What are target unis for law?

OP

Original post by BenRyan99

Add in Warwick and Imperial for investment banking

Do you think KCL/Durham are on the same level?

Original post by Anumu

Do you think KCL/Durham are on the same level?

KCL and Durham would definitely be the tier below the two I mentioned.

People always disagree about their own rankings so I'll just mention that these are my own so they're open to interpretation.

Targets = Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick and Imperial.

Definite semi targets = Bristol, Durham, Nottingham and Bath.

Lower semi-targets = KCL, Manchester, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Exeter.

Now there are some factors to take into account. For example king's perhaps over performs than those in its group because of location. Also, someone who's a theoretical physics student at Manchester for example might be more attractive as a candidate for an IB as an A&F student at Durham, so subject also plays a part.

Last thing to note is that university has a smaller impact than many make out. A large part of why there are more target students in IB is due to two reasons, they tend to be smarter so would be more likely to get in regardless of university, secondly that a reason for people going to those unis is because they know they place well in finance so it's also about signalling in the job market. Employers try to get round this inherent signalling by making everybody sit tests which is good but ultimately you won't get a job in law or finance because of your uni. It's all about how well you perform.

Reply 4

OP

Original post by BenRyan99

KCL and Durham would definitely be the tier below the two I mentioned.

People always disagree about their own rankings so I'll just mention that these are my own so they're open to interpretation.

Targets = Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick and Imperial.

Definite semi targets = Bristol, Durham, Nottingham and Bath.

Lower semi-targets = KCL, Manchester, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Exeter.

Now there are some factors to take into account. For example king's perhaps over performs than those in its group because of location. Also, someone who's a theoretical physics student at Manchester for example might be more attractive as a candidate for an IB as an A&F student at Durham, so subject also plays a part.

Last thing to note is that university has a smaller impact than many make out. A large part of why there are more target students in IB is due to two reasons, they tend to be smarter so would be more likely to get in regardless of university, secondly that a reason for people going to those unis is because they know they place well in finance so it's also about signalling in the job market. Employers try to get round this inherent signalling by making everybody sit tests which is good but ultimately you won't get a job in law or finance because of your uni. It's all about how well you perform.

I guess KCL has gone downhill in recent times, to rank with the less selective RGs. Not that anything is wrong with that, I just thought it was slighlty under UCL and LSE, but that gap seems to be increasing.

Reply 5

I more or less agree with your original post for law, except I’d argue Durham is probably slightly above Nottingham, Exeter, Bristol, etc.
Having said that, someone from Nottingham, Exeter etc. could in theory beat someone out from UCL etc. depending on their overall CV

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Mikos

I more or less agree with your original post for law, except I’d argue Durham is probably slightly above Nottingham, Exeter, Bristol, etc.
Having said that, someone from Nottingham, Exeter etc. could in theory beat someone out from UCL etc. depending on their overall CV

I agree, Durham should probably have had its own category of "not quite LSE/UCL standards" but better than the less selective Unis like Exeter.

Reply 7

Original post by Anumu

I agree, Durham should probably have had its own category of "not quite LSE/UCL standards" but better than the less selective Unis like Exeter.

Yeah 100% agree with that

Original post by Anumu

I guess KCL has gone downhill in recent times, to rank with the less selective RGs. Not that anything is wrong with that, I just thought it was slighlty under UCL and LSE, but that gap seems to be increasing.

King's is certainly not bad at all and is probably very good for law, it also has a great location which is important. One of the reasons it doesn't rank so high for IB is mainly that it doesn't really have a business school. They have only just started teaching proper Economics for example, they've been more focused on PPE and political economy. So I think part of it is self-selection in that a lot of people who want to go into IB do Econ or business subjects so will naturally be less likely to go to kings relative to other semi targets

Reply 9

OP

Original post by BenRyan99

King's is certainly not bad at all and is probably very good for law, it also has a great location which is important. One of the reasons it doesn't rank so high for IB is mainly that it doesn't really have a business school. They have only just started teaching proper Economics for example, they've been more focused on PPE and political economy. So I think part of it is self-selection in that a lot of people who want to go into IB do Econ or business subjects so will naturally be less likely to go to kings relative to other semi targets

Trying to make a decision between firming Kings or Durham, is very literally, driving me crazy.

Reply 10

Original post by Anumu

Trying to make a decision between firming Kings or Durham, is very literally, driving me crazy.

Ngl they’re both amazing unis. I personally would choose Durham but that’s because I like the place. As long as you build up a decent profile throughout your course you’ll be good to go. The difference between them is almost negligible.

Original post by Mikos

Ngl they’re both amazing unis. I personally would choose Durham but that’s because I like the place. As long as you build up a decent profile throughout your course you’ll be good to go. The difference between them is almost negligible.

This is very true. It's far more about what internships/vacation schemes you get than whether you went to Durham or King's. I don't think going to one over the other would make any difference career wise, it's more about which you'll enjoy more. To me there's a slight trade-off where Durham is slightly more prestigious but is in the middle of nowhere whereas kings would make it easy to go to networking events, insight days etc

Reply 12

Original post by BenRyan99

This is very true. It's far more about what internships/vacation schemes you get than whether you went to Durham or King's. I don't think going to one over the other would make any difference career wise, it's more about which you'll enjoy more. To me there's a slight trade-off where Durham is slightly more prestigious but is in the middle of nowhere whereas kings would make it easy to go to networking events, insight days etc

Definitely agree with this. As far as prestige is concerned, Durham>KCL, but KCL is also v prestigious and its location is convenient. People often ask, “well, if all else was equal, which university would they prefer to take from?” but the truth is that it’s never really all equal between two candidates, so for sure what you do during the degree is what makes the difference in a situation like this.

Reply 13

OP

Original post by Mikos

Definitely agree with this. As far as prestige is concerned, Durham>KCL, but KCL is also v prestigious and its location is convenient. People often ask, “well, if all else was equal, which university would they prefer to take from?” but the truth is that it’s never really all equal between two candidates, so for sure what you do during the degree is what makes the difference in a situation like this.

Original post by BenRyan99

This is very true. It's far more about what internships/vacation schemes you get than whether you went to Durham or King's. I don't think going to one over the other would make any difference career wise, it's more about which you'll enjoy more. To me there's a slight trade-off where Durham is slightly more prestigious but is in the middle of nowhere whereas kings would make it easy to go to networking events, insight days etc

Thanks guys, I really appreciate these responses :smile:

it genuinely will impact my choice haha. Im leaning towards Durham for the simple fact they supplied double the number of trainees compared to KCL. If it wasn't for that, Id likely go to KCL, especially being from a working-class background, the stories at Durham put me off haha.

Reply 14

Original post by Anumu

Thanks guys, I really appreciate these responses :smile:

it genuinely will impact my choice haha. Im leaning towards Durham for the simple fact they supplied double the number of trainees compared to KCL. If it wasn't for that, Id likely go to KCL, especially being from a working-class background, the stories at Durham put me off haha.

Honestly mate there will be nasty people no matter where you go, and with these stories being increasingly publicised (and crucially, publicly shamed) I can defo see it being less and less of a problem. Defo go to the one you prefer, I’m certain you’ll be fine :smile:

Reply 15

monkey231

7

Original post by Anumu

What would you consider the 10 Target/Semi-Target universities for top investment banks and top law firms? Also, I'm doing a law degree so I'm not sure if that would change whether its still considered a target or not.

I'd probably say:
Oxbridge
LSE/UCL
KCL/Bristol/Nottingham/Durham/Exeter

Opinions?

Not sure if I’m on this thread too late, but if it helps I did my LLB at Durham and had no issues getting interviews/offers from elite US firms. That being said, I have also seen KCL students doing brilliantly in the law game, so I think the difference is marginal.

Reply 16

Lawkid1729

6

Adding on a bit late to this, but law firm employability rankings (chamber student guide), as well as Times Higher Ed employability rankings place KCL>UCL and Durham over KCL. This is a bit weird because as an international, I hadn't heard of Durham till the actual application stage.

Reply 17

EU Yakov