I’m a final year law undergraduate at Warwick but my commitment to a career in law was sparked just before the start of my undergraduate degree, more precisely during Law and Politics IFP. As I finished high school in Ukraine, I realized that I want to have an international element to my work. I started reading about universities in the UK and how to get on an undergraduate degree as an international student. I ended up applying to five universities for an international foundation programme: a few in London and other campus-based like Warwick. What stood out to me immediately about Warwick IFP is not only its unique application process which consisted of three intellectually-simulating questions but also the speed with which I received a response – only 10 days and I was accepted. Despite receiving offers from all other universities where I applied, I choose Warwick IFP for three main reasons: course modules, a beautiful campus, and its teaching excellence.

I wasn’t sure about what I want to study at university, but I enjoyed essay-based subjects such as history and literature. I also liked watching TV-show about mock trials as I was inspired by the strategic arguing. Wishing to explore the legal profession further, I helped to manage the organization of events in the Ukrainian Bar Association and the Kiev Legal High School where I was surrounded by top lawyers who inspired me. I thus decided to study Law and Politics IFP which subsequently consolidated my interest in law. Fundamentally, I had the opportunity to study modules on IFP that I would later have to learn on an undergraduate law degree. This was crucial since I did not have any law-related subjects at school, therefore I wanted to see whether I would enjoy studying them. I was lucky to have amazing teachers who were passionate about the modules they taught and made me passionate about them too. For instance, I was fascinated by interesting and often hilarious cases which I studied in Tort law on IFP. Moreover, problem-questions used to assess my knowledge also matched my interests in learning law from a practical perspective as I was assessed based on how well I could advise my imaginary clients.

Of course, if you’re active, you should get involved in numerous societies offered at Warwick. I certainty did! I was a Head of Marketing at Warwick IFP Society and managed marketing department, created creative content to promote our society and helped organise events for over 150 IFP students. Later, during my undergraduate I joined many other societies and was holding positions for four major societies on campus. Trust me, you will not get bored as they are all very active and it is a good chance to meet people and make friends, so don’t miss it!

As I’ve already mentioned I’m currently a law (LLB) student, and I found the transition from IFP to my first year very smooth. Don’t get me wrong, law requires a lot of reading, and it can be tricky to memorize all the case law for exams, but I believe IFP equipped me well for that. I was already familiar with most concepts for my core module on LLB such as Contract law, Tort law, and Public law so I was quick to remember everything. What’s more, the skills on answering problem-questions and essays that I acquired during IFP made me well-prepared for assessments during my undergraduate degree in law.

Finally, I want to share with you my favourite memory from the IFP – the Scholarship Ball. Having completed an interview, I was awarded Warwick Academic Scholarship and later.