TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Andrei Radu]

Guys how likely are W&C to give VI extensions? I really can't do my VI rn as I am travelling and emailed grad rec about it 2 days ago and no response. its due tomorrow

I know they have given 1-2 week extensions to people in the past for health-related reasons - I am not sure what their policy is for travel-related extensions. My advice would be to reach out again today in the hopes they may respond before the deadline tomorrow. If they do not, should you have have any window available at all (even if you will not be as well-prepared as you would have wanted), I would advise you to still complete the VI to hedge against the non-negligible risk they may refuse to extend your deadline. If the graduate recruiters at the firm would have actually granted your request for an extension, in my opinion you will not have incurred that high of a detriment by completing the VI tomorrow, as they will likely take into account your circumstances when assessing your performance.

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

Hii, does anybody have a list of the different variations of commercial awareness questions that comes up in VI's?

 

[DavidJC]

View attachment 7510

Gotta throw the Paul, Where Next? speculation somewhere in there too 🤣

 

[Andrei Radu]

I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. How many points would a firm expect you to include in why this firm question on a VI in a 60 second response? I've tried to include 2 points but after timing my response that's literally 3 sentences for each reason and they're not quite developed. Would it be okay to just mention one reason?

I would generally aim for two reasons at the expense of death of analysis, as recruiters will be well-aware that such a tight time limit will disable discussing anything but the headline point. That said, I think it can be fine to only present one point, provided that this is something of central importance to the firm and would by itself justify a strong interest in it. For instance, for Kirkland a single well-developed interest in PE point would likely do the job well here; but for Milbank, while the firm has good PE credentials, it probably wouldn't suffice.

 

[fbtrainee]

Ashurst AC post-WE 🎉

Do you mind sharing what your strengths and weakness was for the feedback report? i just got mine for the SVS and I'm curious to see if they are good enough

 

[manifestingthetc]

How long after completing the Weil Amberjack assessment should I expect to receive the feedback report?

 

[Disgruntled SQE Student]

has anyone heard back since passing the benchmark for HSFK Summer VS, be it PFO or AC?
A lot of ppl have said they have got pfo for spring, just wondering about summer

Haven't hear anything yet, they are likely still going through spring apps. From what I can remember, they don't send PFOs until the beginning of Jan, with AC in the beginning/middle.

 

[DavidJC]

How long after completing the Weil Amberjack assessment should I expect to receive the feedback report?

I got mine instantly, so should be pretty soon

 

[manifestingthetc]

Weil feedback report is as follows:
numerical and verbal (good) - i had "excellent" for mishcon so idk what went wrong here!
6/9 for grit
9/9 for creative force ....??
6/9 for digital mindset
4/9 for applied intellect AGAIN ahaha rip

i really don't know what to make of this, and why do i keep getting 4/9 for AI ahaaha it is SO annoying


Amberjack results can be so random sometimes...😆

 

[WillKitchen]

Does anyone know if the Mishcon SJT (stage 3) has a recorded video interview element?

I know that the AI Chat (stage 2) had a brief VI at the end, but it was not assessed.

 

[floral.tcla]

I saw someone posted on the forum recently about their commercial awareness resources and they’d referenced a podcast on Spotify called Wake Up To Money (BBC Radio 5 Live). I’ve been listening to it and ngl it’s lowkey good asf (better than trying to decipher the FT’s complicated jargon imo).​

that’s a shout! Yes wake up to money is so good, I really like how they don’t assume prior background as a non-law/finance student

 

[floral.tcla]

I have a couple of ideas for this one. But here's the simple one: If you can pair FT's News Briefing with Unhedged and The Next Five, you'd do just fine. The first two should do the trick. They're usually a few-minute podcasts.

These sounds so focussed, thanks!

 

[shadowboxer909]

Just did the Mishcon SJT and got high verbal, high numerical and 6/7/7 for Applied Intellect, Creative Force and Digital mindset but only a 4 for Grit

Genuinely stumped by the "Grit" scores I'm getting - I'm yet to encounter a single question that I feel actually tests for grit and resilience. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the concept of grit in relation to these tests 🤪

Law Firms: "You can't study for the SJT, just be yourself!"

Me: *Answers SJT honestly*

Law Firms: "Eww"

You need to game it.

Not answer it honestly.

Answer what you think the firm will like - make sure you come across as someone who values collaboration but can do independent work, someone who's resilient but knows when to ask for help etc.

 

[Sharkfin]

Does anyone know if the Mishcon SJT (stage 3) has a recorded video interview element?

I know that the AI Chat (stage 2) had a brief VI at the end, but it was not assessed.

Just an amberjack! no vi

 

[tball]

Any advice for SJTs for neurodivergent candidates? From what I’m aware of HSF Kramer is the only firm that lets you skip the test if you’re neurodivergent. I find them difficult and have had situations where firms haven’t replied to emails requesting adjustments. I know some offer alternative formats but not many do. Not sure what to do going forward?

 

[c.t.tc]

just did the Mishcon SJT and got 7/9, 6/9, 7/9, 6/9 and excelled in both numerical and verbal. how is that likely to score against the average? Amberjack seems to have no rhyme or reason so honestly never have any idea what's good and what's not

 

[WillKitchen]

I just completed the Mishcon de Reya test and got the impression that their scoring system was back to front.

I usually score highly for verbal reasoning but middling for maths (that is often my downfall with these tests).

But with Mishcon, I got top marks for maths and middling for verbal reasoning. The first time that has happened.

Anyone else notice that something was off?

 

[emily3827]

Guys how likely are W&C to give VI extensions? I really can't do my VI rn as I am travelling and emailed grad rec about it 2 days ago and no response. its due tomorrow

i’ve gotten a VI extension from them before but it was bc i was in a&e lol so might depend on the reason? but i remember they also took maybe a day to reply - maybe follow up again? the extension was for a whole week though so quite useful!

 

[c.t.tc]

I just completed the Mishcon de Reya test and got the impression that their scoring system was back to front.

I usually score highly for verbal reasoning but middling for maths (that is often my downfall with these tests).

But with Mishcon, I got top marks for maths and middling for verbal reasoning. The first time that has happened.

Anyone else notice that something was off?

My scores vary massively in these tests depending on the questions so might just be that in this specific version of Amberjack you did better the other way around!

 

[lawschool123]

Hi, I just completed a winter vacation scheme and was wondering whether it makes sense to update applications I am waiting to hear back from by letting them know that I have done further legal work ex? Would appreciate any thoughts/ advice on this.