Durham Bristol Law UCAS Extra Application

Hey everyone, I am an international applicant with 94% in ISC (Equivalent to A*A*A*A in A Levels) and 88.5% in ICSE (Equivalent to 9886 in GCSEs). My LNAT score is 27/42 and I am 22 years old currently (mature applicant). I had applied for a few top unis and had used up all of my 5 choices back in mid October when I had submitted my application, but have since received 2 rejections and waiting to hear from KCL, UCL and Edinburgh.
The further problem is KCL does not seem to have scholarships for International students and I can't afford the fees without them. Also, I had applied for LLB Global Law in Edinburgh which does not give me the right to Practice in Scotland, something which is very important for me because I cannot go for another degree right out of uni before working for some time and earning something. Therefore the only feasible option I am left with is UCL and I haven't heard from any of these in the last few months.
Further, I was also seeing some people saying that LSE takes in people with bad LNAT scores but they did reject me stating my personal statement to be below par. In this situation, I am wondering if I should withdraw my application from my current choices in order to apply for Bristol and Durham through Extra.
Further, should I apply to schools like Queen's University Belfast, Coventry, Birmingham, York, Strathclyde, Warwick etc.? I am so anxious right now that I don't think I am able to think properly and evaluate my options because I can't see any way out of this. Anything which you can say would be of a lot of help for me. My stakes are very high in this situation and I don't know what to do. I am really in a horrible situation and I need any and every advice you have for me to make an informed and proper decision.

Just sharing some thoughts — this is only advice, not something you should follow blindly, but hopefully it helps you think through the options more calmly.
First, I would be careful about withdrawing applications while you still have universities considering you. Once you withdraw choices to use UCAS Extra, you cannot undo that decision. If you withdrew something like UCL and then didn’t get an offer through Extra, you might end up worse off than you are now. Since UCL, KCL and Edinburgh are still pending, it may be safer to wait for decisions unless you are certain a choice is not workable.
On the Edinburgh point, your concern about LLB Global Law not qualifying you to practise in Scotland is valid. If your goal is to practise in Scotland directly after graduation, that course does not lead to a qualifying Scottish law degree. So even if you got an offer, you would need to think carefully about whether it actually fits your long-term plan.
Regarding scholarships, it’s true that funding for international students in UK undergraduate law is limited, especially at places like KCL. That doesn’t necessarily mean there is zero funding anywhere, but realistically most students assume they will be self-funding unless they secure a specific scholarship.
About LSE and LNAT: admissions decisions there seem to weigh the personal statement, reference, grades and overall profile alongside the LNAT, so a rejection citing the personal statement unfortunately isn’t unusual. Forum rumours about people getting in with weaker LNAT scores are hard to interpret because nobody sees the full application.
If you eventually end up needing UCAS Extra, it might make sense to research universities in advance and even contact admissions offices to ask whether the course is likely to have places. UCAS itself suggests doing that before adding an Extra choice. Strong universities like Bristol or Durham sometimes appear in Extra but only for certain courses and only if places remain. You can call their admissions teams now and find out about what courses are still open. As an international student you might have more options open to you.
It could also be sensible to keep some solid but slightly less oversubscribed options in mind (for example universities like Warwick, Birmingham, York, Queen’s Belfast or Strathclyde) if the goal is to secure a good law degree this year rather than risk reapplying next cycle.
Most importantly, try not to make decisions purely out of anxiety. You still have three universities considering your application, which means outcomes are still open.
Again, this is just one perspective from someone trying to think through the situation logically. You know your financial constraints, career plans and risk tolerance better than anyone here, so treat it as advice to consider rather than a recommendation.

Firstly and foremost, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate you taking so much of your time in answering my questions.
Secondly, I absolutely agree with you on the fact that right now, it would be too big of a risk of back out from UCL, KCL and Edinburgh just to apply through Extra wherein I am not even sure if they have enough seats for me to be even considered in the first place. Coming to the problem with Edinburgh, I have decided to call them up and ask for a change in the course I have applied for. I know I am quite late considering I had submitted my application way back when, but at the same time, I had not known about the course not qualifying me for practicing law in Scotland until recently. I totally agree that it was a mistake on my side for not looking into the course pages properly, but at the same time I still wanna try to change the course because I don't wanna live in a situation where I will regret not trying in the first place.
On the other hand, coming to Durham and Bristol, I have already planned on calling them up by the next week in order to know whether they have any seats left or not, which as you rightly pointed out, has been recommended by UCAS themselves.
Finally, the thing with the other colleges which I mentioned was that I am very worried as to whether joining these unis would place me in a significant disadvantage with securing job opportunities further down the line or not, because as I said before, my financial situation does not permit me to go for another degree like a master's before starting to earn. I am also under the impression that job opportunities are mostly concentrated in London, especially with most law firms having their offices there, but at the same time, I need someone to help me answer this because I have never been outside of my own country, let alone in the UK. If it wouldn't be a problem for you, can you suggest me a way as to how you would go about researching the job opportunities with Law firms available nearby to a uni or so and in that specific place like Birmingham or others. Do you think I should reach out to the colleges regarding my query and then also browse the internet regarding the same?
Also, I just wanna tell you again that I am exceptionally thankful to you for taking the time in giving me your point of view with this whole thing and letting me see things from a different, much less anxious, stand. Thank you so much!

Hi Amlan - I am a Durham student rep here. 👋
First of all, try to take a breath, admissions and applications can be so stressful and overwhelming - but you shouldn't lose faith now! From an admissions perspective, your academic profile and LNAT (27) are solid for UK law schools, so the situation you’re in isn’t unusual at all. Many applicants wait until March–May for decisions from universities like UCL or KCL, especially for competitive courses like Law. The UCAS deadline for offers is in May.
Here's a few thoughts that might help with the questions you raised:
1. I think you’re making the right decision not to withdraw your current applications.
While you still have UCL, KCL and Edinburgh considering you, I would say it is generally safest to wait. Universities often release offers in waves and silence for months is normal for law. If you withdrew now to use Extra and then didn’t get a place somewhere like Bristol or here at Durham, you’d lose those three pending decisions permanently.
2. Contacting Edinburgh about switching courses is definitely worth trying.
Universities sometimes allow internal course changes during the admissions cycle if the programmes are related and if places are available. Since your concern is about the LLB Global Law not being a qualifying Scottish law degree, explaining that clearly to admissions is completely reasonable.
3. About job prospects and university reputation (this is something many international students worry about - so very normal to feel like this).
The UK legal market doesn’t work exactly as “jobs near the university.” Most large law firms recruit nationally, especially for training contracts. Students from universities across the UK apply to firms in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, etc.
Here's what we think matters more than geography is:

Universities like Durham, Warwick, Birmingham, York, Bristol, Queen’s Belfast etc. are all well-known to major law firms. Students from these universities regularly secure training contracts at London firms. So attending one of them would not automatically disadvantage you.
5. Contacting universities directly is actually a good idea.
Admissions teams can often tell you:
So calling Durham and Bristol (as you mentioned) is a sensible step.
Right now you still have three strong universities considering you, which means your application is still very much “alive.” Law admissions in the UK can move slowly, and many offers are released quite late.
If I were in your position, I would:
You’re clearly thinking carefully about your future and doing the right kind of research. The anxiety you’re feeling is very common among international applicants.
Are there any Durham related questions I can help with? Durham also has good international funding and scholarship schemes if that is something that would benefit you.
Check out these pages for more information:

Hopefully this has helped! Fingers crossed about your outstanding UCAS applications! Best of luck from us here at Durham!
-Lacey, DU Student Rep 💜🙂

Hi Amlan - I am a Durham student rep here. 👋
First of all, try to take a breath, admissions and applications can be so stressful and overwhelming - but you shouldn't lose faith now! From an admissions perspective, your academic profile and LNAT (27) are solid for UK law schools, so the situation you’re in isn’t unusual at all. Many applicants wait until March–May for decisions from universities like UCL or KCL, especially for competitive courses like Law. The UCAS deadline for offers is in May.
Here's a few thoughts that might help with the questions you raised:
1. I think you’re making the right decision not to withdraw your current applications.
While you still have UCL, KCL and Edinburgh considering you, I would say it is generally safest to wait. Universities often release offers in waves and silence for months is normal for law. If you withdrew now to use Extra and then didn’t get a place somewhere like Bristol or here at Durham, you’d lose those three pending decisions permanently.
2. Contacting Edinburgh about switching courses is definitely worth trying.
Universities sometimes allow internal course changes during the admissions cycle if the programmes are related and if places are available. Since your concern is about the LLB Global Law not being a qualifying Scottish law degree, explaining that clearly to admissions is completely reasonable.
3. About job prospects and university reputation (this is something many international students worry about - so very normal to feel like this).
The UK legal market doesn’t work exactly as “jobs near the university.” Most large law firms recruit nationally, especially for training contracts. Students from universities across the UK apply to firms in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, etc.
Here's what we think matters more than geography is:

Universities like Durham, Warwick, Birmingham, York, Bristol, Queen’s Belfast etc. are all well-known to major law firms. Students from these universities regularly secure training contracts at London firms. So attending one of them would not automatically disadvantage you.
5. Contacting universities directly is actually a good idea.
Admissions teams can often tell you:
So calling Durham and Bristol (as you mentioned) is a sensible step.
Right now you still have three strong universities considering you, which means your application is still very much “alive.” Law admissions in the UK can move slowly, and many offers are released quite late.
If I were in your position, I would:
You’re clearly thinking carefully about your future and doing the right kind of research. The anxiety you’re feeling is very common among international applicants.
Are there any Durham related questions I can help with? Durham also has good international funding and scholarship schemes if that is something that would benefit you.
Check out these pages for more information:

Hopefully this has helped! Fingers crossed about your outstanding UCAS applications! Best of luck from us here at Durham!
-Lacey, DU Student Rep 💜🙂

Also, in relation to Durham, besides the question of whether there are seats left currently or not, I also did want to ask you about the balance between student life and academics there. How rigorous would you say the curriculum is, and is it manageable while having a fairly alright social life? Also, I wanted to ask you for any information which you may be able to share with regards to securing training contracts after studying LLB at Durham. Anything which you can share regarding these would be really helpful for me.

Hello!
Following on from Lacey's posts, I thought I'd answer your questions. 😊
Most courses in Durham work on around 10 hours a week of contact time, though this varies from course to course. For Law, you might expect this to be higher, and include a little more time for preparation and pre-reading: this teaching will generally include seminars and lectures, though you will need time to work independently on top of this. However, you will definitely still have enough time to enjoy a social life; nearly every student I know is in a society or extracurricular, regardless of what course they study. The courses here can be rigorous, but if you try to keep to deadlines and organise your work well, you won't have any issues. 😊
There are over 200 societies for students, which is a great way to socialise - you can view these here: https://www.durhamsu.com/groups. Additionally, you'll find your college is a key way of facilitating friendships, and that there will be many events for you to meet people throughout the year. I've found it super easy to meet people and make friends at Durham University, despite being a commuter! 🙂
As for outcomes after LLB at Durham, you can check out statistics using this website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/. Students have great outcomes, as is established here: 'We are proud to achieve excellent results for student satisfaction and employability. Our graduates include many of the profession’s leading figures, among them current or former members of the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court, as well as Members of Parliament, King’s Counsel (KC), partners in major international law firms, and General Counsel to listed companies.'
You can use this website to read a graduate's experience after studying at Durham, and also investigate the support offered by Durham's Career Service and Employability course: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/careers/.
It might be helpful to look at the Durham Law Careers Week information, which specifies the connections Durham Law School has with certain firms, offering over 800 training contracts: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/news-and-events/news/2025/10/durham-law-careers-week/.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions! ☺️
-Rosie (DU Representative)

Im pretty sure you can only apply to one university at a time through extra? So you would have to chose one and apply there and wait if they give you an offer before applying elsewhere