna go through the same experience for another 3-4 years... So yeah there's that.
So please, if you're from the UK and are knowledgeable about this, please help me out, which one would you recommend . And if you have any other universities in mind, feel free to mention them

I know you didn’t ask, but if you're looking to save your parents some money and maybe start your LLB this year, you could look into an online qualification like a Qualifi or ATHE Level 3 Diploma in Law. These can be completed in less than 6 months and cost under £1,000. One provider that’s pretty flexible is South London College.
Another option could be an Access to HE course in Law or Humanities (usually around 12 months, but some places offer fast-track options). Here's one provider Academy Online Learning, and more info about Access courses can be found here.

You’ll want to check with the unis you’re interested in to see if they accept these qualifications, though. QMUL, for example, accepts a range of qualifications like Access courses, Vocational Diplomas, Foundation programs etc. You can see more info here.

Also, if you're looking at other unis, Oxford Brookes University would sound prestigious on your CV/Resume and probably be mistaken for THE Oxford, here. Birkbeck, University of London also offers a good law degree, and more info is here and sounds posh.

Large firms like White & Case Solicitors use University of Law for their solicitor apprenticeships, so it’s clearly a reputable choice. Details on their LLB can be found here. Most Magic Circle firms use BPP University for their solicitor apprenticeship programs, though I don’t think they offer undergrad law degrees. You can check them out here.

What country are you from, by the way? Just curious!

Reply 4

The idea that a degree from Oxford Brookes would be mistaken for a degree from the University of Oxford is daft. Oxford Brookes isn't a bad university, and is for example a leading place to study motorsport engineering, but no employer in the legal sector is going to confuse it for its larger neighbour.

UofLaw is not a good choice for an LLB. It is a commercial qualifications provider with low entry standards for its LLB course and offers little in the way of a traditional university experience.

OP, do the foundation year and aim for QMUL or Birmingham if you can. You might also look at Reading, Royal Holloway, Kent, Essex, and Sussex.

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