Clearing options: Southampton, b’ham, Exeter or bath

[questioner123]

Hi all

DD regretfully missed out on her place at Bristol to study Law after working extremely hard. She is gutted to say the least.

She has got into her insurance of Southampton for Law, or has offers from clearing for politics for the rest.

She’s now confused whether to stick with Southampton or go to one of the other unis. She got ABB by the way and wants to be a solicitor, most likely.

Many thanks.

Advice for my then year 11 tutor group from parents who are solicitors is NOT to study Law. They prefer graduates in other subjects with very good classes of degrees, apparently.

That said, there is something in the local paper today about student accommodation in Exeter not being ready on time this autumn. Make sure that she can get somewhere decent in any of those places.

Well if she doesn’t study law, she’ll need to do an extra year of full time study as a postgraduate which will cost a lot of money.

So I’d say go to Southampton and do law.

Solicitor here. Surprised about the advice not to study law, that certainly applies at A level but never heard anyone say that at degree level. When I did my training contract it was about 2/3 law, 1/3 non-law degrees although a few of us had combined degrees.

If you don't do a qualifying law degree you will have to do a cross-qualification course. Expensive - more fees, full time course so little time to work alongside etc.

Do any of the courses offer law and politics where she could do the core subjects plus politics.

Disclaimer, I know this stupid SQE is being introduced (stupid because you will have to study for it alongside working full time - I know accountants have done that for years but it's not exactly making access to the profession any easier).

My first choice would be to go to Southampton and do law.

Second choice would be to look at a combined degree which includes the qualifying subjects through adjustment. Law and something usually has lower grade requirements than pure law.

Bath aren't in Clearing for Law.

OP has said clearing is for politics

Hi guys, thanks for your reply. Very stressful here as DD is so upset and it’s heartbreaking. She really doesn’t know what to do- gap year is not an option for her, and wouldn’t be able to get into the places she would want to go anyway with her grades.

We’ve looked for Law with politics and can’t find any. Thanks for your advice.

Why not go to Southampton then?

southampton is russell group uni. whats wrong with it? She'll make loads of friends and have a ball. give her a year and she will probably be relieved she didnt get into Bristol. one of my son's friends went there and they had to share rooms in halls at the start of the first year as there wasnt enough accommodation

Soton. Great place

Russell Group is still equivalent to Ivy League in US. She should be happy to have gotten into Southampton. That’s what I would do.
A study showed that almost 80% of sixth forms predicted higher grades than what students get. So it’s very unlikely to get a goal school no matter how hard you work.

I went to Southampton by accident 15 years ago and I never left! It’s not a destination - I don’t think anyone would say ‘oh, let’s go to Southampton’ but it’s very comfortable and I’ve been very happy here. The campus is good, well contained but still quite close to town. Best of both worlds really. It’s a very green city and has good transport links. It’s a Russell Group uni and the law department is good. She could do a lot worse!

scurries away to change username

Is she interested in politics? This would seem fairly crucial.

Yes, how does she feel about Politics?

Bath is a top 10 uni overall in two UK league tables, and top 10 for politics in Complete Uni Guide - would she like or dislike that Bath is so near Bristol?? Exeter at least as strong in politics so two great clearing offers for Politics - IF that’s what she wants.

If she REALLY wants Law, she should go for her insurance

Has she considered resitting her A levels if her heart is set on Bristol?

Hi guys. Thanks for all your replies.

She has narrowed it down to Bath and Southampton- the decision will really come down to politics or law and how she feels when visiting bath. She doesn’t really know how she is going to decide.

I’m trying to tell her everything happens for a reason and she’s a bit better now with everything tonight and knows she is lucky to have two great offers.

Thanks again.

If she wants to be a lawyer she should probably do the law to stop having to do extra postgraduate study at extra expense. If she doesn’t then she could consider politics at Southampton as well as Bath. The universities are not dissimilar in that they are both campus unis. Of the two I prefer Soton just based on it being a little closer to town and living accommodation (Bath is at the top of a very steep hill). Bath is obviously architecturally beautiful and Southampton isn’t but that didn’t affect my student experience much.

I think her A levels will be a serious barrier to her being taken on to train as a solicitor I’m afraid. It’s hugely competitive.

She could do the post grad conversion course but these are expensive (£10,000) if she’s not sponsored. Many solicitors are not law grads but it varies each year. Certainly around 45% of Barristers don’t have Law as a first degree.

I think the big decision here is whether she really wants Law or not. I share her worries about losing her place at Bristol which is a bigger hitter for Law than Southampton. She would now need to evaluate how much she wants Law or whether an interest in Politics at Bath trumps that. What does she really want from 3 years at university?

I do think being a solicitor is now an uphill task though. However if she did well at Southampton, it’s not out of the question but competition is steep!

I also meant to add: a friend’s DS is doing Politics at Sheffield and had 6 hours contact time. I would try and do Politics and something else as joint honours. Something that gives additional skills and broadens learning. The Law courses are definitely a heavier workload!!