Non-law graduate 2:1 with MC (SA + Family Bereavement) trying to get a VC.

[Zaynab.Oshodi]

Hi
I am a 21-year-old International Relations and Politics (soon to be) graduate. I barely finished with a 2:1 in my final year and due to my mitigating circumstances, I will be graduating in December (I deferred out of fear that I would graduate with a 2:2 if my claim were not accepted).

University was exceptionally challenging as I dealt with SA in my first year and SA from a previous partner and family bereavement in my second year. Though I should have taken a gap year or studied abroad I was focused on gaining corporate experience and pushed for unsuccessful placement applications. I was burnt out in my final year and hence did not achieve the grades I knew I could have. I have chosen to take a step back from university and focus on work experience before I attempt the PGDL. My university does not teach law and I have no resources or societies to reference within this process easily accessible to me.

I have a week of work experience shadowing paralegals at Freshfields Bruckaus Deringer in 2019; I did an internship at a social housing charity as an administrator and support worker in 2023; In my final year, I managed to become a sustainability ambassador and student ambassador producing and hosting workshops to inspire my community. At present, I am preparing to apply for the next vacation scheme cycle and will be volunteering with citizens' advice from September 2024.

Overall, I feel entirely alone in not just my experiences but also my pursuit of corporate law as nobody I know personally has any connection to this field.

I want some advice on how I might explain to a potential employer my mitigating circumstances and whether my work experiences so far would make me a competitive applicant for Vacation Schemes regardless of my circumstances.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Jessica Booker]

You can send me a private message to discuss how to present your extenuating circumstances.

I would stress though that given you are saying your whole degree has been impacted by different circumstances, it may be worthwhile holding off applying until you have stronger academic results. Rather than avoiding academia at this time, it may make more sense to build up evidence of your true academic potential.

The issue firms will have is that they cannot see your true academic potential and cannot gauge what this would have been if the circumstances were not there.

Mitigating circumstances are easier for firms to consider when they are one set of circumstances for a limited period of time. The more circumstances you claim and the longer period of time you are claiming them for makes this trickier, and especially when it is across a whole qualification.

Your experiences with SA are legitimate extenuating circumstances, but the burn out in your final year unfortunately won’t be seen in the same way. I think there would be concerns about your final year grades not improving when there weren’t any mitigating circumstances during that time.

I understand this may be disappointing advice to receive, but I don’t want to pretend this is not going to be a challenge for you.

 

[Zaynab.Oshodi]

You can send me a private message to discuss how to present your extenuating circumstances.

I would stress though that given you are saying your whole degree has been impacted by different circumstances, it may be worthwhile holding off applying until you have stronger academic results. Rather than avoiding academia at this time, it may make more sense to build up evidence of your true academic potential.

The issue firms will have is that they cannot see your true academic potential and cannot gauge what this would have been if the circumstances were not there.

Mitigating circumstances are easier for firms to consider when they are one set of circumstances for a limited period of time. The more circumstances you claim and the longer period of time you are claiming them for makes this trickier, and especially when it is across a whole qualification.

Your experiences with SA are legitimate extenuating circumstances, but the burn out in your final year unfortunately won’t be seen in the same way. I think there would be concerns about your final year grades not improving when there weren’t any mitigating circumstances during that time.

I understand this may be disappointing advice to receive, but I don’t want to pretend this is not going to be a challenge for you.

Hi Jessica, thanks for your response.

Could you provide more clarity as to how I might improve my academics despite graduating? To be clear I have finished my degree but I deferred my ceremony until December. I finished with a low 2:1 and my university recognised my mitigating circumstances as I had a police report to evidence one of the cases and worked with the mental health services throughout university.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, thanks for your response.

Could you provide more clarity as to how I might improve my academics despite graduating?

That is where considering further study might be something to consider.

I know this is not a straight forward decision though, and something that might not be possible due to other commitments or financial considerations.

But my concern would be that even if you invest heavily into work experience, you may not have any evidence of a solid/consistent academic performance that many organisations will be looking for, especially if they are going to sponsor you through the SQE.

 

[Zaynab.Oshodi]

I have responded privately, for more personal help!