Thanks for the explanation! So to be absolutely clear: The size of your class has no relation to the significance of being in the top 5%? Its just as good to be in the top 5% if you are in a big class as it is in a small class?

Thanks for the interesting answers. In the end there is not anyting you can do about it...

Yeah. And to be fair, as long as you fall within that percentage you should be fine. In the end that's what they are generally looking for.

Well...

[Edited by VisionMed on Jul 12, 2018]

Thanks for the explanation! So to be absolutely clear: The size of your class has no relation to the significance of being in the top 5%? Its just as good to be in the top 5% if you are in a big class as it is in a small class?

Well say that you are in a class of 90 people, and you graduate top 5 percent. So let's say you're 4th out of 90. That means you leave 86 people behind you. However, if you are in a class of 500 people, and let's say you ranked 49th, this means you did better than 451 people on the same curriculum.

I mean it's all relative ofcourse but for me this looks a lot more impressive.

In my view, Oxford is looking for people at the top of their respective universities (although in reality there are other factors, particularly for people who left their student lives behind many years ago). In your scenario, coming 4th out of 90 means that only 3 people were 'better than you'. Coming 49th out of 500 means that 48 people were 'better than you'. For a degree that sees applicants from hundreds of universities across many countries, I just feel intuitively that coming top in this sense is the best position to be in. Put it this way, if all people in the top 5% of the class with 90 students applied to Oxford, they could realistically all get offers. If, on the other hand, all people in the top 5% of the class with 500 students applied to Oxford, I don't think they would be in the position to allocate over 1/3 of their spaces to these students.

[Edited by TopPoteHexagon on Feb 28, 2018]

Well say that you are in a class of 90 people, and you graduate top 5 percent. So let's say you're 4th out of 90. That means you leave 86 people behind you. However, if you are in a class of 500 people, and let's say you ranked 49th, this means you did better than 451 people on the same curriculum.

I mean it's all relative ofcourse but for me this looks a lot more impressive.

In my view, Oxford is looking for people at the top of their respective universities (although in reality there are other factors, particularly for people who left their student lives behind many years ago). In your scenario, coming 4th out of 90 means that only 3 people were 'better than you'. Coming 49th out of 500 means that 48 people were 'better than you'. For a degree that sees applicants from hundreds of universities across many countries, I just feel intuitively that coming top in this sense is the best position to be in. Put it this way, if all people in the top 5% of the class with 90 students applied to Oxford, they could realistically all get offers. If, on the other hand, all people in the top 5% of the class with 500 students applied to Oxford, I don't think they would be in the position to allocate over 1/3 of their spaces to these students.

So, if I understood you correctly (and please correct me if I'm wrong), the top 5% classification is a better indicator of absolute top students in certain institutions if the class as a whole is smaller? Thanks for your explanation.

Well...

[Edited by VisionMed on Jul 12, 2018]

No, I was just giving my view because it is the opposite of Ribben's view. But both views are correct because we are just saying how we INSTINCTIVELY FEEL about it.

I think what OP meant was that it is much harder to get in the top 5 in larger class...

Since you have been excepted into cam. you must have a very high class ranking, right ?

I got accepted into Cam as well and I ranked 26th out of 476, which is in fact outside the top 5, but at the same time, I was better than 450 other students.

I think what OP meant was that it is much harder to get in the top 5 in larger class...

Well yeah. It's the difference between being the best student in your home city, or being the best student in your province, region or state. In both cases you're at the top of the pyramid, but in the latter case you had to compete with many more people to get there.

Since you have been excepted into cam. you must have a very high class ranking, right ?

I got accepted into Cam as well and I ranked 26th out of 476, which is in fact outside the top 5, but at the same time, I was better than 450 other students.

I got accepted into Cam as well and I ranked 26th out of 476, which is in fact outside the top 5, but at the same time, I was better than 450 other students.

On of my friends got accepted as well by the way, he was ranked somewhere around 50th out of 476, which put him just outside top 10. So again, he didn't meet the strict 5% or 10% criterion, but he still did better than over 400 students in his year.

He must have an excellent CV and references.

Very impressive! You seem to be in a prime position for the BCL/Mjur as well. Have you already decided on cam. or oxon.?

He must have an excellent CV and references.

I think he does, probably most importantly he's doing a PHD research right now. I get the feeling that both Cam and Ox are specifically looking for academic profiles for their LLM/MJur programmes.

Very impressive! You seem to be in a prime position for the BCL/Mjur as well. Have you already decided on cam. or oxon.?

Unless I get a scolarship (have applied for one) it will probably be Cambridge, simply because it is so much cheaper than Oxford. Literally everything about studying in Oxford is more expensive, let alone the fact that the initial cost is like 6000 pounds more due to higher tuition fee and college fee.

[Edited by Parlutti on Feb 28, 2018]

Wow seing you and some of the other posters, I realize that I have no chance for the MJur. All that I have going for me is that I'm in the top 5% but thats ture for basically all the 500 applicants...
See a rejection comming

Sometimes the chances of getting there could be a matter of luck. I graduated in top 2% of my LLB in the UK and now (through the results I had) I have a full scholarship for the LLM which covers both living costs and tuition fees. The Postgrad is on the continent anyways. Apparently, Cambridge decided to reject me although I had legal work experience in the Government and other extracurricular activities combined with academic credentials. However, got an offer from LSE.

One of my friends applied to Cambridge and Essex (not for law). Essex rejected her. Guess where she went afterwards - Cambridge. So I would suggest to wait and not to get impatient. A rejection, which I hope none of you will have, is not the end of the world. As the French say: c'est la vie.

P.S.: The example with Essex might not be per se relevant for us, but you get the main point. Ciao :)

[Edited by Mombastic on Feb 28, 2018]

Good debate guys. I am wondering which more important is to graduate from top university or to be from the top 5%?

Good debate guys. I am wondering which more important is to graduate from top university or to be from the top 5%?

[Edited by bclmjur on Feb 28, 2018]

Good debate guys. I am wondering which more important is to graduate from top university or to be from the top 5%?

I think the general view is that most BCL/MJur students graduated in the top 5% of their cohort with some graduating out of that if they, for example, studied their undergrad at Cambridge. I also think that generally Cambridge admits students within the top 10%. Cambridge's website refers to top 10%: http://www.llm.law.cam.ac.uk/admissions/admissions-criteria.html

Good debate guys. I am wondering which more important is to graduate from top university or to be from the top 5%?

I think the general view is that most BCL/MJur students graduated in the top 5% of their cohort with some graduating out of that if they, for example, studied their undergrad at Cambridge. I also think that generally Cambridge admits students within the top 10%. Cambridge's website refers to top 10%: http://www.llm.law.cam.ac.uk/admissions/admissions-criteria.html

Do you think who received offers from LSE have a decent chance to enroll in Oxbridge?
In other words, do you think having an offer from Oxbridge is much harder than having an offer from LSE?

Well...

[Edited by VisionMed on Jul 12, 2018]