2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

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Jay-Lo

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Jan 21, 2019
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I just received a White & Case Video Interview invite for Spring this morning, and I applied on November 4th.... I had also lost all hope but the world of grad rec really is as nebulous as @Jessica Booker is always attesting it to be!
Yeah I withdrawed my W&C spring vac scheme app was invited to the VI last Friday due to personal reasons. So I’m sure one lucky person has got my place instead or will have soon - best of luck everyone waiting to hear from W&C!
 
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I.Like.UFOs.Not.PFOs

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Jan 6, 2021
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I have just found out some people get formatives in their degree? I haven't had one formative assignment my entire degree - everything handed in is counted towards my final grade. Have I been scammed?😭
View attachment 2728
For us this is very dependent on department size & module lengths. So for my LLB core modules (e.g. obligations, criminal law etc) there were formatives, but for shorter modules/departments with fewer staff, we never had a chance to do a formative as they wouldn’t be able to efficiently conduct it. It sucks that you don’t have formatives though because I know I would have performed poorly in a few modules if I didn’t get a chance to practise first 😭
 

OB

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  • Feb 10, 2020
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    I have just found out some people get formatives in their degree? I haven't had one formative assignment my entire degree - everything handed in is counted towards my final grade. Have I been scammed?😭
    View attachment 2728
    At Nottingham we had the chance to submit a formative essay each term for every module, while I’m not sure many people took up the chance. I only really got my act together in final year for it hahaha
     
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    Yoryis

    Active Member
    Jan 25, 2021
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    The 80% or 90% cap is pretty consistent across unis for social science and arts degrees.

    People need to get rid of this idea that RG unis do things one way and non-RG unis do it another. It really isn’t that black and white.
    Hi Jessica,

    A somehow related question. As a law graduate from a university in the EU, I was wondering if adding percentages would help in this case. At my uni to get a first somebody has to be in the top 5% of the class (we were about 400 students per year). Does a first also mean top 5-10% of the class in the UK? I was in the top 20% and got an upper 2.1 (UK equivalent). I usually add this percentage, but I am not sure if it helps or makes my grades look worse.

    Indicatively, Oxbridge accepts students from my uni with a high 2.1 so I assume they are somehow aware of this (but perhaps GR teams are not?).
     

    Zay

    Star Member
    Oct 28, 2018
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    I have just found out some people get formatives in their degree? I haven't had one formative assignment my entire degree - everything handed in is counted towards my final grade. Have I been scammed?😭
    View attachment 2728
    To add to this, it might actually work in your favour. At my uni, final marks were mainly based on your end of year exams and being able to submit essays/coursework during the term can mean less pressure at the end of the year
     

    Jessica Booker

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    Aug 1, 2019
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    Hi Jessica,

    A somehow related question. As a law graduate from a university in the EU, I was wondering if adding percentages would help in this case. At my uni to get a first somebody has to be in the top 5% of the class (we were about 400 students per year). Does a first also mean top 5-10% of the class in the UK? I was in the top 20% and got an upper 2.1 (UK equivalent). I usually add this percentage, but I am not sure if it helps or makes my grades look worse.

    Indicatively, Oxbridge accepts students from my uni with a high 2.1 so I assume they are somehow aware of this (but perhaps GR teams are not?).
    It is still a percentage, it is just the percentage is capped. UK universities don’t have a standardised bell curve type method of marking students where only so many people get X mark.

    You have to be careful with “translating grades”. I have actually withdrawn an offer because someone recalculated their grades on the basis of a 90% cap. (Eg a module grade of 64 was put down as 71% on their application).

    Just put your grades down as you know them. Most recruiters are aware of international grading systems, and there’s easy ways to find out if they don’t.

    You can always add additional details like “At my uni to get a first somebody has to be in the top 5% of the class” to help quantify things, but I would try to translate grades yourself - just put them down as you know them.
     

    JayC

    Legendary Member
    Future Trainee
    Junior Lawyer
    Jan 8, 2021
    221
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    Hi all!

    Is anyone still waiting on Mayer Brown post-TI?

    And has anyone heard from: Debevoise, White & Case (Spring post-App), Dechert (Spring post-App) and Covington?
    No-one has heard from Debevoise yet, a bunch of people have been progressed with W&C over the last few weeks (I just got my VI this morning), I have seen some people get ACs with Dechert, and Covington has finished all its ACs
     

    LegalNim

    Legendary Member
    Nov 14, 2019
    303
    816
    I have just found out some people get formatives in their degree? I haven't had one formative assignment my entire degree - everything handed in is counted towards my final grade. Have I been scammed?😭
    View attachment 2728
    My uni didn't have formatives. We weren't even allowed to get feedback or have anything checked before submission. I was definitely scammed haha.
     

    Jessica Booker

    Legendary Member
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    Aug 1, 2019
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    Mayer brown:
    Can someone who progressed to the next stage share what their top 3 strengths were pls
    I’d stress they won’t always be the same three strengths for every candidate. It is typically a case of what isn’t in there, rather than what is.
     

    Yoryis

    Active Member
    Jan 25, 2021
    12
    13
    It is still a percentage, it is just the percentage is capped. UK universities don’t have a standardised bell curve type method of marking students where only so many people get X mark.

    You have to be careful with “translating grades”. I have actually withdrawn an offer because someone recalculated their grades on the basis of a 90% cap. (Eg a module grade of 64 was put down as 71% on their application).

    Just put your grades down as you know them. Most recruiters are aware of international grading systems, and there’s easy ways to find out if they don’t.

    You can always add additional details like “At my uni to get a first somebody has to be in the top 5% of the class” to help quantify things, but I would try to translate grades yourself - just put them down as you know them.
    Many thanks, Jessica! Yes, I always put them down the way they appear on my transcripts.
     
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