choosing the right university | law careers

For the next three or four years you could be living in a city, possibly far away from friends and family. To help make that daunting decision there are many things you should consider first.

The Course

As far as law degrees go, there are not that many differences, but each university has its own style for the modules it teaches. Each uni has to teach the core modules, e.g. crime, contract, land etc..., in order for your degree to be recognised by the law society and the bar council, but the rest is up to the university. 

If you are planning a career in a specific area of law, then do your research. Make sure that it is taught by your uni of first choice. Some universities allow their students more freedom than others when deciding which modules they want to take. So again, make sure you do your research. 

Some universities also offer much more jurisprudence-based courses (legal theory), whereas others offer more practical courses with law clinics, mooting modules etc. If you want to be an academic or teach, theory-based courses are key; and jurisprudence is usually well regarded, as it tends to be taken by more intellectual students. 

However, if you want to go into practice after your degree, then clinics and mooting could be invaluable experience.

Choosing whether to focus on legal theory or a more practical course is therefore another important decision for a prospective student to make.  Both theoretical and practical courses have their advantages, so pick the ones that you are likely to enjoy the most. 

The City

You will be living in the city where your university is based for at least three years, so you need to make sure you like it. It would be unwise to move to a city you have never visited before, so go and take a look around before you either waste a UCAS option or move to a city that you hate. 

Work experience is important for you to get a job in law, so make sure the city has plenty of solicitor’s offices and/or a barrister’s chambers. It is difficult to get that first piece of work experience so you need to make sure that you maximise your chances. If you don’t have any work experience to your name, you’ll stand out for all the wrong reasons when applying for a training contract or a pupillage.

The night life is important to consider, since even if clubbing isn’t your cup of tea, it is a good idea to go out with the people you are living with during fresher’s week in order to get to know them. Check out the union as well as local clubs, and if you can, check out the prices as in larger cities you are looking at £10 to get into a club on a Friday or Saturday night. 

Having said that, most places have student nights, or student offers to help you get the most out of your loan. Going out with the people you live with, or the people off your course is a good way of making new friends fast, and when you move to a new city having friends is crucial. 

Check out what activities are on offer in the city you’re moving to, such as cinemas, sports facilities, galleries, places to eat and shop etc. It’s inevitable that you’ll get bored sooner or later and you’ll need something to do during an evening of procrastination.

Students are often easy prey for criminals so if you move to a city with a low crime rate then all the better for it. This seems obvious but thieves know the student areas of a city and where the student halls are. Make sure you don’t live in the epicentre of a city where crime is ripe, because thieves also know almost every student has a laptop or PC with them.

Location

This is different to the city as most people will get homesick at one time or another, so you need to make sure that you can get home when you really want to. For example if you live in Newcastle and go to university in Plymouth then it will be expensive for you to get home. 

You need to be certain that you will be able to adapt to living that far away from home. For many students this will be their first experience of living away from their parents, so they have to be able to handle not seeing family for up to three months at a time. This is not a decision that can be taken lightly, as it may affect whether you stay at university or drop out. If you do like the little luxuries that your parents offer you, then make sure you do actually want to move away from home. 

Extra Curricular Activities

When choosing a uni you need to think about the long term. What extracurricular activities does that university offer that will make your CV stand out from the other 200 people applying for the same training contract? 

Mooting is absolutely essential if you want to become a barrister and is something which can give you a bit of experience before you’ve even finished your degree. But it is not just law-related activities which will be taken into account, anything that will help you stand out is a positive, and will also help you make friends.

Halls of Residence

You really do get what you pay for here, and go for the best you can afford. I paid £50 a week and the shared toilet didn’t work, my bedroom was tiny, the walls were cracked and it had an ant problem. My friend paid £70 a week and had a huge room, an en suite and no cracked walls. 

If you can, when you go for your open day have a look around the halls that takes your fancy as chances are they will show you around the best halls they have. Make sure you pick a university where the halls have a good reputation with the current students; you can usually find this out by looking on the internet.

Moving on Your Own

Moving to university can be lonely but don’t compromise what you want to do for the sake of others. It may sound selfish but going to university is one of the most daunting and exciting experiences you will ever go through. However you're not the only one. Everybody else is in the same boat as you. The vast majority of people in your halls won’t know anybody else either and you’ll make friends as soon as you move in. 

Don’t go to a university with a friend if you don’t want to. University is a decision that you and you alone should make. Everybody changes when they get to uni as they suddenly have to grow up and look after themselves, so it may turn out that the person you went to university with isn’t worth it after all. Don’t be afraid to move on your own and go to a uni that you want to go to. 

What it comes down to is making sure that you pick a university which has a good balance for all the things that are important to you. Going to a university with a good reputation like Oxford or Cambridge is fantastic, but if you’re not going to enjoy it you may find yourself dropping out, whereas if you went to a university a little closer to home then you’d stick it out. 

When choosing a university it is about choosing where to spend the next 3 or more years of your life so you need to look at everything the university will offer you. Remember, every university needs students in order to get funding so most will have the facilities there for you to take advantage of.

21-09-2009