Hello,

I am very confused because I am uncertain if I would "qualify" for these top British Universities.

I plan to apply to Cambridge, Oxford, London (especially LSE and Kings), Edinburgh, and Trinity College (Dublin). Can anyone please help me in determining my chances?

I go to an Australian university -

I hold part time legal employment -

I have one refereed law journal article published - one more is being peer reviewed at the moment -

My results for law subject are (business and arts specified with asterix **): FOR 2005 -- 76; 88; 83; 77, 70, 79, 76, S. FOR 2004 -- 86; 72; 84; 82; 60. FOR 2003 -- 82**; 74**, 41, 60, 91**, 72, 82. FOR 2002 -- 76**; 81**; 53**; 78**; 73**, 58, 62. -

I failed one subject due to illness - my lecturer will also wriite a letter to that effect in support of me - will this hurt?

I was requred to udnertake part time study over a couple of semesters (2nd year) due to illness and work - will this be detriemetal? -

Please let me know if you require further information. My biggest concerns are part time study while I was sick and failing that one subject. I just hope I can make it into a good European university.

Thank-you kindly for any help.

Further information. I am 22 years old. I have both Australian and European citizenship (Italian), have won a prize for legal writing, ... not sure if that is of assistance.

Again, thank-you very much for any guidance. I look forward to the responses.

@ Capa: To properly evaluate your chances you would have to explain how the grading system works in Australia and particularly how your grades compare to those of your peers (i.e., are you within the top 5/10/15...% of your year?).

Hi - thanks for your reply. Rankings are not common down under. However, i'm told i'm consistently in the top few in my class - have topped the class for 2 subjects only. Commonly, a grade of 75%+ is reserved for the top students, a grade of 80%+ is reserved for the top few. .

But, a an indication, 2nd class honours is any average above 70% with a distinction (70%) for a research dissertation. First class honours is at least 75% average (with at least 10 high distinction grades (80%+)) and a distinction (70%) for the dissertation.

I hope this shed some light? If not please let me know.

Thanks again.

Anyone? would this help?

Following from: http://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/QualificationsRecognition/CountryEducationProfiles/CEP_Aus_GradSys.htm#HED

Higher Education
Two grading systems are used for Bachelor degrees: grading for individual units or subjects, and classifications for Honours degrees.

Institutions use variations of several main types of subject grades: descriptive grades - for example, High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass; letter grades - for example, A-E; and numeric grades - for example, 7-1, where 7 is the highest mark. Some institutions may use Honours classifications (see below) for individual subjects, particularly in an Honours course.

Subject grades will often be aligned to a notional percentage mark. The system recommended by the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee is:

High Distinction 80%-100%
Distinction 70%-79%
Credit 60%-69%
Pass 50%-59%

NOTE that the Australian system is a low-marking system compared to that commonly used in the USA. The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) 1990 publication The Educational System of Australia: An Update of the 1983 World Education Series listed in Notes on Sources later in this Profile recommends that the Australian grades of High Distinction and Distinction might be considered comparable to a US grade of A and a Credit to a US B. This publication also suggests that most Passes could be considered to be at US C level and the Conceded Pass at US D.

Just go for it! I don't quite see through the Australian grading system, but if you are in the top 10, 20 (Oxford, Cambridge), 30 (King's, LSE) percent of your class you will stand a chance to be admitted. As far as King's and LSE are concerned: Apply as early as possible, as acceptence letters are being sent on a rolling basis (at least this was the case when I applied for my LLM).

You should check this as well:

http://www.llm-guide.com/board/9035
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/6691
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/6480

And this one:

http://www.llm-guide.com/board/8241/