<p>My question, maybe someone here can answer is: Are the requirements the same for a much older student returning to school as an younger applicant applying directly from a University?</p>
<p>I am a much older student returning to college so my GPA is not really representative of where I am now in life. I did have at least a 3.0 for my B.A. since then I have excelled in my profession and have been recognized publicly for my work.</p>
<p>I wish to change speeds however and go into International Law for graduate school for a J.D. If someone knows how this works for people out of school for over 15 years and what the likelihood of getting in would be? I don’t know if I would be required to take the test that is required of all younger students. I went to the website it was not as detailed regarding older students. </p>
<p>I am working with a project coordinator for applying to the Fulbright also for research which may take me to Cambridge University. I am wondering what the forum thinks about this. Do you think it would improve my chances of admission for Graduate work at Cambridge for Law? I realize my GPA is not a 3.6. as recommended so I am concerned. If they are looking at my transcripts will they be only considering my GPA for classes like History, Journalism, Anthropology, Literature, Logic, Philosophy and Critical Studies? I have heard they discount other courses that are just required for graduation or they are not applicable is this true?? I have zero Law classes.</p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any information in this regard. </p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>First of all, Cambridge doesn’t offer a JD program. You can do an LLM as a post-graduate (ie, a person who has completed an undergraduate degree), but usually you have to have done law as an undergraduate. In the UK most lawyers do law as their <em>only</em> undergraduate subject and then do apprenticeships while they take their exams- an LLM is an exception, not the rule (you might enjoy this article about ‘why do an LLM’: <a href=“http://www.llm-guide.com/article/607/7-reasons-why-lawyers-do-an-llm”>http://www.llm-guide.com/article/607/7-reasons-why-lawyers-do-an-llm</a>)</p>
<p>Students who did not do law as undergraduates do a “conversion” course to get the legal underpinnings, then sit the same sort of exams the others sat. It is not like the US, where you do all of your law degree in graduate school. Hence, <em>none</em> of your non-law courses are interesting to Cambridge. </p>
<p>So, in UK terms, what you are asking to do is to skip law school and go straight into an advanced law degree. If the profession in which you have ‘excelled’ is law, then you may be able to substitute experience for coursework, otherwise I don’t see how you would qualify for a post-grad Law degree at Cambridge. </p>
<p>(also, the exceptions for older students- politely called “Mature” students- apply to people who have not finished an undergraduate degree. </p>
<p>Thank you for your response cafe mom. YES the U.S. standards are different. And Yes I am a postgraduate. Got that. My confusion came from reading the website it’s self which was vague regarding “mature” students. Older students here in the U.S., (God bless America) are given a lot more leeway as far as returning to college as an older student. The reasoning top law schools give is that life is life. Things change such as having a family and career. Older students also have exceptional life experience. I believe I read the same on the Cambridge website but wanted clarification of this. AGAIN the website info is limited. I am interested in attending Cambridge for the experience, I have studied in Europe however never in the UK so I am not aware of their procedure. </p>
<p>I am aware a L.L.M is NOT a Juris Doctorate it is it’s equivalent.
At most top universities older students are just NOT looked at the same way which makes perfect sense. Younger post graduates therefore as treated differently regarding admissions. And Cafemom, clearly if I was practicing Law I would not be interested in attending Cambridge Law School for graduate school. </p>
<p>You couldn’t have responded in a snarkier, patronistic and rude manner. I don’t know what your issue IS but do your self a favor and quell your sarcasm please it was not asked for or needed. Clearly I was asking for a assistance not insults. </p>
<p>Just for future reference, watch your tone I can’t believe you mentor anyone. I bid you ado!</p>
<p>Please anyone who is currently or was a STUDENT with REAL experience as an older American student attending Cambridge Law School please reply. I need help finding out how Cambridge law school handles older students what assistance they have specifically for older students on campus ie. program coordinator etc. </p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Hi there. I’m not sure if this would be the right option for you, but I’ll put it out there as a possible option to consider:</p>
<p>If your first degree was for a subject other than Law, you could apply to do the affiliated undergraduate Law course at Cambridge University, which is a shortened version of their undergraduate degree in Law, designed for students who already have a degree in another subject. </p>
<p>The info is here: <a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge;
<p>Also, Cambridge is well set up for ‘mature’ students and very supportive. All students there belong to a College. There are 4 Colleges that are specifically for mature students - Wolfson, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmunds and Hughes Hall. Alternatively mature students who want to can apply for any of the other colleges if they prefer a ‘standard age’ environment - they are very welcoming but most of your year group would be 18 at a ‘standard age’ college so it depends on what kind of environment you’re looking for. All the Colleges have profiles here:</p>
<p><a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge;
<p>…and you basically just pick one that you fancy studying at.</p>
<p>If your first degree was a long time ago, they’ll be more interested in where you are now than grades that are way out of date. There are definitely differences for people who apply later in life, so I suggest that you email some colleges to ask about what is needed for entry in your case. I’m pretty sure they’d ask you to sit the test all applicants for Law sit as part of the application process, and they also use interviews where you discuss academic questions with teachers in Law so that they can see what you can do (and again, it’s about now and looking forwards, not 15 years ago).</p>
<p>With such an angry attitude towards people who try to help you, I am not convinced this is a good idea.</p>
<p>You won’t be treated as special because you are older or because you are American if that’s what you are asking (I think it is). No special programme co-ordinators.</p>
<p>A “mature” student in the UK is anyone who is older than 21 on entering undergraduate. It is less applicable to graduate students really, but some places call graduate students over 25 “mature”.</p>
<p>Since it seems you are not satisfied by the information on the Cambridge website, I advise you to contact them with your questions. But I recommend you make your questions clear and contain your anger.</p>
<p><a href=“Contact | International Students”>http://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/contact-help-and-support</a></p>