LLM at UCL vs. moving to London now - advice on vacation schemes and next steps

[thrisha_h]

Hi everyone,
I’m a recent Durham law graduate (July 2026, 68% LLB) and I’ve received an offer to start the LLM at UCL on 28 September. My main goal is to secure a vacation scheme at a commercial law firm in London in this application cycle. So far, I’ve applied to around 15 vacation schemes but haven’t been shortlisted yet.
I’m trying to decide between:

• Accepting the UCL LLM offer and applying to vacation schemes while studying; or

• Declining the offer, moving to London regardless, and focusing on paralegal roles alongside vacation scheme applications.

I’d really appreciate any advice from people who’ve been in a similar position, or who have insights on:

• How much (if at all) an LLM helps with vacation scheme / training contract applications at commercial firms;

• Whether it’s worth taking on the LLM time‑wise if the primary aim is a TC;

• Any strategies that helped you get shortlisted after multiple rejections.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or experiences you can share.

 

[Antoni Trochimowicz]

Hi I've replied to your post on the forum.

Hi! Congrats on receiving the offer, that's fantastic ! I would like to preface this with the fact I haven't been in the same position so of course if anyone else can offer closer insights, that would be great.

Nevertheless, my takes are:
1) From my experience scouring TCLA, Reddit etc. I have come to the conclusion that widely an LLM doesn't really help in securing TCs, with potentially the exception of the BCL at Oxford (I believe). This is especially due to the fact you've graduated (with a strong grade) from Durham, which is on par with UCL in regards to law firm recruiting.

2) This is more dependent on you and how much time you think you would be able to dedicate to applications. Both aspects (LLM & Applications) are incredibly time-consuming and would need quite a strict schedule (but very very doable, I'm sure you'd manage ). If you think you would enjoy doing the LLM/regret not doing it, I'm sure it's worth it.

Then on the point of whether it's better to move to London regardless and look for Paralegal roles, that of course is a strong option. However, from what I've heard, the paralegal market has become extremely difficult too. As a result, I'm sure there would be some expectation of past experience. But please do take this with a pinch of salt as I personally haven't looked at Paralegal positions, I'm sure someone else can give some better insights to this.

Either way, you're in a good position with some strong options in front of you, I'm sure you're going to smash it ! Let us know if you have any further questions.