Hi everyone

I'm a student from switzerland (23 years old).

I finsihed my bachelor degree and am now in my master degree (economic law, MLaw).
I would like to apply for an LLM program beginning september 2010 in London in INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS/COMMERCIAL LAW.

my problem: i dont fulfill the acedemic entry requirements (they want at least 5 out of 6, I only got 4.5 out of 6) for the universities I want to apply for:

LSE
KCL
QML
UCL
SOAS

I have done a lot of internships in bigger companies and law firms during my studies and have good letters of recommendation. also my grades have improved a little in my master studies.

I will start applying early (beginning october)

I am thinking of applying to universities with less good reputations like city University. (unfortunatly i have only read negative things about city)

Can someone give me some hints? Do I stand chances for the bigger universities or isn't it even worth sending the application? Will having finished a master degree before starting the LLm halp me in my application process?

Seeing the whole application process seems complicated I would realy appriciate your help...

thanks !

I think you can almost definitely rule out LSE and UCL -- and perhaps also KCL. You might nevertheless stand some chances at QMUL and SOAS.

I have also heard something bad about City, and it really surprised me that City ranks so low this year in the Times Good University Guide (which is to me more reasonable, and therefore more reliable!) -- far lower than the University of Surrey Law School which was established in 2007 with only few LLM programmes on offer (I begin to wonder now if those rankings are really trustworthy!).

I would try my luck at QMUL and SOAS first; then, if nothing happens, I would look for some other places -- perhaps Mancester and Glasgow -- which in some respects might serve as appropriate substitutes for London (big cities, financial centres, etc). Best of luck!

thanks for your help.

any other universities in London you could recommend which have a level between UCL and city? (and offer a international business/commercial law program?)

any other opinions/help/suggestions?

thanks again for the support

In London, apart from the "Big Four" (LSE, UCL, KCL and QMUL), I wouldn't recommend any other place: Brunel doesn't seem to be any better than City (assuming the "bad" things we have heard about City have some elements of truth); Birkbeck is more suited to part-timers; and the "new universities" (Westminster, Kingston, etc) hardly have any special appeal to me (though some might be good). All this is only my personal view, of course.

To be honest, all the UoL colleges, with the possible exception of SOAS (I'm not sure how popular it is), get so many applications that they do not need to look below a 2.1 standard. That said, I've known people in the past to get into LSE and QMUL with a 2.2 (years of work experience/practice make up for the lower grades), so just try everywhere as you never know.

I wouldn't consider City when there are much better universities outside London (unless City has a particular speciality that you are keen on).

Also, if you're an international fee paying students, you'll automatically be more attractive to admissions.

hey Kerfuffle

your last sentence sounds interesting :)
thanks for your advice, i will of course apply to all the "big" universities, as soon as admission offices open (october). I heard early applicants stand higher chances.

let's hope for the best...

thanks for your help!

No harm in applying. I have heard of people getting into UCL despite not having great grades :)

Any of the London schools:

UCL
KCL
LSE
SOAS
QM

Are very good for LLM. You cannot go wrong with any of them. All offer an incredible choice of modules specialisms and good teaching, after all they are all colleges of the University of London

and city/metropolitan/Brunel i shouldn't even apply?

mabe to be sure to get in at least somewhere...


thanks

If you do not wish to consider any other place (apart from London), then City and Brunel should be your choices other than the five colleges/schools of the University of London. At least City and Brunel belong to the 1960s class and they could not be as "bad" as their current rankings might suggest. As I indicated in my previous posting, I now begin to doubt even the Times Good University Guide that places City far lower than a law school that was just established in 2007 (Surrey)!

I had friends who did their LLM at Westminster (corporate finance) and were extremely happy about it. Also, QMUL is easy to get into if you just put some effort in your application.

hey banker3,

of course QMUL would be perfect. hope to make it.
just got 4.5 out of 6 in my grades, and they request at least 5 out of 6

let's see....

I've had friends who had less than was required by QMUL but to managed to get so I do not think you would need to worry

what do you guys mean by "put some effort in your application" ?

mention (and emphasise on) work experience?
add working certificates? (altough not asked for in application)

thanks again for everyones support!

Write a really strong application and place emphasis on why you want to do that course at that university.

well here are a few points you can consider:

- know exactly why are you applying to the school and specialisms you want to study;

-write a good statement of purpose;

-good references;

Instead of City and Brunel, I'd go to Westminster. Last year I studied Corporate Finance, was quite successful with its program and academic staff. As for commercial law studies at Westminster, I had lots of friends who very so happy as well.

If you are now doing a masters degree and you do well in it, this may make up for your lower grades at undergraduate level. You should apply with a strong personal statement which does address and explain (if you can) why you fall short at undergraduate level, but what you are doing to prove you really are qualified: your masters results, work experience, publications etc all count.

Iff you are going to come to the UK, then aim high: apply to UCL and the LSE. Places which have bad reputations do so for a good reason: you really don't want to waste your time.

Some posts keep saying that the London Colleges are all part of the University of London. You need to be careful: the intercollegiate LLM has ended. All colleges award their own degrees. If you study at King's, you now get a King's degree, not a London degree. Theses places: LSE, UCL, King's, QMUL and SOAS which were once in a co-operative arrangement are now in competition with one another. There is a clear ranking, with UCL and the LSE very much at the top.

If you don't have a first class, it will be hard to get into LSE. UCL is still an option. But you should apply to them anyway. You never know.

I would then rate Kings and SOAS as good institutions for LLM. Both have stellar international law research and their own specialisms.

QM is also good and coming up, but I would personally not attend school there.

Anything such as Brunel, Westminster and City are, in my view, not an option.

I think you should give it a try! not LSE because they are extremely strict as well as Kings,,,maybe UCL will notice more your internship and master grades,,i do think you should give it a try!!!