The Student Room Group

Is Law and French Law Worth It?

I received my KCL rejection a couple weeks ago and this has raised a few questions in my mind.

This rejection follows Oxford and UCL which, although disappointing, were not total surprises as these places are extremely competitive.

I have 3 A stars predicted (English, French, Latin), eleven 9s at GCSEs, a 31 LNAT, and plenty of work-experience. What is going on? Do I apply again for just Law, or do I risk applying for Law and French Law again.

Reply 1

Original post by wittyman123
I received my KCL rejection a couple weeks ago and this has raised a few questions in my mind.
This rejection follows Oxford and UCL which, although disappointing, were not total surprises as these places are extremely competitive.
I have 3 A stars predicted (English, French, Latin), eleven 9s at GCSEs, a 31 LNAT, and plenty of work-experience. What is going on? Do I apply again for just Law, or do I risk applying for Law and French Law again.

Hey, really sorry about your rejections- yes they are competitive, but they’re competitive because of applicants like yourself, so I have no idea how you’ve not received an offer, especially from Kings?? I could only assume the LNAT essay was weighing you down or something, but even then!

Not sure why law with French law would be more competitive than the straight LLB as it’s more niche, besides lots of international applicants from France looking to return home to practice after an Oxford law degree or something? Depending on which offers you have currently, I’d wait until results day to see if you’ve achieved those grades, then potentially re- apply, as they’ll be proven and stronger, but you would need LNAT again- do you have any offers as of right now?
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 2

If you're really confident speaking French, really into the idea of living and France and don't mind a great number of rude public interactions then yes, otherwise just apply for law, but maybe I'm biased by my own experience
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

Original post by wittyman123
I received my KCL rejection a couple weeks ago and this has raised a few questions in my mind.
This rejection follows Oxford and UCL which, although disappointing, were not total surprises as these places are extremely competitive.
I have 3 A stars predicted (English, French, Latin), eleven 9s at GCSEs, a 31 LNAT, and plenty of work-experience. What is going on? Do I apply again for just Law, or do I risk applying for Law and French Law again.

Presumably you are yet to hear from two universities, so your decision as to your next steps may depend on what those universities say to you. If you wish to study Law and French Law, then it's worth trying to do so. Your application is strong in outline, but perhaps your personal statement and/or your LNAT essay, or even perhaps your French language skills have weakened your application, although the latter seems unlikely given your predicted grade in A Level French. You may just have experienced bad luck thus far. Good luck for the future.
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

Original post by Username123ab
If you're really confident speaking French, really into the idea of living and France and don't mind a great number of rude public interactions then yes, otherwise just apply for law, but maybe I'm biased by my own experience

I don't think that you can sensibly generalise based on your own experience of not enjoying your year in France. I suggest that French people are no more or less rude on average than any other people.

Reply 5

Hey, really sorry about your rejections- yes they are competitive, but they’re competitive because of applicants like yourself, so I have no idea how you’ve not received an offer, especially from Kings?? I could only assume the LNAT essay was weighing you down or something, but even then!
Not sure why law with French law would be more competitive than the straight LLB as it’s more niche, besides lots of international applicants from France looking to return home to practice after an Oxford law degree or something? Depending on which offers you have currently, I’d wait until results day to see if you’ve achieved those grades, then potentially re- apply, as they’ll be proven and stronger, but you would need LNAT again- do you have any offers as of right now?

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I suspect that either my Personal Statement or LNAT essay has let me down but I was quite confident with both going into these applications (not that I can judge this very effectively myself). It didn't help that Somerville don't offer any feedback after my Oxford interview either; I'm sure that would've been really useful to identify the problem.

In terms of competitiveness, I don't think that the acceptance rates are much lower but perhaps slightly more luck-based due to the tiny number of places available. I do think I'll be able to significantly improve my application over the next few months, however. Hopefully I get the 3 A*s and I've also secured a couple months in a law firm in Paris, which will hopefully give me a few insights and make sure my French is on point.

I've only heard good news from Warwick so far. Still on hold from Bristol somehow...

Reply 6

Original post by Stiffy Byng
Presumably you are yet to hear from two universities, so your decision as to your next steps may depend on what those universities say to you. If you wish to study Law and French Law, then it's worth trying to do so. Your application is strong in outline, but perhaps your your personal statement and/or your LNAT essay, or even perhaps your French language skills have weakened your application, although the latter seems unlikely given your predicted grade in A Level French. You may just have experienced bad luck thus far. Good luck for the future.

Yes, I've already received an offer from Warwick but I'm still waiting on Bristol. I am pretty set on taking a gap year regardless of these two, however. I know that they are both great universities but I do think I'd be unfulfilled if I didn't give it another crack. Thanks for your response, you've been extremely helpful in these forums.

Reply 7

Original post by wittyman123
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I suspect that either my Personal Statement or LNAT essay has let me down but I was quite confident with both going into these applications (not that I can judge this very effectively myself). It didn't help that Somerville don't offer any feedback after my Oxford interview either; I'm sure that would've been really useful to identify the problem.
In terms of competitiveness, I don't think that the acceptance rates are much lower but perhaps slightly more luck-based due to the tiny number of places available. I do think I'll be able to significantly improve my application over the next few months, however. Hopefully I get the 3 A*s and I've also secured a couple months in a law firm in Paris, which will hopefully give me a few insights and make sure my French is on point.
I've only heard good news from Warwick so far. Still on hold from Bristol somehow...

It sounds like you have a good plan for a potential year out- building experience is invaluable, and I’m sure your time in France will be great, whilst developing your language skills as mentioned-

Definitely worth avoiding rushing your education, if you feel there is a potential to be unfulfilled accepting one of your current offers.

Best of luck.

Reply 8

A lot of applicants to Law and French Law are perfectly bilingual and have been schooled in both languages and often both countries/school systems. Those are the applicants for whom the course was designed originally.

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