TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[dreamer]

Anybody heard from PwC for the legal vac schemes yet?

Hi mate, have you heard back? Could you kindly share your experience? Thanks. I have an invitation for the online assessment.

 

[WillKitchen]

Quite a lot of workplace situational judgement questions: sliders, arranging responses in order of preference, and a brief logical thinking test. There are also 5 non-assessed questions at the end asking for either-or responses about what kind for work you would like to find at RPC, e.g. litigation or regulatory. They say to allow 45 mins to complete the whole thing, which is probably quite accurate.

No video element, and no maths questions!

 

[anon78365222111]

Probably trying to be fair and not give too much away or they haven't done it yet. How long is the window they give to complete the VIs ?

I mean I don’t think asking if the questions are 2 mins or 3 mins is against the fairness of the process

 

[BealMcAlly]

I mean I don’t think asking if the questions are 2 mins or 3 mins is against the fairness of the process

Yeah I get you, just playing devil's advocate on why some people may be reserved.

 

[anon78365222111]

Yeah I get you, just playing devil's advocate on why some people may be reserved.

Yeah for sure and also the deadline is 23rd so it’s coming up soon will probably do it tomorrow or Monday

 

[Trophy]

Cleary – "To succeed, candidates need to demonstrate exceptional academic ability. We normally expect candidates to be on course to attain a high 2.1 degree or better from a leading university and to have achieved at least AAA at A-Level or the equivalent."​

Surely it is not right to only be successful if you go to a leading university! So it is a guarantee that anyone that falls outside of this but meets the grade requirement will be rejected?​

 

[Lawlawland]

"If your life had a mascot, what would it look like and what would it cheer for?"

I am curious to know what mascots people would come up with for this question 😂

 

[Lawlife5]

Cleary – "To succeed, candidates need to demonstrate exceptional academic ability. We normally expect candidates to be on course to attain a high 2.1 degree or better from a leading university and to have achieved at least AAA at A-Level or the equivalent."​

Surely it is not right to only be successful if you go to a leading university! So it is a guarantee that anyone that falls outside of this but meets the grade requirement will be rejected?​

That is so off-putting...

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

They use rare recruitment so whilst they do have pretty high expectations it’s not strictly AAA and a high 2:1. I know of someone who had neither who went to Royal Holloway and did the Cleary VS.​

 

[anon78365222111]

Ashurst direct TC being open from jan to march and not being rolling is so annoying, I just want a reply 😭

 

[CuriousLawStudent]

Does someone have any info on Mishcon VI please? I had zero idea that you had to complete the VI before the deadline, given in the email it says seven days, and that the invitation would expire a month later

 

[Trophy]

many non RG students get vacation schemes from US firm the difference is the conversion… will the firm take them for the TC. 9/10 they do not. I’m happy for @Abbie Whitlock and @Amma Usman who have both surpassed this barrier.

My friend went to Kent university had a 1st and never succeeded with them 3 times they’ve applied for tcla to read their application and our friend who has a Tc there. Great application. Rare is good but sometimes I find it’s for show.

 

[Bottega_Veneta]

Does anyone have tips or insights on how to perform well on the Amberjack SJT tests?

For reference, I did the Mayer Brown Test and got 24/36 :// 4 (grit) 7 applied intellect, 7 creative force, 6 digital mindset.

I was rejected shortly after ://

 

[TCTC]

many non RG students get vacation schemes from US firm the difference is the conversion… will the firm take them for the TC. 9/10 they do not. I’m happy for @Abbie Whitlock and @Amma Usman who have both surpassed this barrier.

My friend went to Kent university had a 1st and never succeeded with them 3 times they’ve applied for tcla to read their application and our friend who has a Tc there. Great application. Rare is good but sometimes I find it’s for show.

Hmm I don’t really agree with this. The application process for US firms is already extremely competitive, so if you’ve made it onto a vac scheme, that suggests the firm has already overlooked things like low grades or coming from a non RG. If those were major issues, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to take you onto the scheme in the first place.

When it comes to final decisions, it seems far more likely that firms focus on how you performed during the interview and assessment stages, and then on your performance during the vac scheme itself.

It doesn’t seem very likely that they would accept you onto the scheme and then later rely on the same factors they had already overlooked. If you make it to the vac scheme, it feels much more reasonable that those things are no longer barriers to entry. That’s just my opinion and I could be wrong!

 

[TheSlapDotCom]

Hi everyone, I have been frantically looking through the Mishcon de Reya job board for the online assessment, but when I clicked the link, Bright Apply said it's closed? I thought the email instructions were to complete the interview within seven days?

hmm thats weird. r u clicking on the link in the email they sent u or directly on the portal under online assessment? maybe it needed to be done before the deadline? not sure at all tho

 

[dreamer]

Does anyone have tips or insights on how to perform well on the Amberjack SJT tests?

For reference, I did the Mayer Brown Test and got 24/36 :// 4 (grit) 7 applied intellect, 7 creative force, 6 digital mindset.

I was rejected shortly after ://

+1

 

[CuriousLawStudent]

hmm thats weird. r u clicking on the link in the email they sent u or directly on the portal under online assessment? maybe it needed to be done before the deadline? not sure at all tho

I did - and Bright Apply said it's no longer available, I guess I can chuck my application in the bin then, this is so frustrating. There was zero mention that it had to be done before the submission deadline

 

[Trophy]

Hmm I don’t really agree with this. The application process for US firms is already extremely competitive, so if you’ve made it onto a vac scheme, that suggests the firm has already overlooked things like low grades or coming from a non RG. If those were major issues, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to take you onto the scheme in the first place.

When it comes to final decisions, it seems far more likely that firms focus on how you performed during the interview and assessment stages, and then on your performance during the vac scheme itself.

It doesn’t seem very likely that they would accept you onto the scheme and then later rely on the same factors they had already overlooked. If you make it to the vac scheme, it feels much more reasonable that those things are no longer barriers to entry. That’s just my opinion and I could be wrong!

That’s a fair opinion! I don’t work in GR so I couldn’t say what they do

 

[Sharkfin]

Im about to sit mine, but I cant find the link either - I went on allhires and I havent been assigned anything?

Just to ask a follow up from this, has anyone had a similar issue w Eversheds, or has the "take test" thing all been on your allhires pages?
Deadline is midnight tomorrow, but im assuming grad rec wont get back to me till monday so am i cooked or is an extension possible?