Choosing a university course | Law Careers

There are more than 300 institutions in UCAS to choose from and if you are planning to study a popular subject such as Law, many universities will offer this subject either as a LLB or a BA in Law. So this does not really help you narrow down your choices.

Whilst a Law degree is an excellent preparation for a wide variety of different careers, it is likely that you will be considering a course which is approved by The Law Society and the Bar Council with the aim of going into these professions and there will be strong common and compulsory elements in these programmes.  However, it is essential that you do your homework and look closely at the course and the department. Does it specialise in any particular areas that might appeal to you?  What additional or optional subjects are available? What is the ‘reputation’ of the department?

Don’t just follow the crowd!

There are a big number factors to consider when choosing a university and it could be very tempting to be influenced by your friends and to apply to the same places as them. One of the greatest things about university life, is that even if you go to the same place as some of your mates, you will mix with and make new friends from all over the UK and from around the world. So do not be too swayed by what others at your school or college are doing. What might be the ‘best’ place for them may not be true for you.

Aim high but have some back up choices

You will be trying to get into the ‘best’ university that you can and if you are capable and confident of getting the top grades in all or most of your subjects, you are likely to have the full range of choices open to you. It is important to aim high but you should always be realistic about what you might achieve in your results and pitch your application at the appropriate level. You might end up applying for 2-3 choices that will stretch you, at grades you may get only on a good day, but you should have a couple of choices where the grades required are more easily achievable.

What type of university will suit you?

Universities vary tremendously in size, type and character and once you have found the right spread of courses, you will then need to consider all the other factors that make universities distinctive. Studying at a big city university which often have buildings in a number of different locations will be very different from studying at a more rural campus university. Being a student at an ancient, ‘Russell Group’ university is likely to be a bit different from studying at a ‘post 1992/modern’ university. You need to look at the details and think carefully about what it will be like for you to be a student there and find what is right and best for you.

How far away from home should you go?

Whilst initially it may seem appealing to choose a university at the other end of the country from where you live (and there may be good reasons for doing so based on finding the course that will suit you best) there will be times when some students wished they had been closer to home. In the process of going on university visits, it may be that your parents took you there in the car and later you find that the train or bus network makes the journey home more difficult than you thought. In an age when the cost of your university education is such a big issue, you should also check out the cost of travelling to different locations.

Think very carefully about the location and accessibility of your university choices and check out the ease or difficulty of the journeys that you will be making.

Facilities

Many universities have made huge investments in improving facilities over the last few years, including stunning new teaching buildings, libraries, student unions, halls of residence etc. When you go to an open day you can be sure that you will be shown these facilities and the universities will be trying to impress you. This can sometimes be misleading and when you are ready to make a decision in the spring about the two offers that you will accept in UCAS, you should pay another visit if you can, talk to some other students as you should remember that the students who you met at the open day (ambassadors) are paid to present the university in the most positive way and go and look at the places that you might not have been shown on an official visit.

Bursaries and scholarships

All universities will now be offering some kind of bursary and scholarship scheme to students. This can be for academic achievement in your A level or Diploma course, achievement during your studies whilst at university, or linked to performance in areas such as creative and performing arts, sport and enterprise. You will also find a range of scholarships for students studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

Some universities offer very generous scholarships at entry and for each year of study and you should investigate what is on offer at each of the universities that you are thinking of applying to. Some students with high grades at entry are doing well on particular courses are receiving scholarships up to £3000 per year. So check it out!

Support for students, including the careers service and graduate job success

These things may not seem so important to you at the moment but universities vary quite a lot in how much they put into all the support services, careers and employability and what kinds of jobs students get at the end of their degrees. Your 3-4 years at university will fly past very quickly and before you know if you will be trying to get on the graduate job market. 

There are many sources of information available, including the universities themselves, prospectuses and websites, HE Fairs and Open Days, UCAS (www.ucas.com) online forums, social networking and from teachers, careers advisers, friends and family.

Good luck and remember that it is you, and only you who has the ability to set your own criteria for finding the best course and the best university.

Coventry University Careers Service

04-01-2010