TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[DavidJC]

I do think this thread was just a testing ground for potential TCLA mods as some have pointed out. I confess that halfway through this afternoon that whilst I didn't think they were bots, I did start thinking "why are there so many people typing in a very similar tone to how Andrei normally types when explaining something" 😅

Also ended up spending the day not really looking at any more apps, kinda just needed the break after this morning's disappointment lol, just gonna revisit my approach again and consider that Skadden was essentially one of my first few applications this cycle, so probably wasn't the absolute best I could've done

 

[TheSlapDotCom]

why are there a bunch of new people writing essays on the forum now??

litch😭matter of fact where’s everyone from ahh

 

[aria_d]

Hi! I just did the Ashurst online test, do we get a confirmation as soon as we do it or will we be directly sent the report a few days later? Asking because I haven't recieved a confirmation :')

 

[Lord Sumption]

one scheme last year took 2/23

This is true actually. I know one person who did the scheme, and they said FF are very ruthless at the interview stage. It’s definitely easier to get onto the vac scheme than it is to convert it into a TC, and the conversion rates can be very low depending on the year.

One thing I’ve also heard (slightly more “inside baseball”) is that the firm deliberately keeps VS numbers high because they use the scheme as a very broad benchmarking exercise rather than a straight pipeline. They compare vac schemers not just against each other, but against future cohorts and even existing trainees, so being “good” on the scheme often isn’t enough - you have to clearly outperform an extremely high internal bar. That means plenty of strong candidates still don’t get TCs, not necessarily because they’re weak, but because the firm is very selective about long-term fit and timing.

 

[lawstudent2]

Hi! I just did the Ashurst online test, do we get a confirmation as soon as we do it or will we be directly sent the report a few days later? Asking because I haven't recieved a confirmation :')

It stated this in the test invitation email 'PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL RECEIVE THE REPORT WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT. THIS WILL NOT BE SENT IMMEDIATELY.'

Note the caps wasn't me haha, it was like that in the email

 

[aria_d]

It stated this in the test invitation email 'PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL RECEIVE THE REPORT WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT. THIS WILL NOT BE SENT IMMEDIATELY.'

Note the caps wasn't me haha, it was like that in the email

Oh haha, no I did see that, but I thought they'd send a confirmation like 'thank you for completing the test' like FF and other firms do but fair enough, thank you