Daughter has law offers - which should she choose?

[scattysue]

My daughter applied to Bristol, Warwick, King's, UCL and Nottingham for law. She got 34 in the LNAT which is apparently great (state school student with no help). 8.2 in essay. She has got offers from all 5 unis but her school now suggest she should turn them all down and apply next year to Oxford (NB: she did not apply to Oxbridge this year). What do you think?

I never claimed tohave thanked you. I said we should have.

Thank you to everyone who has posted. We are very grateful for your thoughts as this is new to us. DD has decided against London - not on the cost grounds I suggested (as someone said, London would mean a higher loan - which I didn't realise) but because she wants to work there after uni. Ruled out Warwick as doesn't want a remote campus and prefers Bristol to Nottingham (having visited both). So will tomorrow firm Bristol and insure Nottingham. However, she is minded to do as @Auchencar suggested - if she gets a clean suite of A-stars she may take a year out and apply to Oxbridge. She says she prefers Cambridge to Oxford for law though because of the way they assess? Not quite sure what she means by this as all seem to be exams but I think she knows what she is doing! Thanks again for all your help

Bristol is a fab school but if you could make UCL work, it’s the best of the best.

@TreatYoSelf2025 It’s not for the Bar. 40% of barristers are Oxbridge. It’s behind Bristol and Durham too. Not sure of stats for big law firms but historically they have been Oxbridge heavy too.

I wouldn’t rule out London - it’s where a lot of internships are which she will probably want to apply for with law firms. Being based in London already will make it easier for interviews, networking events and she will also already have accommodation.

The train from Bristol is cheaper. Most of their grads manage anything needed in London.

I’m not quite sure why Cambridge differs from Oxford in their process. They do give great advice on subjects they like (English, History and MFL) plus some other subjects, but also want LNAT and work to be submitted. Then there’s an interview as at Oxford. Not sure they look at GCSEs but their entry tariff is higher. Not that any of this matters if she prefers Cambridge but for very bright people the outcome for a job is the same whether it’s Bristol or Cambridge. They ace the tests!

@scattysue The other option is an LLM at Cambridge. Often lawyers do this after qualifying for the bar (for example).

Yes and your subsequent post alerted me to this. Hence my fulsome apology. Partly due to not wearing lenses and partly due to cooking/ emptying dishwasher/ feeding barking dogs etc etc at the same time as attempting (and failing) to read. I'll have to be more careful going forward.

I think she may mean the way Cambridge splits exams for assessing a degree? So Cambridge has exams in the second and third year whereas Oxford undergraduates for Law sit them all in one hit at the end of their final year, which can be a huge stress. On the other hand my two Oxford lawyer DDs say it makes more sense from an educational perspective to do it this way. It also has the benefit of allowing you a second year summer term free of exams, which can be great. But it's a key difference for sure.

Thanks very much for this message. I am not good in hectic situations either.

All fine , and it appears the DD may be taking your advice!

Firm Bristol with Nottingham as back up sounds wise (writing as the mother with 3 Bristol lawyer children and one Nottingham lawyer one)..... and the if sweep fo A stars do Oxbridge sounds good too. We have wider family relatives who applied to Oxbridge 2 years in a row and probably got in on the second attempt as by then had extremely good A level results in hand and got in.

Those are great offers, what a position to be in.
My son is just finishing his law degree at Uni of Notts, he loves it there and it was very much his first choice. That said, he didn't have an offer from UCL! I agree with others about visiting the universities, it can make a big difference to whether it is somewhere you think you will thrive for three years.

What does your son love about Nottingham?

@Chinup14 He loved the campus in his first year (plus catered accommodation as he was not a strong cook!!) but also really enjoys the city and the social aspect and the city is good for students on that front for sure. He has enjoyed the course content with a wide range of modules. He initially wanted to go there to do the year abroad option in year 3 but didn't end of going for various reasons but that option is great experience.

Bristol has catered accommodation too. It does help students settle in and make friends. DD enjoyed Bristol.