Cambridge Law Degree

[LawDegree]

My son has a long held desire to study Law at Cambridge. I am managing his expectations as I know it is very, very difficult to get into!

Yesterday he got his GCSE results. He did amazingly with 9s across the board... except for English Language and Literature where he got two 7s (he was predicted 9s). He has no idea why and wants to get the papers back to have a look.

He is worried that this might affect his chances of getting into Cambridge to study Law, which is obviously a subject that relies on English and the abilities that subject shows. He knows 7s are excellent grades, but also knows Cambridge is something else.

He is not planning to do English A-Level (and never was) but is doing Classics, Politics and Mathematics. He is aware of the LNAT and also plans to enter Essay competitions to show his abilities.

Does anyone have any knowledge about what affect, if any, the 7s might have? I would obviously like reassurance for him, but I would rather people were brutally honest!

Thank you.

Cambridge law is such a long shot though, think it’s similar to Oxford 1 in 12 acceptance rate. All candidates will have really high GCSEs and A level predictions. The student room forum is good for LNAT info. And interview element. If he’s certain in his choices of A levels go for what he wants.
If you look on law threads on here there was one with stats earlier this year from @stubiff. eg Warwick asks for Astar x 3 but candidates predicted AstarAA x 3 only had a 2/3 chance of an offer from memory. Durham has its applications v offers stats on its website.
With LNAT law universities you need to appreciate that there are far too many strong academic students going for too few places and some is just down to luck or a difference in a couple of marks on LNAT.

@Cambridgedonna Well it was you who said what your link to Cambridge was and posted advice contrary to the university web site’s own advice on A levels. You were keen to let us know who you were. The useful info is the % of students are studying 2 of the A levels recommended. For some reason you don’t know it. Maybe ask someone you know?

Your post is interesting and useful to the OP and others no doubt @Cambridgedonna

I would say tho that the website I and others quote (which by the way is the Cambridge University website – you say you were not aware of it but it's not some random webpage) is actually very specific and not IMHO ambiguous at all – it says “We recommend that you choose 2 of these A levels” and then the list I adduced.

Now if that information is not correct and in fact there is no advantage for a hums applicant in choosing two of those A levels, I agree the website should be amended pronto. Also if that is the case then I guess @LawDegree and her DS can be happier.

I do think there is a lot to be said btw for taking subjects you will enjoy and excel in. Sounds as tho that is what the OP's DS is doing so all the best to him. I am sure he will do really well wherever he goes.

I sympathise re the obsession with WW1 and 2 at school. We did exactly the same periods for O and A level history and I found them really dull - life was so much better reading Ancient & Modern at uni.

I think that so long as he has a couple of essay subjects and politics and civ are essay subjects that should be fine. Maths is a great one to have for law when you hit post uni practice. A look at the long running Lucy Letby threads on here is a very clear indication of why lawyers with an understanding of stats in particular is a very good thing....

Yes. The Cambridge A level advice is very clear. What they then fail to do is back it up with meaningful stats. The two subjects quoted here are considered useful for specific areas of study but they suggest it’s one of them. It’s interesting that Cambridge give advice and don’t back it up with stats. So students end up with conflicting advice from the same university.

I don't think it hurts to be a little left-field sometimes, as in Classical Civilization A level instead of History.

I know one candidate who started at Cambs last year to study Anglo-Saxon Norse & Celtic studies, which is history and literature heavy, who did not have English A level. They had Drama. I had scoffed privately, thinking "no chance" but they're there now, getting along brilliantly.

@NameforaDay77 That’s probably one of the least competitive degrees they offer though and being brutally honest, it’s not Law. Also if they’ve offered a language and an essay subject that’s fine and Drama has essays in it and study of plays.

Did you mean to be so rude?

What charm school did you attend MeetMeOn TheCorner!!??

The Cambridge professor has spent a considerable amount of time giving presumably pretty informed insight into specific requirements, has agreed there is a lack of clarity on the website and is in the process of flagging this for amendment.

Rudeness as a result of such a response is perplexing.

Yes I'm aware. It's got a 53% applicant acceptance rate. They were definitely gaming the system applying for that. However, its still Cambridge and I suspect most of the other candidates did have English Lit A level.

@NameforaDay77 It’s not provocative to say there are mixed messages and no evidence to back up what A levels are represented by the majority of successful students. And that wasn’t rude! It’s a sensible request that won’t be answered but it’s pertinent to the question.

I deeply resent your character summation of me.

Is he at a state school?

Law at Cambridge will be hugely competitive. Land Economy is less competitive and lots go on to gain training contracts and become lawyers (you can pick law modules).

Good luck to your son! Just to add that the EPQ is a really valuable experience and he can choose a topic that relates to politics/ law/ history so that it will provide something relevant to discuss in the application process.

I apologize. I mistook you for a long time poster who comes here to wind people up. You're clearly not her and I was wrong.

You were rude though.

Yeah, true. She was rude.

What does he want to do with it? Im a solicitor at a top 100 firm. I don't have straight As at GCSE or alevel nor did I go to an RG university. Im also dyslexic.

Honestly, calm down. There's many routes into the profession. If that's what he even wants to do.

Solicitors are largely going to be phased out by AI though. Its only worth doing now if you're planning to be a barrister.

😅

Tell me you know nothing about the profession without telling me, you know nothing.

What was formerly Land Economy is now Environment, Law and Economics.

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/environment-law-economics-ba-hons

That sounds a great course. There’s a massive shortage of planning officers and planning lawyers. The Welsh government has recently launched a scheme to train graduates in wales as planning officers as there is such a shortage impacting rural areas.

@UhOhRatPoo Well not as rude as the other poster it appears. I don’t appreciate being stalked. I do know people come on threads and claim all sorts of things but there’s a discrepancy in terms of what Cambridge says and what the poster says and if there’s stats on this, let’s see them. I think it’s easy to give a list of subjects when they might only be taken by a handful of successful students. I think 2 of the subjects posted by 2 of us are more likely to be a successful combination, but who knows?

I was talking about how rude you were to @Cambridgedonna after she went to such lengths to share her experience and perspective.

I'm pleased to hear that several people found the information I shared helpful. I know what you mean about the rude posts – I was taken aback, but I’ll ignore them. I have DCs in a broadly similar age range to many posters on this thread - and simply wanted to help people navigate Cambridge's practices. It's hard to know what really goes on!