I am a fourth year student and want to do an LLM in the UK. I have not even dared to look at Oxbridge, but wanted to know if I have any chance with LSE, KCL, and UCL as I understand they have a pretty competitive admissions process too. It seems their minimum requirements are basically an 8.0/10 CGPA, while mine is 7.55.

I have a decent CV otherwise, regular mooting, debating + published articles and I'm confident I can publish with good places by the end of this year.

Anyone with any knowledge about this, and especially those who have already pursued LLMs in the UK, please help me out -

1. do i have any chance of being considered regardless of my current c.g.p.a?
2. if not, could 2 years work experience in a reputable firm in the same area help/negate the disadvantage bc of my academic record?

thank you!

With UCL and LSE, may possibly be a chance, though very small. You'd need a smashing reference to do it, a very good personal statement and (for UCL specifically) an absolutely wonderful writing sample. On top of which, you would need to explain any extenuating circumstances that made your grades go down. With King's, things are, in some senses, even more complicated. They don't want references (they don't ask for them, don't give space on the application to provide). Therefore, unless you can convince them of your extenuating circumstances' validity, they are unlikely to let you in. Many UK law schools that I applied to say (and I believe I again remember UCL/LSE saying on their website) that their presumption is that your law school examiners took your extenuating circumstances into account when evaluating your work. LSE emphasizes that your 'professional accomplishments' need to be 'significant'. You want to think if having an average CV is good enough. When you say 'regular' mooting, have you won anything? Remember always to assume that somebody with fantastic grades and a fantastic CV is applying, and make your choices accordingly. No doubt people will pile onto this saying that if you have the money ... and you can choose to believe them if you like. But think about this: I know from personal experience that these unis often reject students from comparable law schools in the UK itself (even their own undergraduates who are re-applying). Are you ready to spend up to 9500 INR in application fees alone if you aren't 100% sure you will get in?

To address your work experience question, think about the following points:

1. How specialist will it get? How will it contribute to your overall development? How will it help you be a better student on the LLM? What practical perspectives will you be able to bring with it to the table? All stuff to be addressed in the personal statement.

2. GPA-wise, they are unlikely to compromise with two years work experience. You'd need at least five years for them to even think of relenting (and not by very much) (UCL specifically says this on its website). Even if you do five years, assume that people with five years with a 10/10 CGPA are competing alongside you and act accordingly. Also remember about references. Unless you have graduated several years ago, they won't allow employer references, so you will have to keep in touch with law school professors. Specifically, for LSE, you will need two referees. Depending on your circumstances, ask them if maybe they'd be happy with one academic and one professional reference, remembering always that they prefer academic. Also, will a law school professor be able to write as good a reference in 2027, when you have been out of their class for several years, than they could have done when their memory about you was fresh? Employer references won't be accepted as proof of English proficiency either.

3. The British have tightened up their visa system since January 2024, now conducting 'credibility interviews' for most visa applicants. The guidance for Home Office caseworkers specifically asks them to investigate and question more thoroughly anyone with gaps in their studies. So even if you've convinced your uni that your experience (gap in study) is actually good, you could be stopped from getting there by a visa refusal. This is perhaps the smallest of your worries, because, as far as I remember, all three unis you mention are higher education providers with track records of compliance, though you still want this to be a factor. You don't want to cough up (potentially) non-refundable visa processing fees.

Thank you for the detailed answer, this has given me a lot to think about. Point #2 has convinced me to start applying immediately after law school, if at all.

Wrt regular mooting, I meant i have done four moots (all in one field i.e. competition) including ILNU, NLUJ, TNNLU etc. In those I have not one but I have qualified till quarters/octas/semis + best memo etc. I have decent publications with NLUs + an oxford blog, but I will try to improve upon it this year. I also debate so have 2-3 achievements there too.

First learn not to use Oxford commas, mate :). Your typical British admissions officer is pedantic AF (mods, please don't redact). It's "LSE, KCL and UCL", not "LSE, KCL, and UCL". Remember that old British saying: "Americans don't speak English". :))

UK LLM grad here. I got accepted at KCL, UCL, SOAS, NUS Singapore and UNSW. I eventually chose KCL because of certain courses and specialisations. I had a very average GPA (below what the stipulate) and zero work ex (apart from internships). I never thought that I would make it to any of these colleges, because there is so much competition. But I managed because of certain other advantages and smart strategising, namely:

1. Good publications, including in Scopus-listed journals like EPW and JIPR.

2. I was from a tier 1 NLU

3. I totally scammed the system. I took easy human rights electives and scored top grades in them. This bumped up my overall GPA from bottom 10 in class to lower-middle rank. In one of my reco letters, one of the professors kindly said that I topped her class (without mentioning that there were only 12 students in the class, all backbenchers like me looking to inflate their grades 🤣)

4. I also tweaked my CV and SOP to make me look like a woke human rights guy. For example, I interned with a Senior Advocate on all types of cases, one of which was a pro bono matter on the environment. In my CV and SOP, I mentioned only environment law. I interned with a law firm's IP and tech team on all types of IP work, but I emphasised only one case involving drug patents and harped on access to medicines. I gave the impression in my SOP that I will return to India and become a human rights crusader (ended up doing the exact opposite: becoming an overpaid commercial lawyer advising corrupt corporations 😪).

Anyone who knows your work well, likes you and is even marginally invested in your success is good to write letters for you - in most cases, someone who's taught you in law school, if you have graduated many years ago, a professional, e.g., a law firm partner, a judge whom you worked under etc. You want to ask them at least a month (sometimes two) in advance, so they have enough time to prepare and write it (I asked my professor for a recommendation letter on 15th October for an application due 10th December). Send them copies of your CV/publications so they have insights of you in front of them - they'll likely just know your classroom performance and assessment grades (in the case of law professors). Then you just input their names and contact details into the application portals of the unis you are applying for, they'll get an automated email with a link and they can follow that to upload their writing. NB: You should always include a professional address, not a personal or gmail one (therefore abc@xyzuni.ac.in, rather than abc@gmail.com). The unis can get quite fussy about it and create no end of tamasha about fraud and all.

can you translate your CGPA to %, UK unis ask for % conversion

if it is below 65% its unlikely that LSE or UCL is going to consider you

if it is more than 60% but less than 65% KCL may consider you (I am assuming you are from one of the NLUs)

if your score is between 55%-60% you can get into QMUL, Manchester, Birmingham etc.

BTW you did not discuss why you want to do LLM directly after LLB? may i ask the reasons

Slightly misleading, but mostly correct:

1. King's requires a 'good 2:1' (or similar language used on their website). In their classification system, that would mean above 64 to 65%, with a '2:1' (or 'upper second class honours degree') being 60% or above.

2. Anything below 60% is on shaky ground with QMUL as well. Check their entry requirements.

I used the formula I can see in most places online and online calculators. I am getting 71.68%.
I am flexible about when I want to do an LLM, but preferably within the first three years of graduating, mainly because:

- It might be difficult for me to find a correct time for doing my LLM once I am deeper into my career, I would rather do it rn than not do it at all.

- My family (also lawyers) want me to do it within the first three years, mainly for reason #2.

all indian unis give out equivalent grade number in % if requested

uk unis know this, so if you submit your cgpa they are going to ask for % equivalence and then if you can provide a document from your uni which states that your cgpa is equivalent to 71% (which is distinction grade in the UK) then you can easily get into any top 5 uk unis