Student review [#9951] for Law
at University of Liverpool - UOL

I studied a Bachelors of Law (LLB) at the UoL and graduated with a first class, ranking within the top 3% of my cohort, so trust me when I tell you I know what I am talking about when it comes to the UoL!

The UoL is truly a great institution. It has great lecturers, great learning resources/facilities, and great societies – the list can endlessly go on, but I will focus on these!

Great Lecturers:
At the UoL, I promise that almost all of your lecturers actually care and are devoted to your development even if you do not actively pursue their support. This is a contrasting feature that really sets this uni apart from other rival Russell group unis. For example, my commercial law lecturer, Rob Stokes, cared so much about student development that he provided a class of 300+ students with extra support and one-to-one individualised feedback on our courseworks (trust me, this does not happen at most other unis where your feedback will be generic). The effort that Rob put into supporting students really made me appreciate him as a lecturer who cares about my development. But he didnt stop there! He went even further and chose to voluntarily record extra ‘support’ lectures at his own time and uploaded them on ‘vital’ our online learning platform. for us all to listen to, and these were so specific and detailed and simplified a lot of the key concepts in commercial law that many of us found difficult.

As great as he is however, Rob is not the only remarkably supportive lecturer at the UoL. In my experience, they all were. For example, Phillip Gray was extremely supportive in my non-law business course and helped me not only in my academic learning by inviting me to his office to develop my understanding and critiques of various business topics, but he even helped me in my career prospects and connected me to various professional practitioners at my request! Similarly, Gregory Messenger, another great Professor, was so supportive of our development that he decided to broaden our understanding by simplifying the seminar material content in a very structured and easily accessible format, even though he did not have to do this! This was very useful when it came to the assessment stage as key resources were much more accessible and easier to understand. Nevertheless, his support went further. When I was applying for the Master of Laws (LLM), he OFFERED to review my personal statement and give me feedback on it. He did just that. Multiple times (4+ reviews). And I am now an LLM student at the LSE.

Hopefully you see what I mean by my statement that the UoL has ‘great lecturers’.

Great Learning Resources/Facilities:
Alternatively, the UoL also provides students with great learning resources and facilities and I can safely say these facilities far out-class those provided by at most other unis I have visited. What I mean by this is that, although the ‘online library’ services are essentially the same across both the UoL and other unis (you simply search for an e-book or academic article and you get the link to it), the actual library resources, spacing, and accessibility are superior at the UoL. Indeed, the UoL can not only rightfully boast about its collection which contains millions of resources, but it can also pride itself about the fact that it has TWO large and specialised (i.e. course specific) libraries which are accessible by all students 24/7 (this was really important for me!). Certainly, as a student, I NEVER felt in need of extra space even during the busy exam periods simply because the libraries can physically accommodate lots of students. That being said, students not wishing to use the libraries to study for whatever reason have the ability to access any of the many computer rooms and smaller libraries scattered across campus, which is great especially when seeking isolation/solitude!

Of course, the libraries themselves have their own cafes, vending machines, seating arrangement (silent study and public areas), and many computers (you can even rent out laptops!). Other important factors are that these libraries are within walking distance from well over 20 takeaways (whether you’re looking for a donner kebab, or an avocado on wholemeal bread, its all nearby), multiple shops/grocers (Tesco, cooperative, sainsbury’s, Lidl, and local shops), multiple cafes (café nero, costa, starbucks, and MANY other relaxing local cafes), a gym, the Guild of Students which contains many other facilities and services itself, and a 24/7 bus stop which travels to all student accommodations!

Is there anything else one could want in a library? Perhaps a great social area to unwind in? They are there (many of them). A tech support service? You guessed it, its there. Multiple 40-inch flatscreen TVs in private rooms and a FREE DVD renting service? Yup, already there. Seasonal décor, massive Christmas trees, and one of the most beautiful parks in the entire city? You know what i’m going to say… already there.

Great Societies:
I’ll try keep this one short. The UoL boasts many great societies, most of which are students led and sufficiently funded to pursue all sorts of crazy activities. Which one(s) you choose to pursue really depends on you as a person. Like horse-riding? Its there. Martial arts/boxing/mma? They’re there. Football, rugby, tennis, squash, basketball (and many other ball games)? They’re there. Music? They’re there, we even have a nice upright piano and noise proof practice rooms! Subject specific societies? Of course they’re there. Professional skills training, mooting, negotiating, debating, gaming? All there. Food, religion, culture, history, arts? Yup, all there.

Clearly, we have many societies. All are cheap, welcoming, and interesting. The fresher fair will introduce you to most of these, and then it is up to you to join whichever you feel like, or not at all. Throughout my degree, I was personally in over 15 societies (actively engaging in all).

My point?
All in all, I may have written an essay here, but this goes to show you that it is all true. I loved my experience at the UoL in every way. I met my best friend and, though he lives halfway across the world in Singapore, I speak to literally everyday! I am still in touch with my lecturers as I literally cant thank them enough for their support and guidance which led me to where I am. Liverpool will forever be my home.