Dear all,

I have applied to undertake LLM programs at LSE, UCL and KCL, and (surprisingly enough) I received offers from all 3. Evidently this is a good thing, but I have been struggling to decide which program to take.

I have been reading about rankings, forums and reviews, but I would nonetheless greatly appreciate any guidance or opinion you could give on this matter.

Some personal info:

1. I am Chilean, so I am not familiar with the "public consideration" of these Universities in the UK, US or EU. I also do not expect to have a "life changing experience" in terms of academics, since I will probably come back to Chile after my studies, and the legal system is obviously very different.

2. I am going with my wife (we are both 28), whom also got accepted into all 3 programs. I guess this means that we are probably interested in a more "friendly" environment, which hopefully leaves some time to travel and get to know the UK and Europe.

3. As I said, I have reviewed the rankings, but ARWU, Times and QS differ on their opinion of these Universities, and even on the ranking on legal programs.

4. I do not intend to obtain a degree on a specific area (such as finance or corporate), but rather take the courses I find more interesting.

In sum: I would really appreciate any enlightment you may give me on this issue, and especially, not only focused on "prestige" or academic tradition (which of course is very important), but also in terms of the life experience (location, campuses, other activities, environment and student profile, etc.).

Sorry for the long post, thank you very much for your time and I look forward to your replies!

First, congrats on the offers.

I can give you some insider trading on UCL and KCL. I went to UCL, whereas my fiancee went to KCL.

It all kinda depends on what you wanna study. I wanted to focus on public international law and environment, hence UCL. It seemed like the best choice for what I wanted to centre on. My fiancee wanted criminology, so KCL looked like the best choice.

On the programs, I can tell you that yout both univeristies seemed very "friendly", especially as regards people, events and socializing in general. I gotta say that neither one of us attended much of the events organized by the law school or the student union. However, that was strictly our fault as there were many on offer.

We are both from Latin America and I had only been to Europe once before the start of the program. And only in Portugal. So we're both also very keen on taking the most out of the chance of getting to travel around the continent. We choose the modules in a way that we always had Mondays and Fridays off. So we always had a long weekend to look forward to. That allowed us to get around quite a lot. We went to 10 different countries in one year.

And, despite all the travelling, we still found the time to study, write essays and dissertations and take the exams. So, it kinda depends on the modules you chose.

Regarding academic prestige, the only thing I can say is that in the UK the impression that I had is that UCL is regarded as probably the best law school in London. I'm not just saying that 'cause that where I went to in the end. I can quote this one day when I went with my fiancee to a KCL get-together. I talked to three KCL LLM students, all of whom were born, raised and educated in the UK. They all said UCL is regarded as the best law school in London. And I also talked to lawyer at magic circle law firms, from the London offices of such firms, about the LLM program. They all said the same thing. UCL would be the best choice.

Of course, it also depends on what you wanna focus on module-wise. It's useless to go to UCL if all the modules you got some sort of interest in are only offered elsewhere.

Hope I've been of some help.

Let me know if you've got anything else to ask.

Thanks a lot for your reply, it sure is extremely useful!!!

Could you tell me a bit about the differences between UCL and KCL location-wise? I've heard that the Faculty of Law in UCL does not have very good facilities, whereas KCL should be opening East Wing of Somerset House soon (though I don't know whether the Faculty of Law would operate there)...

It would seem as if KCL is considerably better located than UCL, and has better facilities...

Also, did you and your wife apply to Housing from one of the Universities, or did you go for private housing?

Thanks a lot, you are certainly most helpful!

I'm also deciding about which school to go to.
I believe one good question to be asked is this:
Is anyone who has received an offer from LSE going to decline it in favor of UCL or KCL???
How often did this happen in past years?

To be honest, I hold offers from all 3, and I am more enthusiast about UCL and King's than LSE. Clearly I have not made my mind yet, but I might eventually choose UCL or King's over LSE.

Ok Wolfenix, that's the honest kind of answer I was expecting, for the reasons you stated in the opening post.
I myself am intending to go to LSE, but that's only because I've read several times in this forum that it's supposed to be the most prestigious of them all.
So, other answers to this post, from people who really had a chance to choose (where accepted in all of them), would really help.

Beicon's was also an honest answer, regarding both schools he referred to (UCL and KCL). Thanks!

Thanks a lot for your reply, it sure is extremely useful!!!

Could you tell me a bit about the differences between UCL and KCL location-wise? I've heard that the Faculty of Law in UCL does not have very good facilities, whereas KCL should be opening East Wing of Somerset House soon (though I don't know whether the Faculty of Law would operate there)...

Thanks a lot for your reply, Grapes!

Will you also have the taught modules in Somerset? I wonder if this is an issue to be considered anyway... UCL seems a little further, and I've seen comments about the Law building and library being a bit old.

Also, in terms of housing, are you staying in Uni housing, or private renting?

Thanks!

I think the lectures will still be held at the Strand campus (which is right in front of Somerset house). The School of law is at Somerset, so professors' offices, the administration, meeting rooms, common rooms and so on. Maybe you could have tutorials there but don't rely too much on it.

I lived in halls in my first year, then rented out an apartment with friends since.

Thanks a lot for your reply, it sure is extremely useful!!!

Could you tell me a bit about the differences between UCL and KCL location-wise? I've heard that the Faculty of Law in UCL does not have very good facilities, whereas KCL should be opening East Wing of Somerset House soon (though I don't know whether the Faculty of Law would operate there)...

It would seem as if KCL is considerably better located than UCL, and has better facilities...

Also, did you and your wife apply to Housing from one of the Universities, or did you go for private housing?

Thanks a lot, you are certainly most helpful!

Thanks a bunch beicon!!! Really, really great help!

I am really considering UCL, specially because the offer on courses is considerably broader and varied... in this regard, I also do not know any of the professor teaching the courses (although I have been reading their resumées and trying to find more about them), could you maybe recommend some courses or professors?

I understand than nonetheless one does have the chance, in the first 2 weeks, to attend various classes and then choose your courses, but I would still like some insider information if possible!

I am not looking to specialize in any area, but rather take a "general" LLM (I have found interesting all the economy and history related courses, such as Economic Analysis of Law, Historical Development of Common Law, Role of Economics in Competition Law, etc.).

I am also very interested in International Law, so if you could give me some pointers, or some "do's and dont's", I'd be very grateful!!!

Thanks a bunch beicon!!! Really, really great help!

I am really considering UCL, specially because the offer on courses is considerably broader and varied... in this regard, I also do not know any of the professor teaching the courses (although I have been reading their resumées and trying to find more about them), could you maybe recommend some courses or professors?

I understand than nonetheless one does have the chance, in the first 2 weeks, to attend various classes and then choose your courses, but I would still like some insider information if possible!

I am not looking to specialize in any area, but rather take a "general" LLM (I have found interesting all the economy and history related courses, such as Economic Analysis of Law, Historical Development of Common Law, Role of Economics in Competition Law, etc.).

I am also very interested in International Law, so if you could give me some pointers, or some "do's and dont's", I'd be very grateful!!!

Dear Wolfenix
I am a current student at King's (from Switzerland where I am admitted to the Bar; taken a PhD as well) and I can really agree to what has been posted above concerning UCL/KCL. I declined my offer from LSE due to its bad reputation (have a look on the reports on Ghadaffi's son! http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/woolf/pdf/woolfReport.pdf) and the poor variety of lectures. Friends of mine who currently study at LSE are not happy at all, because all is focused on finance law. Furthermore, the lectures/method of teaching are more in a seminar style (typically for a university in the field of economy) and the lessons are often prepared and presented by fellow students. For £ 14'000 pounds I prefer being taught by leading Professors, Lord Judges and experienced practitioners AND NOT BY FELLOW STUDENTS! Go for UCL or King's. Both universities have a close cooperation! The only difference are the class mates: UCL students mainly stem from the US and Asia; KCL students are mostly from the Continent!
I hope, this helps!

I just wanted to thank everyone who's been giving information on these 3 schools! I've been reading this thread since it started and you guys have helped me as well.

Thanks a lot for your input, Seneca! LSE is really my least favorite right now. I know it is a good school, and is a lot more renowned in the US and South America (where I come from), but I don't feel much comfortable with its "profile"... also, I'm thinking of doing International (Public) Law.

Thus, so far, it seems that UCL is the best option for me!

I declined my offer from LSE due to its bad reputation (have a look on the reports on Ghadaffi's son! http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/woolf/pdf/woolfReport.pdf) and the poor variety of lectures. Friends of mine who currently study at LSE are not happy at all, because all is focused on finance law. Furthermore, the lectures/method of teaching are more in a seminar style (typically for a university in the field of economy) and the lessons are often prepared and presented by fellow students. For £ 14'000 pounds I prefer being taught by leading Professors, Lord Judges and experienced practitioners AND NOT BY FELLOW STUDENTS!

I declined my offer from LSE due to its bad reputation (have a look on the reports on Ghadaffi's son! http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/woolf/pdf/woolfReport.pdf) and the poor variety of lectures. Friends of mine who currently study at LSE are not happy at all, because all is focused on finance law. Furthermore, the lectures/method of teaching are more in a seminar style (typically for a university in the field of economy) and the lessons are often prepared and presented by fellow students. For £ 14'000 pounds I prefer being taught by leading Professors, Lord Judges and experienced practitioners AND NOT BY FELLOW STUDENTS!

Anyone who has actually been/is at LSE can support this view, at least concerning the lecturing by students? Seneca's reputation statement is rather silly, and variety of subjects at LSE is wide, too.

Hi all,

I have been accepted at QM and KCL so far, still waiting for UCL.
I want to do an LLM in banking and finance, or something similar.
QM has a programme in Banking and Finance Law, KCL has a programme in International Financial Law (other option coul be International Business Law) and UCL has a programme in Internatinal Banking and Finance Law.

Which one do you think is better and why? I can't find much information online. Also, I am from Argentina and not sure yet about what to do after completing my LLM.

Kind regards,
Natalia

Hi tintirita,

You say you are from Argentina, which UK University (after Oxbridge, of course) would you say is more renowned there?

So far I really like UCL a lot more than LSE, but I have to say that LSE if far better known in Chile (where I come from)...

I know that is a strong fact to consider, but I really wouldn't like my decision to be based purely in the fact that LSE is better known in my country than UCL or KCL...