I was accepted to start in September to study the LLM in Public International Law but couldn't at the time for financial reasons. I now hope to start this February instead.

I was wondering if people think it is a bad idea to start the LLM in February? I really want to go but I am worried that it will be harder to integrate and that I won't be able to participate in any of the moot courts.

I am also worried that very few people will start in February instead of September and that it will be much harder to makes friends as everyone will already know each other.

Any advice, especially from people who have started in February instead of September would be very useful, thanks.

A few people did it last year and they seemed to settle in very well. They made friends very quickly - I suppose the only bad thing would be having to say goodbye to those people after only a few months. If you start in Feb you don't do the introductory course in general PIL. If you have some background in PIL or could read up a little bit beforehand I can't see that being a huge problem. You'll do Advanced Issues in International Law (an examination of one 'advanced issue' each week for a few weeks), Law of International Organisations and International Law in Practice. For the latter two some general knowledge of PIL is required I would think, esp for the coursework, but then again you could research it when you're there or before you arrive. Perhaps reading a general book like Malcom Shaw's would be a good option. I think it's best to start in September, but if you're willing to play catch-up for a little while then Feb should not be a problem.

You will of course have a free summer between you're semesters - you can use that to get a good chunk of your thesis out of the way and to do an internship somewhere.

The law school is totally not geared for people arriving in Feb and you'll just arrive and be thrown into it. I would suggest going onto Facebook and looking or the 08/09 LLM group there to ask exactly is going on with the course this year and to make sure you know what is happening with the programme.