I do agree with the proposition that "even the 150th applicant must be really strong." To be accepted to study an LLM at Cambridge is a fine achievement.

That said, I would find it hard to believe that the stronger applicants aren't accepted earlier (to avoid them choosing Oxford or another top school if nothing else). I feel I am pretty borderline (but I'm still hopeful) and I haven't heard yet. A colleague of mine who was a few percent higher than me academically was offered a place approximately two weeks ago.

I do agree with the proposition that "even the 150th applicant must be really strong." To be accepted to study an LLM at Cambridge is a fine achievement.

That said, I would find it hard to believe that the stronger applicants aren't accepted earlier (to avoid them choosing Oxford or another top school if nothing else). I feel I am pretty borderline (but I'm still hopeful) and I haven't heard yet. A colleague of mine who was a few percent higher than me academically was offered a place approximately two weeks ago.

He did. 80% average (which is the minimum requirement for First Class Honours at the law school we went to). Plenty of extracurricular activities too.

Regarding what a first actually means in Australia, I was buoyed by a message I received recently from a chap who graduated with a JD from the University of Melbourne with a 77% average who is currently studying the BCL at Oxford.

Melbsolicitor, as a point of interest, how many percent of students would get a 1st in Melbourne/Australia in general?

Lawyer's answer: it depends.

Australian universities approach the awarding of Honours (and indeed the divisions within Honours) quite differently.

For example, the top two universities in Melbourne:

University of Melbourne
http://undergraduate.law.unimelb.edu.au/index.cfm?objectId=30B176D9-B0D0-AB80-E2FD9344650DC09C

Monash University
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/undergraduate/honours/index.html

By contrast, in my JD class of about 75 students (not at either of the two universities above), there was only one student who achieved an 80%+ average and was awarded First Class. Then about five students got a "2A" and about five got a "2B." The LLB cohort is larger, but I've never seen more than three or so students in any graduating class crack a First.

Hmmm perhaps I misunderstood, but I counted 48 "H1s" on Melbourne University's "2009 Final Ranked Honours List" on the weblink you kindly gave us; "48 H2As", "66 H2Bs" and "61 H3s" - this would put 1st class honours at appoximately top 22%?

Haha. I thought putting those links up might spark some discussion. No matter how many H1s they gave out, I can assure you (on an unbiased basis as it's not my alma mater) that you would be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't agree Melbourne Uni isn't in the top 3 law schools in Australia (the others being ANU and Sydney).

I am conscious of de-railing this thread and turning it into a comparison of law school marking scales. This website is littered with academic snobbery and arguments about the reasons why "x law school is better than y law school." Frankly, I think it's a crock. My colleague (mentioned above) and I went to a law school which probably isn't ranked in the 10 law schools in Australia and he got into Cambridge. I also know of a chap doing the Oxford BCL who went to Victoria University (in Melbourne) which, with respect, is certainly not regarded as being in the top echelon of Australian law schools either.

Best of luck to all those who (like me) are still anxiously awaiting the outcome of their application.

Thank you melbsolicitor for your reply; I certainly did not mean any offence by it! Am also waiting (like you). My point was this:

1. Oxbridge generally says it needs a First class.
2. Let us assume all law schools are equal; ie. a top 15% student anywhere is the same.
3. But we know all law schools give a different % of Firsts (such as the school Melbsolicitor went, where less than 2% was awarded a first)

Conclusion: Undergrads from "stricter schools" lose out!

Oh absolutely - I didn't think you were 'having a dig'. All good.

I also chuckled when I saw how many H1s Melb gave out. As to what that really means (or in fact what any university's Honours system really means) your guess is as good as mine!

Of course there is also a lack of uniformity as to what grades mean between law schools (both domestically and internationally). For example, at my school to get a H1/HD in a subject, you need 85%+ (on a bell curve where 5-10% will get HDs) whereas at Melbourne 80%+ is an HD and it has a better reputation. Go figure.

In any event, I just hope we hear soon. I'd quite like to know what country I'm going to be in when October rolls around...

That's the point.

Thank you melbsolicitor for your reply; I certainly did not mean any offence by it! Am also waiting (like you). My point was this:

1. Oxbridge generally says it needs a First class.
2. Let us assume all law schools are equal; ie. a top 15% student anywhere is the same.
3. But we know all law schools give a different % of Firsts (such as the school Melbsolicitor went, where less than 2% was awarded a first)

Conclusion: Undergrads from "stricter schools" lose out!

?

To be honest, the Vic perspective is probably Melbourne, Monash and Sydney! Let's face it, who REALLY wants to live in Canberra?!

Got my offer today. Hopefully see you all soon...

Got my offer today. Hopefully see you all soon...

Hi there everybody,

I got my offer yesterday.

However, my case is somehow different, since I was admitted last year, but then requested one-year deferral and Cambridge granted it to me.

All offers are firstly conditional and if you receive a "conditional" e-mail, you may be sure that also the paper form will find its way to your mail :-). But it still takes some time. Btw, last year I waited for almost two months for my Camsis to be updated.

The reason why I was waiting so eagerly for an official letter to be delivered to me was that I didn't know what my academic condition will be (while applying I was in the final- fifth year of my university studies). Since we do have a quite different grades here in Slovakia (no first class honours etc.), it was hard to predict the condition. Finally, a long expected mail appeared, and my academic condition was: "achieving an overall five-year grade of 1.3 (1 being the best grade you can get in Slovakia) or better and finish my law studies in June 2009.

Regarding debate on selection process, there might be some truth in assumption that the best candidates are given their offers first. This year a friend of mine (a former schoolmate) received his Cambridge offer in the "first round" some two months ago. He was maybe the best student in our whole class.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone still waiting for an offer.

And I look forward to meet you in Cambridge in October :-)

Jan

At last, I also got my offer which was deferred from last year. It took somehow long, but I am almost happy!

Hey everyone,

Has anyone's camsis been updated yet? I've been waiting for 9weeks.

No! My Camsis still hasn't been updated, which is a bit disappointing and I still haven't got my offical offer letter in the post! As I understand it, our files will only be sent to colleges once Camsis is updated. If other departments are faster, we'll end up in the colleges no one wants :(