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UniBuddy: An interview with Uzma Nasim

Our team of UniBuddies are student ambassadors on hand to answer questions about their own experiences and provide insight into life as a student at The University of Law. Today we talk to UniBuddy, Uzma Nasim. Uzma is currently studying the LPC and LLM in Professional Legal Practice at our Manchester campus.

By Editorial Team. Published 21 October 2020.

Since a young age I have aspired to become a solicitor, specifically one who works in human rights law, personal injury and clinical negligence, family law, immigration law, criminal law or employment law. I like to help others and I wanted my career to embody that.

I thought of it as my way to help people especially vulnerable individuals with significant legal matters such as family law matters, particularly those individuals dealing with custody and visitation rights of their children. In addition to this, I am passionate about the law and I think this primarily because I am against all types of injustice. Therefore, I believed having a career in law would be my way of fighting for justice, especially as I was interested in human rights law and criminal law.

I also love reading and writing which is something you do frequently when pursuing a career in law and liked reading up on different cases.

I came to the decision to study at The University of Law after I had both researched thoroughly into the University and after attending an open day at the University’s Manchester campus. I chose to study at The University of Law for a number of reasons. They have a great reputation and are top providers for the LPC. The quality of teaching was evident from the open days and the Employability Service stood out along with the employability promise. Smaller class sizes appealed to me and the support offered for mental health and wellbeing was clear.

I wanted to get involved with the UniBuddy program as I saw an opportunity to help prospective students by answering any questions they have. I have always been an individual who likes to provide reassurance to others where possible. It can be a nerve wracking and daunting process for someone who is starting University for the first time or even starting a completely different course. Therefore, I saw the UniBuddy program as my opportunity to try any ease worries prospective students may have regarding their upcoming courses. I thought by receiving reassurance and advice from someone who had been through the University process as an undergraduate and as a postgraduate student, the transition would be made easier for them.

One of the most common queries I have received from prospective students is why I chose The University of Law. Many students I have talked to want to know why I was drawn to The University of Law and my reasons for choosing to study there. There have also been questions asking me why I chose law, so students want to know what interests me about it and why I chose to pursue a career in law.

As I am currently studying the LPC, several students have asked me how I have found the LPC and what it is like. Following up from these questions, I’ve also frequently been asked how the LPC compares to the LLB. With regards to this question, students want to know whether both courses are similar or different. More importantly, I have found that students would like to know about how difficult the LPC is in comparison to the LLB. I also received numerous financial queries about student finance, instalment places, scholarships and bursaries.

I personally believe that the UniBuddy programme does make a difference to prospective students. Although attending University events and researching online are helpful, having an online platform such as UniBuddy allows prospective students to gain a real insight into what the University is like by talking with current students.

I feel like the UniBuddy program continues to teach me that I should have more confidence in myself.

I think the UniBuddy program has reassured me if anything. I have been told on several occasions that I have excellent interpersonal skills. The UniBuddy program has allowed me to witness this for myself. For example, when I respond to students’ queries on the platform, I have always been very thorough with my answers. I often find myself taking my time researching and writing my answer up to ensure that I have given students fully detailed and in-depth answers that provide them with as much information as possible. I have been told by several prospective students that they appreciate the level of detail I have gone into with my answers and they find my answers very helpful.

I would advise all prospective students who want to study at The University of Law to make sure they carry out their research on the University, so they know what to expect. By this I mean, it is important to know details about the University you want to study at and the course you want to study. In my opinion students should be aware of course details such as what the entry requirements are for their course, what modules they will study and what assessments they will have. Students should also be aware of the support they are entitled to receive while at University, like the teaching support, the employability support and the mental health support. As well as this, students should be aware of the financial details such as the course fees at the University, instalment plans, student finance and scholarships and bursaries the University offers.

 

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