TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Chris Brown]

Hello,

I wanted to ask - in case I don’t meet the 2:1 criteria and have mitigating circumstances to support the same but do well in Capp test and WGT, do I have chance getting shortlisted at firm? How focused are they on grades?

Thanks!

I imagine it depends on the firm. I’m assuming this question is for Linklaters, who use both the Capp Test and WGT. To my knowledge, they ask for consistent 2:1 across all modules. They take into account MC, but they are quite focused on grades tbh. There are other firms like Travers Smith and Slaughter and May who are also very fixated on grades. I think firms like BCLP, CMS, DLA Piper, Irwin Mitchell, Hill Dickinson and Osborne Clarke don’t have a minimum A-level or degree requirement at all (although I’m not 100% sure if this is the case). Most firms will ask for a 2:1 but will consider MC. This means that they will still consider an applicant even if their overall degree average falls slightly below (e.g., high 2:2). I think if the rest of your application is strong alongside having strong test scores, most firms would definitely still consider you. Best of luck with all of your applications this cycle!​

 

[Maddy]

Hi! Did anyone hear back from Aspiring Solicitor's Sky work experience?

 

[Babablacksheep]

Does anyone have any tips for the AMEX VI?

 

[jfb]

does anyone know how much a bad automated report post SJT is going to impact a VS when done alongside a decent video interview. just panicking as I felt the traits it said I was lacking weren't true to me at all, and the ones I did 'better' on are less like me and would hate for this to be the reason I don't get it!

 

[gazdgazd11]

Guys I need help, what can I expect from a negotiation exercise? Help meeeee

 

[Jessica Booker]

Guys I need help, what can I expect from a negotiation exercise? Help meeeee

Highly recommend this thread for guidance on negotiation exercises:

Definitive Guide to Assessed Negotiations! *Monday Article Series*

Hi All! Please see below my Guide to Assessed Negotiation Exercises at Assessment Centres and during Vacation Schemes. This guide has been built from my own experiences of assessed and real-world negotiations as well as having consulted with Grad Rec specialists. This is also the first in a...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[TCseeker101]

Tips for the Mischon case study and interview would be much appreciated! Please DM me

 

[student353]

25/36 high numerical and high verbal for the SH SJT; hopefully that'll be enough

 

[ayiiii05]

Hey, this used to be me. I will be honest, TCLA premium resources helped me More than anything. You get access to successful apps and courses on how to write them and More. I swear im not sponsored! I know not everyone can afford it but if you can, I recommend getting it for one month and going through their courses and successful applications database. This really changed the game for me. I used to barely get past the app stage, whilst this year I got 3 ACs and had multiple VIs/second stage tests. Good luck!

PS. However, there are many free resources.
I think the biggest thing is to REALLY research the firm (I know this sounds generic) and to master your answers to basic questions like why law etc.

Thank you!

 

[ayiiii05]

Hi @ayiiii05 I will link here the Guide to Building a Winning Applications Strategy I have written a couple of months ago, as it describes in a lot of depth what I think led to my success after also getting rejected everywhere in the previous cycle.

Thank you Andrei!

 

[bangarangbass39]

Has anyone done the Bates Wells AC for the Vac scheme? Has anyone heard back?!

 

[Kakaboo]

I have an assessment centre on Tuesday- how many questions is good to ask partners in an interview and any advise on what these should be? Also do all assessment centres give out information the day before? They’ve said nothing

 

[jojo23]

Thoughts post sh test:
I'm really bad at these tests, and it's frustrating because I know it's what lets me down. It feels like every time I do them, I'm wasting the opportunity because even managing to get this far has been a struggle all these years.

More amusing/positive thoughts:
I felt my voice shaking so much during the video interview I thought there was an earthquake 🤣
The video interview went pretty well (the first question threw me off a little, and I messed up 1 word). I did mess up my words slightly but I think overall delivery was good
I'm hoping the vi offsets the test score but I can't say I'm hopeful?

 

[trainee4u]

Thoughts post sh test:
I'm really bad at these tests, and it's frustrating because I know it's what lets me down. It feels like every time I do them, I'm wasting the opportunity because even managing to get this far has been a struggle all these years.

What part of the test do you struggle with? SJT, verbal or numerical?

 

[jojo23]

What part of the test do you struggle with? SJT, verbal or numerical?

Verbal and sjt to be honest..
I'm not good at maths but the feedback said I excelled in that part

 

[trainee4u]

Verbal and sjt to be honest..
I'm not good at maths but the feedback said I excelled in that part

mm, the maths I find can be a bit random, like it's not difficult maths but more about reading?!

for the SJT what I would suggest you do is try and find out the pillars BEFORE the test, and think about what they are targeting in the question. If you score poorly on a particular pillar you are likely to have answered multiple questions wrongly. You can use screen recording software and review your answers when you receive feedback and try and figure out what you did wrong. Also think about ideal behaviour for a trainee solicitor, or in other cases they might tell you that you are in fact a qualified solicitor, and how, if you were the owner of that firm, you'd want that person to behave

 

[jfb]

Thoughts post sh test:
I'm really bad at these tests, and it's frustrating because I know it's what lets me down. It feels like every time I do them, I'm wasting the opportunity because even managing to get this far has been a struggle all these years.

More amusing/positive thoughts:
I felt my voice shaking so much during the video interview I thought there was an earthquake 🤣
The video interview went pretty well (the first question threw me off a little, and I messed up 1 word). I did mess up my words slightly but I think overall delivery was good
I'm hoping the vi offsets the test score but I can't say I'm hopeful?

i feel the exact same honestly! let down for sh by the sjt and its so frustrating as there’s not loads you can do about it and no matter how much hard work you put into the interview part, it feels as though im never going to get it due to the test.

 

[student353]

i feel the exact same honestly! let down for sh by the sjt and its so frustrating as there’s not loads you can do about it and no matter how much hard work you put into the interview part, it feels as though im never going to get it due to the test.

I honestly understand this frustration and I have been there myself (still there if I’m being completely honest!) What I have found has helped is thinking about what the question is trying to gather; ie, is it about communication, team work, resilience etc. equally, there are some practice questions online that can help.

For the verbal, which is the thing I always do best in despite English being my second language, I always think about the specifics of the question asked. Often with verbal, they’ll try and catch you out like using a static in a different context.

Trust the process, you’ll get there and you’ve probably done better than you are giving yourself credit for!

 

[Chris Brown]

Thoughts post sh test:
I'm really bad at these tests, and it's frustrating because I know it's what lets me down. It feels like every time I do them, I'm wasting the opportunity because even managing to get this far has been a struggle all these years.

More amusing/positive thoughts:
I felt my voice shaking so much during the video interview I thought there was an earthquake 🤣
The video interview went pretty well (the first question threw me off a little, and I messed up 1 word). I did mess up my words slightly but I think overall delivery was good
I'm hoping the vi offsets the test score but I can't say I'm hopeful?

mm, the maths I find can be a bit random, like it's not difficult maths but more about reading?!

for the SJT what I would suggest you do is try and find out the pillars BEFORE the test, and think about what they are targeting in the question. If you score poorly on a particular pillar you are likely to have answered multiple questions wrongly. You can use screen recording software and review your answers when you receive feedback and try and figure out what you did wrong. Also think about ideal behaviour for a trainee solicitor, or in other cases they might tell you that you are in fact a qualified solicitor, and how, if you were the owner of that firm, you'd want that person to behave

i feel the exact same honestly! let down for sh by the sjt and its so frustrating as there’s not loads you can do about it and no matter how much hard work you put into the interview part, it feels as though im never going to get it due to the test.

I honestly understand this frustration and I have been there myself (still there if I’m being completely honest!) What I have found has helped is thinking about what the question is trying to gather; ie, is it about communication, team work, resilience etc. equally, there are some practice questions online that can help.

For the verbal, which is the thing I always do best in despite English being my second language, I always think about the specifics of the question asked. Often with verbal, they’ll try and catch you out like using a static in a different context.

Trust the process, you’ll get there and you’ve probably done better than you are giving yourself credit for!

For the amberjack test, I also struggled a lot because it was my first time doing it this application cycle (Paul, Weiss and SH). I used this resource and method to help me identify what each question seemed to be looking for:

​

 

[bangarangbass39]

For a written task, if there is a word count between 500 and 1500, will I still be judged for how much I write within that count?

Secondly, if I say the right things but because of nerves, my enthusiasm wasn't showing enough as it should've been in the presentation, will I also be marked down? I tried to talk slowly and structured enough so that my points were understood, but I realise in that process I didn't 'smile' enough.

I did, however, grin and chuckle a bit when I was asked a difficult and unexpected question, if that's worth anything.

Lastly, returning to the written task, I wrote my response in the form of a memo. The task didn't explicitly ask that we do this, but it did ask "what would you say to the client". I thought it was best to frame it in such a way because the case study was structured as a presentation to the client, and the written task didn't indicate the information was supposed to be relayed to anyone else other than the client.

I realise after writing this I'm just over analysing.