There are various factors that an A-Level student has to consider before applying to any university offering legal training. They include, but are not limited to the following:

Grades and points required

You may prefer to apply to a law school where you will have classmates with high qualifying grades or points in order to challenge your individual performance. A law school whose students’ averages are not significantly different from each other is more preferable.

Student population

Usually, a law school with a larger student population would tend to offer multiple selections of courses. An expansive faculty will allow you to sample a wide range of courses. A large law school may offer myriad of extracurricular programs, different student services and rich library resources. Though, administrators at smaller schools may be better placed to give students personalized attention.

Joint-degree programs offered

Joint-degree arrangements allow a student to pursue a combination of courses available at the institution simultaneously. For more information you can check the individual school listings.

Languages offered

This will interest students with aspirations of working in an international law firm. To get better guidance, first check with the international law firms and get to know which foreign languages they are looking for, and then proceed to make an informed choice.

Faculty-to-student ratio

Generally, it is not desirable to have full-time professors and instructors to full-time student ratio of about 1 to 30, or even greater. Some law schools may be attractive to some students due to their low faculty-to-student ratio.

Student body diversity

A highly diversified student body offers better learning experience and exposure to the different point of views. This can be attained where a significant number of students are not of the same age, race etc.

Reputation

You may want to attain credentials from a law school with an enviable reputation. Begin by looking at the university league tables. This list is released on an annual basis by columnists in newspapers such as the Guardian. Here universities are ranked based on teaching excellence, student satisfaction etc.

Russell Group University lists 24 leading universities in the United Kingdom that are committed to undertake the best teaching and research practices.

You can also infer from recruitment brochures that legal employers publish and get to know which universities their staff attended.

Foreign partnerships

Some law schools may have programs that attach law students abroad, for a limited period of time, as part of their law degree. An example is Sheffield University’s LL.B. Law and University of Bristol’s LL.B. Law that have study abroad programs in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Other law schools may have partnerships with different international institutions that allow students to engage in exchange programmes. Attending the university’s open day will avail helpful information to you. Also to note are opportunities for one to train and serve competently in two countries. For example King’s College London (KCL) is offering English Law & French Law LL.B. and Maitrise en droit. This four year degree allows one to juggle the first two years at KCL and the subsequent two years at Paris Sorbonne.