Hi there!
I've been on this platform for over two years now and I really admire the supportive community that's been cultivated. Reading about different people's journeys and advices has been inspiring, and so I thought I'd create a thread to share mine as well (in a narrative way). It may resonate with your own journey. Plus, I need a break from my SQE2 revision.
My journey started five years ago when I was rejected by my firm choice on UCAS (an RG university) after failing to meet their condition. On the advice of my parents, I then decided to reject my insurance choice (a non-RG university) and had to go through clearing. Luckily, I was accepted by another non-RG university for a spot on their three-year LLB course.
During my three years there, I didn't write a single VS or TC application. This was in part because I hadn't heard about them until the end of my 2nd year, but mainly main because I didn't know how or what to do and I was scared of rejection. I had attended a few firm events and done some legal internships back home during the holidays, but I was still lost in the overall process. All I knew then was that I might be interested in commercial and corporate law. By the end of my 3rd year, COVID hit. At the time, I thought "since my visa is going to expire and I might be interested in commercial and corporate, I may as well study an LLM and buy myself some time", which is what I did.
I applied to two RG universities for my LLM, and was (fortunately) accepted by both so I went with the one I liked most. I met a friend there who went to the same university as I did for LLB, and he introduced me to TCLA. I made an account and left it. I thought I'd apply for VS and TC during my LLM, but again, I didn't make a single application. I told myself then that I didn't need to apply yet because I needed to focus on my LLM, but really, I was just scared of being rejected. Meanwhile, I witnessed my friend secure a TC that year.
Seeing him secure his TC, I felt like my clock was ticking. So right after I finished my LLM, I got a graduate visa and told myself "it really is now or never". I took a 6-month gap year, drew up a list of 20 city firms that I was interested in, and wrote my first cover letter that took me a little under three months. My draft was atrocious. I spoke to my friend again and he told me to use TCLA and get a gold subscription. I figured I might as well. I started scanning the forums and past successful applications to learn what people wrote about and how they wrote it. The more applications I wrote, the quicker and better quality my applications became.
By the end of my first application cycle, I submitted 17 applications. Then the rejections came. Some were outright PFOs, a few were after a test (including the Arctic Shores mini-games). All in all, I received 16 PFOs with 1 summer VS application that I somehow managed to get an AC out of. I was fairly certain I had bombed the firm's psychometric test. To this day, I still have no idea how I passed it. I put in the work to prepare for the AC and I was a nervous wreck when I did my interview. I had to ask for the interviewer for a bit of time so I can think of an answer to one of their questions. I didn't come out of that AC confident I'd secure a VS, but miraculously, they offered me a place.
Since I've never done a VS before, I spoke to my friend again for advice, to which he suggested I speak to future trainees who did the VS the year prior. I reached out to 8 individuals on LinkedIn and 3 of them responded. They gave me invaluable advice and strategies to make the most out of my VS. I went into my VS nervous but prepared. I met my fellow vacation schemers, one of whom is part of my trainee cohort. As I went through each day, I found myself feeling more and more comfortable at the firm. It definitely helped that everyone in the department that I was in were incredibly friendly. I then did my post-VS AC and interview.
To prepare, I spoke to a few trainees who shared their resources to me and my fellow vacation schemers. I was nervous, but I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was for my previous AC. Still, I didn't come out of it confident, because I felt I had messed up my answer to one of their interview questions. For the next two months, I tried not to have any expectations and just enjoy the summer weather. A friend told me "even if you did fail, having done a VS is still a feather in your cap and you can do it again next cycle". Then surprisingly I received a call from the firm offering me a spot.
After that, I continued my holiday, worked as a paralegal for a short while, went home to see family and returned in August for my SQE.
That's been my journey so far. I'd like to hear about your own journey so far, or if you want to, ask me anything!
I've been on this platform for over two years now and I really admire the supportive community that's been cultivated. Reading about different people's journeys and advices has been inspiring, and so I thought I'd create a thread to share mine as well (in a narrative way). It may resonate with your own journey. Plus, I need a break from my SQE2 revision.
My journey started five years ago when I was rejected by my firm choice on UCAS (an RG university) after failing to meet their condition. On the advice of my parents, I then decided to reject my insurance choice (a non-RG university) and had to go through clearing. Luckily, I was accepted by another non-RG university for a spot on their three-year LLB course.
During my three years there, I didn't write a single VS or TC application. This was in part because I hadn't heard about them until the end of my 2nd year, but mainly main because I didn't know how or what to do and I was scared of rejection. I had attended a few firm events and done some legal internships back home during the holidays, but I was still lost in the overall process. All I knew then was that I might be interested in commercial and corporate law. By the end of my 3rd year, COVID hit. At the time, I thought "since my visa is going to expire and I might be interested in commercial and corporate, I may as well study an LLM and buy myself some time", which is what I did.
I applied to two RG universities for my LLM, and was (fortunately) accepted by both so I went with the one I liked most. I met a friend there who went to the same university as I did for LLB, and he introduced me to TCLA. I made an account and left it. I thought I'd apply for VS and TC during my LLM, but again, I didn't make a single application. I told myself then that I didn't need to apply yet because I needed to focus on my LLM, but really, I was just scared of being rejected. Meanwhile, I witnessed my friend secure a TC that year.
Seeing him secure his TC, I felt like my clock was ticking. So right after I finished my LLM, I got a graduate visa and told myself "it really is now or never". I took a 6-month gap year, drew up a list of 20 city firms that I was interested in, and wrote my first cover letter that took me a little under three months. My draft was atrocious. I spoke to my friend again and he told me to use TCLA and get a gold subscription. I figured I might as well. I started scanning the forums and past successful applications to learn what people wrote about and how they wrote it. The more applications I wrote, the quicker and better quality my applications became.
By the end of my first application cycle, I submitted 17 applications. Then the rejections came. Some were outright PFOs, a few were after a test (including the Arctic Shores mini-games). All in all, I received 16 PFOs with 1 summer VS application that I somehow managed to get an AC out of. I was fairly certain I had bombed the firm's psychometric test. To this day, I still have no idea how I passed it. I put in the work to prepare for the AC and I was a nervous wreck when I did my interview. I had to ask for the interviewer for a bit of time so I can think of an answer to one of their questions. I didn't come out of that AC confident I'd secure a VS, but miraculously, they offered me a place.
Since I've never done a VS before, I spoke to my friend again for advice, to which he suggested I speak to future trainees who did the VS the year prior. I reached out to 8 individuals on LinkedIn and 3 of them responded. They gave me invaluable advice and strategies to make the most out of my VS. I went into my VS nervous but prepared. I met my fellow vacation schemers, one of whom is part of my trainee cohort. As I went through each day, I found myself feeling more and more comfortable at the firm. It definitely helped that everyone in the department that I was in were incredibly friendly. I then did my post-VS AC and interview.
To prepare, I spoke to a few trainees who shared their resources to me and my fellow vacation schemers. I was nervous, but I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was for my previous AC. Still, I didn't come out of it confident, because I felt I had messed up my answer to one of their interview questions. For the next two months, I tried not to have any expectations and just enjoy the summer weather. A friend told me "even if you did fail, having done a VS is still a feather in your cap and you can do it again next cycle". Then surprisingly I received a call from the firm offering me a spot.
After that, I continued my holiday, worked as a paralegal for a short while, went home to see family and returned in August for my SQE.
That's been my journey so far. I'd like to hear about your own journey so far, or if you want to, ask me anything!
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