Sean G - The end is nigh!
29/04/2013
By this time next month, I’ll have completed all my first-year exams. It’s amazing how quickly this year has gone, but has it been worth it?
I think it has; whether it’s worth £9,000 or not is a different matter! Nonetheless, I have absolutely no regrets about studying law; while cases may be long to read, I have found all my first-year subjects interesting and hopefully that will carry on into next year, though I’ve heard awful things about EU law (and not just from UKIP).
I recently helped out at a university open day, at which I pulled out the “why do you want to study law?” card to some of the perplexed, slightly nervous looking prospective newbies. I never liked being asked this question when I was on open days, mainly because I’d just spent ages writing a personal statement all about it – it felt as though if I mentioned any reason different from my personal statement, I’d be found out and hung. Perhaps I was motivated by sadism. Anyway, the response I got was largely the same as I gave to people – a shrug, followed by a meditational hum.
At this point in answering the “why?” question, I believe most prospective law students think the following: “Say anything but the money! For God’s sake, don’t mention the money - they’ll think you just want to do it for the money!” I think this thought is thunk by even the most chrematophobic (word of the day) prospective law students.
The reason for this is the perception that lawyers are rich; you know that as soon as you tell someone you're a law student/want to study law they'll be taking down your details just in case you make it and they need a favour. Of course the longer one's pensive state lasts, the more the question asker begins to wonder whether this person has given any thought to why they want to study law at all.
In reality, of course, the question asker doesn’t think this at all and basically just wants you to stop humming and answer the question so it’s not so awkward. In my situation, I rather unexpectedly got asked the question back. A question I haven’t answered in at least six months.
Bizzarely, I still felt compelled to stay loyal to what I’d written in my personal statement, and indeed my first LC.N blog post. I then wondered whether what I wrote in my personal statement was still true. So, I embarked on the cringeworthy task of re-reading my personal statement.
Here are some of the clangers:
“I have always firmly believed that there are two sides to every story...”
“As a child, I took great enjoyment in reading, which awakened an interested in words and the power they possess.”
“The role the law plays in creating effective socio-political change engaged me…”
And, the final sentence: “I look forward to immersing myself in all aspects of university life.”
Ignoring the fact I managed to squeeze “socio-political change” into my personal statement, largely that stuff is true. I did look forward to "immersing myself" - which sounds oddly painful – and I feel I have done that reasonably well. I still believe that there are two sides to every story and I remain a language lover.
The moral of the story is: say whatever you want in response to that question - chances are when you look back it will be ridiculous anyway.
Source: LawCareers.net
I think it has; whether it’s worth £9,000 or not is a different matter! Nonetheless, I have absolutely no regrets about studying law; while cases may be long to read, I have found all my first-year subjects interesting and hopefully that will carry on into next year, though I’ve heard awful things about EU law (and not just from UKIP).
I recently helped out at a university open day, at which I pulled out the “why do you want to study law?” card to some of the perplexed, slightly nervous looking prospective newbies. I never liked being asked this question when I was on open days, mainly because I’d just spent ages writing a personal statement all about it – it felt as though if I mentioned any reason different from my personal statement, I’d be found out and hung. Perhaps I was motivated by sadism. Anyway, the response I got was largely the same as I gave to people – a shrug, followed by a meditational hum.
At this point in answering the “why?” question, I believe most prospective law students think the following: “Say anything but the money! For God’s sake, don’t mention the money - they’ll think you just want to do it for the money!” I think this thought is thunk by even the most chrematophobic (word of the day) prospective law students.
The reason for this is the perception that lawyers are rich; you know that as soon as you tell someone you're a law student/want to study law they'll be taking down your details just in case you make it and they need a favour. Of course the longer one's pensive state lasts, the more the question asker begins to wonder whether this person has given any thought to why they want to study law at all.
In reality, of course, the question asker doesn’t think this at all and basically just wants you to stop humming and answer the question so it’s not so awkward. In my situation, I rather unexpectedly got asked the question back. A question I haven’t answered in at least six months.
Bizzarely, I still felt compelled to stay loyal to what I’d written in my personal statement, and indeed my first LC.N blog post. I then wondered whether what I wrote in my personal statement was still true. So, I embarked on the cringeworthy task of re-reading my personal statement.
Here are some of the clangers:
“I have always firmly believed that there are two sides to every story...”
“As a child, I took great enjoyment in reading, which awakened an interested in words and the power they possess.”
“The role the law plays in creating effective socio-political change engaged me…”
And, the final sentence: “I look forward to immersing myself in all aspects of university life.”
Ignoring the fact I managed to squeeze “socio-political change” into my personal statement, largely that stuff is true. I did look forward to "immersing myself" - which sounds oddly painful – and I feel I have done that reasonably well. I still believe that there are two sides to every story and I remain a language lover.
The moral of the story is: say whatever you want in response to that question - chances are when you look back it will be ridiculous anyway.
Source: LawCareers.net
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