Pre-exam panic
updated on 06 May 2014
Dear Oracle
I've enjoyed my first year at university - so much so that I've just realised my law exams are looming and I've done too much pubbing and procrastinating and nowhere near enough revision. Are first-year exams that important? They don't really count in the long run, do they?
The Oracle replies
Brace yourself for some sobering news. Law firms are pretty choosy when it comes to who they recruit for a training contract (hopefully this bit isn't news to you) and in doing so will take into account pretty much your entire academic history, which will include looking at your marks in individual modules. These firms want to see evidence of hard workers with consistently good grades who are likely to maintain and exceed a certain level of achievement throughout their careers. They won't want to invest in someone who to date has flown by the seat of his pants and scraped through his exams in a hungover haze!
Of course there's always the chance you can redeem yourself in your second and third years, but remember you'll still have to list the grades you've got at the end of your first year when you're applying for training contracts, not to mention vacation schemes. Give yourself some respect: lay off the partying, start your revision today and give your future career the time and attention that it deserves.
Further reading
LC.N blogger Atticus' appraisal of different revision methods and techniques.
