How ready did you feel for SQE1?

[StemGrad2020]

I'm asking this question to those who have already sat the SQE1 exams (whether you passed or not!) -

As objectively as possible, how 'ready' did you feel leading up to the SQE1 exams, and how did it correlate with your performance in the real exam?

I know a lot of us law students are quite harsh on ourselves, myself included. And, although I have decent mock results so far, I struggled to cover even half of the academic law thus far and am almost there with a revision of the practice law we learned this term. This has left me feeling incredibly conflicted; underprepared, but somehow getting through OK, especially with fellow SQE takers saying that 'you never feel ready', despite them passing (and some failing). Can I pass whilst feeling this way?

So what I wonder is, if you were to look on your preparation and performance as objectively as possible (without the classic self-deprecation and belittling of oneself); how prepared were you? (maybe consider how many mocks taken, practice SBAQs, how recently you had reviewed Academic Law, how genuinely confident you felt on a scale of 1-10). And how did you perform? (I'm talking grade, but also whether you felt it was a true reflection of your preparation).

It would be a great insight into what is a realistic 'feeling' prior to sitting the exam, and an indication of how too far gone I may actually be without realising it...

 

[j.s.cox]

Hi! I passed SQE1 and SQE2 in the first quintile.

For SQE1, I felt very overwhelmed with the volume of things we were required to know, but I felt like I generally had a pretty good grasp on the basics, and I was about 75% okay with the more complicated stuff (e.g. tax) which I focused on a little more. I really felt like it could have gone either way when I walked into the exam and I physically shook for about an hour after I opened my results from the adrenaline and stress, despite my great results. Going into the exam, I was maybe 51% confident that I could pass.

I took the January 2024 SQE1 sitting and practiced MCQs from September 2023 onwards. I did a full practice test with BPP in December where I got over 70% in both papers (can't remember exactly what I got), but this was an open book exam, so I didn't feel that confident afterwards especially as they didn't tell us which specific questions we got wrong. I then practiced any MCQs I could get my hands on, but I used these as a basis to guide my revision rather than the only thing I used. I revised the FLK hard, and then did a full mock paper two weeks before the exams (the ReviseSQE mocks). I did another full mock the week before the exam (QLTS). I think I was getting around 57% on these, so it didn't fill me with confidence, but I was achieving the pass mark they had set. Again, I used these more as a way to guide my revision than as my sole revision technique.

Honestly, I think I could have prepared better, but I think everyone feels that way. I think I outperformed where I thought my abilities were as I was expecting either a marginal fail or a marginal pass, certainly not the first quintile. That said, I worked very hard from September to put myself in the best possible place to pass, and I think I was good at recognising where my weak spots were and focusing on those.

I hope that helps.

 

[StemGrad2020]

Hi! I passed SQE1 and SQE2 in the first quintile.

For SQE1, I felt very overwhelmed with the volume of things we were required to know, but I felt like I generally had a pretty good grasp on the basics, and I was about 75% okay with the more complicated stuff (e.g. tax) which I focused on a little more. I really felt like it could have gone either way when I walked into the exam and I physically shook for about an hour after I opened my results from the adrenaline and stress, despite my great results. Going into the exam, I was maybe 51% confident that I could pass.

I took the January 2024 SQE1 sitting and practiced MCQs from September 2023 onwards. I did a full practice test with BPP in December where I got over 70% in both papers (can't remember exactly what I got), but this was an open book exam, so I didn't feel that confident afterwards especially as they didn't tell us which specific questions we got wrong. I then practiced any MCQs I could get my hands on, but I used these as a basis to guide my revision rather than the only thing I used. I revised the FLK hard, and then did a full mock paper two weeks before the exams (the ReviseSQE mocks). I did another full mock the week before the exam (QLTS). I think I was getting around 57% on these, so it didn't fill me with confidence, but I was achieving the pass mark they had set. Again, I used these more as a way to guide my revision than as my sole revision technique.

Honestly, I think I could have prepared better, but I think everyone feels that way. I think I outperformed where I thought my abilities were as I was expecting either a marginal fail or a marginal pass, certainly not the first quintile. That said, I worked very hard from September to put myself in the best possible place to pass, and I think I was good at recognising where my weak spots were and focusing on those.

I hope that helps.

This is really insightful and good to know coming into December now...

I definitely feel a bit behind where you would have been when you sat. I was also super overwhelmed with the content during the learning period from Sep-early Dec and so struggled to keep on top of Academic Law and SBAQs. But now I'm in control of revision and not reading, I feel like I'm pulling my knowledge up to a good standard.

I think what is letting me down is my pure lack of self-confidence. So comparison is all I have to try and instil confidence in myself... (but I think a large proportion of students are exactly the same) and so, I have the same plan of mocks interspersed with flashcards etc during the next few weeks and hopefully that does set me up well for the exam. Especially if you were top quintile, I'm hopeful that yours is a great example to be aligning to, so thank you for that!

Thank you for taking the time to respond!!