Path to law: university or not?

More students every year opt to study law at university, making it a heavily oversubscribed subject. As such, the amount of new, competent and able graduates not in legal employment is worryingly high. Here, I will look at the first stage of the decision-making process, whether to go to university or pursue one of the alternative routes to qualification.

Entry requirements and choosing your university

If university is the way you want to go, entry requirements can vary massively depending on the university you wish to apply for. Ideally, you should aim for a minimum of ABB at A level to give you the best chance and better opportunities for securing future placements while at university. On your UCAS application, you will choose one institution as your "firm" choice and one that is essentially your back-up choice. To help you decide, I strongly recommend going to open days at the universities of interest. Some considerations to take into account, among others, are graduate employability, student satisfaction and distance from home.

When it comes to it, it is possible that you may not meet the minimum entry requirements for your chosen university. This is a topic that is extremely close to my heart, having missed out on my first-choice by 40 UCAS points. To regain some control over my own future, I chose to use UCAS’ clearing facility.

First, just because you resort to clearing does not make you any less capable than your peers. For example, some students who go through clearing only decided to go to university on results day. And if you are going through clearing, don’t apply for just ANY university. Again, do your research, see what entry requirements they are asking for, look at graduate employability and the social scene. Can you see yourself studying there?

Once you have chosen a number of universities, each has a dedicated hotline for clearing candidates, where they discuss with you the places they have on offer and what grades they are looking for. You will then receive an offer and you have between 24 and 48 hours to accept it. This gives you some time to discuss the decision with your family, friends or a careers tutor.

These days, most universities charge the full £9,000 per year in tuition fees (compared to around £3,000 in 2012-13). I don’t have to tell you that a normal three-year law degree, at £9,000 per year, is a lot of money, especially if you are not guaranteed a training contract at the end of it. If you wish to qualify via the traditional route, after your degree you will need to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC). The LPC can be studied full time over one year (or part time over two) and unfortunately you do not qualify for student loan funding to study it. The cost of the LPC ranges from £10,000 to £14,000, depending on the provider.

There are a few institutions that offer a combined degree and LPC, which will be covered by the student loan system, but this is a relatively new concept and requires research, not least to ensure that employers will recognise the combined classification.

CILEx

Thankfully, going to university is not your only option to qualify as a solicitor. It is possible to train as a chartered legal executive (ie, a role very similar to that of a solicitor) through CILEx. Normally, this involves a school leaver starting in an entry-level role with a law firm that offers to pay for that person’s CILEx qualifications, which are normally studied alongside full-time work. The individual must also complete a period of qualifying employment to become a legal executive. He/she also still has the option to go on to qualify as a solicitor at a later date.

Apprenticeships

In the past couple of years, some law firms have introduced legal apprenticeships for school leavers in order to develop suitable candidates from an early age and to encourage early commitment to the firm. This is a relatively new concept and places are not that widely available, so it will be important to research which firms in your area offer apprenticeship opportunities.

Katherine Whittingham is a claims negotiator working for national firm Colemans CTTS LLP based in Manchester. She studied law at the University of Central Lancashire, achieving a 2:1, and went on to do the LPC.