Disasterous exams in law, what next?

[Pawslikepaddington]

I was just wondering if anyone has had to pull themselves off the concrete before.

Have had exams all this week. Have passed, as I have answered the requisite number of questions on each paper, but had very little knowledge, as I have been sleeping terribly due to anxiety, so get terrible "white out" brain.

These are not my finals, and if I pass I can continue on to my final year, the exams from which are 100% of my degree mark. However, I need to apply for jobs next term (law), and they will not accept applications from candidates with a low 2.1 or below in previous exams. Do I wait until I complete my finals, and work for a year, applying then? What is the worst case scenario?

I was "encouraged" to do a lot of extra curricular work this year (legal competitions in the UK and abroad, requiring a lot of prep work), which made my grades suffer, as my time is finite. I feel too old to need another year to apply for jobs, I will be as old as the partners!

Sorry, don't know about exams/jobs in this subject area, but I would suggest waiting for your results before you make any decisions - you may surprise yourself. If you apply for jobs, do they just look at your exam results, or is there also an application form/covering letter? If so, you could explain about your other commitments and experience, which could be a selling point if presented well. Hope it works out for you.

Good idea re. the covering letter. I need to apply next year to get a placement after my final year (we are going abroad next year), so hopefully I can show with my reports from next year that I am fully committed etc. Thank you Bousy, that has really cheered me up!

You don't actually know what grade you got yet!!! When are the results due?
And what jobs are you going to apply for? The extra curricular work will look good for you so if like Bousy says you 'sell' yourself you could find that you will get jobs based on your experience.

You don't need to get so hung up on the grades at this stage, you don't have your results yet. Experience is what counts. Countless people leave university with good degrees in law (because they're getting easier for lots of internal universities) and they end up unemployed or drifting for a long time. What you need to make you stand out is actual real life experience. For example before I finished my degree I got a low down job in a city firm, lots of menial stuff, low salary. I carried on working while I finished my degree and it paid off, irrespective of grades. Think laterally.

If you're trying for magic circle places, really, why? And also, is it so bad if you get a job somewhere else first, then reapply when you have actually finished your course? You'll be head and shoulders over other applicants with your experience.

Best of luck- I know the white out feeling very well but you may have done a lot better than you think, and trust me, firms are not blind to experience