Hi everyone,
I applied to study law in nus and smu. I managed to get offered a place in smu but not nus and was offered my second choice of business instead. Law is one of the few majors that resonate with my personal interests which is why I applied for it. I was initially quite ecstatic to get a spot in smu, but after reading up on online discourse relating to the major, I’ve been feeling doubtful and anxious about studying there and I’m ruminating on whether I should just bite the bullet and take up the business offer instead.
Based on online discussion, it seems like smu has less notes and significantly fewer exchange opportunities compared to nus. Furthermore, I’ve heard that due to smu’s very low ranking and prestige, international firms and companies won’t consider their law students as much compared to nus and other uk uni students, assuming grades and everything else held equal. Besides this, I’ve also seen some people saying that local firms, companies and gvt agencies such as AGC are still skewed towards nus and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future since most of the existing lawyers in these places were from nus and have a tendency to hire from their own. I’m not sure how much water these claims hold, but they do sound quite worrisome. Can any past or present law student clarify on these?
Furthermore, I’ve also heard from a thread that in smu, there have been a few students who weren’t able to even take the bar over the years, whereas nus has never had any such case at all, which could potentially imply that the cohort in nus is more intellectually adept than smu. I’m just worried about this as I wish to work in an intellectually stimulating environment surrounded by hard workers who push each other, and I want to also be able to network well, so is nus business better for this since I couldn’t make it into nus law?
I know I might come across as a bit pessimistic and hateful, but that’s not really my intention. I’m just a bit anxious about spending 4 years studying in this environment and I’m also nervous about how much being in smu will be a hindrance to my future career. I’ve never really thought of prestige as an important considering factor, but it seems like it plays a very hefty role here. I’d appreciate any insights from people, especially law students.