Durham university success chances for me?

I really love the idea of going to Durham to study law, but I’ve been told by people that they’re really picky, some people have told me even on your class background. I’m working class and got pretty basic GCSE grades but in A levels I’m predicted A*,A*, B - I know people who are getting straight A*’s and are still worried they won’t get into Durham. I’ve also got Bristol and Cambridge down as my top three options, which are again, very good universities. I’m just looking for some insight as to whether I’m overreaching with these options? And I also have no idea as to what I can do to make myself stand out in applications. I’ve been told online courses are good but when I look at them, it seems like it’s too late to do any. I’m honestly willing to do anything I can so any suggestions would be great.

Hey there, I myself am going into my first year at Durham doing law so I'd like to think I have a well-informed opinion. I would try and bump that B up, even though you have an extra A* they can be picky about grades because they have so much choice. Your LNAT is super important, both MCQ section and the essay, so you'll be wanting to get a higher than average score there. Make sure you are using the question books and guides, the ones from amazon are great, and spend more time revising than you think. Considering you are saying it seems too late to do anything, I am presuming you're doing the early Cambridge entry. In my opinion, I would consider not applying to Cambridge so you can delay your application and focus on adding some supercurriculars to your PS questions. I myself did Moots/debates, government level volunteering, an EPQ, started a business, and lots of extra reading. So if you have any extra time, I would try any of them, or an online course might be easiest at this stage. Let me know if you have any other questions!

I really love the idea of going to Durham to study law, but I’ve been told by people that they’re really picky, some people have told me even on your class background. I’m working class and got pretty basic GCSE grades but in A levels I’m predicted A*,A*, B - I know people who are getting straight A*’s and are still worried they won’t get into Durham. I’ve also got Bristol and Cambridge down as my top three options, which are again, very good universities. I’m just looking for some insight as to whether I’m overreaching with these options? And I also have no idea as to what I can do to make myself stand out in applications. I’ve been told online courses are good but when I look at them, it seems like it’s too late to do any. I’m honestly willing to do anything I can so any suggestions would be great.

After a report in November last year about socio-economic inequalities at Durham, they’re actually trying pretty hard to get more working class people in. Do a couple relevant online courses to write about on your personal statement ( / the three questions format UCAS is adding this year) if you’re lacking supercurriculars to write about, and focus on trying to raise your B up a bit, and you should have a pretty decent shot.

Thanks so much 🙏 do you know where I can do these online courses and how long they last?

OpenLearn is run by the Open University and has plenty that you can do in a single sitting, all completely free. They heavily overestimate the hours to complete, just pick one or two you like, finish them, and write about them in your personal statement. I did and it worked great for me - (I also noted some volunteering experience, reading a couple academic books, and a bit about learning programming — you don’t need those necessarily, but if any apply to you, add them in. Make sure you say what your career goal is post-graduation in your personal statement, that’ll definitely help and should be easy-ish to do.)
FutureLearn (some free, may be able to audit paid courses for free), Coursera (audit paid courses for free, don’t sign up with money, it’s generally unnecessary), Udemy (paid), MIT MOOCs (free) etc are some other online course sites.
They mostly want to see that you’ve put in effort to learn outside the curriculum, whatever way you’ve done that, that you know what your subject actually is, and have clear / strong motivation to finish your degree to the end.
Hope this helps, and good luck <3

I really love the idea of going to Durham to study law, but I’ve been told by people that they’re really picky, some people have told me even on your class background. I’m working class and got pretty basic GCSE grades but in A levels I’m predicted A*,A*, B - I know people who are getting straight A*’s and are still worried they won’t get into Durham. I’ve also got Bristol and Cambridge down as my top three options, which are again, very good universities. I’m just looking for some insight as to whether I’m overreaching with these options? And I also have no idea as to what I can do to make myself stand out in applications. I’ve been told online courses are good but when I look at them, it seems like it’s too late to do any. I’m honestly willing to do anything I can so any suggestions would be great.

Hey, I think it’s amazing that you’re aiming high with Durham, it is a fantastic uni. Please don’t let what people say about “background” discourage you; universities are much more focused on your ability, your motivation, and your potential than where you come from. In fact, many top universities actively want to welcome talented students from working-class backgrounds, and they often take context into account when looking at applications.
What will really make you stand out is showing genuine passion for law. Things like wider reading, engaging with legal debates, or even reflecting on news stories from a legal perspective in your personal statement. Even something as simple as attending a law lecture, reading a legal blog, or joining a debate club at school can give you examples to write about and show your interest.
It’s always smart to have a balanced UCAS list, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t give these top universities your best shot. You’ve clearly got the drive, and that determination itself will shine through.
Best of luck!
Durham Rep, Mia