Yes, the top firms will indeed investigate every aspect of your life from the time you turned 12 Surprisingly, they'll select people with **** grades from top unis, though . . . . I think it's an arrogance thing. I have a classmate who got a 2:2 on his degree who is going to Clifford Chance, which I'm sure is on the power of the university name alone (unless he knows somebody who knows somebody!).