Hello fellow UCL admittees,

Does anyone have any insight into how/when we choose our classes? Also, any idea about how much textbooks will cost? I'm trying to start budgeting for them, but I haven't seen anything stating how much stuff like that usually costs. Any advice would be great!

On a different note, can PUCCA or anyone else who has navigated the UK visa process give any suggestions as to how long the process has taken them?

USA3L:

Fair disclosure: I didn't attend UCL. However, I did navigate the U.K. visa process, and while it was not a short process, it was somewhat simpler than I expected it would be and, as I recall, it actually was completed more or less in the number of weeks I was told it would be. I could not know what parts of the process you've completed, but it really entails nothing more than submitting your passport to the regional consulate with the necessary documents and fees. I'm sure that's more general and less helpful than you would have liked, but, assuming you've submitted the materials already or will do so in short order, I would be surprised if you did not receive your visa well before landing in London in late-September. I am aware that some visa requirements may have changed but hopefully not so drastically that it will cause a great delay for you.

With respect to textbooks, if UCL is anything like my program, you will not have textbooks. The UK system is generally very different from the US system. Though there may be some course packs for you to purchase containing some of the materials, courses work from weekly reading lists, and you are abandoned to your own devices and the library to locate these materials (some of which may be on reserve if copies are limited and students will have to fight for them, and others of which may be accessible on-line). I did find it rather frustrating at first because I felt as if I was spending as much time locating and photocopying the materials as I was reading them.

I'm not sure I ever settled on a successful strategy for completing the readings. As an American law graduate, my first instinct was to compile all the reading materials at the start of the term, even if it meant falling behind the courses for a week or two, and, of course, to complete all the "required" reading, at least, for each course. Unfortunately, you're likely to have more "required" reading than you could possibly complete in a 7-day week with 24-hour days. That's not even to mention the "further" reading on the list. Expect your instructors to have unrealistic ideas of what you can accomplish. Ultimately, it proved too costly to photo copy all the materials, both in terms of expense and time, and I was pretty much forced to work on a week-by-week basis, and even then only reading as much of the list as I could and almost never finishing it.

In the end, though, it proved not to be a problem since all of my exams allowed for a very generous selection of questions, for example, only 3 of 10 or 3 of 8. I think the least generous exam required me to answer 3 of 6 possible questions, and on none of the exams did a single question incorporate elements from all aspects of the course or require a knowledge of all areas to perform fairly well. Again, while UCL may be very different from my program (You, of course, should investigate what the program at UCL is really like by continuing to try to talk to former UCL students and, especially, looking at past exams very early in the year.), I simply studied as many of the subjects for each course that I could, and then selected a small number subjects for each course that I simply was going to avoid on the exam.

No warranties this is a good idea for you, but as you start the year in London, I'm sure you will be able to see what others around you are doing or are able to do, and organize your studying accordingly. Good luck!

Thank you very much, P_Martini, for such a comprehensive explanation. I truly appreciate it, and I'll be sure to implement your advice. It certainly helps to hear from someone who's "Been there, done that."

Since it seems we share a similar educational background, I'm curious to hear what you found most surprising about your LL.M. experience v. the JD. I'm sure there are a number of differences (both good and bad for either), but how would you say it compares with the American law school experience in terms of structure?

Again, I thank you for your comment!

I'll send you a PM a little later.