TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[User5678]

Is the Osborne Clarke test automatic or next stage?

 

[User5678]

Have sent an email to Grad Rec on whether the test entails a video interview and they have said no!

Amazing! Thank you and best of luck

 

[andrecsaa]

Since the topic of AG has come up, what did people put in the additional information section of the application form?

As far as I recall, there was no general 'additional information' section. There was a Mitig Cir section and a section titled something very specific like: "Please use this space for additional information about your undergraduate degree". Unless you're referring to one of the questions under "Additional 1 & 2"? In the case of the former, I think that one definitely has to relate to your undergraduate studies, like if you did a year abroad and have different grades, etc. Re the latter, that would depend on your personal circumstances and thus be very tailored to your circumstances.

Hi, I was re looking at my application following your response because I thought that I missed the part where they ask for additional info about the undergrad studies as I wanted to enter info about my scholarship and placement year. I think there was only one box related to mitigating circumstances and nothing else.

Please correct me if I am wrong and if you have a moment please could you login into your app and confirm this?

I would be very grateful, thank you very much

I reviewed my application (for TC), and it was a combination of two questions in one about mitigating circumstances and anything else relevant to your application:

Use this space to tell us about any mitigating circumstances that you might have, or any other information about you that might be relevant to your application.

I don’t know if I did it right but I talked about adjustments needed for my application process, an achievement (scholarship), my motivations to change career (I am an international student from a civil law country with one year of study in the UK) and transferable skills.

 

[desperateTCseeker1998]

I got 21/40 in the linklaters test. Placing me 10% percentile which is heartbreaking. I have been trying my hardest with this test. Can anyone advice what they got and what percentile I should try to reach!! Been practicing this test forever.

Did you email to find this out?

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

Did you email to find this out?

yep - you can email grad rec to find out your test results

 

[James Wakefield]

AG Voice Interview! 😅

 

[James Wakefield]

Just to bring this back. Any advice for the time to take for preparation on a VI where there is no limit?

Is 15 minutes ok for each question? Just thinking of that as a maximum.

 

[Eye of the Sun]

Shakespeare Martineau and HSF PFO after taking the tests.
Not a promising end to 2024 but we gotta keep going

 

[pax]

Shakespeare PFO after test

 

[mmm918]

anyone heard back from dla regional (manchester) post wg? i passed the assessment on 2 dec and no reply since

I completed WG in late November and got VI invite in a week (Manchester office). But the processing time could be longer now

 

[g.cl.2020344]

AG Voice Interview! 😅

Heya congrats! Can I ask which office this was for and if this is the stage after the test?

 

[James Wakefield]

Heya congrats! Can I ask which office this was for and if this is the stage after the test?

London and yes it is. I applied back in October and did the test in November.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Great thank you for answering! Would you therefore suggest I focus on 2/3 things for that first question, rather than giving more in depth information about my CV?

Yes, I definitely do not think the first question is meant to get you to provide an overview of all of your experiences and achievements. Similarly to almost all essay-like application form questions, it is more likely meant to make you choose a few particularly relevant experiences to explain in a lot more depth.

 

[ashwright]

Quick question for @Andrei Radu - could I check what Davis Polk‘s expectations of academics are? Is a first necessary or will a high 2:1 suffice? Equally, are you aware of how the firm treats mitigating circumstances?
Thank you so much

 

[pax]

Shakespeare Martineau and HSF PFO after taking the tests.
Not a promising end to 2024 but we gotta keep going

Was the HSF PFO for spring or summer?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Jessica Booker, @Andrei Radu and @Ram Sabaratnam,

I trust you are well.

I finished drafting my cover letter for Greenberg, the firm's website states that we can address it to the Graduate Recruitment Team but I was wondering if I should include my details (on the top) too. What do you think?

I think it makes for a nicer and more formal look if you can include your details as well - it may just be an aesthetic preference in my case, but I really like a cover letter that looks similar to an actual letter. That said, it is definitely not a requirement, and I would only advise you to do it if this is possible without messing up your formatting or cutting away too much word count.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Quick question for @Andrei Radu - could I check what Davis Polk‘s expectations of academics are? Is a first necessary or will a high 2:1 suffice? Equally, are you aware of how the firm treats mitigating circumstances?
Thank you so much

The firm does not require a first, as recruiters have told me they only expect a strong 2.1. In my vacation scheme, I knew there were people that did not have overall 1.1s, so I think this is a genuine statement of recruitment policy. I was told that the firm will consider candidates who do not have a high 2.1 as well if they have mitigating circumstances, but I am not aware of any particular policies in this regard. While I have no further information on this, I think it is general practice with City firms to consider them on a case by case basis. Generally, I would expect that the way mitigating circumstances can effect progression is in a case where an application scores really well on all other relevant assessment criteria and the candidate only slightly falls off from a normal required academic standard. Thus, I have heard of a number of cases where people with lower than required A level results ended up receiving TC offers.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Just to bring this back. Any advice for the time to take for preparation on a VI where there is no limit?

Is 15 minutes ok for each question? Just thinking of that as a maximum.

I don't think you should necessarily limit your preparation time. If there is no limit imposed by the firm, I would simply take as much time as I needed to perfect both my substantive points and the way I expressed them. Now, while I don't think there's much to be gained by spending hours doing mock answers for each question, I would also say that if a particular question feels more challenging, there's nothing wrong with taking 30 minutes instead of 15. Conversely, if you receive a question you are already well-prepared for, you may be fine starting in 3-4 minutes rather than 15.

 

[theruleofno]

Were Weil and Kirkland video interviews for Spring or Summer?

 

[legalxp2]

How long do Mayer brown let you know you passed the first set of tests?