Ok, so I have been reading quite a lot of posts here for the better part of winter 2013 and spring 2014 and decided to start this thread. As a successful applicant at all of the universities I applied to, I felt a need to share some tips and shortcuts that I found useful, discovered during the application process or read here in different places - put all into one thread.

I will be making separate posts on different topics, so stay tuned. Additionally, all your questions/queries or requests for clarifications are more than welcome. Share your thoughts here, publicly, so others can benefit from this as well!

FIRST TOPIC - Timing and preliminary selection procedures

So, you know you want to do an LLM but not really sure where? Look for several options, decide on the ranking of the law school you want to attend and the experience you want to get from your LLM. If you are a fresh graduate you still have to find your niche in terms of legal profession so a general LLM would be a good thing. If you already know the specialism you want to pursue always go for the BEST program not the BEST university.

This is very important as university rankings are calculated on different scales, so not all best universities have top tier law schools. Moreover, specialized master programs and LLMs (e.g. Human rights in Essex, International Business Law at LSE, MCL at Cambrdige, International Commercial Arbitration at QMUL, Maritime law at Swansea, Competition Law at King's) are always regarded as a separate feature on your CV and ALWAYS valued on their particular strength and reputation, independently from the ranking of the institution itself. This largely depends on the pool of lecturers and professors engaged on the program, quality of previous graduates and the structure of the program itself. Browse through the threads here at the website, a lot of individual feedback is given on particular topics - be sure to research properly.

So, if you want to specialize in a particular field, research carefully which law school offers the best program in that area of law you want to pursue. This will help you decide early on the list of programs you should consider applying to.

Once you decide on the programs you are interested in, make a preference list. The first best option, two second best options and the safety net course. This will help you have a plan B, C and D in case plan A does not work out as initially set. This is also important for a lot of scholarship schemes such as Chevening awarded by the UK FCO, where you will be asked to give preference for the purpose of receiving their funding.

Finally, make a table of the programs with individual requirements related to grades, language scores, admission criteria, number of students per course, admission deadlines and important dates - this will give you a good overview of what comes next and provide you with a perfect way to keep track of your applications. This comes from heavy research of the websites of the law schools and their LLM special webpages - keep track of these and be patient, a lot of these internet presentations are layered and require time in surfing to give out the proper piece of information.!

Hello, thank you for this piece. I just finished my LLB and want to start applying for LLM. Although I think I want to specialise in maritime or energy law, I consider your advice to fresh graduates to go for general LLM. I will be needing your assistance from time to time since your applications were successful.