picking an insurance offer.. help!
my predicteds are AAB with an expected A for my epq and i have offers from nottingham (ABB), sheffield (AAB), southampton (ABB), reading (AAB), and royal holloway (BBB) all for law. im definitely firming notts, and definitely getting rid of reading but im just really confused about what to have as my insurance. the most obvious option gradewise is rhul but i really really want to work for a magic circle firm in the future and though ill be doing a tonne of extra programmes to help me i dont want to compromise my chances by having an average uni, though rhul is really pretty and pretty close to home. southampton sounded good in case theyre lenient on the day but i heard that people have been rejected even when being a near miss student. also diversity is really important to me as someone from really multicultural london. i really would hate to be the one brown person in my accom corridor, and im scared of this being the case at soton.
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
Reply 1
Are you a contextual applicant?
Id suggest waiting until youve been to offer holder days to make a decision on your firm and insurance choices 🙂
Generally you should choose an insurance with lower requirements than your firm so if you choose a firm choice of ABB then your insurance would have to be BBB in your case because if you dont get ABB and both your firm and insurance were ABB you risk having no offers or having to go through clearing which doesn’t guarantee you accommodation or a place on a course you want at a uni you choose
Id suggest waiting until youve been to offer holder days to make a decision on your firm and insurance choices 🙂
Generally you should choose an insurance with lower requirements than your firm so if you choose a firm choice of ABB then your insurance would have to be BBB in your case because if you dont get ABB and both your firm and insurance were ABB you risk having no offers or having to go through clearing which doesn’t guarantee you accommodation or a place on a course you want at a uni you choose
Original post
by priceydoritosmy predicteds are AAB with an expected A for my epq and i have offers from nottingham (ABB), sheffield (AAB), southampton (ABB), reading (AAB), and royal holloway (BBB) all for law. im definitely firming notts, and definitely getting rid of reading but im just really confused about what to have as my insurance. the most obvious option gradewise is rhul but i really really want to work for a magic circle firm in the future and though ill be doing a tonne of extra programmes to help me i dont want to compromise my chances by having an average uni, though rhul is really pretty and pretty close to home. southampton sounded good in case theyre lenient on the day but i heard that people have been rejected even when being a near miss student. also diversity is really important to me as someone from really multicultural london. i really would hate to be the one brown person in my accom corridor, and im scared of this being the case at soton.
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
You've got ages to decide, go to a few offer holder days and ask some questions
Hi @priceydoritos
Congratulations on a strong set of offers.
If diversity matters to you, Royal Holloway is honestly a lot more multicultural than people expect - loads of students come from London and over a third from outside the UK. The Students' Union has loads of cultural societies and host all sorts of events throughout the year to help you meet people from all backgrounds.
And the law course is one of RHUL’s real strengths. The department is in the Top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects (The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2025), which says a lot about where it can take you. You’ll develop the professional skills you’ll need as a lawyer, including mooting, debating and negotiating, and you’ll build up useful skills like research, presenting and independent thinking. You can chat to current Law student, Alexandra, about her experience of the course here
I recommend going to offer-holder events to help you make up your mind. You'll be invited to our Applicant Visitor Day soon where you'll have the chance to really get to know the Law department and see if you can picture yourself happy here. Keep an eye on your inbox for your invite in the next few weeks.
Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you've got anymore questions 🙂
Royal Holloway, University of London Official Rep
Congratulations on a strong set of offers.
If diversity matters to you, Royal Holloway is honestly a lot more multicultural than people expect - loads of students come from London and over a third from outside the UK. The Students' Union has loads of cultural societies and host all sorts of events throughout the year to help you meet people from all backgrounds.
And the law course is one of RHUL’s real strengths. The department is in the Top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects (The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2025), which says a lot about where it can take you. You’ll develop the professional skills you’ll need as a lawyer, including mooting, debating and negotiating, and you’ll build up useful skills like research, presenting and independent thinking. You can chat to current Law student, Alexandra, about her experience of the course here
I recommend going to offer-holder events to help you make up your mind. You'll be invited to our Applicant Visitor Day soon where you'll have the chance to really get to know the Law department and see if you can picture yourself happy here. Keep an eye on your inbox for your invite in the next few weeks.
Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you've got anymore questions 🙂
Royal Holloway, University of London Official Rep
Reply 4
Original post
by priceydoritosmy predicteds are AAB with an expected A for my epq and i have offers from nottingham (ABB), sheffield (AAB), southampton (ABB), reading (AAB), and royal holloway (BBB) all for law. im definitely firming notts, and definitely getting rid of reading but im just really confused about what to have as my insurance. the most obvious option gradewise is rhul but i really really want to work for a magic circle firm in the future and though ill be doing a tonne of extra programmes to help me i dont want to compromise my chances by having an average uni, though rhul is really pretty and pretty close to home. southampton sounded good in case theyre lenient on the day but i heard that people have been rejected even when being a near miss student. also diversity is really important to me as someone from really multicultural london. i really would hate to be the one brown person in my accom corridor, and im scared of this being the case at soton.
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
Hi @priceydoritos,
Congratulations on all your offers! As mentioned previosuly, I would recommend also attending offer holder days before making your final decision. These will allow you get a proper feel for each of the unversities and the cities.
In terms of diversity, Southampton has quite a diverse community. In particular the student community is very diverse with people from many different backgrounds. Being from a diverse city myself, moving to another diverse city was also important to me too. I have met so many amazing people from different walks of life.
Southampton is also one of the top 20 universities in the UK for Law (The Times 2025). The University of Southampton’s Law course offers a qualifying LLB that provides a strong foundation in English law, legal reasoning and critical thinking. Students study core subjects such as contract, criminal, public and land law, with a wide range of optional modules in later years. The course emphasises employability through mooting, a law clinic, careers support, and opportunities like shadowing judges, as well as options for study abroad.
I hope this help!
Khadija
Reply 5
As a parent (not of a student in your subject), I have been impressed with Southampton. My YP received an offer on Christmas Eve with the emailed letter arriving on Christmas day. We attended an open day in June, and I would echo others in strongly recommending open days in general. Some universities offer financial support to help with travel costs if attending is an issue. I was particularly impressed by Southampton’s links to industry. The accommodation appeared good, with free laundry in halls of residence, a free bus pass, and a generally safe feel. It also has strong transport links to places such as London, and being in the South, it is likely to be slightly warmer as well. If I were to choose between Sheffield and Soton, (I personally lived in Sheffield briefly), I would prefer Soton as a student as it felt more contained and campus like whereas Sheffield seems more spread out. At the end of it all, they are all good unis. All the very best for 2026.
Reply 6
Original post
by priceydoritosmy predicteds are AAB with an expected A for my epq and i have offers from nottingham (ABB), sheffield (AAB), southampton (ABB), reading (AAB), and royal holloway (BBB) all for law. im definitely firming notts, and definitely getting rid of reading but im just really confused about what to have as my insurance. the most obvious option gradewise is rhul but i really really want to work for a magic circle firm in the future and though ill be doing a tonne of extra programmes to help me i dont want to compromise my chances by having an average uni, though rhul is really pretty and pretty close to home. southampton sounded good in case theyre lenient on the day but i heard that people have been rejected even when being a near miss student. also diversity is really important to me as someone from really multicultural london. i really would hate to be the one brown person in my accom corridor, and im scared of this being the case at soton.
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
BASICALLY my question is which uni would be the best to have as my insurance of sheffield, southampton and rhul? sorry for the long text!!!
Hi!
Great choices and options you have, definitely visit the universities open days before you make any decisions, it’ll help you decide.
-Sarah (Kingston Rep)
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