Which is the best University for Law between Nottingham and Southampton?

Answer 1

Nottingham & Southampton are excellent universities; both in the "Russell Group" of major research led universities; both highly ranked (top 20), & deemed "competitive entry".

Each has a strong Law Dept: Southampton is particularly good for commercial, maritime, & international law; Nottingham is probably a bit stronger for traditional "core" legal studies.

Overall, however, there's little to differentiate them; both offer highly regarded "qualifying" law degrees; their graduates are highly sought after by major London & provincial law firms, & many do very well in LPC/ BVC obtaining top training contracts & pupillages thereafter.

Entrance requirements to either are very similar (3 As at A Level - Nottingham requires the LNAT; Southampton does not.), & the key determinant for most prospective students is, therefore, likely to be location & general environment.

Southampton is on the South Coast (with all it offers), near to London, with very easy access to the Continent. But many regard it as an unattractive city (heavily bombed in WW2; big "industrial" port; lots of oil refineries etc) full of drunken, violent chavs - who hate students! That said, the hinterland is very attractive - New Forest etc.. The University main campus is okay; it has all you need/ good facilities etc, but is not particularly attractive - lots of large, characterless buildings, although some of the most recent additions are better.

Nottingham is "Up North" (sort of!) - good or bad, depending on point of view! The city is interesting, fashionable, very elegant (in parts), & allegedly has one of the most attractive young people populations in the UK! University main campus is impressive & attractive. Generally regarded as a very good place for students, but it does also have one of the highest violent (esp gun related) crime rates in the UK, & some parts are de facto "no go areas" for students, especially females.

So, either is very good for Law, but there are significant differences between them in other respects...