firm and insurance - cant meet conditions of my offers

I have received 3 conditional offers from York, Bristol and Birmingham but l'm not sure which two to pick as my firm and insurance. So far I've only had chance to visit Birmingham uni (tho I’ve been to Bristol and York cities, just not the unis as I couldn’t make their open or offer holder days ) but honestly I’m willing to consider any of them. I need to make a decision quickly as the deadline to accept or reject (5th June) is fast approaching.

The problem is my grades are terrible. I'm 22 years old and doing an Access to HE course at college, all my offers want a minimum of 30 distinctions and 15 merits or better. So far I've mainly been getting merits, with one pass and zero distinctions. My teacher says I was too ambitious and snobby in only applying to RG unis, despite me explaining multiple times over the course of this academic year that university isn't free, I genuinely need it for my future career in a highly competitive industry, and besides it was my dream to attend an RG. She also said that the difference between Merit and Distinction quality of an assignment is roughly Level 3 and Level 4 /first year of university respectively, and that I should consider Clearing.

Anyway, the point of my post is that I have these theee offers, two of which I need to firm and insure, that I am also at risk of losing all due to my poor grades. I don't want to reject all three as a small part of me has this vain hope that one of them might still take me, or give me a reduced offer or something. Don’t really want to enter Clearing but seems like I’ll be forced to by the looks of things. The way I see it, it's giving checkmate. I'm in a doomed if I do / don't type of situation. Grateful if anyone has any thoughts or advice on this, thanks

Reply 1

beetlebeau

There are many paths to an enjoyable and successful career outside of graduating from a RG uni, and still many opportunities for you at a university through clearing: the friends, the chance to live on your own, exploring a new city, picking up new hobbies, etc. I know it feels crushing, but I think even if you have to go through clearing, you will grow to love it! Try not to worry too much and best of luck :smile:

Reply 2

Muttley79

Original post

by poetic

I have received 3 conditional offers from York, Bristol and Birmingham but l'm not sure which two to pick as my firm and insurance. So far I've only had chance to visit Birmingham uni (tho I’ve been to Bristol and York cities, just not the unis as I couldn’t make their open or offer holder days ) but honestly I’m willing to consider any of them. I need to make a decision quickly as the deadline to accept or reject (5th June) is fast approaching.
The problem is my grades are terrible. I'm 22 years old and doing an Access to HE course at college, all my offers want a minimum of 30 distinctions and 15 merits or better. So far I've mainly been getting merits, with one pass and zero distinctions. My teacher says I was too ambitious and snobby in only applying to RG unis, despite me explaining multiple times over the course of this academic year that university isn't free, I genuinely need it for my future career in a highly competitive industry, and besides it was my dream to attend an RG. She also said that the difference between Merit and Distinction quality of an assignment is roughly Level 3 and Level 4 /first year of university respectively, and that I should consider Clearing.
Anyway, the point of my post is that I have these theee offers, two of which I need to firm and insure, that I am also at risk of losing all due to my poor grades. I don't want to reject all three as a small part of me has this vain hope that one of them might still take me, or give me a reduced offer or something. Don’t really want to enter Clearing but seems like I’ll be forced to by the looks of things. The way I see it, it's giving checkmate. I'm in a doomed if I do / don't type of situation. Grateful if anyone has any thoughts or advice on this, thanks

Which career requires an RG uni?

Reply 3

poetic

Original post

by Muttley79

Which career requires an RG uni?

Lawyer. Becoming a solicitor at a top firm, or any sort of Barrister

Reply 4

Muttley79

Original post

by poetic

Lawyer. Becoming a solicitor at a top firm, or any sort of Barrister

So you don't need RG. Most recruit institution blind.

@Stiffy Byng

Reply 5

Stiffy Byng

Original post

by Muttley79

So you don't need RG. Most recruit institution blind.
@Stiffy Byng

I concur.

OP, York, Bristol, and Brum all good places to study law in my opinion, although I have only second hand knowledge of those universities, so if you do exceed your expectations and obtain the requisite grades, any one of those three would be fine. Pick Bristol or Birmingham if you want a classic redbrick in a bustling city, York if you want a leafy 1960s campus just outside a small city. I don't know if Bristol has fixed its accommodation shortage, but check that before deciding.

There are several good universities for law which are not members of the Russell Group. To give one anecdotal example, I have recently been doing some guest lecturing at Reading, and I have been impressed by the quality of the academic staff and students there, and I quite like the 1960/70s campus, although the town of Reading itself is nothing special.

You see a lot of graduates of RG universities in large law firms and barristers' chambers because of the self-fulfilling prophecy whereby the most academically successful sixth formers tend to study at universities which are well known and have good resources. Thus, even in university-blind selection processes, graduates of well known universities will often but not invariably out-perform graduates from less well known places. But the good graduate from the less well known place can still stand out on his or her individual merits.

Very few if any of the solicitors and barristers who make recruitment decisions about new entrants to the profession sit around saying (for example) "Let's hire X because she's Cambridge and Y because he's Warwick, and let's reject Z because he's Lancaster."

When the recruiters are making lateral hires of established practitioners, academic CVs are less important, and career experience is the key factor.

People stress and fret about which to choose between two RG universities, or between an RG and a non RG, but these decisions are not likely to determine your pathway for the next forty years.

Yes, it is worth striving to gain admission to the best university which you can, but "best" means many things, and isn't a matter of what some compiler of a league table has said this year or last year.

Good luck!

Reply 6

Stiffy Byng

Original post

by poetic

Lawyer. Becoming a solicitor at a top firm, or any sort of Barrister

As a PS to my longer post above, I look around my chambers and observe several colleagues who do not hold degrees from RG universities, as well as the usual Oxbridge gits like me. We are not Magic Circle, but are well regarded.

My skilful opponent in a current case is at a chambers in the Midlands. His degree is from an ex-poly. He is making me bring my A game. I provided some mentoring to one of his junior colleagues whom I met when she sold me a motorbike helmet when running her family bike shop. Her degree is from the OU, and I am trying to suborn her to join my chambers.

Reply 7

University of York

Official Rep

Hi,

Congratulations on your offer to study at York! If you are looking into studying Law, we definitely have some impressive draws to study with us. These include:

•

In the world top 150 for Law (2025)Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2025

•

2nd for learning opportunities among the RG unis included (NSS 2024)

•

A top 25 law school for research (THE rankings of the REF results 2021)

For more info, you can also check out this page.

We'd encourage you to try to keep positive in your decision-making process, and the outcome of your grades 🙂 hopefully it will all work out for the best.

Is there anything in particular that you're looking for from a university to make your decision about a firm or insurance choice?

Speak soon,

Jenni

(edited 11 months ago)

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