Hello! I wonder if anyone can help me. I have chosen 6 LLM programs in UK - from different schools. The ratings for those Unis are very diversified - from major ones to uhmm... less major :). I'm trying to make sure that maybe one of them will give me a offer. My choices are: Queen Mary, Southampton (maritime law), Southampton Solent, London Met (maritime law), East London (maritime law) and Edinburgh. I dream of Southampton , Edinburgh and QM. Is my choice reasonable? And please be honest - I'm a foreign lawyer (EU) with MA in Law with overall 4,04 grade in 2,0 - 5,0 scale and TOEFL ibt 106/120; what my chances are?

Thank You in advance.

I'm not familiar with the 2 - 5 scale, but I imagine a 4 is on the stronger side? I think most of the programs you're listing would need either a 2.1 or 2.2 on the UK scale, and around 100 on the TOEFL, so I'd imagine you're looking good for pretty well all of these programs.

The easiest way to compare your grades with the UK scale is to figure out your rough "class rank" and compare that to the UK counterpart.

Someone who knows the UK system better than I do should correct me, but I think a "first" is usually around the top 10% of a class, then a 2.1 is usually the 20% after that...? I'm just guessing, though.

Do you know where in your class you finished?

Hi,
I am not an expert in UK system but once I found this :

First Class Honours (First - 1st) [70%-100%]
Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) [60%-69%]
Lower Second Class Honours (2:2) [50%-59%]
Third Class Honours (Third or 3rd) [45%-49%]
Pass without honours (Pass) [40%-44%]
Fail (no degree is awarded) [0%-39%]

I'd be careful with the above in that those are the raw scores, rather than the placement in a given class, but yeah, I think that's the breakdown. So 10% of the class may get 70% and up as a raw score, and so on.

There's no such a rating in my country and I completely have no idea if I'm in the top 10% of my class and it's extremely hard to evaluate my grade to the UK system. On the Edinburgh's website though concerning my country they say that they seek very good and good (which I have) grade. (Very good is the highest grade in my country) and the overall average over 4,0. So looks like I meet this criteria. But the thing is... will it be enough? I'm not aiming to get to Oxford or Cambridge, but do You think there's a chance that one of Unis I have chosen might accept my application? Do You think that date when I make the application matters? I am trying to make it all done in the next 2-3 weeks. And does Uni's rating makes it easier or harder to get in? Solent for example is on the bottom of the ranking, but since it's better to have LLM in not-so-major Uni that not have it all I would happily welcome news that I was accepted to any of the Schools. Am I thinking correct or not? And I'll just add that I'm not planning to start my career in UK.

I would have thought that you stand a reasonable chance to get in to places like Edinburgh and QM and I think it is worth hanging on to find out. While I wouldn't want to criticise the standards of institutions such as Solent, I wonder whether the facilties (especially library facilities) would be as wide ranging as those on offer at institutions with a longer trake record of post-graduate work and research activity. If you are looking at maritime, I would suggest the 'usual culprits' of Southampton, Swansea etc. With regard to getting in, for most institutions it is all about how many places they have to fill versus number of applications. The more applications they have, the pickier they can be; the better the university is known I suspect the more likely it is to have large numbers of applications, but weight against that, institutions with larger schemes will be requiring more student bodies.

Where you meet the stated requirements, you have a chance of being accepted. You appear to meet the requirements for all the schools you've named, so yes, there's a chance. Probably a good one. I'd be surprised if you were rejected by all of the schools you've named.

Applying as early as possible can't hurt, but it's probably not determinative. Just don't be late.

Some programmes state their equivalent admission standards in different countries. For example, you can view the LSE international equivalents here. You may be able to find similar links for your chosen programmes.

And, without looking up your programmes, my first impression is that you stand a good chance of admission.

Good luck!

[Edited to echo (Please, let's get this verb of the English language. If I have to hear it one more time from one more liberal arts neophyte with an opinion on everything but nothing to add, I'm going to vomit.) Bender's reassurance of your competitiveness.].

I did my LLM at Edinburgh and from the sounds of your qualifications you probably have a great shot. The key is to ensure you have good reference letters and meet your English proficiency. You needn't always have the perfect grades for admission anyway, the rest of the information is just as important. Well-rounded students are great contributors.

Thank You very much folks. There's a (weak, but still) glimmer of hope in my heart :). I think my references are... honest (postive, encouraging but not sickly sweet). But now, as my I completed most of the docs I started to ponder whether the Statement of Purpose (or whatever They call it) is important or it's just piece of paper nobody would ever read. On most essay sites on the web (especially American) SoP is like extremely crucial or even determining factor. Does it work the same in UK? I know that that might be "stupid question" but it's first time I encountered such thing and... who likes to write about himself? :)

I DO BELIEVE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! This gives you the chance to explain them more about yourself than your qualifications and grades. You can include there some volunteering work or maybe some experience that made you decide to do your chosen LLM. Give a brief summary about your university and working experience and how this made u decide to do an LLM. And also tell them why you choose THAT UNIVERSITY!! Why the UK?? I think thats important. Let them know how prestigious and famous is the university you are applying in your country and worldwide and also tell them what u intend to do after u return to your country. Well thats my opinion. Its take like a lot of practice, reviewing and hours of thinking to do a very good statement of purpose. In my case it took me like a month do mine but then I changed and modified to make it look better every time. I searched on the internet different sources about how to write a good essay etc. Best of lucks! :)

In my view, a statement can help a good case - especially where there is strong competition for a course (otherwise it is unnecessary as you'd just get in on grades) but it won't do anything to compensate for poor marks.

Statement of Purpose is "the thing". It is your face-to-face interview with the review committee. It is a chance to show all aspects of life beyond mere numbers, which you would have, more or less. If you have less marks, a well-written SOP can compensate for it, but even if you have the best scores, great internships, articles and other positions and everything else you could imagine and do, you still need to put in a focussed, clear, unambiguous and explanatory SOP, which can show them why and how you are an outstanding student and why the particular course and particular university suits your career plans.

No one should under-estimate the value of SOP just because it is another thing. Marks are your entry point. If you have great scores, you would be given a look first up but the SOP can still make or break your story because it speaks for you as a person.

On the other hand, if you have low marks, you would be seen through the prism of SOP. May be you have done great things in life beyond studies but related to your field of concern, which you can highlight and bring to the fore. So, SOP is an important feature of your application pack and should be given the highest importance.

All your grades, and other things have been achieved and done when you sit down to fill an application. It is only the SOP that remains to be written and as much emphasis as possible should be given to that piece of document.

I got mixed feelings reading some previous posts on the board and those of my enquiry. But I think You are right. SoP has its "purpose" and if wouldn't no-one would actually ask for it. I'm not going to panic and spend next month writing it, I'll just try to be honest and straight forward. If that's not good enough, well... life :).

Being honest is great but you have to state your purpose in doing the given course and for chosing the particular institution and that purpose has to be unambiguous.

Otherwise, you don't need to panic.

The statement of purpose is important, from my experience at Edinburgh. You should know why you are applying for the course of study so it shouldn't be too difficult to write. The key is that you are driven and want to further your knowledge in a particular field, which is what an LLM is about. It isn't a dissertation on a course, it is about your desire to better your education and showing that you are committed to doing your best.
Good luck!