Law degree overseas?

[nicolchoi]

Hi

I've pretty much resigned to fate that I won't be able to do Law in Singapore as my Poly GPA is only 3.1, so I've been doing research on universities in the UK, as people on HWZ have told me to go overseas as well.

Question I need to ask is, is a 3.1 enough to enter a law school that's approved by the Ministry of Law? (Looking at Sheffield or Nottingham, open to more options).

All replies will be much appreciated, thanks!

 

[patryn33]

GPA 3.1 hard no harm trying since the application is cheap.
U can look at OZ uni, chances u have to do foundation and transfer

 

[cjfalk]

"Ranking" of law schools (based on general perception)

1st tier: Oxbridge
2nd tier: LSE, UCL, NUS, SMU
3rd tier: Nottingham, KCL, Warwick, Bristol, Durham, ANU, UMel, Manchester

With a GPA of 3.1, you'd have to try for the schools that aren't on the list. There are plenty of other schools, although you'd definitely be at a disadvantage when finding a legal job in singapore.

 

[Havok_ex]

Look to Australia. Cheaper and easier entry. I would recommend Tasmania. Your grades will definitely qualify. I have a friend who got in with that GPA. First year is a Bachelor of Arts with Law. Its an Arts course but you take 2 Law modules with your other mods. Based on your results for this 2 modules, you can then continue to pursue a degree in Law. There is a catch though, you will spend 5 years instead of 4. 1st year is arts with law mods. Followed by 3 year law degree. Then a final honours year. And tasmania is by far the cheapest. Dont bother about rankings when it comes to law. As long as the university is approved by minlaw, you can take the bar. hence, you can practice. There's a shortage of lawyers here in sg already so finding a job wont be difficult.

Or you could do foundation and get entry to a better university if ranking is impt to you.

 

[cjfalk]

Look to Australia. Cheaper and easier entry. I would recommend Tasmania. Your grades will definitely qualify. I have a friend who got in with that GPA. First year is a Bachelor of Arts with Law. Its an Arts course but you take 2 Law modules with your other mods. Based on your results for this 2 modules, you can then continue to pursue a degree in Law. There is a catch though, you will spend 5 years instead of 4. 1st year is arts with law mods. Followed by 3 year law degree. Then a final honours year. And tasmania is by far the cheapest. Dont bother about rankings when it comes to law. As long as the university is approved by minlaw, you can take the bar. hence, you can practice. There's a shortage of lawyers here in sg already so finding a job wont be difficult.

Or you could do foundation and get entry to a better university if ranking is impt to you.

there is currently a shortage, but it's being abated by the entry of SMU grads and there will always be competition for the big 4 and some of the other prestigious local firms.

but yes, if TS is okay with joining the smaller firms, there should be no issues finding a job.

one more thing - foreign grads take one more year to qualify vs local grads, so if you go the tasmania route you're effectively 3 years behind already.

 

[Havok_ex]

Even at 3 years behind, I think its worth it if law is really what you want. Yeah sure, TS might not get into the bigger firms but in terms of entry pay, smaller firms arent that far behind.