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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

advice for daughter with 3rd in her degree

39 replies

hotpinkmama · 25/05/2011 19:51

hi everyone, this is my first post so please bear with me for what will most likely turn into a long post (sorry)

my dd21 is in her final term at university completeing a law degree, and recieved her 100% essay marks back yesterday. However she has not done as well as she hoped and will graduate with a 3rd overall and no longer qualifies for a place on the LPC course she wanted to do in September.

dd lives at home and so myself and my husband are able to see how hard she works and occassionally help her if she has problems. she struggles with dyslexia quite badly and has found the whole course an incredible challenge and has fought tooth and nail to stay on the course, which we are of course proud of. she has a very supportive group of friends and they go out once a fortnight so its not that she can blame too much socialising on her poor grade.

she is completely heartbroken and upset that she works so hard and still hasnt done well enough. she managed to get a meeting with the careers advisory service yesterday and they told her that she would be able to go for shop and supermarket jobs, which depressed her even more. i am finding it absolutely heart breaking having to sit and watch her beat herself up about it and even though we are proud of her for sticking with the degree and completing it, i am at a loss at how to best comfort and advise her.

if anyone else has been in a similar situation themselves i would love to hear how it worked out for you or your dc's.

thanks, hotpinkmama

OP posts:

Kewcumber · 17/08/2011 13:43

what is she interested in/good at?

I have had extensive rofessional experience with HR departments and a lot of their work is a combination of legal/procedural and people management/training and may appeal to her. She may be able to get onto training schemes with some of the larger companies.

Snuppeline · 17/08/2011 14:33

Great advice have been given here which your dd should take to heart. Have you posted about this topic before? I seem to remember a tread about a girl who might end up with a 2:2 or 3rd in law - there were lots of great advice there too if it wasn't you take a look.

I also think that a 3rd in Law, History etc are much more understandable and more worth than a 3rd in a simpler subject like business administration/sports science and I am sure most employers will understand that. Perhaps the 3rd is a problem for pure law work but as others have pointed out if she's struggling with writing a job based mostly on writing may a) never take her far and b) may leave her feeling a lot less worth. With 40 odd years of employment ahead of her that's not a great prospect. So get her to look at what makes her tick.

With dyslexia I am sure she's got some qualities which may set her aside from others? How does she think about concepts and things? How does she plan to do things? How's her people skills, could she have leader potential? Lots of people here have mentioned areas where her law could be useful but also consider what skills, other than academic, she has got which she might draw on in a career.

She may have to start lower somewhere but like that poster said she could work her way up and there's no harm in that. In fact, you may see she gets a job quicker than some of her peers who may perhaps be aiming too high and taking too long to face reality and start applying for jobs other than graudate ones.

Beefing up her CV at this stage will be very important. I'm guessing she has spent most of her time working on her degree so now it will probably be useful for her to take any placement/internship she can get (unpaid or otherwise) to get some experience.

Tell to be proud of herself!

Snuppeline · 17/08/2011 14:34

"in a simpler subject" hm bad wording... sorry meant no offense to anyone!

GooseyLoosey · 17/08/2011 14:55

As a lawyer, I agree that she might struggle to find a job within the legal profession at the moment. If her heart is set on law, would she consider doing an OU degree part-time. I think that this is mostly course work assessed and her dyslexia would not be so much of an issue there.

In addition, she should think hard about whether law is the right choice for her. Lots of forms of law (particularly commerical areas) are very document driven and if she struggles to read or write long documents, this could be an issue for her or her employer.

Not quite the same, but DH majorly buggered up his A levels for various reasons, making university impossible for him. He got a job and at the same time did an OU degree. He has gone on to have a very successful career based on that.

SlackSally · 17/08/2011 21:49

No wonder so many people think so little of teachers if the advice to a student who has done disappointingly in her degree is 'why not become a teacher'?

Every person on my PGCE had at least a 2.1, with maybe a third having 1sts.

Xenia · 18/08/2011 19:45

You can do the LPC course at the College of Law with a third class degree as long as it's an honours degree. IF she calls them tomorrow they will take her I expect. She might need to write a good case. She might also fail the LPC exams but she can have a go.

Supersunnyday · 19/08/2011 18:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pointydog · 19/08/2011 18:22

She needs to stay calm and do some research to find out what she wants in the world of work. She could do a postgrad related to a job she would like to go for. Once she is trained or has work experience, no one will really bother about her 3rd.

Doesn't sound like law would be good for her anyway. See it as a sign that will point her in a happier direction.

Xenia · 19/08/2011 21:24

You're wrong. BPP won't take 3rd (and doesn't like 2/2s) but the Law Soc rules include any honours degrees so the College of Law has to take thirds. It doesn't mean you will get a job but it is technically possible. I didn't immediately find the link but one law school website says:

"Whilst the Law Society will accept third class degrees, the Bar Council's minimum requirement is a second class degree (2:2 or higher)."

Changebagsandgladrags · 19/08/2011 22:02

Could she do the OU level 3 law courses? www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/b05.htm

She could claim the credit from her degree up to and including level 2. She'd need to get 120 points from level 3 but she could do this in a year.

Or any level 3 courses if she fancies a change in direction.

pointydog · 19/08/2011 22:27

This is someone who has found the whole course incredibly difficult. She should realise how well she has done and now choose a direction which will be more fulfilling, make her happier and help her realise how good she is. Be careful not to set yourself up for more heartache and failure.

Xenia · 20/08/2011 22:37

It certainly may be hard for her but she has time even now with her third to apply for an LPC place at the COllege of law to start next month. I just wanted her to know that it is technically possible. She may need to think laterally to get a training contract at a law firm but it's not ruled out.

proudfoot · 26/08/2011 22:16

Xenia is right that it is "technically" possible for a student with a 3rd to get a place on the LPC at CoL, but this is because the law schools are interested in bums on seats so that they can make more money... The course is very expensive (about £16,000 now I think) and I think it would be extremely reckless to encourage her to gamble on this when her chances of becoming a solicitor are close to nil.

I hope she has found some other interesting opportunities to pursue since you originally posted the thread :)

Fletch107 · 27/08/2011 16:14

Your daughter could definitely go into a career in teaching if she wanted to. Three years ago I only received an Ordinary Degree in Film Studies. I was terribly disappointed but since then I have completed a PGCE, started my first full time teaching post and will be starting a par- time masters degree next month.

It turned out that I only had a received an ordinary degree as I was dyslexic and hadn?t received the help that I needed during my studies. I tried to go for the dyslexia test when I first started uni but the disability department discouraged me from having the test as they thought most students were trying it on to get a free lap top. I was finally tested when I started my PGCE and have flourished since.

I have trained as a basic skills tutor and teach English and Maths to low level adults. If your daughter did decide to go into this area I?m sure she would flourish too. Dyslexia isn?t seen as a weakness in this area as a lot of the learners also suffer from learning difficulties so your daughter could use her own experiences to help and encourage these students.

I wish her all the best. I?m a firm believer that set backs are sent to make us stronger!

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