Lockdown LLM - yay or nay?

[OB]

I was due to start an LLM course at home in September but due to Student Finance issues I managed to defer my place until January 2021. However, now with lockdown 3.0 announced and any hope of on-campus teaching being diminished, should I save my money and not do the masters? Especially if I manage to secure a TC and get a combined masters with my LPC, or just do an LLM at a time when covid is over (hopefully not the too distant future!)

Would love any opinions on this as I'm swaying towards not doing the course. Also, do we think its an issue if I have put that I will be commencing this LLM on my vac scheme apps and then don't actually do it?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I was due to start an LLM course at home in September but due to Student Finance issues I managed to defer my place until January 2021. However, now with lockdown 3.0 announced and any hope of on-campus teaching being diminished, should I save my money and not do the masters? Especially if I manage to secure a TC and get a combined masters with my LPC, or just do an LLM at a time when covid is over (hopefully not the too distant future!)

Would love any opinions on this as I'm swaying towards not doing the course. Also, do we think its an issue if I have put that I will be commencing this LLM on my vac scheme apps and then don't actually do it?

It’s not an issue to say you decided to not do the course - you have legitimate reasons for doing so.

 

[Jaysen]

I was due to start an LLM course at home in September but due to Student Finance issues I managed to defer my place until January 2021. However, now with lockdown 3.0 announced and any hope of on-campus teaching being diminished, should I save my money and not do the masters? Especially if I manage to secure a TC and get a combined masters with my LPC, or just do an LLM at a time when covid is over (hopefully not the too distant future!)

Would love any opinions on this as I'm swaying towards not doing the course. Also, do we think its an issue if I have put that I will be commencing this LLM on my vac scheme apps and then don't actually do it?

My question would be why you are doing a master's degree - is it because you genuinely want to complete further study?

 

[OB]

My question would be why you are doing a master's degree - is it because you genuinely want to complete further study?

It's a mix of wanting to explore areas of law I didn't get to study in my undergrad/further my interest in other areas, but tbh its mostly to keep myself busy and productive in the gap before hopefully starting the LPC and a TC. I've had some lovely people reach out to me on here with their experiences this year so far in lockdown, and I'm moving more towards declining my place in all honesty. It's reassuring to hear from @Jessica Booker that law firms shouldn't look down on me for changing my mind!

 

[Jessica Booker]

It's a mix of wanting to explore areas of law I didn't get to study in my undergrad/further my interest in other areas, but tbh its mostly to keep myself busy and productive in the gap before hopefully starting the LPC and a TC. I've had some lovely people reach out to me on here with their experiences this year so far in lockdown, and I'm moving more towards declining my place in all honesty. It's reassuring to hear from @Jessica Booker that law firms shouldn't look down on me for changing my mind!

I have seen it plenty of times with post-grad study even when there isn't a global pandemic on. I think a lot of people would think it was a logical decision, especially if you weren't going to get the full experience of studying (e.g. the full benefits of life as a student, rather than just the qualification). If it was just the qualification, I'd say go for it but you aren't doing it for the practical/singular reason.

It is a bloody expensive way to keep yourself busy too!

 

[Jaysen]

It's a mix of wanting to explore areas of law I didn't get to study in my undergrad/further my interest in other areas, but tbh its mostly to keep myself busy and productive in the gap before hopefully starting the LPC and a TC. I've had some lovely people reach out to me on here with their experiences this year so far in lockdown, and I'm moving more towards declining my place in all honesty. It's reassuring to hear from @Jessica Booker that law firms shouldn't look down on me for changing my mind!

That was similar to the reasons I chose to do a master's. If you are particularly keen to explore the law further (and are able to secure funding), that sounds like a sensible reason. I was lucky in that I was able to secure a grant to cover some of my fees, which made the decision easier - I'm not sure if there are opportunities here too.

I would just flag that it added marginal (if any) value to my applications, which is why I usually ask the question. As you said, there are also other considerations at play here, particularly the limitations on in-person teaching, which I imagine may impact the enjoyment of the master's degree.

You might also want to factor in what you would do instead of the master's. It may be the case that it's important to you to devote yourself to something for a year to further study, especially if there isn't anything else you could be doing right now. Alternatively, if you don't do the master's, it might be a useful opportunity to focus all of your time on applications/attending events/upskilling in other ways.