Thanks so much for the detailed and informative post, @Gobbledygook! This will go a long way in giving hopefuls and other fellow applicants some clarity on how the adjudicatory process functions and what kind of timelines we are looking at.
I have an additional question to you and other fellow boarders, would be extremely kind of you all to offer some thoughts : Usually, offers tend to have an academic condition, such as obtaining a first on the LLM or any other degree that you are currently pursuing. Considering that I'm at Cambridge myself, (where receiving a First is do-able but quite challenging) I shudder to think what happens if one is admitted but for some unfortunate reason is unable to receive a first in the examination. Will a 2:1 satisfy this requirement? Though one would obviously aim to achieve a First, just wondering what the potential downside can be, if at all!
Any thoughts would be highly welcome, and would address the concerns of quite a few people I've spoken to. Thanks very much in advance!
First, check whether they actually put your LLM results as an academic condition if you do receive an offer. An LLM is not part of their minimum requirements, so they may well not provide any such conditions. It would not help anyone if they do make it a condition since your results would come very late in the process. If they nevertheless do require a first from your LLM: impossible to say, I’m afraid. Economically, I’m sure most unis will have an incentive for finding a way to make it work for another paying customer. On the other hand, they might also have some (minor) stakes in upholding the notion of “prestige” and that they can be confident that all their selected candidates can complete the programme. Whether they will withdraw their offer because you did not meet their conditions or that you will lose funding because of it would be subject to their discretionary decision. Since the LLM is not a minimum requirement for entry, it is also possible to discuss the condition with the uni, but do that as tactfully as possible.
For those who apply while currently pursuing their LLM, the main issue tends to rather be how this impacts funding chances to begin with. Your final Cambridge results will come in very late in the process (long after pretty much all trust funding and most college funding has already been allocated). This is why candidates are often advised to apply *after* they’ve graduated (i.e., take a year’s break). The uni simply cannot, out of fairness, rank you higher for funding based on any assumptions of expected high grades in their funding nominations for grades you have not received, meaning your ranking will more or less exclusively be based on your pre-LLM qualifications (pre-LLM qualifications could still be sufficient to rank you on top for central funding anyway). This does of course have no bearing on what college funding you might have applied for instead.
[Edited by Gobbledygook on Feb 06, 2022]
[quote] <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Thanks so much for the detailed and informative post, @Gobbledygook! This will go a long way in giving hopefuls and other fellow applicants some clarity on how the adjudicatory process functions and what kind of timelines we are looking at. </span><br><div bis_skin_checked="1">I have an additional question to you and other fellow boarders, would be extremely kind of you all to offer some thoughts : Usually, offers tend to have an academic condition, such as obtaining a first on the LLM or any other degree that you are currently pursuing. Considering that I'm at Cambridge myself, (where receiving a First is do-able but quite challenging) I shudder to think what happens if one is admitted but for some unfortunate reason is unable to receive a first in the examination. Will a 2:1 satisfy this requirement? Though one would obviously aim to achieve a First, just wondering what the potential downside can be, if at all!</div><br><br><div bis_skin_checked="1">Any thoughts would be highly welcome, and would address the concerns of quite a few people I've spoken to. Thanks very much in advance!</div><div bis_skin_checked="1"><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
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</div> [/quote] <br><br>First, check whether they actually put your LLM results as an academic condition if you do receive an offer. An LLM is not part of their minimum requirements, so they may well not provide any such conditions. It would not help anyone if they do make it a condition since your results would come very late in the process. If they nevertheless do require a first from your LLM: impossible to say, I’m afraid. Economically, I’m sure most unis will have an incentive for finding a way to make it work for another paying customer. On the other hand, they might also have some (minor) stakes in upholding the notion of “prestige” and that they can be confident that all their selected candidates can complete the programme. Whether they will withdraw their offer because you did not meet their conditions or that you will lose funding because of it would be subject to their discretionary decision. Since the LLM is not a minimum requirement for entry, it is also possible to discuss the condition with the uni, but do that as tactfully as possible. <br><br>For those who apply while currently pursuing their LLM, the main issue tends to rather be how this impacts funding chances to begin with. Your final Cambridge results will come in very late in the process (long after pretty much all trust funding and most college funding has already been allocated). This is why candidates are often advised to apply *after* they’ve graduated (i.e., take a year’s break). The uni simply cannot, out of fairness, rank you higher for funding based on any assumptions of expected high grades in their funding nominations for grades you have not received, meaning your ranking will more or less exclusively be based on your pre-LLM qualifications (pre-LLM qualifications could still be sufficient to rank you on top for central funding anyway). This does of course have no bearing on what college funding you might have applied for instead.
