Why I chose to go to Cambridge?

Name: Uday Walia

Undergraduate College: Peterhouse, Cambridge University

Undergraduate Major: BA Law

Postgraduate Degree: LLM (also from Cambridge University)

Current Job: Lawyer – partner at a corporate law firm.

Why I chose to go to Cambridge?

My grandfather and his brother went to Cambridge so there was some family connection with the University. But that wasn’t the prime motivation. I visited the University in 1991 and simply loved it and decided I had to make it to Cambridge somehow. I had decided to read law and, at least for the LLB, an English law degree is considered to be the most suitable for India. I was keen to gain the best grounding possible in law as had been told by several senior lawyers that the jurisprudential teaching was more important than the actual substance of the statutes or cases being taught – statutes change but if you have the right jurisprudential background, you will be able to understand the change faster and predict the direction a court should take. Cambridge is a very friendly place with a beautiful campus and one of the best in the world. Also, other than Oxford, the supervision or tutorial system at an undergraduate level is unmatched in the Western world.

What Cambridge can offer students, that you won’t read about on its website?

Cambridge can offer a cosmopolitan, modern environment set in a city or town that is almost timeless. 800 years of the best traditions stare you in the face but don’t prevent you from receivi ng one of the best and more contemporary educations available in the world. You will interact with your tutors to a much greater degree than many other universities where graduate students will be expected to interact most with undergraduates. The networks work well – there are active Cambridge alumni networks active all over the world – there is even a club in London.