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ADVICE NEEDED - LAW russel group

law at russel group - i'm not talking oxbridge/lse, more warwick/exeter/bristol/ uni of law (I know it isn't Russel Group)

whats my likelihood??


desperate for a law offer - currently in y12
gcse:
lit - 9
history - 8
eng lang - 7
geog - 7
rpe - 7
maths - 6
chem - 6
bio - 5

hoping for A* A* A in A Levels of rpe, geog and politics
hoping for A/A* in epq
completed moocs, set up law society, attended a court session, did a mock trial w/ school, 2 law work experiences
will explain how skills were learnt in each in my PS ofc

plus lots of politics experience.e.g canvassing and policy forums w/ a political party

whats my chance? any advice/personal experience v. appreicated
thanks

Reply 1

Unis will want to see evidence of your academic engagement with the subject - you need to focus on extended reading this summer, and practising for LNAT.

From Oxford - good for all Unis - Oxford Law Professors' 6 Books for Law Students | Oxford University Reading List | Law Books

Useful free Moocs to do over the summer -
Exploring Law: Studying Law at University - Online Course - FutureLearn
Introduction to English Common Law | Coursera
From Crime to Punishment - Online Course - FutureLearn
Inside the UK Supreme Court - Online Law Course - FutureLearn
BBC podcasts - BBC Sounds - The Law Show - Available Episodes

Reply 2

The Russell Group has introduced a new rule forbidding entry to anyone who can't spell Russell.

Reply 3

Original post
by Stiffy Byng
The Russell Group has introduced a new rule forbidding entry to anyone who can't spell Russell.

Why do so many of them spell it like that - its not even a word.

Reply 4

It strikes me as particularly bonkers that so many people interested in the Russell Group can't spell its name. More generally, the standards of spelling, grammar, and punctuation demonstrated by many TSR posts are remarkably low. It's fashionable to suggest that application that such things don't matter, but they do in some contexts, such as applications for places at the most competitive universities and for some professional opportunities.

Reply 5

Original post
by Joshua pilling
law at russel group - i'm not talking oxbridge/lse, more warwick/exeter/bristol/ uni of law (I know it isn't Russel Group)
whats my likelihood??
desperate for a law offer - currently in y12
gcse:
lit - 9
history - 8
eng lang - 7
geog - 7
rpe - 7
maths - 6
chem - 6
bio - 5
hoping for A* A* A in A Levels of rpe, geog and politics
hoping for A/A* in epq
completed moocs, set up law society, attended a court session, did a mock trial w/ school, 2 law work experiences
will explain how skills were learnt in each in my PS ofc
plus lots of politics experience.e.g canvassing and policy forums w/ a political party
whats my chance? any advice/personal experience v. appreicated
thanks

Hi Joshua,
you have some great ambitions and drive,
I would always say thats the first step to success! 😄

According to my experience I would say your profile is very competitive for law at Russell Group universities like Warwick, Exeter, and Bristol (assuming you get the grades you think you will...). Here’s a breakdown of your chances and some advice:

Chances of an Offer:

•

Academics: Your predicted AAA in RPE, Geography, and Politics is excellent and meets (or exceeds) the entry requirements for all the universities you're targeting.

•

GCSEs: Your grades are strong overall, with 9s and 8s in key subjects like English Lit and History (both highly valued for law). While your science and maths grades are slightly lower, they won’t be dealbreakers since law admissions focus on essay-based subjects.

•

EPQ: If you’re aiming for an A/A*, that’s a great asset, especially if your EPQ topic is law-related—it can strengthen your personal statement and show independent research skills.

•

Supercurriculars: You’ve done a fantastic range of law-related activities—MOOCs, a law society, court visits, mock trials, and work experience. This will help you stand out, as many applicants don’t have this much practical exposure.

•

Politics Experience: Canvassing and policy forums are great for demonstrating public speaking, argumentation, and analytical skills—qualities essential for a law degree.

University-Specific Advice:

•

Bristol & Warwick – They value strong personal statements and supercurriculars. Your work experience and mock trial will be useful here. Warwick doesn’t use the LNAT, which is an advantage if you don’t want to take it.

•

Exeter – More flexible with grades, but they like strong personal statements. Your AAA prediction should put you in a great position though.

•

University of Law – If you’re focused on a career in law and want a practical, career-focused degree, this could be a great option. However, if prestige is a key factor, the Russell Group choices are stronger.

Advice to Maximise Your Chances:

1.

Nail Your Personal Statement – Emphasise how your experiences (law society, court visit, canvassing) have built skills relevant to law (argumentation, critical thinking, problem-solving).

2.

Prepare for the LNAT (if applicable) – Warwick and Exeter don’t require it, but Bristol does. If you apply there, start practicing now.

3.

Strong Predicted Grades & References – Keep pushing for those AAA predictions and ensure your teachers provide strong references highlighting your analytical skills.

4.

Apply Strategically – Consider having a mix of aspirational (Bristol/Warwick), solid (Exeter), and a backup (Uni of Law or another ABB uni).

Summary?
You have a strong chance of getting offers, particularly from Warwick and Exeter. If you apply strategically and put effort into your personal statement, you should secure a Russell Group offer.

But personally, while a Russel group does have that certain 'oomph' in its reputation, in today's legal job market it's not a factor that gets considered as much. What does instead get considered is how many Alumni from your uni is in said firm and your personal attributes such as commercial awareness.

So due to the difficulty of actually getting a job in the legal profession, Ulaw may be the most beneficial for your future goals due to it's career-focused education.
Some of the career opportunities ULaw can offer you is its long-standing and firm connections with leading law firms such as Clifford Chance, connections with Alumni with various training contracts across the country, careers service such as cv refining and interview preperation, a vast, VAST acessibility to various pro-career choices such as competitions and Pro Bono via Ulaw's ELITE website, which has its own section for employability.
This was really helpful for someone like me who didn't know where to start enhancing and then organising my CV, Ulaw acted as a spring board, as it had already organised the majority of opportunities available.
Hope this helped!
(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 6

What shameless guff!

OP, it would be bonkers to choose ULaw instead of a Russell Group university, or indeed any research university.

Reply 7

Original post
by Stiffy Byng
What shameless guff!
OP, it would be bonkers to choose ULaw instead of a Russell Group university, or indeed any research university.

Totally agree. And why that office-block-college thinks its in a position to pontificate about 'chances at specific RG Unis' is probably giving a whole new definition of cheek.

Reply 8

Original post
by Joshua pilling
law at russel group - i'm not talking oxbridge/lse, more warwick/exeter/bristol/ uni of law (I know it isn't Russel Group)
whats my likelihood??
desperate for a law offer - currently in y12
gcse:
lit - 9
history - 8
eng lang - 7
geog - 7
rpe - 7
maths - 6
chem - 6
bio - 5
hoping for A* A* A in A Levels of rpe, geog and politics
hoping for A/A* in epq
completed moocs, set up law society, attended a court session, did a mock trial w/ school, 2 law work experiences
will explain how skills were learnt in each in my PS ofc
plus lots of politics experience.e.g canvassing and policy forums w/ a political party
whats my chance? any advice/personal experience v. appreicated
thanks

The way I see it, that is definitely enough to apply and be considered for those unis, so long as you do some extra reading which you can place on your personal statement and do well on your LNAT. I have a bristol offer holder with much less relevant experience than you so don’t worry too much.

Reply 9

Original post
by JohnLavadia
The way I see it, that is definitely enough to apply and be considered for those unis, so long as you do some extra reading which you can place on your personal statement and do well on your LNAT. I have a bristol offer holder with much less relevant experience than you so don’t worry too much.


Brilliant thank you - I know it all relies on my grades and LNAT (for LNAT unis), but just so new to all this so just reached out for advice. Thanks again and massive well done!!

Reply 10

Original post
by Joshua pilling
law at russel group - i'm not talking oxbridge/lse, more warwick/exeter/bristol/ uni of law (I know it isn't Russel Group)
whats my likelihood??
desperate for a law offer - currently in y12
gcse:
lit - 9
history - 8
eng lang - 7
geog - 7
rpe - 7
maths - 6
chem - 6
bio - 5
hoping for A* A* A in A Levels of rpe, geog and politics
hoping for A/A* in epq
completed moocs, set up law society, attended a court session, did a mock trial w/ school, 2 law work experiences
will explain how skills were learnt in each in my PS ofc
plus lots of politics experience.e.g canvassing and policy forums w/ a political party
whats my chance? any advice/personal experience v. appreicated
thanks

Hi Joshua : )

No one (including the University of Law rep) can tell you whether you will get into a uni or not. If your predicted grades meet the entry requirements, apply! Please don't stress over your likehood or your chances or the statistics of other people (it took me a UCAS application cycle to learn this, don't be like me!).

McGinger has put some great resources in the chat. Some additional advice is to enter a few essay competitions as the practice will greatly help your LNAT essay prep and will give you a chance to explore some law! These are examples of some that are open at the moment:
https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/law/
https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/essay-competition

Also, here is a super interesting statute and judgement reading exercise for potential undergraduates: https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Law%20Interview%20Texts%20(Sample).pdf

Best of luck for everything

Reply 11

Original post
by Stiffy Byng
The Russell Group has introduced a new rule forbidding entry to anyone who can't spell Russell.

(Thoughts on petitioning to rename it the Rusellll Group?)

Reply 12

Original post
by nwar
Hi Joshua : )
No one (including the University of Law rep) can tell you whether you will get into a uni or not. If your predicted grades meet the entry requirements, apply! Please don't stress over your likehood or your chances or the statistics of other people (it took me a UCAS application cycle to learn this, don't be like me!).
McGinger has put some great resources in the chat. Some additional advice is to enter a few essay competitions as the practice will greatly help your LNAT essay prep and will give you a chance to explore some law! These are examples of some that are open at the moment:
https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/law/
https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/essay-competition
Also, here is a super interesting statute and judgement reading exercise for potential undergraduates: https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Law%20Interview%20Texts%20(Sample).pdf
Best of luck for everything


Thanks so much!! Funnily enough I am planning to enter these 2 competitions over the weekend and will look at the extra resource yoy have attached,
Thanks so much very much appreciated

Reply 13

Original post
by McGinger


Thanks so much. Got 4 of the 6 books there and will read them, always going to do some more MOOCS. Thanks again

Reply 14

Original post
by Joshua p
law at russel group - i'm not talking oxbridge/lse, more warwick/exeter/bristol/ uni of law (I know it isn't Russel Group)
whats my likelihood??
desperate for a law offer - currently in y12
gcse:
lit - 9
history - 8
eng lang - 7
geog - 7
rpe - 7
maths - 6
chem - 6
bio - 5
hoping for A* A* A in A Levels of rpe, geog and politics
hoping for A/A* in epq
completed moocs, set up law society, attended a court session, did a mock trial w/ school, 2 law work experiences
will explain how skills were learnt in each in my PS ofc
plus lots of politics experience.e.g canvassing and policy forums w/ a political party
whats my chance? any advice/personal experience v. appreicated
thanks


I remember your other post! So I’m really glad to see you expand your list and be open to other great lnat unis

Beyond the extra reading, I’d say spend this summer really studying for the LNAT and considering what you want to do with law. There are a lot of great YouTube videos on LNAT strategies and there are old tests online for free. Arbitio is NOT free but I’ve heard is good as it’s harder than the real test; I always used the ultimate LNAT book which is both on Amazon and free on Everand. It has hundreds of questions and several essay prompts so you can practice as much as you want

I say the other bit because I find that knowing the answer to that takes reflection but often makes the personal statement easier and actually personal. Hundreds of people are applying with decent marks but if you can confidently articulate why law FOR YOU and what you want to do with it, that’s already a better essay. It’s clear that you love law and are serious about it- having a plan (although it’ll probably change) for Joshua w/ an LLB will help showcase your personality and give you ideas for other things about you to tie in when it’s time to write. Yes the main things matter (marks, LNAT, etc.) but so does being sincere and having an interesting point of view

Reply 15

Original post
by hilla145
I remember your other post! So I’m really glad to see you expand your list and be open to other great lnat unis
Beyond the extra reading, I’d say spend this summer really studying for the LNAT and considering what you want to do with law. There are a lot of great YouTube videos on LNAT strategies and there are old tests online for free. Arbitio is NOT free but I’ve heard is good as it’s harder than the real test; I always used the ultimate LNAT book which is both on Amazon and free on Everand. It has hundreds of questions and several essay prompts so you can practice as much as you want
I say the other bit because I find that knowing the answer to that takes reflection but often makes the personal statement easier and actually personal. Hundreds of people are applying with decent marks but if you can confidently articulate why law FOR YOU and what you want to do with it, that’s already a better essay. It’s clear that you love law and are serious about it- having a plan (although it’ll probably change) for Joshua w/ an LLB will help showcase your personality and give you ideas for other things about you to tie in when it’s time to write. Yes the main things matter (marks, LNAT, etc.) but so does being sincere and having an interesting point of view


Hey thanks so much! I will talk about why i want to do law and my plans on using it afterwards?!
Thank you!
Could talk about how i was influenced by social injustice etc?

Reply 16

Original post
by Joshua p
Hey thanks so much! I will talk about why i want to do law and my plans on using it afterwards?!
Thank you!
Could talk about how i was influenced by social injustice etc?


yea that’s a great start! For some, it was a specific case or world event that led them to law; for others it was a natural progression or recurring theme in their life. But that’s what makes it interesting and sets you apart! The more you know yourself, the better you can convey yourself to someone else

The best advice I could give anyone for law apps is these people do NOT know you, and if most schools don’t do interviews and your stats are all on UCAS, now what? Those 47 lines are it so it’s this balancing act of “how do I be myself and be strategic at the same time?” I think that causes people to panic and overthink when ultimately they’re asking you about you. The present is the middle of your story; share enough that provides a beginning- how law, what you love about it, why this course, etc.- and a sneak peak of the end (“upon studying law, I plan to _____” or “I’m most interested in a,b, and c so I believe studying law will allow me to ____”). All law students are accomplished; being that and authentic, polished, clear, and able to answer the question is gold tier

Reply 17

Original post
by hilla145
yea that’s a great start! For some, it was a specific case or world event that led them to law; for others it was a natural progression or recurring theme in their life. But that’s what makes it interesting and sets you apart! The more you know yourself, the better you can convey yourself to someone else
The best advice I could give anyone for law apps is these people do NOT know you, and if most schools don’t do interviews and your stats are all on UCAS, now what? Those 47 lines are it so it’s this balancing act of “how do I be myself and be strategic at the same time?” I think that causes people to panic and overthink when ultimately they’re asking you about you. The present is the middle of your story; share enough that provides a beginning- how law, what you love about it, why this course, etc.- and a sneak peak of the end (“upon studying law, I plan to _____” or “I’m most interested in a,b, and c so I believe studying law will allow me to ____”). All law students are accomplished; being that and authentic, polished, clear, and able to answer the question is gold tier


Thanks so much for this advice - will certainly see it as being 3 parts… past present and future.

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