Introduction, penultimate year student applying for Vacation Schemes

[24aa2001]

Hi everyone, I'm a penultimate year student from SOAS, currently applying for vacation schemes. I currently have online tests/ situational judgement tests to complete but I am trying to prepare.
Online tests I have to complete:
-PwC
-Herbert Smiths Freehills
-Reed Smith

I have applied to other vacation schemes also for Slaughter & May, DLA Piper, Ashurst etc
I'm not confident I will be noticed by every firm due to my poor Year 1 marks, however, I do have mitigating circumstances for that which I include in my application. Are there any firms that could notice me despite my year 1 grade?
Looking to hear any advice

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone, I'm a penultimate year student from SOAS, currently applying for vacation schemes. I currently have online tests/ situational judgement tests to complete but I am trying to prepare.
Online tests I have to complete:
-PwC
-Herbert Smiths Freehills
-Reed Smith

I have applied to other vacation schemes also for Slaughter & May, DLA Piper, Ashurst etc
I'm not confident I will be noticed by every firm due to my poor Year 1 marks, however, I do have mitigating circumstances for that which I include in my application. Are there any firms that could notice me despite my year 1 grade?
Looking to hear any advice

If you have mitigating circumstances to your grades, most firms will consider you. They will just look past your first year grades and put more weighting on other academics and other evidence if your grades are not a true reflection of your abilities.

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi everyone, I'm a penultimate year student from SOAS, currently applying for vacation schemes. I currently have online tests/ situational judgement tests to complete but I am trying to prepare.
Online tests I have to complete:
-PwC
-Herbert Smiths Freehills
-Reed Smith

I have applied to other vacation schemes also for Slaughter & May, DLA Piper, Ashurst etc
I'm not confident I will be noticed by every firm due to my poor Year 1 marks, however, I do have mitigating circumstances for that which I include in my application. Are there any firms that could notice me despite my year 1 grade?
Looking to hear any advice

Hi @24aa2001,

Welcome to the forum! It is great to have you as part of the community.

Congratulations too on getting through to the online/situational judgement tests that you mentioned.

Just to add to what @Jessica Booker said, try not to count yourself out of the running before it has started. Grades are one aspect of an application and many firms will overlook this in light of other things (particularly if you have relevant mitigating circumstances).

Applying this season, even if you are unsuccessful this time round, is also great practice for future application seasons. I had an unsuccessful round before getting anything (basically everyone I know had at least one). So I would really advise you to keep applying and to remain confident in your ability to conquer this process.

In terms of where to apply more generally, I would be interested what are you looking in firms particularly? What sort of firm would you like to work for? Are there any particular areas you are interested in? With a bit more information I might be able to point you towards some relevant firms and/or some resources.

Looking forward to hearing from you 🚀

 

[James Carrabino]

Hi everyone, I'm a penultimate year student from SOAS, currently applying for vacation schemes. I currently have online tests/ situational judgement tests to complete but I am trying to prepare.
Online tests I have to complete:
-PwC
-Herbert Smiths Freehills
-Reed Smith

I have applied to other vacation schemes also for Slaughter & May, DLA Piper, Ashurst etc
I'm not confident I will be noticed by every firm due to my poor Year 1 marks, however, I do have mitigating circumstances for that which I include in my application. Are there any firms that could notice me despite my year 1 grade?
Looking to hear any advice

Hi @24aa2001, welcome to the forum!!

First of all, starting university with lower grades and bringing them up is the right way to be doing things. It is much more concerning when candidates seem to be struggling as their courses get harder. That said, it is possible that low first-year grades could concern a law firm, although you say that you have mitigating circumstances for this. If your mitigating circumstances are compelling (law firms may ask for evidence, although I think that a big improvement in grades in second and third year would be enough for many firms if you provide honest reasons for the circumstances) then law firms will absolutely take this into account. If you go on to do well overall, then low first-year grades accounted for by mitigating circumstances should not jeopardise your chances of success with most firms. I can of course never say with certainty that this is the case for all firms, but I sincerely believe that you are not wasting your time by applying to the firms that you are applying to, especially as you have already been invited to complete a range of tests. Well done!

Candidates with all sorts of backgrounds obtain TCs at top firms. I have certainly heard of many who were very disappointed with their first-year grades getting top training contracts (as to how bad the grades were or which firms they were accepted at I am not quite sure). At the same time, some candidates with top grades really struggle to get TCs at top firms due to the other components of their applications. If you feel that you are able to make up for your low grades with strong experiences and motivations elsewhere then I see nothing preventing you from progressing with top firms. Not all firms will give you the time of day, but if you work on building up your work experience and then craft enough really excellent applications, I think that you should be in with as good a shot as anyone!

I hope that helps