Hey everyone!

I applied for the LLM for 2013-2014 and wondered who else has applied :) I spoke to the Admissions people yesterday and they said I should have a final decision in about four weeks since it'll be two weeks before they look at applications and it could take up to another two weeks after that.

Hey,

I've just applied today for the general LL.M at Durham - commencing in 2013. I am currently waiting for my references to email the postgraduate admissions.
I am glad to read on their website that they deal with applications within 4-6 weeks!

Have you applied/are you applying to any other universities to do the LL.M? I'm also going to apply to Cambridge.

Hi there,

I also applied to Cambridge, Leicester and Southampton - Leicester already offered me a place and I'm still waiting on the other two :)

I've just been given an unconditional offer for the LL.M at Durham for next September : )

you said u got an offer from Durham, did u apply to any other Universities, can anyone say pros and cons of Durham law School?
thanks in advance :)

you said u got an offer from Durham, did u apply to any other Universities, can anyone say pros and cons of Durham law School?
thanks in advance :)

i applied to LSE,UCL, Durham, Bristol and Queen Mary.. i got an offer from QMUL but um still waiting for the other, um apllying for International Commercial law LLM, all what is important for me beside the faculty reputation is their career services whether legal career or Academic while obtaining my PHD!
best of luck :)

I've been very lax updating this!

I got a conditional offer from Durham which I have accepted (I need to achieve an overall average of 64% in my degree).

Maybe see you there in September!

I've been very lax updating this!

I got a conditional offer from Durham which I have accepted (I need to achieve an overall average of 64% in my degree).

Maybe see you there in September!

Yeah I applied pretty much as soon as the application window opened and only just found out yesterday - there was no reason it had to take that long, so frustrating!

I'm from Aberdeen :) And no I haven't filled it out, apparently I'm getting an e-mail about choosing colleges and stuff on Monday? I've pretty much definitively decided on St Chad's as my first choice but am finding it difficult to choose my second choice... where are you applying?

Yeah I applied pretty much as soon as the application window opened and only just found out yesterday - there was no reason it had to take that long, so frustrating!

I'm from Aberdeen :) And no I haven't filled it out, apparently I'm getting an e-mail about choosing colleges and stuff on Monday? I've pretty much definitively decided on St Chad's as my first choice but am finding it difficult to choose my second choice... where are you applying?

This is of course why I chose to apply online... I know how much trees cost and nothing justifies an extra fifty quid for paper! Especially since my sources tell me they print out all the applications anyway... Durham ftw!

Whuuuut? Seriously 80%?! I tried to find statistics (applications per place and that sort of thing) but I had no luck, could you send me the link to the page?

If there's only one choice that makes my life so much easier :D I'm going up to Durham next weekend anyway on a fact-finding mission so I will share my results!
It's likely that I will want to live in college so am ruling out places which don't offer self-catered or places with a very low percentage of ensuites, which leaves Chad's, Cuthberts, University and Butler (I am discounting Ustinov because from what I hear it's not a very friendly/tightly-knit community type feel college) so I'll look round those. How did you choose yours? :)

Well I thought it was cheeky that it cost £50 to apply online and yet I still didn't hear back until a few days before the deadline! Undoubtedly they would have gone through my application and decided before this week?!

Well okay - maybe it's not quite that statistic for the LL.M only - but I wouldn't be surprised that it's very near that:
According to a very recent Guardian postgraduate university study, postgraduate law at Durham has 83% of students from outside the UK. I guess 'postgraduate' includes other law postgraduate courses besides the LL.M there. However, the LL.M is extremely competitive and probably the most popular law postgraduate course there. Hence, my comment before. It seems only 5 other universities have the same - or higher - percentage of non-UK students doing postgrad law.
Here's the link by the way: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2013/feb/26/law-postgraduate-masters-courses

Ah cool, yes do let me know about your trip to Durham. I am from south-west England so Durham is a long journey from where I am so I won't visit anytime soon - let me know how it goes.
I want to live in college (or rather in a building very near/right next to the college - such as Epiphany House for St Chad's) but want to be part-catered (i.e. during term time), preferably have on-suites, and of course have frequent formal dinners. So Chad's was a no-brainer for me. And I like the look of being on the Bailey, so St John's would be second choice.
Yeah I know what you mean about Ustinov - and I don't want to be surrounded by just postgrads!

Exactly! I for one was never going to get in, if I'm honest, and I'm sure there are plenty of other applicants in the same boat - so why should we have to wait until the last possible week to be rejected? There is absolutely no reason they couldn't scan through applications as they arrive and reject the people who are simply never going to make the cut. What annoys me the most is that I must have been one of the first applications in this year because I applied at about 3 minutes past midnight on the 1st of September and yet I'm one of the last to find out! Grrr.

Oh wow, that is insanely high! I guess it speaks volumes for the international reputation of the law school though...

College-wise, I seriously considered St Mary's, but I am just too much of a princess not to have an ensuite in halls (which I shouldnt be, since I've never had one at home and don't have one now!) and their ensuites are all in the women-only wing, and I'd rather not be in a single-sex environment. I suppose Butler wouldn't be too bad but my inner snob is saying "ugh, a NEW college! Built recently, with straight walls and working plumbing and double glazing!"

And I wouldn't worry about deferring. I took a gap year between school and uni and it was excellent - plus I'll already have been so can give you all the key info!

I think I stood a fair chance of getting onto the Cambridge LL.M - having graduated with a First last May and having brilliant references (both were tutors at my uni who I knew well and who both incidentally went to Oxford). But ah well it obviously wasn't meant to be. And I prefer that the Durham LLM is 12 months (compared to Cam's being just 9).

I took a gap year before doing my undergrad degree but that was mainly because I could (as well as particular circumstances). This time, however, if I were to take a 'gap year' as it were before the LLM it will be because I have to i.e. money!!

I know what you mean - if you're gonna choose a college, you may as well choose one you know you'll enjoy the most; old college, traditions, character etc.
Make sure to fill me in on your visit to Durham!

karahazel,

how was your visit to Durham?

Hi Lawgrad2012,

I visited Durham this weekend just passed, I got back late Sunday and stayed over at my friend's house. Durham was lovely! Absolutely bl**dy freezing (and I'm from Aberdeen!) but lovely. I got there pretty late Friday evening so didn't really have time to do much but on the Saturday I went for a walk round the city and went into St Chad's hunting for information. The man at reception was lovely and gave me loads of maps and pamphlets and I got some good photos of the cathedral which is literally right opposite the college! I also chanced past Epiphany House on my way up the Bailey so at least I know where that is now. I'll have to take my car to Durham so I've requested a room in Trinity Hall which is just to the left of the island as you're looking at a map from above, it's a really short walk. I had a browse round the shops which was really nice, there's nearly every high street chain I could want and an indoor market I could probably spend a week in. It seems like there are loads of little bistro/lunchy type places too and on the Saturday evening I had dinner at a good Thai restaurant overlooking the river. My parents then dragged me to a show at the Gala Theatre but I fear I'm about thirty years too young to appreciate Pam Ayres... the positive is that the cinema/theatre complex looks good!
There wasn't much time to do anything on Sunday except have breakfast and leave unfortunately. All in all it was a lovely weekend and I know I'd quite happily spend a year there :)

Oh and when I said "we" in my previous post it was a Royal we - I was absolutely not implying that you never stood a realistic chance of getting in! Cambridge's loss :D

karahazel,

thanks so much - Durham sounds even more brilliant now! I too would happily spend a whole year there as well.
However, it seems more and more likely that I'll have to defer for a year. I have a few job interviews lined up - and it's looking hopeful. It makes far more sense for me to work and save up for the next year and a half - instead of working and saving up for 5-6 months and taking out the extremely risky PCDL as well!

Thanks for getting back to me.

What's a PCDL when it's at home? And why is it risky? :D

That plan does sound like it makes more sense. I haven't really spoken to anyone about living costs in Durham but from what I can tell it shouldn't be expensive. Must remember to check out where the supermarkets are...

On another note I phoned the admissions office yesterday to find out how long it should take between applying for colleges/accommodation and finding out which one we got. So I should be finding out around the last week of April. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for St Chad's!