I have received offers from the following universities:
1. Durham University – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 26th April
2. University of Sheffield – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 14th May
3. QMUL – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 4th April


As an international student I will not be able to visit these universities so your help will be greatly needed:
1. Opinion about overall prestige and International reputation. How would you rate them?
2. Information about the city, overall atmosphere & social life.
3. Employment prospects. Do they improve my chances for a job in a top law firm?
4, Any other information, pros & cons which you can share?

Other than these, I have also applied to Queen's University Belfast, Cardiff University, University of Southampton, Newcastle University and University of Aberdeen and expect to receive their reply by next week.

Any detailed information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Overall prestige: Durham
International reputation: as a law school Durham is ranked 41 globally and they have a strong department. Their LLM programme is good but the choice of modules can be limited.

Queen Mary: good school but not as prestigious as Durham. The LLM is excellent apparently and they have a wide range of modules. Very strong for arbitration, commercial law and shipping.

Sheffield: good solid law school, lower than the other two and with a LLM programme with a strong commercial focus. Same most of Durham's assessments.

Location/City: Durham - quiet, picturesque little city - beautiful but people find it too quiet. Also rents are cheaper if you live privately.

Queen Mary: London, buzzing but expensive

Sheffield: cheap and student friendly

Employment prospects: this is related to prestige to a certain extent. Out of the three: Durham but you can't go wrong with any of them.

You also applied to others: Newcastle is quite good as is Southampton and Cardiff.

Durham, Newcastle, Queen Mary and Sheffield are Russell group universities and some of the best in the UK (obviously not taking into account Oxford, Cambridge and the likes).

Overall prestige: Durham
International reputation: as a law school Durham is ranked 41 globally and they have a strong department. Their LLM programme is good but the choice of modules can be limited.

Queen Mary: good school but not as prestigious as Durham. The LLM is excellent apparently and they have a wide range of modules. Very strong for arbitration, commercial law and shipping.

Sheffield: good solid law school, lower than the other two and with a LLM programme with a strong commercial focus. Same most of Durham's assessments.

Location/City: Durham - quiet, picturesque little city - beautiful but people find it too quiet. Also rents are cheaper if you live privately.

Queen Mary: London, buzzing but expensive

Sheffield: cheap and student friendly

Employment prospects: this is related to prestige to a certain extent. Out of the three: Durham but you can't go wrong with any of them.

You also applied to others: Newcastle is quite good as is Southampton and Cardiff.

Durham, Newcastle, Queen Mary and Sheffield are Russell group universities and some of the best in the UK (obviously not taking into account Oxford, Cambridge and the likes).

No QMUL is not worth that money. Save it and go where you can save, get a scholarship and a good education.

I passed by Durham before,the city where it's situated is really nice. I am studying at QMUL right now. SO, I am biased towards my school. How can I not be, it's in the top 10 best law schools in the EU list, top 35 (?) in the whole world.

I would say research on the program, QMUL's program in arbitration, dispute resolution, commercial and finance are really good. I think Durham is is good for Finance too. And yeah, QMUL is expensive but the chance to live in London (the best city in the world) and access to a lot of law firms, the financial districts and government offices are worth the price of admission. We have networking events and law fairs almost every week exclusively for QMUL students and most of them are hosted by the magic circle firms themselves.

I passed by Durham before,the city where it's situated is really nice. I am studying at QMUL right now. SO, I am biased towards my school. How can I not be, it's in the top 10 best law schools in the EU list, top 35 (?) in the whole world.

I would say research on the program, QMUL's program in arbitration, dispute resolution, commercial and finance are really good. I think Durham is is good for Finance too. And yeah, QMUL is expensive but the chance to live in London (the best city in the world) and access to a lot of law firms, the financial districts and government offices are worth the price of admission. We have networking events and law fairs almost every week exclusively for QMUL students and most of them are hosted by the magic circle firms themselves.

Hello everyone! I accepted an offer in the "International Trade and Commercial Law" LLM in Durham! Have you been pleased with the programme so far?
I am in a huge dilemma. I have to finally choose between Durham and Erasmus Rotterdam University (Netherlands), where I accepted an offer in the "Commercial and Company Law" LLM. What's your opinion? They are two completely different options but I am literally stuck inbetween. Please help me if you know anything! Thanks so much in advance!

Congrats on your LLM offers. All are highly reputed and life changing opportunities but especially if you study in a city like London. If you have money issues then LLM is not a wise option! It is definitely wiser to work somewhere without doing the LLM as work experience is the most important thing in the world. If money is not an option then QMUL. As QMUL is highly reputed. It is amongst one of top 5 law if not top 3 (arguably) law schools in UK. It is under University of London. University of London is extremely reputed and important. QMUL is akin to Cornell or UChicago just like UCL is akin to Stanford/Berkeley Uni for Law. Also it is under University of London. QMUL Arbitration and Intellectual Property are world famous and best in London as top law firm partners, barristers, IT Companies, Pharma Companies swear by it. London is best city in the world and especially for Law. Yes it is expensive only because it is much in demand like NYU/Sydney/HongKong/Zurich/Paris/Shanghai.

Durham is highly reputed and is damn good for studying but it has an issue - it is not in a big city. Also Durham LLM may or many not be accepted by many countries. I know for fact Indian and Bangladeshi students went back and their LLM/LLB Degrees were not accepted thererafer Southampton is damn good Uni especially for Law/LLM and Maritime Laws. Southmpaton is a big vibrant port city which also offers opportunities for internship and networking. LLM is about two things - getting 60% + marks and socializing networking. LLM is not MBA or MSc so it does not give a great boost to career.

I got offers from the ones you got too. When I was studying in QMUL I visited most of UK and all the Unis I got offers from and the ones I did not. I got offer from UCL conditional one 65% but ultimately I did not achieve that so they rescinded the offer. It was a missed opportunity. UCL is incredible.

Get your LLM at Queen Mary if you are going to UK otherwise Brisbane or Monash Unis (tuition fees there are now equivalent to UK both of which are significantly less than US ones) and get a lifetime opportunity.

Hello everyone! I accepted an offer in the "International Trade and Commercial Law" LLM in Durham! Have you been pleased with the programme so far?
I am in a huge dilemma. I have to finally choose between Durham and Erasmus Rotterdam University (Netherlands), where I accepted an offer in the "Commercial and Company Law" LLM. What's your opinion? They are two completely different options but I am literally stuck inbetween. Please help me if you know anything! Thanks so much in advance!