Hi! I have recently received a disappointing set of results for second year law and I am in the process of working out what my plan should be going into third year, so some advice would be greatly appreciated.
For context, I did pretty well in my first year. I received three firsts, with the exception of Contract Law, which I got 56 in, and my average for the year was 67. Second year, unfortunately, has not gone as smoothly and I have ended up with a 2:1 in just one module, with the rest being 2:2s. So I'm barely averaging a 2:1 for the two years combined now. Annoying that first year counts for nothing!
I am not too worried in the grand scheme of things because I know that I didn't engage with the degree as well as I should have in this past year, and with second year only counting for 1/3, if I get back to achieving results like I did in first year, then I should at least be able to graduate with a 2:1 still.
My immediate concern now is whether it is worth doing applications again during my third year? I don't want to put the time and effort into applications if my second year results will mean that I almost automatically fall into the reject pile at the first hurdle.
I went into my second year clueless about a career in commercial law. I had next-to-zero knowledge of the whole process and I didn't really have a strong idea of what career path I might be interested in. I had so little knowledge that I was actually blown away just by how many commercial law firms there are in London!!
Anyway, I didn't start the process of applying for firms until right at the end of November, when deadlines for many firms were already approaching. I had no strategy for the kind of firms I wanted to apply for, meaning I went in completely blind to it all. My earlier applications were awful but they gradually improved, and I ended up progressing past the first stage for around 6-8 very reputable firms (mostly American), three of which I reached the final stage for.
Considering I went into my second year with no knowledge of the whole process and the fact that the first half of my applications were no-hopers, I am pretty pleased with the progress I ultimately made. I feel like I would be in a good place to build on this progress now, especially since I feel that I now have even stronger extra-curriculars than I did this time last year, including an open day with an international firm. I would also have a much more focused strategy for applying to firms, meaning I wouldn't be chasing deadlines and cramming applications in, which I think played a big part in not engaging with my course properly last year.
I am just really concerned that my poor results from second year would make the decision to turn me down an obvious one. If that is the case, I would much rather hold off until after I hopefully have some stronger results in third year. Any advice would be massively helpful, thanks!
For context, I did pretty well in my first year. I received three firsts, with the exception of Contract Law, which I got 56 in, and my average for the year was 67. Second year, unfortunately, has not gone as smoothly and I have ended up with a 2:1 in just one module, with the rest being 2:2s. So I'm barely averaging a 2:1 for the two years combined now. Annoying that first year counts for nothing!
I am not too worried in the grand scheme of things because I know that I didn't engage with the degree as well as I should have in this past year, and with second year only counting for 1/3, if I get back to achieving results like I did in first year, then I should at least be able to graduate with a 2:1 still.
My immediate concern now is whether it is worth doing applications again during my third year? I don't want to put the time and effort into applications if my second year results will mean that I almost automatically fall into the reject pile at the first hurdle.
I went into my second year clueless about a career in commercial law. I had next-to-zero knowledge of the whole process and I didn't really have a strong idea of what career path I might be interested in. I had so little knowledge that I was actually blown away just by how many commercial law firms there are in London!!
Anyway, I didn't start the process of applying for firms until right at the end of November, when deadlines for many firms were already approaching. I had no strategy for the kind of firms I wanted to apply for, meaning I went in completely blind to it all. My earlier applications were awful but they gradually improved, and I ended up progressing past the first stage for around 6-8 very reputable firms (mostly American), three of which I reached the final stage for.
Considering I went into my second year with no knowledge of the whole process and the fact that the first half of my applications were no-hopers, I am pretty pleased with the progress I ultimately made. I feel like I would be in a good place to build on this progress now, especially since I feel that I now have even stronger extra-curriculars than I did this time last year, including an open day with an international firm. I would also have a much more focused strategy for applying to firms, meaning I wouldn't be chasing deadlines and cramming applications in, which I think played a big part in not engaging with my course properly last year.
I am just really concerned that my poor results from second year would make the decision to turn me down an obvious one. If that is the case, I would much rather hold off until after I hopefully have some stronger results in third year. Any advice would be massively helpful, thanks!
