The Student Room Group

Yr 13 Help for applying to uni :(

Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .

Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .

I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .

I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .


OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .

Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .

I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?

Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .
Original post
by futuredrlawyer
Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .

Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .

I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .

I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .


OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .

Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .

I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?

Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .

Why is the prestige of a university important to you? Russell Group means nothing because it is decided by the universities themselves whether they are Russell Groups or not. There are many very good non-Russell Group universities. I honestly think you need to consider why you are applying to university. It should not be about the name of the university, it should be about the course and whether the environment of the university suits you.

Reply 2

Original post
by futuredrlawyer
Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .
Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .
I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .
I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .
OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .
Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .
I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?
Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .


I think you still have decent odds of getting an offer with AAA as I don’t see that as much of a difference from A*AA. I would consider doing a mix of applications. Some for law and maybe some for politics and international relations, for example. I do think you need to be happy with both your uni and with the course.

Reply 3

Original post
by futuredrlawyer
Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .
Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .
I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .
I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .
OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .
Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .
I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?
Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .

Surrey? Royal Holloway?

Reply 4

Original post
by futuredrlawyer
Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .
Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .
I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .
I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .
OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .
Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .
I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?
Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .

Could you pursue a joint honours degree in Law? LSE offers Law & Anthropology (AAB), and many Russell Group unis offer Law for AAA.
Original post
by futuredrlawyer
Hello !
I wanted to ask you guys for some advice as a year 13 student that wants to apply for law for 2026 . I have predicted grades of AAA to do law and i got them increased from my original predicted BBC in the mocks . But i want / need to apply to London unis so I can commute from home .
Law is very competitive as you know and all good london Russel groups want A*AA predicted so rn im very limited to actual good univerisities I can apply to , none of which are russel group. None of the ones i visited that I can get in with AAA or below excite me or make me excited to go .
I rather apply for intentional relations or Anthroplogy which still interest me on a good level and I may have higher chances of going to a russel group with like Kings or Queen mary or UCL . Im someone who values university prestige , I dont think I will be happy doing law at a lower ranked uni even if I love the degree . My only motivation for applying to law rn is i can do my masters at a way better uni after . For example do LLB at City St geogres and then Masters at Lse or Oxbridge . And also because i do genieunely find the degree so interesting and useful .
I don't know wether to apply to these mid unis that I dont want to go to , change my course to international relations and politics OR anther to get into RG unis ( which i wont really mind doing but i will have to write a new personal statement as everything i have done is for law ) or ask to get A*AA predicted .
OR apply with 2 subjects like Law and then a ps for IR but i think thats to much .
Also , the way my school system works with predicted grades is that 2-3 of my unis need to be with my original predicted grades so my teacher said i need to pick 2 -3 that are around the BBB-BBC mark . Which can leave me with 2-3 unis with A*AA .
I know you can get into clearing for alot of courses so I could apply for law and go through clearing for others but i dont want to rely on that .Also , i know that sometimes if you get an offer for A*AA they can let you in with AAA ( ive seen for queen mary law they often do that which i rrly liked the uni )but again im quite worried on having to rely on that . Ultimately i could write two personal statements ? Or take a gap year ?
Sorry for the long paragraph but I would really appreciate your advice :smile: .

Hello,

Anthropology graduate doing a law conversion here - it sounds like you've considered a lot of options and realise there are lots of routes into law, which is good!

Firstly, I think you need to ask yourself whether you are seeking to do a law degree because you do genuinely find the subject interesting, or more because you think it will be useful for your future career (and you want to eventually pursue a role like a solicitor or barrister). If it's the latter, you are right to recognise that actually, you don't need to study law at an undergraduate level. You mention that subjects like anthropology and international relations also interest you - both of these would offer such valuable skills that you could bring up in future applications for legal roles, then you would simply add more technical legal knowledge on top of these by studying a postgraduate conversion course and taking the Solicitors Qualifying Exams. For example, by studying anthropology, I developed strong critical evaluation skills, open-minded thinking and an understanding of how practices and values vary across societies - I think this really set me apart in my applications for vacation schemes in my final year. If you are concerned you might not meet the grade requirements for law and feel these subjects are more accessible to begin with, then perhaps do look into studying a non-law degree first.

However, I must stress that it's important you actually do find these subjects somewhat interesting if you are going to apply to them - please do not only consider them because they are offered by top universities! I understand that attending a Russell-Group university is important to you, but this is ultimately a ranking, not a reflection of the specific content the university courses will cover. Each course will be different, so you really need to research what modules are on offer, whether you would be happy studying these and go from there. If you enjoy the course, the chances are you will probably perform better on it - and you ultimately will be there to get a degree, after all!

I understand this may be tricky when coming to write your personal statement. Perhaps you could even look into joint honours degrees, which would allow you to combine law with another subject - you could then mention both subjects in your personal statement, and talk about (as I shared above for anthropology) how they complement each other.

I'll end by noting that the entry requirements for an LLB at the University of Law are currently BBB. ULaw isn't a Russell Group university but a private institution - going off your current approach, you might be tempted to ignore it. However, in reality, it's an award-winning university, has incredible connections with top law firms and has its largest campus in London, which I know is important to you. Please do take the time to have a look into its undergraduate courses - I'm studying the law conversion there and I love it!

Holly
PGDL Student

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