DD wondering if Exeter goes into clearing for Law

[sparrowflewdown]

Does anyone know whether Exeter ever goes into clearing for law. DD is hoping to achieve AAB. Would she have a chance?

That is really helpful, thank you.

Universities often go into clearing if they dont enough international PG students coming in. My uni had that and it wasnt because we didnt recruit enough or even that our students dropped grades but because we needed more bums on seats to make up for our lack of international PGs. Therefore, going into clearing may have nothing to do with UGs courses or whether a uni is popular or not but other forms of recruitment. So in answer to your question - maybe, I wouldnt rule it out.

I think it was last year for LLB but at the Penryn campus.

@sparrowflewdown DD is a barrister in London and has many lawyer friends in London. What does your DD want to do afterwards and where? This matters a lot.

As pp says, staying in Wales - Cardiff ticks the boxes. London? I’d possibly take Reading. Of the others mentioned, Birmingham and Manchester have big law employers. Many grads get jobs locally. Manchester is the big hitter in regional law. Lancaster is a bit small. A lot of this depends on where students come from and if they are prepared to move for work. Many don’t move far and stay in the regions. Exeter grads would look towards London more than Leeds or Liverpool for example as Exeter and SW don’t have huge possibilities.

Therefore I’d look at what job afterwards and where. That’s key to any decision. Royal Holloway is 77th in CUG for law so significantly below the others. A far better bet is Queen Mary UL. It’s 14th. Could be in reach and extremely well placed in London for employment and volunteering. It’s not KCL or UCL but next best in London. Way better that RHUL for law in my view.

At this point, you just need to do the very best you can in exams. Aim for as high as possible, not the lowest that will get you in somewhere.

After exams and as results day approaches, all students should prep for Clearing. This means they should get ready to trade up if they can and be ready for worst case scenarios too.

Doing this involves having an idea of upgrade places they are interested and looking at their course, requirements and making a note of contact details. The day before results, some places will show what’s available in Clearing. On results day, before 8am when ucas shows if you’ve been accepted or not, most uni websites will have clearing vacancies up. Look at these sites and have a plan.

VITAL info is to check UCAS as it opens but almost more imp is to get your results from school or college at 8am and if for some reason there won’t be available then, pursue this issue before the end of summer term. You need your results and ideally grade boundaries as early as possible.

What will happen is that popular unis will have a tiny number of places for popular courses in Clearing. People will ring them and get the places immediately after 8am and some will be gone by 8.15/8.30/9.00 etc. If you’re laying in bed planning to pop to school at 9.30 you will have missed the boat.

The thing to remember is even if accepted by firm choice uni, you can still ‘trade up’ if better is available. More people should at least consider this.

UCAS site will not reveal results but uni decisions only. It is vital to get your results as quick as possible. Knowing grade boundaries so knowing if you just missed the grade above might give you an edge in phone calls. Advance prep about what you like about a subject or course is also useful - you might have something like a mini interview. Re reading your personal statement also helps. Everything must be done by kids not parents.

All this prep helps those who miss their offer and are rejected too. It’s easy to feel shocked and disappointed and spend a few hours in retreat. But actually those are the hours when best clearing options vanish, so parents having helped them prep in advance and be ready to get in the phone helps a lot. My view is that most teens benefit from having a parent available to help them on results day. Hopefully you’re not needed, but it’s not unusual for kids to need to leap in the car to whizz off to a city they haven’t been before to have a look as clearing offers might only last 24 hrs.

If you met your offer, you can ring unis and receive provisional offers by phone. You need to ask for email confirmation and make sure you understand if there will be accommodation etc. only once sure should you release yourself on ucas from your firm offer as once done, there’s no going back. You fill in the place that has offered to you (only 1 and only the one you have and) and the uni then confirm you via UCAS. You have to do it in this order. Esp if making several calls it helps to have a list of Qs and note down answers as it’s easy to get muddled - so jot down if accom guaranteed, how long the offer will stand for, name id person speaking to, when to expect emailed offer etc.

The early and prepared definitely catches the worm.

Wow,@WombatChocolate that is so helpful. I will pass this on to DD! Thank you so much.

DD has told me that she has withdrawn her UCAS application for Reading and so will have to email them to see if they can reinstate this application otherwise she will have to wait for that in clearing now too.

Thank you @TizerorFizz yes my DD is worried about Cardiff as she doesn't want to stay in Wales so wonders whether another uni would be a better fit. Reading seems like the best option so far.

Reading is better than Royal Holloway. Has she looked at the clearing history of QMUL? If she’s ok with London of course. It punches above its weight for law. Don’t know about reinstating Reading. Others might.

Yes it's just the cost of living in London but I suppose Reading may well be high too.

@sparrowflewdown QMUL is East End but students can get further out into cheaper areas. I don’t think their halls are badly priced. The advantage of QMUL is location and getting a decent cv together.

Excellent advice above from @WombatChocolate

My niece did this exact thing last year. It was a fraught time with phone calls over a couple of days but they were able to trade up from I think it was Coventry Uni to Cardiff University, which felt like a big leap.

@FlyswatsTrading up for law won’t be as easy though. Mostly people know where the top university places are and they are full. It’s seeing what else might be there but there are no guarantees it’s anything much. Get ready to nab one though if it appears!

i don’t know about Exeter law but I know law at Lancaster was in clearing for AAB grades last year (or maybe even ABB). I remember distinctly because it was my daughters insurance choice and it made me feel positive she would get an offer from them if she didn’t get her firm because I was confident she would do well enough they would take her rather than go to clearing.

Lancaster is a great option for law so surprisingly good stuff can be available in clearing.

Reading rent is cheaper than Exeter and London ( that’s an obvious )

I have a nephew in Reading and kids in Exeter and outskirts of London
Reading definitely cheaper

Can't comment on Law course but I did my undergraduate course at Reading, and it's a really good uni! The campus is brilliant for students with a good mix of nature and wildlife, social opportunities and modern study spaces. I had the time of my life. Highly recommend the Bridges premium shared bathroom halls. They are much nicer than many of the ensuite options.

Lancaster is great for law in the NW. Whether it has many getting highly paid roles in London is another matter. It’s partly a decision on where dc might want to work. For London, QMUL and others tend to have more students focussing on London. If dc want NW, Manchester is a very strong law school.

Don’t forget students in London East End don’t have to live in the most expensive areas. I don’t think Reading is cheap either! However I would still look at these universities in terms of what and where as a graduate. That inevitably matters.