TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Afuturetrainee]

Is it me or is MB amberjack very generous with grades. I got 6 7 9 9, and I honestly didn’t do anything different.

I wish firms can adopt their marking scheme 🥹

 

[DavidJC]

I actually felt like MB amberjack was much easier than Weil's. I kinda wanna find other firms using Amberjack so I can trial and error my way to higher scores now lmao

 

[M85672]

Looking for a bit of advice, would appreciate anything.

I think I’m genuinely considering calling it a day regarding TC’s:

Last year, I managed to make it to 2 ACs, with the more recent of the two being a huge positive for me. Though I didn’t get an offer, I received positive feedback and fell just short, and it was a significant improvement on the first AC. It’s also worth mentioning this was for a firm with a notoriously challenging AC, which I further took as a positive.

This was around August, so it gave me good motivation to hit the ground running with this cycle. By this point, I knew what I was doing, I’d perfected my strategy when it came to SJT’s, Watson Glasers, so I felt good going into this cycle…

Only to quickly realise that most firms decided this year they want to throw a massive spanner in the works and make their processes 40x harder. Before this, I knew VIs were not my strength, so I thought I’ll just avoid firms that use them, considering I knew I was now strong in written applications and psychometrics. Now, it seems that VIs are an unavoidable fact of TC applications as of this year.

Still, I went into WVS applications quite optimistic. Fast forward to now, received rejections from every single winter I applied to, which was demoralising but I knew it was still early days.

Again, fast forward to now, I’m genuinely considering just saving my time and investing it elsewhere, starting to believe the odds are far too stacked against me.

I’ve completed about 10 VIs for firms this year already, with a good portion of those being selective, so again I know my applications are pristine and my psychometrics are too, but I’ve been rejected from all. I’ve had 1 to 1s with various people to help me improve VI performance, who all said that I was seemingly quite good with them.

I was going into this cycle with AC experience from two elite City Firms and so I naturally felt pretty confident in my abilities, but this year feels regressive if anything at this moment in time. Now I just think it’s ultimately impossible to even get an AC, especially with this cycle quietly coming to the end in a month or so, at least for vacs. I’m now a graduate and so I really cannot afford to keep investing my time into what seems to be a black hole, having told myself I’m going to give it my best shot this year and leave no stone unturned.

And in my opinion - and it could sound convenient - I think the way firms are heading with these new recruitment processes is ultimately starting to diminish the merit that used to be involved in writing an impressive application. Though I know endurance is very important in this process too, it does feel like unless the quality you input is matched with an exhausting amount of stamina, people who were strong contenders in ACs and vacs are now not even being shown the time of day.

But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[dreamer]

Aw thank you! Which test are you talking about? The oa or the vi?

OA.

 

[jamieclarke]

Hey, I got it through the Winter VS.

I appreciate you will likely not know - but do you know how many trainees Travers recruit via direct TC route?

 

[Lalaletsgetit]

Looking for a bit of advice, would appreciate anything.

I think I’m genuinely considering calling it a day regarding TC’s:

Last year, I managed to make it to 2 ACs, with the more recent of the two being a huge positive for me. Though I didn’t get an offer, I received positive feedback and fell just short, and it was a significant improvement on the first AC. It’s also worth mentioning this was for a firm with a notoriously challenging AC, which I further took as a positive.

This was around August, so it gave me good motivation to hit the ground running with this cycle. By this point, I knew what I was doing, I’d perfected my strategy when it came to SJT’s, Watson Glasers, so I felt good going into this cycle…

Only to quickly realise that most firms decided this year they want to throw a massive spanner in the works and make their processes 40x harder. Before this, I knew VIs were not my strength, so I thought I’ll just avoid firms that use them, considering I knew I was now strong in written applications and psychometrics. Now, it seems that VIs are an unavoidable fact of TC applications as of this year.

Still, I went into WVS applications quite optimistic. Fast forward to now, received rejections from every single winter I applied to, which was demoralising but I knew it was still early days.

Again, fast forward to now, I’m genuinely considering just saving my time and investing it elsewhere, starting to believe the odds are far too stacked against me.

I’ve completed about 10 VIs for firms this year already, with a good portion of those being selective, so again I know my applications are pristine and my psychometrics are too, but I’ve been rejected from all. I’ve had 1 to 1s with various people to help me improve VI performance, who all said that I was seemingly quite good with them.

I was going into this cycle with AC experience from two elite City Firms and so I naturally felt pretty confident in my abilities, but this year feels regressive if anything at this moment in time. Now I just think it’s ultimately impossible to even get an AC, especially with this cycle quietly coming to the end in a month or so, at least for vacs. I’m now a graduate and so I really cannot afford to keep investing my time into what seems to be a black hole, having told myself I’m going to give it my best shot this year and leave no stone unturned.

And in my opinion - and it could sound convenient - I think the way firms are heading with these new recruitment processes is ultimately starting to diminish the merit that used to be involved in writing an impressive application. Though I know endurance is very important in this process too, it does feel like unless the quality you input is matched with an exhausting amount of stamina, people who were strong contenders in ACs and vacs are now not even being shown the time of day.

But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think, thanks.

The fact that you’ve made it to an AC means you’re a very strong candidate so don’t give up. Rejection builds resilience. You may want to consider applying to firms with no VI element - Gibson Dunn, Paul Hastings, Osborne Clarke, Ropes & Gray, Debevoise, Dechert etc.

It all depends on your preference and how long an app you’re willing to do too.

With VI’s it’s practice practice practice. Videoing yourself (no matter how cringe) and seeing how you come across. It’s a balance between, enthusiasm, structure of your response and acting, in my opinion. Really staying calm and trying your best.

Good luck and keep going!

 

[AMullin]

Looking for a bit of advice, would appreciate anything.

I think I’m genuinely considering calling it a day regarding TC’s:

Last year, I managed to make it to 2 ACs, with the more recent of the two being a huge positive for me. Though I didn’t get an offer, I received positive feedback and fell just short, and it was a significant improvement on the first AC. It’s also worth mentioning this was for a firm with a notoriously challenging AC, which I further took as a positive.

This was around August, so it gave me good motivation to hit the ground running with this cycle. By this point, I knew what I was doing, I’d perfected my strategy when it came to SJT’s, Watson Glasers, so I felt good going into this cycle…

Only to quickly realise that most firms decided this year they want to throw a massive spanner in the works and make their processes 40x harder. Before this, I knew VIs were not my strength, so I thought I’ll just avoid firms that use them, considering I knew I was now strong in written applications and psychometrics. Now, it seems that VIs are an unavoidable fact of TC applications as of this year.

Still, I went into WVS applications quite optimistic. Fast forward to now, received rejections from every single winter I applied to, which was demoralising but I knew it was still early days.

Again, fast forward to now, I’m genuinely considering just saving my time and investing it elsewhere, starting to believe the odds are far too stacked against me.

I’ve completed about 10 VIs for firms this year already, with a good portion of those being selective, so again I know my applications are pristine and my psychometrics are too, but I’ve been rejected from all. I’ve had 1 to 1s with various people to help me improve VI performance, who all said that I was seemingly quite good with them.

I was going into this cycle with AC experience from two elite City Firms and so I naturally felt pretty confident in my abilities, but this year feels regressive if anything at this moment in time. Now I just think it’s ultimately impossible to even get an AC, especially with this cycle quietly coming to the end in a month or so, at least for vacs. I’m now a graduate and so I really cannot afford to keep investing my time into what seems to be a black hole, having told myself I’m going to give it my best shot this year and leave no stone unturned.

And in my opinion - and it could sound convenient - I think the way firms are heading with these new recruitment processes is ultimately starting to diminish the merit that used to be involved in writing an impressive application. Though I know endurance is very important in this process too, it does feel like unless the quality you input is matched with an exhausting amount of stamina, people who were strong contenders in ACs and vacs are now not even being shown the time of day.

But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think, thanks.

I would say you are way to close to give up on this.

I know you are frustrated but you're doing exactly the right thing, knocking down obstacles one at a time. You've perfected your application writing, psychometric testing and SJTs so now you just need to make sure you are nailing the VIs and all that practice you are doing will pay off in the long run. From what you have said it is clear that firms love your profile, you're just at the fine tuning stage. I know the sense of urgency I felt coming out of Uni that is was now or never but now, as a career changer, my advice to you is to be patient. A career is a long time and if it takes you another year to land your dream job then so be it!

 

[johnsmith]

The fact that you’ve made it to an AC means you’re a very strong candidate so don’t give up. Rejection builds resilience. You may want to consider applying to firms with no VI element - Gibson Dunn, Paul Hastings, Osborne Clarke, Ropes & Gray, Debevoise, Dechert etc.

It all depends on your preference and how long an app you’re willing to do too.

With VI’s it’s practice practice practice. Videoing yourself (no matter how cringe) and seeing how you come across. It’s a balance between, enthusiasm, structure of your response and acting, in my opinion. Really staying calm and trying your best.

Good luck and keep going!

Just to add to the bottom paragraph, if there is any opportunity for you to undertake some form of public speaking, it goes a long way to help you build confidence in speaking and it will really help you deliver better answers to have more confidence in yourself and your abilities - I think even if you don't recall information perfectly when giving the answer showing confidence and continuing regardless rather than letting your brain derail you is essential to demonstrate.

 

[NomenEstOmen]

I did stage 1 on 11th Dec and got the invite to stage 2 the next day.

I believe you're referring to the stage 2 where you had to proofread etc,.. I have VI in mind as stage2.

 

[James Wakefield]

I believe you're referring to the stage 2 where you had to proofread etc,.. I have VI in mind as stage2.

No the Job Sim, which includes the VI!

I think the proofreading was part of stage 1 looking back.

 

[DavidJC]

Looking for a bit of advice, would appreciate anything.

I think I’m genuinely considering calling it a day regarding TC’s:

Last year, I managed to make it to 2 ACs, with the more recent of the two being a huge positive for me. Though I didn’t get an offer, I received positive feedback and fell just short, and it was a significant improvement on the first AC. It’s also worth mentioning this was for a firm with a notoriously challenging AC, which I further took as a positive.

This was around August, so it gave me good motivation to hit the ground running with this cycle. By this point, I knew what I was doing, I’d perfected my strategy when it came to SJT’s, Watson Glasers, so I felt good going into this cycle…

Only to quickly realise that most firms decided this year they want to throw a massive spanner in the works and make their processes 40x harder. Before this, I knew VIs were not my strength, so I thought I’ll just avoid firms that use them, considering I knew I was now strong in written applications and psychometrics. Now, it seems that VIs are an unavoidable fact of TC applications as of this year.

Still, I went into WVS applications quite optimistic. Fast forward to now, received rejections from every single winter I applied to, which was demoralising but I knew it was still early days.

Again, fast forward to now, I’m genuinely considering just saving my time and investing it elsewhere, starting to believe the odds are far too stacked against me.

I’ve completed about 10 VIs for firms this year already, with a good portion of those being selective, so again I know my applications are pristine and my psychometrics are too, but I’ve been rejected from all. I’ve had 1 to 1s with various people to help me improve VI performance, who all said that I was seemingly quite good with them.

I was going into this cycle with AC experience from two elite City Firms and so I naturally felt pretty confident in my abilities, but this year feels regressive if anything at this moment in time. Now I just think it’s ultimately impossible to even get an AC, especially with this cycle quietly coming to the end in a month or so, at least for vacs. I’m now a graduate and so I really cannot afford to keep investing my time into what seems to be a black hole, having told myself I’m going to give it my best shot this year and leave no stone unturned.

And in my opinion - and it could sound convenient - I think the way firms are heading with these new recruitment processes is ultimately starting to diminish the merit that used to be involved in writing an impressive application. Though I know endurance is very important in this process too, it does feel like unless the quality you input is matched with an exhausting amount of stamina, people who were strong contenders in ACs and vacs are now not even being shown the time of day.

But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think, thanks.

I think that it's okay to feel how you're feeling, and I also think that the fact that you're here asking for advice shows that you really want this, a career in law, in which case, it's really important to not give up. It's not the end of the world if you can't land a TC now, and you clearly have a strong enough profile to maybe land a paralegal role or something else so that you can continue applications in the meantime.

I think, with VIs, it may be worth considering whether you're over-preparing and sounding too rehearsed, if as you say, all your various 1-to-1s have yielded encouraging feedback. Others have already provided, imo, much better advice on tackling VIs than I can add on here.

The truth is that I think anyone going through all the rejections feels that the odds are really stacked against them, but at the end of the day, it really does take only one, and you've clearly got what it takes as you've been invited to ACs before. Sometimes there's no real rhyme or reason as to why you have or haven't been progressed each cycle, only the final decision-makers at each stage will actually know. I refer to this post by Afraz a couple of days ago to hopefully keep you going. (https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....ns-discussion-thread-2025-26.9717/post-231386)

As for your last point, I don't disagree tbh, but this is the unfortunate reality we all live in now. We're not exactly in a position, as applicants, to compel change in the process, but do also consider the firms' perspectives as competition and the sheer volume of applications keep increasing year-on-year. It's a very trying/testy process and all we can really do is give it our best at each moment and stage, and hope that the decision-makers see our potential and offer us a TC.

Please take some time to take care of yourself over the next couple of days and bounce back, it's Christmas after all! Beyond that, I'm wishing you all the best and hoping for your success this cycle!

 

[DavidJC]

Could anyone please confirm if Simmons Bristol VS has no app questions apart from those covering work exp/extra curriculars?

I've been scouring the form for the last 20 minutes looking for any sign of any application questions but I'm coming up dry and feeling a bit suspicious.

 

[calebnash]

Just wanted to see people’s opinion on my situation. I achieved quite poorly in my A Levels and got BBB but am still at a top RG uni and have quite a bit of legal work experience (MC open days, week in a national law firm). Because of my A Levels I have only applied to firms that either have no A Level requirement or are BBB and below. However, I have not been progressed with any firms to interview/AC yet so I was wondering if it was worth applying to firms that maybe have an ABB requirement as well to try and boost my chances? Although I don’t have mitigating circumstances, I did go to a non-selective state school and with RARE contextual recruitment my results are ABB.

 

[wqueens8]

Just wanted to see people’s opinion on my situation. I achieved quite poorly in my A Levels and got BBB but am still at a top RG uni and have quite a bit of legal work experience (MC open days, week in a national law firm). Because of my A Levels I have only applied to firms that either have no A Level requirement or are BBB and below. However, I have not been progressed with any firms to interview/AC yet so I was wondering if it was worth applying to firms that maybe have an ABB requirement as well to try and boost my chances? Although I don’t have mitigating circumstances, I did go to a non-selective state school and with RARE contextual recruitment my results are ABB.

I have ABC at a-level and have progressed with firms both AAB and ABB. I do have mitigating circumstances, but to be honest they are quite weak circumstances and I'm not sure how much they're being considered. Definitely worth applying if you really like the firm, and depending on how they word their requirements.

If they say they strictly require AAB, unless you have mitigating circumstances, then it is probably not worth it. If they "We typically look for AAB/ABB at a-level, but we review every application holistically" or something like that then then definitely go for it.

 

[anon78365222111]

Does anyone know when Sidley will reply to everyone

 

[EfficientBag123]

Could anyone please confirm if Simmons Bristol VS has no app questions apart from those covering work exp/extra curriculars?

I've been scouring the form for the last 20 minutes looking for any sign of any application questions but I'm coming up dry and feeling a bit suspicious.

The Simmons Bristol application has no app questions. I was suspicious too.

 

[Ferran_]

Did ppl just get the email from slaughters?

 

[applicant457]

guys so has nobody heard back from hsfk summer post-test?

 

[tball]

Is W&C test automatic? How long after being sent do you have to complete it? Not sure whether to submit my app before xmas/new year or not?

 

[EfficientBag123]

Tbh guys no one will be hearing anything till Monday at the earliest as it’s Xmas eve today, Xmas tomorrow, Boxing Day, then the weekend. We all need to just enjoy our breaks with our loved ones and stop stressing for these next few days.