TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2026-27

[amitonalfo]

does anyone know what qualities/values sidley are specifically lookig for beside the obvious ones?

 

[uncooked_noodles]

Is anyone able to help Re Vantage - I've put my postgraduate degree in which I am still completing (therefore don't have an average score or a grade) but I can't proceed on the application without putting something! I can't contact the vantage help desk as its tied to outlook which I don't have, but I don't want to put something inaccurate. Would it be bad to put the average I have so far and the grade I have so far and just make note of this error in the extra information box?

 

[amitonalfo]

@Abbie Whitlock Hi! Do you have any afvice on how to structure an answer to this question? Detail your extra curricular activities and interests and positions of responsibility. Please state what you feel you have gained from them and how others have benefited from your involvement. (250 words max) *

 

[user55998384]

love latham but their new app form is ugly x

 

[mc123123]

last year i did an AC for a firm for their vacation scheme and got rejected (they only gave me a few days notice) and it was my first one. should i reapply is it worth doing that, and should i change a lot of my app answers or is it okay to just change it up slightly. also since then, my cv has improved a lot and i have done law internships so I'm thinking about whether I should do DTC instead of a vacation scheme as well.

 

[IshantheG]

im in a similar boat - what was your lowest scoring point if u dont mind me asking?

It was drive?

 

[IshantheG]

Is anyone able to help Re Vantage - I've put my postgraduate degree in which I am still completing (therefore don't have an average score or a grade) but I can't proceed on the application without putting something! I can't contact the vantage help desk as its tied to outlook which I don't have, but I don't want to put something inaccurate. Would it be bad to put the average I have so far and the grade I have so far and just make note of this error in the extra information box?

I removed the degree as of now. I recommend adding it in the box below.

 

[WillKitchen]

Speaking of Vantage, does anyone know a setting that will automatically input our grades for GSCE, A-Level, uni modules, etc.?

It says it will memorise the data for us, but I always seem to have to put the grades and names in manually anyway. It's the same for every firm's portal. It would save a lot of time if they genuinely did remember them for me.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[jamsparkle]

how soon after the deadline have people been hearing about the STB open days the past couple of times?

 

[Enyonam]

Hi all,

I am one year post grad from a non RG and working as a paralegal in house. I have done one vac scheme at HSFK which was unsuccessful. I have decided that I want this to be the cycle that I secure a training contract and I will work as hard as it takes to make it happen.

I will be documenting my journey here to hold myself accountable, hopefully this will be the community I need to keep me pushing.

This week, I’m applying for Macfarlanes’ Winter Vac Scheme… it opened so early!!

Right, summary of the last week (not that anyone asked) !

- Applied to Ashurst’s Winter Vac
- Did Macfarlanes Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessments (that was so long wow)
- Read 4 chapters in of ‘All you need to know about the city’
- Listened to the FT podcast everyday

This Week:
- Apply to Hogan Lovells’ Winter Vac
- Read another 5 Chapers of ‘All you need to know about the city’
- Prepare more generally for the AS commercial awareness competition (if anyone has some tips PLEASE DO DM)
- Look at NRF’s Q’s and start researching.

It looks like it’s going to be a long week…

 

[cs3008]

Sidley Austin has no written application questions this year? Any idea about it anyone?

 

[sarg1234]

Does anyone know what to put down, and in what kind of detail, for the 'Other experience' entry in Ashurst's work experience section? I'm not sure if they want us to put down work experience that won't fit in the four provided boxes (CV Mail), or if they're looking for open days / insight events etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sarg1234]

Sidley Austin has no written application questions this year? Any idea about it anyone?

You have a question about your extracurriculars tbf. I suspect it functions similar to Jones Day / S&M in that they'd invite a large proportion (maybe 25%?) based primarily on your CV to the next stage (VI).

 

[Holiday7]

Speaking of Vantage, does anyone know a setting that will automatically input our grades for GSCE, A-Level, uni modules, etc.?

It says it will memorise the data for us, but I always seem to have to put the grades and names in manually anyway. It's the same for every firm's portal. It would save a lot of time if they genuinely did remember them for me.

Thanks for any tips!

Log into the actual Vantage website, go to your profile (top right) and fill in the data there. This should give the option to autofill with Vantage on a new application.

 

[TheHamlet4]

Right, summary of the last week (not that anyone asked) !

- Applied to Ashurst’s Winter Vac
- Did Macfarlanes Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessments (that was so long wow)
- Read 4 chapters in of ‘All you need to know about the city’
- Listened to the FT podcast everyday

This Week:
- Apply to Hogan Lovells’ Winter Vac
- Read another 5 Chapers of ‘All you need to know about the city’
- Prepare more generally for the AS commercial awareness competition (if anyone has some tips PLEASE DO DM)
- Look at NRF’s Q’s and start researching.

It looks like it’s going to be a long week…

Could you let us know if Hogan Lovells has written questions?

Also reading the same book at the moment, I feel like it’ll improve the quality of our responses.

 

[WillKitchen]

Log into the actual Vantage website, go to your profile (top right) and fill in the data there. This should give the option to autofill with Vantage on a new application.

That’s great, thanks! I’ll give it a try.