Questions on Law at Oxford

Hey, i wish to study Law obviously the dream is Oxbridge unsure which yet :smile:

But anyway just a few questions;

Do they like you to have experience in Law - work experience etc?
Group sizes?
Work load?
How many exams in the 3 years?

If you can help, thanks.

Reply 1

Derek_the_Sheep

Read this first: http://denning.law.ox.ac.uk/published/ughandbook.pdf

DtS

Reply 2

xmarilynx

At an Oxbridge conference I was told that those who haven't got work experience aren't disadvantaged as they know that it's hard to get and those that have got it may have used family connections etc. However, an Oxford law don at an open day told me that he likes to see that people have 'cultivated an interest in law', either through work experience, visiting courts etc to prove that you haven't just thought 'ooh law, that sounds fancy' without really knowing what it is or what it entails.

Reply 3

crazyspacemonkey

Studying any degree at Oxford or Cambridge is generally considered harder than studying at other universities. The terms are shorter but they expect more out of you. This is definitely outweighed by the positive effects of an Oxbridge degree when you leave, not to mention the contacts you'll make.

As far as group sizes go they are fairly small and you will get closer one on one tuition with your lecturers, than you might at other universities.

Work experience for any degree is definitely useful, as it shows an interest in your chosen subject. If you go out and try to get experience in your chosen field then you are clearly showing your enthusiasm and commitment to your education and future career. The experience may also be useful for your CV when you graduate.

Reply 4

Troubled_Student

Okay thanks, now it's just about getting the required grades for A-Level mainly :smile:

Thanks for your help.

Reply 5

Troubled_Student

Sorry for double post!

Whats the LNAT test like, is there anywhere you can "practice" it, like past papers or anything?

Thanks.

Reply 6

icysquall

Troubled_Student

Sorry for double post!

Whats the LNAT test like, is there anywhere you can "practice" it, like past papers or anything?

Thanks.

The LNAT isn't the sort of thing that you practice really. There are practice tests on the LNAT website which I used and they were fairly useful in terms of getting an idea what the LNAT would actually be like. There are books that you can buy I think, but I never used them and honestly they seem like a waste of money.

I wouldn't worry about getting work experience. I don't have any and still managed to get in. I think the tutors are well aware that it's hard to get meaningful work experience where you aren't just making tea/doing photocopying/etc.

Reply 7

Derek_the_Sheep

Troubled_Student

Whats the LNAT test like, is there anywhere you can "practice" it, like past papers or anything?

http://www.lnat.ac.uk/2009/preparation/index.html.

Google. 20 seconds. DtS

Thanks

For Oxford-you will have moderations after the first two terms examining criminal, constitutional and roman law.

Everything else is examined in your finals at the end of the whole thing.
Your college will probably also examine smaller in-house exams to test your progress.

Reply 10

Troubled_Student

Ah thats another question actually, with all the different Colleges. Do you get assigned to a College, if you get in or do you have to choose your college on your UCAS form for example would it be;

Oxford Law M100, Merton College.
or just
Oxford Law M100

Reply 11

Good bloke

Most people choose a college, but you can make an open application and the university will decide for you.

Reply 12

Troubled_Student

Whats the difference in the colleges kind of thing?
Like other than obviously location?
Are there any pro's or con's to being in a certain college?

Reply 13

AliHazell

Troubled_Student

Whats the difference in the colleges kind of thing?
Like other than obviously location?
Are there any pro's or con's to being in a certain college?

Have you got a copy of the prospectus?? because it explains this fairly well. Other than that you really need to try and look around and get a feel for them all if you can.
And i agree with the earlier post that you cannot really prepare for the LNAT beyond whats on the website.

Reply 14

Troubled_Student

I've been reading about all the colleges, etc but it doesn't apply for me for another two years :smile:

Reply 15

owenj

I study Law with German Law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. The impression I get with experience is that the tutors are more interested in your showing and interest in the law than in experience in the legal world. I may be wrong here, but you have to remember that the people who give you the place are academics not practicing lawyers (though some are both) and it tends to be the ideas behind law and way of thinking about it that interests them, especially at Oxford where the degree course is quite theory based. So just pursuing law-related things that interest you is my advice, whether that's a book, something you read in a newspaper, work you've done with a human rights charity etc then you can talk about that in your statement/at interview.

I'm generally taught with another student and my tutor for 3 hour sessions a fortnight. The workload is big, but entirely manageable and though it has a reputation for being hard-work even in Oxford, there's more than enough time to do the work and do other stuff and go out a few nights a week.

We have exams in 1st year that don't count, but the course is assessed on finals - 9 three hour exams you sit at the end of the course. Don't worry it sounds horrendous even to us! It is something to think about though, lots of unis (inc. Cambridge I think) break up the assessment a bit more, you have to consider whether that's something you'd prefer, though I'm totally happy here at Oxford.

And don't worry about the LNAT. Do the practice paper on the site, but the test itself I found quite a bit harder. No one gets them all right though, I got a score in the low 20s and got a place, some of my friends got lower, especially at Oxford it really isn't the deciding factor as the interview is central to the whole process. :smile: