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[corinium]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum, but have really enjoyed reading the content published by the team and the community - it has already cleared up a few misconceptions I had about commercial law.

Just by way of background:
I have just finished my first year of my LLB at a non-RG university, finishing with a first (75%) with strong grades in all traditional-QLD modules. I am preparing for next year with a view to applying to vacation schemes at city firms. If I am honest, my university has not made any specific reference to what we should be doing career-wise in preparation for second year (perhaps due to COVID, not sure), so I am a little lost.

My main question, therefore, is will my low grades at A-Level (BBB) automatically exclude me from vac schemes despite good first year grades? I don't have extenuating circumstances, I was just silly and didn't work as hard as I should have, but I have changed my mindset completely at university. Will city firms view my 75% less favourably to a RG candidate with 65%?

Thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum, but have really enjoyed reading the content published by the team and the community - it has already cleared up a few misconceptions I had about commercial law.

Just by way of background:
I have just finished my first year of my LLB at a non-RG university, finishing with a first (75%) with strong grades in all traditional-QLD modules. I am preparing for next year with a view to applying to vacation schemes at city firms. If I am honest, my university has not made any specific reference to what we should be doing career-wise in preparation for second year (perhaps due to COVID, not sure), so I am a little lost.

My main question, therefore, is will my low grades at A-Level (BBB) automatically exclude me from vac schemes despite good first year grades? I don't have extenuating circumstances, I was just silly and didn't work as hard as I should have, but I have changed my mindset completely at university. Will city firms view my 75% less favourably to a RG candidate with 65%?

Thanks!

If a firm has a strict A level requirement, then unfortunately you won’t be able to apply to them.

However, there are lots of firms who don’t have A-level requirements these days and also there are plenty more that have an A-level requirement that you’d be able to meet anyway.

I think most firms would look at your 75% more favourably than a 65% at a RG uni.

I would invest time in interacting with firms you are interested in, whether through careers fair or webinars/seminars etc and ask them about your chances at these type of events.

 

[corinium]

If a firm has a strict A level requirement, then unfortunately you won’t be able to apply to them.

However, there are lots of firms who don’t have A-level requirements these days and also there are plenty more that have an A-level requirement that you’d be able to meet anyway.

I think most firms would look at your 75% more favourably than a 65% at a RG uni.

Thank you for your reply! Even with firms that don't have A-level requirements, I assume they still take them into account? It's just I have some friends a little bit further down the road than me (I took a gap year, they didn't) and they often got A/A* and have said to me they think it has made a difference in their vacation scheme and TC apps. Just need my fears put to rest really!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for your reply! Even with firms that don't have A-level requirements, I assume they still take them into account? It's just I have some friends a little bit further down the road than me (I took a gap year, they didn't) and they often got A/A* and have said to me they think it has made a difference in their vacation scheme and TC apps. Just need my fears put to rest really!

Yes, they will still take them into account, but clearly it doesn’t mean much to them otherwise they would have the minimum requirement.

People often think it’s the more quantifiable things that make the difference. It’s easier to substantiate the difference in grades as they are on a sliding scale. But ultimately it’s the stuff that’s not as easily quantifiable that actually gets your application considered. There’s a lot of assumptions and myths out their in student populations to think that A-levels are what get you the job.

A-level grades are usually the least important part of an application from my experience.