TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[axelbeugre]

Woke up to DLA VI 🥹 third cycle of applying to DLA, used to getting a pfo After WG 😭, if anyone has done the specific DLA one please let me know!

Congratulations for this achievement! It is definitely difficult so I applaud you for receiving the video interview!
I also would like to say that your perseverance is so inspiring and I am sure that many people will be motivated by your experience, this is just an amazing testament that keep working hard and believing in your dreams will pay off soon or later!

Good luck with the application cycle!! @sm99

 

[axelbeugre]

Sidley PFO. Extremely gutted, I put a lot of effort into that application. Applied on 29/9.

Hey @babylawyer1942,

I am so sorry for this and I totally sympathise with you. I was in your same shoes last year. I applied to Sidley and I worked really hard on my application and I ended up being rejected. I was gutted indeed, however that rejection did not stop me. And by February I had multiple offers from other US firms that ended up being more of a better fit for me than what Sidley could have been. So I hope my experience motivates you to keep going and keep your options open and your head held high. If you believe you will succeed in this cycle, you will certainly do just that!

Keep going and good luck with the application cycle! Remember that rejection is ALWAYS redirection, and sometimes that redirection might guide you towards something that might be better for you.

Best of luck!

 

[axelbeugre]

Anyone know how work experience should be organised on Vantage? Do most recent experiences go at the top and oldest at bottom. Unsure as it doesn't explicitly say anywhere.

Hey @gilo,

The way I had approached it last year when I was applying to places like Goodwin or Dentons who use Vantage was writing my work experience from the most recent to the oldest one. So, start with the ones you have recently completed all the way down to the ones you have done when you were younger. That worked for me as I did not have any issues and managed to progress to the next stages of the application with the two firms I mentioned.

I hope this helps and good luck with the cycle!

 

[axelbeugre]

would it be safe to assume that dla piper would prefer cvs in one page instead of two, given their application questions are relatively shorter than other firms (200 words each)?

I would not make that assumption to be honest as I know of people applying to the firm with two pages CVs and managed to get the training contract offer!

 

[axelbeugre]

My CV was 2 pages and I’ve received an invite for VI. I think you’re good, but if you’re worried about it maybe keep your education/relevant work experience (whichever is most impressive) on the main page?

That is great advice, thanks @ayek for this!

 

[axelbeugre]

@Jessica Booker I hope you are well. I would appreciate your help in something I am stuck on. Sidley has A-level requirements of AAA, however, I am unsure what that would be in IB terms. Do you have any insights? Many thanks.

Hey @saraeali,

It might be equal to a 36 IB however I am not completely sure. As an international applicant, to calculate your grades and their A-Level equivalent, what I used to do was going to a random UK university application information (let's say Oxford) for a specific course (maybe law) and you see the A-Level requirement and its equivalent based on the academic qualification you have and the country you have studied in. That was very useful in finding the equivalent to my Italian grades. I hope that helps!

Good luck!

 

[axelbeugre]

Cleary AC - applied 17/10 for anyone still waiting to find out.

Congratulations! Huge achievement!

 

[axelbeugre]

i was doing a vi and my browser literally crashed on the last q, now it says my application has been sent off when I didn't even record the final question

Hey @mfuturetrainee,

I am so sorry about this! I know that many people have struggled with this though, so you are not on your own. What I would do is emailing the firm to let them know what happened and if they can assist you by sending the VI again. Most probably they will understand the situation and give you another chance. Otherwise, they will take this into consideration whilst reviewing your application. Whatever the outcome, I would email the firm immediately and let them know.

Good luck with it!

 

[axelbeugre]

Dechert VI invite ))

Congratulations!

 

[Ali A]

Dechert VI invite ))

Hey huge congrats, can I ask when you applied?

 

[Untilwinter]

cant believe 0% success rate with the wvs
this is devastating😱😭

 

[F12M34L]

Vantage is so not user-friendly.. don't know why firms are using this platform. Anyone know how to withdraw an app on vantage?

 

[mfuturetrainee]

Vantage is so not user-friendly.. don't know why firms are using this platform. Anyone know how to withdraw an app on vantage?

i reckon you'd have to jus email GR to withdraw

 

[prospectiveswitcher]

Hey @saraeali,

It might be equal to a 36 IB however I am not completely sure. As an international applicant, to calculate your grades and their A-Level equivalent, what I used to do was going to a random UK university application information (let's say Oxford) for a specific course (maybe law) and you see the A-Level requirement and its equivalent based on the academic qualification you have and the country you have studied in. That was very useful in finding the equivalent to my Italian grades. I hope that helps!

Good luck!

I will caveat Axel's response here and say this is not always an ideal approach. I did this initially, but for whatever reason, most courses like Economics/Law at Russell Group uni's had relatively drastically higher requirements in my own country's A-level equivalents. For example, in England approx. 20% of A-level students in a given year will receive AAA or above grades in their A-levels. When I was looking at courses with AAB-esque requirements for UK applicants (so we are talking at least top 20% of test takers if 20% receive AAA) the equivalent grades you needed in my country would place you in the top 3% of results. I believe this is because they poorly interpreted the grade equivalents (e.g. comparing an A-level 'A' as like-for-like with another, when it is not the case).

What I would do instead is:
1. Explicitly state what percentile you came in nationally in your country's exams, if you can
2. Calculate your UCAS Tariff points - these can be a bit more accurate
3. Find the reverse - what are A-level entry requirements for universities in your own country? (This also helped me corroborate my claim, as my grades were rated as A*A*A* equivalent on webpages for UK applicants by universities in my country)

 

[F12M34L]

i reckon you'd have to jus email GR to withdraw

tbh at this point i want to delete my account and never look back lol

 

[LegallyBrown]

Hey,

I was wondering if anybody could help. I got locked out of my DLA interview account last night, and my deadline is today.

I sent an email to DLA asking if they could unlock my account - they’ve not yet responded.

I wonder if anyone has a number I could call? I’m not sure if it’s urgent - as I assume they’d mitigate against the deadline once they see my email anyway but after a terrible experience with another firm last year, I can’t be too sure.

Equally, is it a bad look that I only tried one day before the deadline?

 

[axelbeugre]

I will caveat Axel's response here and say this is not always an ideal approach. I did this initially, but for whatever reason, most courses like Economics/Law at Russell Group uni's had relatively drastically higher requirements in my own country's A-level equivalents. For example, in England approx. 20% of A-level students in a given year will receive AAA or above grades in their A-levels. When I was looking at courses with AAB-esque requirements for UK applicants (so we are talking at least top 20% of test takers if 20% receive AAA) the equivalent grades you needed in my country would place you in the top 3% of results. I believe this is because they poorly interpreted the grade equivalents (e.g. comparing an A-level 'A' as like-for-like with another, when it is not the case).

What I would do instead is:
1. Explicitly state what percentile you came in nationally in your country's exams, if you can
2. Calculate your UCAS Tariff points - these can be a bit more accurate
3. Find the reverse - what are A-level entry requirements for universities in your own country? (This also helped me corroborate my claim, as my grades were rated as A*A*A* equivalent on webpages for UK applicants by universities in my country)

@prospectiveswitcher thank you so much for providing your perspective on the matter as I am sure there are different, and probably more efficient ways, to go about this. In all honesty, I did struggle too much with trying to find the equivalent as my high school grade was 100/100. I ended up explaining that this was equivalent to A* A* A*, but never put UCAS Tariff points and it worked out fine for me. But I think your perspective is valuable indeed, so thank you so much!

 

[johnnn821]

Hey,

I was wondering if anybody could help. I got locked out of my DLA interview account last night, and my deadline is today.

I sent an email to DLA asking if they could unlock my account - they’ve not yet responded.

I wonder if anyone has a number I could call? I’m not sure if it’s urgent - as I assume they’d mitigate against the deadline once they see my email anyway but after a terrible experience with another firm last year, I can’t be too sure.

Equally, is it a bad look that I only tried one day before the deadline?

Hi, I dont know if this applies to you, but the VI is on a different platform. So the account you submitted your application with is different from the one of the interview. You have to register on cappassessments. Its kind of confusing because their email does not say that you have to register again, but you have to register to complete the VI.

 

[Minitomatosalad]

Oh wow already!! My application is stil 77% « On hold » 🥲

My application is 66% and on hold 😭

 

[Issy_l]

My application is 66% and on hold 😭

😩😩 is the « candidate review » phase not yet over for you?