TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[chlawstudent]

I applied to HL in October, not had a WG invite or PFO yet - should I assume PFO ?

I am in the same boat, I emailed them today and still waiting for a response. Did you apply for a VS or direct TC?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Sorry Jess! I should've clarified that my experience was from the previous cycle!

We’d still ask that such detail aren’t shared as the types of assessments can still be used across cycles.

 

[Miss Chocolate]

Is anyone else starting to get resentful? I feel like I have made so many sacrifices for the TC cycle and so far there's been no good news. I know people always say 'if you want it badly enough just keep going', but how badly does one ever want employment? 😭 I want to work as a lawyer and I want a job. That's all. This is beginning to feel like a waste of my time. Like paralegals get exploited and paid so little and everyone keeps doing these roles until they land a TC...I feel like I would be progressing more if I was doing something else. Negative dump post, sorry guys.

 

[Jessica Booker]

hey guys - when a firm is running two separate vacation scheme dates - ie a June and July scheme - would picking the later one affect my chances of securing the TC in anyway?

No - it really won’t matter which one you choose.

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

Is anyone else starting to get resentful? I feel like I have made so many sacrifices for the TC cycle and so far there's been no good news. I know people always say 'if you want it badly enough just keep going', but how badly does one ever want employment? 😭 I want to work as a lawyer and I want a job. That's all. This is beginning to feel like a waste of my time. Like paralegals get exploited and paid so little and everyone keeps doing these roles until they land a TC...I feel like I would be progressing more if I was doing something else. Negative dump post, sorry guys.

100% agree.

This cycle alone, I’ve spent every free minute applying to firms.
Genuinely, no social life, just applications.

All for what? 30+ rejections this cycle…

Incredibly researched, substantially justified applications, all wasted. So much time down the drain. Absolutely nothing to show for it.

I just want somebody, anybody, to throw me a bone

 

[j.thelu]

Anyone got any updates from RPC? They have been awfully quiet 👀

please let me know if you hear of anything, im wondering this too

 

[Jessica Booker]

hi all! i need some advice about staying in contact with partners.

i had a meeting with a partner from one of the firms i'm interested in several months ago. i got this opportunity through a mutual contact. we had a great chat, he was very friendly, and i learned a lot about the firm and decided to apply there. i got rejected post-app (was sad at first but it's okay).

i would like to send an email to the partner, updating him on the progress of my application. i also would like to express my interest in a paralegal position at the firm after my graduation, and ask who can i talk to regarding this to understand whether i'd be suitable for them.

i am not sure how to approach this as i have never had a partner contact before. i would like to maintain this connection as he was extremely friendly, and i feel like i can learn a lot from him in general.

any advice on how to approach it would be appreciated!

You don’t need to overthink/worry about this - just contacting them with the details you have outlined here is fine.

I would start by reminding them of your connection eg “Thank you for your time back in X when we spoke about Y”

And then outline a brief update on your application progression.

I would then mention you are keen to apply to their firm in the future, and particularly keen to apply to paralegal roles in the future, so if they can recommend a point of contact that you could send your CV through to closer to the time of graduation, you’d appreciate any recommendations.

 

[Jessica Booker]

My post was not too offend - but to emphasise my opinion in a tongue in cheek manner regarding the pointless nature of them having a WG, if their ’pass rate’ is gonna be so low.

38th percentile does not mean that 62% of people get through the process.

It could easily be a case the a 38th percentile is filtering out 50-75% of candidates.

 

[j.thelu]

does anyone know how many batches of RPC AC have been sent out or done? its almost end of jan so im wondering if theres any more left

have you heard any updates on this?

 

[MR10]

When/where did they say this?

i emailed them.

 

[j.thelu]

I would love to know this too, getting hopeless.. I did the WG in early dec

have you heard any updates on this?

 

[lawaspirant!]

Is anyone else still waiting for HSF post assessment for summer vs? I have seen some ACs go out and wonder if that means a PFO...

 

[Jessica Booker]

Just curious, does anyone know what the typical percentile for passing the WG is? does it vary by each firm? I scored in the 60s for CC this year and still passed the benchmark, I'm curious if it varies significantly across firms

It will vary between firms - I have seen everything from the 17th percentile to the 65th for the WG.

The issue is they although the Watson Glaser is a standard set of questions (WG is effectively a copyrighted brand), how the answers are assessed can be very different between firms, so you could do exactly the same test with the same answers and get the 20th percentile with one firm and the 60th in the other, and pass the one where you got the 20th percentile and fail the one where you got the 60th percentile.

 

[JamesCCM]

Has anyone else heard back from Milbank post-AC?

Was this for spring or summer?

 

[futuretrainee!]

It will vary between firms - I have seen everything from the 17th percentile to the 65th for the WG.

The issue is they although the Watson Glaser is a standard set of questions (WG is effectively a copyrighted brand), how the answers are assessed can be very different between firms, so you could do exactly the same test with the same answers and get the 20th percentile with one firm and the 60th in the other, and pass the one where you got the 20th percentile and fail the one where you got the 60th percentile.

Ah this makes so much sense! Often times the assumption questions catch me out but when I run the answer key through different AIs to check the rationale, they all come up with different answers. Makes me feel better but also broadens the scope for subjectivity of how law firms grade these. Many thanks Jessica

 

[jta227]

Ah this makes so much sense! Often times the assumption questions catch me out but when I run the answer key through different AIs to check the rationale, they all come up with different answers. Makes me feel better but also broadens the scope for subjectivity of how law firms grade these. Many thanks Jessica

Jessica can correct me if I'm wrong but I think what she meant is not that there are different answers for different firms, but that firms apply their own weighting to each section and each question is not worth the same to every firm. For example Linklaters might value the Assumptions questions 2x as much as the other sections whereas CC might weight the Deduction part the highest, so even if all 40 questions were the same you could put the same answers for both and do better in CC's test if you got more of the Deduction ones right, leading to different percentiles.

 

[Andrei Radu]

HL PFO this morning. this marks the last PFO of this application cycle! if we're talking stats, i got rejected from 100% of the firms i applied to. this is my second application cycle. i thought i'd feel extremely sad, but i guess i've built resilience over time (or it just hasn't hit me yet). i am actually looking forward to the unknown, exploring life after graduation and trying different things... i hope everyone is well, don't get discouraged by rejections, life is so much more than applying for VSs / TCs!

Hey @studenttolawyer I definitely empathize with the disappointment and frustration you must be feeling right now. Few times have I felt as bad as when I got my final rejection (and all the rejections were at the first stage as well) in the cycle before last, especially as I was seeing so many other people succeed. It made me think I did not have what it took to make it in this field, and for a while I seriously considered looking for another career path. However, as time passed I realised that I wanted to keep going and to try harder than ever before - if anything, just to prove to myself that I had the resilience and will power to keep moving forward. I knew that if I did that and gave it my absolute best shot another time, I would be able to be proud of myself regardless of the result. Thus, I started another application cycle.

What I found was that despite my results, the time I had spend applying before had not been wasted. I had learnt a lot about commercial law and the City, about firms and how to research them, and what makes for a well-written application. I had also managed to built many valuable skills in the previous cycle. Now, I was more organized, meticulous, determined, and consistent with my efforts, and I ended up writing significantly more and significantly better applications. At the end of the cycle, all the work paid off.

I know how disheartening experiencing constant rejection can be, and you should definitely take a while to disconnect from applications and focus on the many things in life that are much more important than this. This is also a great moment for reflection as to what you want in your career and whether this is right for you. The one thing I would nonetheless advise you not to do is to conclude you are not "good enough" for succeeding in this field. The one thing I think my story illustrates above all else is that the world is not split between those that have what it takes and those that do not, as I was once tempted to believe. Not everyone has the same story or path, and it may be that exactly what you perceive currently to be your "failures" is what will enable you to achieve so much more than you could before. If you keep at it, know that you can move from never-ending rejection to better results than you could have ever hoped for.

 

[lawyersum]

Is anyone else starting to get resentful? I feel like I have made so many sacrifices for the TC cycle and so far there's been no good news. I know people always say 'if you want it badly enough just keep going', but how badly does one ever want employment? 😭 I want to work as a lawyer and I want a job. That's all. This is beginning to feel like a waste of my time. Like paralegals get exploited and paid so little and everyone keeps doing these roles until they land a TC...I feel like I would be progressing more if I was doing something else. Negative dump post, sorry guys.

Totally in the same shoes right now. I can’t even sleep at night thinking about what to do with my life as a recent graduate. I’ve experienced every type of law from legal aid to commercial, and I genuinely want to be in this career for the long term. It’s a really scary, demoralising time and please keep yourself safe guys. I had to recently take a mental health break as I was in a very very bad place. You’re not in the same boat and I don’t want to sound cliche by saying ‘hold on, it’ll come to you’, but it seems like us graduates will be taking the long, hard route to a TC, so stay as confident as you can and take each day as it comes xxx

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thats quite annoying, I wish firms would be more transparent about WG percentiles bc its not like its hurting them to do so anyways

They are generally not transparent about this as it actually means very little without explaining everything about the test, which is pretty complicated - I had to take a 4 day course and an exam to be able to understand how to administer these tests!

In many ways it is just easier to not explain the percentile ranking as the ranking could easily be unique to that firm and therefore not transferable to others.

 

[Miss Chocolate]

Totally in the same shoes right now. I can’t even sleep at night thinking about what to do with my life as a recent graduate. I’ve experienced every type of law from legal aid to commercial, and I genuinely want to be in this career for the long term. It’s a really scary, demoralising time and please keep yourself safe guys. I had to recently take a mental health break as I was in a very very bad place. You’re not in the same boat and I don’t want to sound cliche by saying ‘hold on, it’ll come to you’, but it seems like us graduates will be taking the long, hard route to a TC, so stay as confident as you can and take each day as it comes xxx

I am glad you took a break for your mental health, your health is the most important thing here. And I appreciate your support, same goes to you. <33