Uni help - Law
Hi! I was hoping to get some advice on choosing my university options.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
Original post by student1374
Hi! I was hoping to get some advice on choosing my university options.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
You've asked quite a few questions, which I'll tackle in a fairly random order (sorry).
If you put Birmingham down as you firm and meet (or exceed) their offer requirements, then they will confirm your place and that's where you'll be going. At this point your insurance offer would "vanish". The only way you'd avoid going there is to decline the confirmed place and dropped into Clearing. So the only way you'd end up at Manchester would be if it were in Clearing and you were to successfully apply via that route on or soon after results day.
If Manchester is your preference, then you should make that your firm and Birmingham your insurance. If you miss Manchester's AAA offer, they might accept you at AAB anyway. As might Birmingham, if Manchester decided not to accept you, and Birmingham was your insurance. In fact, in recent years, Birmingham has accepted more than half of those holding an offer with them and achieving ABB on results day. (Of course, that means they didn't confirm the place of the other half, so achieving ABB might mean you end up in Clearing.)
Having said that, you might prefer to have Nottingham as your insurance choice. What is your offer from them?
LSE aren't going to allow you to switch from Law and Anthropology to straight Law, for the simple reason that all applicants for Law are required to sit the LNAT. You can't side-step that requirement by gaining entry for a different course, and then attempting to switch.
It's conceivable that you might be able to switch to Psychological and Behavioural Science (which is what I assume your referring to), but only if (a) they have space and (b) you meet the entry requirements for that course ("A*AA, including at least one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Psychology" - or AAA with the same subject requirements if contextual.)
Original post by student1374
Hi! I was hoping to get some advice on choosing my university options.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
Congratulations to your offer.
Advice above is great.Firming the uni you like more.
I guess all your offers are AAA (except Birmingham AAB if firm)? If you miss your grade narrowly the uni might still consider you. A few RG law schools (incl. Cardiff, Leeds) went into Clearing last year so there would be a tiny bit hope.
Your career prospects rest with you, your own capabilities, but the name of your uni. Choose the uni on your own preference.
Reply 3
Original post by cksiu
Congratulations to your offer.
Advice above is great.Firming the uni you like more.
I guess all your offers are AAA (except Birmingham AAB if firm)? If you miss your grade narrowly the uni might still consider you. A few RG law schools (incl. Cardiff, Leeds) went into Clearing last year so there would be a tiny bit hope.
Your career prospects rest with you, your own capabilities, but the name of your uni. Choose the uni on your own preference.
Advice above is great.Firming the uni you like more.
I guess all your offers are AAA (except Birmingham AAB if firm)? If you miss your grade narrowly the uni might still consider you. A few RG law schools (incl. Cardiff, Leeds) went into Clearing last year so there would be a tiny bit hope.
Your career prospects rest with you, your own capabilities, but the name of your uni. Choose the uni on your own preference.
Typo in your last line: you typed "but" when I infer that you meant to type "not".
Original post by Stiffy Byng
Typo in your last line: you typed "but" when I infer that you meant to type "not".
yes, thank you
Reply 5
You are of course correct, but nothing can stop people here believing that employers in the legal sector spend all of their time weighing up minute perceived differences between university A and university B.
I think that I'm going to give up saying "rankings don't matter", as it's like talking to a wall. We all know that first hand knowledge and experience count for nothing when set against "my friend's sister's plumber's girlfriend read a magazine that said [insert myth of choice here]".
I think that I'm going to give up saying "rankings don't matter", as it's like talking to a wall. We all know that first hand knowledge and experience count for nothing when set against "my friend's sister's plumber's girlfriend read a magazine that said [insert myth of choice here]".
You are so right!
I can see that you have blown a hole through the wall.
I am an engineer. We do not recruit uni-blind and look at the CVs, graduates of "prestigious" unis sometimes attract a "wow", just that. If there is any differential treatment, "wows" are expected to perform better than "non-wows". Result? Very often wows were ranked lower than non-wows who performed similarly at interviews, all thanks to their brand-names.
I can see that you have blown a hole through the wall.
I am an engineer. We do not recruit uni-blind and look at the CVs, graduates of "prestigious" unis sometimes attract a "wow", just that. If there is any differential treatment, "wows" are expected to perform better than "non-wows". Result? Very often wows were ranked lower than non-wows who performed similarly at interviews, all thanks to their brand-names.
Reply 7
At the Bar, when we do the big reveal and find out that the person to whom we just offered a pupillage is indeed an Eldon Scholar (when we made the decision we didn't know where that person studied), we merely congratulate ourselves on our excellent judgment. When it turns out that the other new pupil did a degree at the OU while holding down two jobs, we are just as glad. We never say, oh dear, we picked a Birmingham and not a Nottingham, there goes the chambers.
When we make a lateral hire of an established barrister from another chambers, we are only interested in how they have been doing in practice. The fact that someone went to Oxford or Cambridge would be used, if at all, merely to josh the new recruit later on for being at a rubbish college (ie any college other than your own), or for being at the wrong university altogether (Oxford or Cambridge, delete as applicable), or for being an idle posho and barrister stereotype instead of someone who went to a proper university (anywhere other than Oxford or Cambridge).
When we make a lateral hire of an established barrister from another chambers, we are only interested in how they have been doing in practice. The fact that someone went to Oxford or Cambridge would be used, if at all, merely to josh the new recruit later on for being at a rubbish college (ie any college other than your own), or for being at the wrong university altogether (Oxford or Cambridge, delete as applicable), or for being an idle posho and barrister stereotype instead of someone who went to a proper university (anywhere other than Oxford or Cambridge).
Reply 8
Original post by cksiu
You are so right!
I can see that you have blown a hole through the wall.
I am an engineer. We do not recruit uni-blind and look at the CVs, graduates of "prestigious" unis sometimes attract a "wow", just that. If there is any differential treatment, "wows" are expected to perform better than "non-wows". Result? Very often wows were ranked lower than non-wows who performed similarly at interviews, all thanks to their brand-names.
I can see that you have blown a hole through the wall.
I am an engineer. We do not recruit uni-blind and look at the CVs, graduates of "prestigious" unis sometimes attract a "wow", just that. If there is any differential treatment, "wows" are expected to perform better than "non-wows". Result? Very often wows were ranked lower than non-wows who performed similarly at interviews, all thanks to their brand-names.
This makes a lot of sense. Oi, matey, you went to the University of Posh, so why are you so rubbish compared to this bloke who went to the West Luton College of Remedial Knitting?
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 9
Original post by student1374
Hi! I was hoping to get some advice on choosing my university options.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
I’ve received offers to study Law from the University of Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from LSE for Law and Anthropology. At the moment, I’m leaning towards Manchester or Birmingham—mainly Manchester.
The entry requirement for Manchester is AAA, whereas Birmingham has offered me AAB if I make them my firm choice. From a strategic point of view, it would make sense to firm Birmingham since it’s the lowest offer. That way, if I don’t quite make AAA on results day, I wouldn’t risk going into Clearing.
That said, if I did end up achieving AAA, would there be any way to decline Birmingham and still go to Manchester—even though I didn’t firm it? Essentially, I’m wondering if Manchester could act as a kind of unofficial insurance in that scenario.
As for LSE, I only applied for Law and Anthropology because I didn’t sit the LNAT, but I’m still holding out hope for an offer. If I got in, would there be any chance of switching to straight Law—or possibly even to Psychology, which is something I’m increasingly interested in?
Ultimately, I really want to pursue a career at a Magic Circle firm, so I’d really appreciate any advice on which university choice would best support that goal.
Hey there!
First off, huge congratulations on all your offers, especially from some really competitive unis for Law! It’s great to see you thinking strategically but also keeping your long-term goals in mind.
So let’s break this down a bit:
Firming Birmingham for the lower offer definitely makes sense from a safety perspective — it gives you that AAB cushion on results day. That said, once you’ve firmed and insured your choices, UCAS doesn’t allow you to swap them around unless you go through release. So if you firm Birmingham and then end up getting AAA and decide you'd rather go to Manchester, you’d have to be released from your Birmingham offer first — and that’s not guaranteed to be instant or risk-free. Manchester would also have to have space left on the course and still be open to accepting you — which they might not be post-results day, especially for a popular course like Law. So in that sense, Manchester can’t really act as an “unofficial insurance”. If you want to go there, you’d need to firm it. It’s a bit of a gamble — but one you’ll have to weigh up depending on how confident you are about hitting AAA.
In terms of career goals — especially if you’re aiming for a Magic Circle firm — the name of the uni does carry weight, but it’s also about what you do while you’re there. Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham are all Russell Group unis and have great reputations. Firms won’t just look at where you studied, but also at your grades, legal work experience, networking, commercial awareness, and involvement in societies, mooting, etc. Manchester, in particular, has strong links with major firms and a vibrant law society with lots of opportunities to build your CV.
Now about LSE — if you do get an offer for Law and Anthropology, congrats in advance because it’s a competitive course. Switching to straight Law might be very unlikely unless there’s a pathway built into the course (which is rare), especially since you didn’t sit the LNAT. Switching to Psychology would likely require reapplying altogether, as it’s a different department with different entry requirements. If Psychology is something you're seriously considering, it might be worth reaching out to LSE admissions directly — just to ask whether internal transfers are ever considered and what the process might look like.
Overall, if you’re laser-focused on a Magic Circle career, pick the uni where you can hit the ground running, get involved, build your legal CV, and thrive academically. Prestige matters — but confidence, experience, and motivation matter more.
Hope that helps a bit — and best of luck with LSE and your final decision! You’ve done incredibly well to get this far already!
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 10
Thanks so much to everyone who’s taken the time to reply — I really appreciate all the insights. After thinking it through (and reading all your advice!), I’ve decided to firm Birmingham.
The AAB offer definitely played a role — it just gives me a bit of breathing room in case things don’t go perfectly on results day. But beyond that, I’ve done more digging into the course, the law school community, and the wider uni, and I actually feel really good about the choice. The law society at Birmingham seems super active, and there are lots of opportunities to get involved with mooting, pro bono, commercial awareness events, and networking with top firms — all things I know I’ll need to focus on if I want to get into a Magic Circle firm.
I get now that where you go isn’t everything — it’s what you do there that counts. That’s really stuck with me from what a few of you said. So my plan is to hit the ground running at Birmingham and take full advantage of everything they offer.
As for LSE, if something did come through, I’d have a proper think about it — but I’m also aware switching courses would be a long shot, especially without the LNAT. Psychology is something I’ve become more curious about, but for now, I’m sticking with Law and seeing where it takes me.
Thanks again — honestly, reading your replies helped me stop second-guessing myself. Now I just need to smash my exams!
The AAB offer definitely played a role — it just gives me a bit of breathing room in case things don’t go perfectly on results day. But beyond that, I’ve done more digging into the course, the law school community, and the wider uni, and I actually feel really good about the choice. The law society at Birmingham seems super active, and there are lots of opportunities to get involved with mooting, pro bono, commercial awareness events, and networking with top firms — all things I know I’ll need to focus on if I want to get into a Magic Circle firm.
I get now that where you go isn’t everything — it’s what you do there that counts. That’s really stuck with me from what a few of you said. So my plan is to hit the ground running at Birmingham and take full advantage of everything they offer.
As for LSE, if something did come through, I’d have a proper think about it — but I’m also aware switching courses would be a long shot, especially without the LNAT. Psychology is something I’ve become more curious about, but for now, I’m sticking with Law and seeing where it takes me.
Thanks again — honestly, reading your replies helped me stop second-guessing myself. Now I just need to smash my exams!
Reply 11
Original post by UniofLaw Student
Hey there!
First off, huge congratulations on all your offers, especially from some really competitive unis for Law! It’s great to see you thinking strategically but also keeping your long-term goals in mind.
So let’s break this down a bit:
Firming Birmingham for the lower offer definitely makes sense from a safety perspective — it gives you that AAB cushion on results day. That said, once you’ve firmed and insured your choices, UCAS doesn’t allow you to swap them around unless you go through release. So if you firm Birmingham and then end up getting AAA and decide you'd rather go to Manchester, you’d have to be released from your Birmingham offer first — and that’s not guaranteed to be instant or risk-free. Manchester would also have to have space left on the course and still be open to accepting you — which they might not be post-results day, especially for a popular course like Law. So in that sense, Manchester can’t really act as an “unofficial insurance”. If you want to go there, you’d need to firm it. It’s a bit of a gamble — but one you’ll have to weigh up depending on how confident you are about hitting AAA.
In terms of career goals — especially if you’re aiming for a Magic Circle firm — the name of the uni does carry weight, but it’s also about what you do while you’re there. Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham are all Russell Group unis and have great reputations. Firms won’t just look at where you studied, but also at your grades, legal work experience, networking, commercial awareness, and involvement in societies, mooting, etc. Manchester, in particular, has strong links with major firms and a vibrant law society with lots of opportunities to build your CV.
Now about LSE — if you do get an offer for Law and Anthropology, congrats in advance because it’s a competitive course. Switching to straight Law might be very unlikely unless there’s a pathway built into the course (which is rare), especially since you didn’t sit the LNAT. Switching to Psychology would likely require reapplying altogether, as it’s a different department with different entry requirements. If Psychology is something you're seriously considering, it might be worth reaching out to LSE admissions directly — just to ask whether internal transfers are ever considered and what the process might look like.
Overall, if you’re laser-focused on a Magic Circle career, pick the uni where you can hit the ground running, get involved, build your legal CV, and thrive academically. Prestige matters — but confidence, experience, and motivation matter more.
Hope that helps a bit — and best of luck with LSE and your final decision! You’ve done incredibly well to get this far already!
First off, huge congratulations on all your offers, especially from some really competitive unis for Law! It’s great to see you thinking strategically but also keeping your long-term goals in mind.
So let’s break this down a bit:
Firming Birmingham for the lower offer definitely makes sense from a safety perspective — it gives you that AAB cushion on results day. That said, once you’ve firmed and insured your choices, UCAS doesn’t allow you to swap them around unless you go through release. So if you firm Birmingham and then end up getting AAA and decide you'd rather go to Manchester, you’d have to be released from your Birmingham offer first — and that’s not guaranteed to be instant or risk-free. Manchester would also have to have space left on the course and still be open to accepting you — which they might not be post-results day, especially for a popular course like Law. So in that sense, Manchester can’t really act as an “unofficial insurance”. If you want to go there, you’d need to firm it. It’s a bit of a gamble — but one you’ll have to weigh up depending on how confident you are about hitting AAA.
In terms of career goals — especially if you’re aiming for a Magic Circle firm — the name of the uni does carry weight, but it’s also about what you do while you’re there. Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham are all Russell Group unis and have great reputations. Firms won’t just look at where you studied, but also at your grades, legal work experience, networking, commercial awareness, and involvement in societies, mooting, etc. Manchester, in particular, has strong links with major firms and a vibrant law society with lots of opportunities to build your CV.
Now about LSE — if you do get an offer for Law and Anthropology, congrats in advance because it’s a competitive course. Switching to straight Law might be very unlikely unless there’s a pathway built into the course (which is rare), especially since you didn’t sit the LNAT. Switching to Psychology would likely require reapplying altogether, as it’s a different department with different entry requirements. If Psychology is something you're seriously considering, it might be worth reaching out to LSE admissions directly — just to ask whether internal transfers are ever considered and what the process might look like.
Overall, if you’re laser-focused on a Magic Circle career, pick the uni where you can hit the ground running, get involved, build your legal CV, and thrive academically. Prestige matters — but confidence, experience, and motivation matter more.
Hope that helps a bit — and best of luck with LSE and your final decision! You’ve done incredibly well to get this far already!
The name of the university carries no weight, because it isn't disclosed to the selection panel at many if not most large law firms.
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