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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

legallybrunnette

Star Member
Premium Member
Aug 8, 2025
44
50
Hi everyone I just finished my interview for a vacation scheme and I wanted your thoughts on something. At the end, she mentioned that ultimately it was not her decision whether she was going to take me or no and that she is only responsible for completing the feedback form. Grad rec is the decision maker something like that?? I thought the interviewers had greater decision making power. Now I am wondering whether this was her kind way of telling me I got rejected or whether it is something that she/they say to everyone. What are you thoughts? Am I spiralling lol?
 

InterestInPublicLaw

Legendary Member
  • Feb 7, 2024
    263
    282
    Hi everyone I just finished my interview for a vacation scheme and I wanted your thoughts on something. At the end, she mentioned that ultimately it was not her decision whether she was going to take me or no and that she is only responsible for completing the feedback form. Grad rec is the decision maker something like that?? I thought the interviewers had greater decision making power. Now I am wondering whether this was her kind way of telling me I got rejected or whether it is something that she/they say to everyone. What are you thoughts? Am I spiralling lol?

    I think she meant the grad rec will have to look at the scores of all interviewees and invite the highest scorers to the vac scheme!
     
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    wqueens8

    Esteemed Member
    Jun 28, 2024
    86
    107
    Hi everyone I just finished my interview for a vacation scheme and I wanted your thoughts on something. At the end, she mentioned that ultimately it was not her decision whether she was going to take me or no and that she is only responsible for completing the feedback form. Grad rec is the decision maker something like that?? I thought the interviewers had greater decision making power. Now I am wondering whether this was her kind way of telling me I got rejected or whether it is something that she/they say to everyone. What are you thoughts? Am I spiralling lol?

    At many firms nowadays, the process is made as quantifiable as possible. It's often not a case of somebody making a decision as such, so much as them scoring your interview on some metric, your case study, group presentation, whatever else etc, and giving you a score overall.

    Even in those firms where there is a decision-maker, this is often grad rec as in your case, and again (in my experience) is often somebody who was not too involved in any of your assessments, so that they can be impartial. Your interviewer probably gave detailed feedback, then grad rec will compile that with any other information about you and decide on that basis.

    I wouldn't read too much into that comment. Probably is said to everyone, or if you had an especially friendly/unfriendly interview, they might not want you getting any kind of impression, like "oh the interviewer LOVED me so I feel like I've got it" when there are so many other things going into it, and it's not her decision.
     
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    pepsicola96

    Valued Member
    Jul 11, 2024
    106
    297
    Tips on how to stop stressing over vac scheme conversion rates 🙃

    Potentially my last shot this cycle in April, and it seems to have a 40-50% conversion rate. Call it imposter syndrome but I'm sitting here thinking over and over "oh there's no way I'll be top 40% on this scheme."
     
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