Law offers

[JacketPotatoQueen]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has a feel for law degree offers from RG unis, and whether it is in the same sort of ballpark as Economics, for example. I understand with Economics it is super competitive and many students who meet entry requirements in terms of predicted grades do not get offers. Just wondered if it is the same for law? On the face of it, my DC meets the requirements for Durham, York, Nottingham etc in their predicted grades. But I would prefer them to add other non RG unis as well, in case their application is still not good enough to get offers. Any experience out there? Thank you!

Durham give info on applicant and offer number by subject. You can ask for the same info from other unis via an FOI request. You may find that others have already asked - have a look on whatdotheyknow

I would say that a law degree is quite specific if you’re not planning to become a lawyer, which most people with law degrees aren’t. It’s very boring. Very. You don’t get to argue cases, it’s mostly just a memory test. It can set you up well, don’t get me wrong, but I think you/r DC should consider if they’re going to put the work in for the subsequent years of solicitor courses or barrister courses, neither of which are cheap. It’s not 3 years and done and ping lawyer (I’m sure you know that though, just labouring the point).

It also doesn’t pay that well in the long term unless you’re top of the top.

Regards, someone who wish they’d done politics rather than following the advice of teachers.

I would say that it will vary year on year depending on the number of applicants.
i think that with Nottingham and York she should be pretty safe in terms of receiving an offer. Not sure about Durham as it’s known to be a bit more competitive than most.
When my daughter applied to do law at Manchester 4 years ago, she got an offer even though she was predicted ABB rather than AAA

I think saying that the degree is morning is rather subjective… My daughter loved it, finished with a 2.1 and didn’t find it as difficult as most do. She’s also not a lawyer as wasn’t interested in working commercial law and other types of law don’t pay best. But it still set her up in terms of getting a degree and a graduate job.

Does she know her LNAT score yet? That will make a difference at Durham and you don't need to sit the test until end of January AFAIW.

Durham 2021 entry law offer rate 34% if that helps

My law degree was utterly fascinating and not boring in any sense at all! I as taught by peole like Hale who went on to be our most senior female judge. We studied all kinds of interesting subjects from what it the nature of law and natural rights to what is a contract, criminal law and all the fascinating issues that go with that etc. It is one of the most interesting degrees you can do and even now all these years on I still use what I was taught in those 3 years.

It's subjective isn't it. DD did a STEM degree and would have found law as dull as ditchwater.
It was my favourite topic as a student and the topic I did best at in my exams.

Thanks everyone, that is all helpful. LNAT is booked for November, which you are right, will be necessary for Durham. I am finding this all so different from when I applied for uni (many years ago now!).

Disagree that law is boring! Loved my law degree and my dc is planning on studying law 2024 entry so I’ve been to lots of law open days this year. So many interesting modules.
A law degree is a solid well regarded degree not just for those who intend to go on and qualify as a solicitor or barrister.
My dc has applied for Oxbridge and 4 RG universities. 4/5 need LNAT.
One offer so far from Queens Belfast. Often overlooked - it’s RG, top 10 for law in complete university guide and a qualifying law degree if you want to be a solicitor in England & Wales. They also pay all GB students £3000 yr 1.
She went with what she liked at open days. If she didn’t get any offers then plan was gap year and try again grades in hand.
We looked at one none RG with lower grades (Lancaster) as a possible back up but it wasn’t her cup of tea.
York isn’t RG but is well regarded for law. It’s problem based learning approach which isn’t for everyone.
I’ve found lnat baffling. She sat it, unis were told her score 21/10 but she’s only told her results in mid February. Surely better to know if done poorly then can apply for none lnat universities? She thought it went well and finished it/essay choice was good one for her but who knows?

York isn’t RG

Yes it is.

https://russellgroup.ac.uk/about/our-universities/

Apologies I’m getting mixed up it’s Russell Group but no lnat needed.

High Fliers do great research into grad recruitment. Law at the top end really pays well so they are choosy. Their rearsch also finds that league tables do not correlate to where employers recruit from. So networking and other issues are at play here. LNAT unis are the best. It’s not just about league tables. Manchester and Birmingham have great regional opportunities. Barristers like Oxbridge, Bristol and Durham. Plus others of course but RG trumps all others by a wide margin. Within RG, there’s a clear list of favourites too. So don’t go too far off LNAT unis if you want to be a barrister as competition is fierce. Don’t forget around 50% of barristers don’t have a law degree. Plenty of solicitors don’t either. So competition for jobs really is between thousands of very bright people. So always start at a competitive uni. If one is overlooked, it’s for a reason. Low recruitment from top employers.

These are the top unis for grad recruitment. Law is slightly different as I said above but it’s an interesting list - possibly big unis are targeted by employers more?

At a subject talk at Manchester University we were told that more employers target them than any other university in the UK, so that does look correct.

I think it is. Manchester is the no 1 for law in the North. Less so in London, Midlands snd SW. The research is interesting in pointing out that league position doesn’t reflect recruitment patterns. On MN, where subject content to suit student means a lot and is pored over for every detail, for law, it’s not necessarily a great idea. LNAT universities are the gold standard which is why they do LNAT.

As with many careers, it’s about giving yourself the best chance of landing the job you want. The research also says that top employers get 39 applicants for every grad level job. That’s a sobering thought.

If the question is whether Law is as competitive as Economics - generally speaking the answer is no. You have more chance of being accepted onto a law degree at the top unis than an economics degree.

This is a little old now but if people do a google search of "trainee solicitor linkedin " and then the name of a few law firms where they might work it does show this link is reasonably useful as a list. https://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities-2019

This highlights where most law trainees have been to uni.

Wow, that's interesting. I always thought that Exeter was well thought of for law, but to see Newcastle above Exeter was a surprise to me.

That is national and regional firms so excluding the international firms where the real money is

exeter would be far higher than Newcastle on the international firms list

Manchester is always surprisingly low on the magic circle/ large int firms list. They really empty into the national and regional firms. Never really understood why.

There is nothing wrong in not wanting to work for an international firm or a magic circle firm or London even. It doesn't mean that the law graduate has low aspirations.

Didn’t say there was anything wrong/low aspirations @RampantIvy . I’m saying don’t assume that Newcastle is miles better than eg Cambridge because it is higher up the regional/national firms table. It is just that more Cambridge grads go to the bigger/international firms. And just because Manchester is top of that table don’t assume that it does well in the magic circle/US law firm index. It doesn’t.

I can say everything 2ce if you prefer, but it would be better if you just read what I wrote the first time...