Gaining new skills while studying English Law

I'm from Surrey and I decided to study at the University of Dundee because it offered the option of studying Law with Spanish. There were other university options closer to home but I chose to study in Dundee. Dundee is far from home and I wanted to experience time away and to live by myself for a while.  

I studied English Law, originally with Spanish but I decided to stop Spanish halfway through my degree so that I could focus all of my attention on Law.

In Law a lot of people studied in big groups and then there were people who didn't have groups to go to. I didn't have a group to study with because although I had made a lot of really close friends, they were mainly studying other subjects. One of my lecturers, Petra, talked to me and said that if we set up a student society then all of the students who weren't part of a study group could join together. That's what happened, we made a small group to study together. This was a turning point for me. 

During my time in Scotland, I travelled around the North and did a bit of mountain climbing. I also spent some time at the North Sea. I had quite a lot of adventures in my second year. 

My third year was really tough but everyone kept on telling me to work really hard, to get through it and at the end of it I would have the 2:1 degree and I would be happy. It worked. 

One of my highlights of studying here was when I walked out of my Equity and Trusts exam, and I just knew I'd aced the exam. That was a good feeling. Graduation was another highlight. The sun was out, everyone was taking photos. It was great. 

My Dundee education gave me the platform to go from boy to man. It definitely matured me a lot. It gave me skills that I didn't have before including academic skills in researching, writing, reading but it also gave me skills in how to be resourceful in my day to day life. I learned how to make the most of limited time. I came here and I met people that I wouldn't have met elsewhere.

I had a Professor here who marked me really harshly and, in the moment, I was upset but I'm so glad he gave me the marks he did because if he hadn't have done that I would have been in this blissful place thinking I was doing really well. It makes you push yourself. That's something I can say about Dundee's education, that it was the first time I felt really pushed. I work well under pressure, it's painful, but that’s when I get my best work done.  

The advice I would give to people considering studying law is to not view the first year as useless. I didn't apply myself in my first year as well as I could have and, looking back, I would have done it differently. My second bit of advice is to make use of the academics in the school. I didn't do that in my first or second year but I did in my third year. The lecturers and professors are the ticket to knowing exactly what you need to do. Speaking to them is what helped me the most. Studying alone can only get you so far. The lecturers are there to help you and they do help you. 

My plan for the future is to do the LPC (Legal Practice Course) in London.