LPC full-time & working part-time / LPC part time & full-time work?

[M5JM]

Hi All

I am looking to enrol onto an LPC course in January 2021 as it is too late to join the September intake.

I was concerned about finding as I have already used the postgraduate loan option but found options which allow you to make repayments after you have graduated.

I am now trying to decide between the full-time LPC (over 2 days at Uol for example) and asking my firm to reduce my paralegal hours to part-time or vice versa (1 day part-time LPC and 4 days working).

Doing it full-time sounds ideal as you can get it over with quicker (9 months rather than 21/22) but I have heard that it is super intense. Has anyone successfully done it this way? Is it realistic / manageable? Or would you advise doing the LPC part-time instead?

Please let me know your experiences and thoughts

 

[ZH]

Hi All

I am looking to enrol onto an LPC course in January 2021 as it is too late to join the September intake.

I was concerned about finding as I have already used the postgraduate loan option but found options which allow you to make repayments after you have graduated.

I am now trying to decide between the full-time LPC (over 2 days at Uol for example) and asking my firm to reduce my paralegal hours to part-time or vice versa (1 day part-time LPC and 4 days working).

Doing it full-time sounds ideal as you can get it over with quicker (9 months rather than 21/22) but I have heard that it is super intense. Has anyone successfully done it this way? Is it realistic / manageable? Or would you advise doing the LPC part-time instead?

Please let me know your experiences and thoughts

Hi!
I did the LPC part-time and worked full time hours (over 4 days) - I know you're asking for a full timer's advice but I thought I'd share a bit about my experience.

I think the LPC is intense as it self (right!) but it's manageable if you stay organised and committed to studying well and understanding it. I know of so many people who worked and studied it full time but I think they probably worked very flexibly i.e. as and when they can.

Ideally when you complete the LPC you want it to be your main focus - will you be able to do this whilst working as a paralegal part time?
Will you have enough study leave/annual leave for revision and exams?
Do you want to use all your evenings and weekends studying?

Those are some questions you might want to consider whilst deciding.

For me, I was partly paying for the lpc so I had to work and I chose to study it part time to gain more experience. I worked at The Law Society, so it was a fairly administrative job, used my leave for exams and my focus was on the lpc - it felt better this way for me, I did well and I learnt a lot from this experience - it was my first time working and studying at the same time!

Fair enough if you want to get it done in 9months (understandable!) but obviously you want to do well and not burn out! They advice that you treat it as a full time job and put 5-6 hours of preparation per class.

Wish you the best regardless of your decision! Happy to help if you have other questions.

Z

 

[Asmee DC]

Hi All

I am looking to enrol onto an LPC course in January 2021 as it is too late to join the September intake.

I was concerned about finding as I have already used the postgraduate loan option but found options which allow you to make repayments after you have graduated.

I am now trying to decide between the full-time LPC (over 2 days at Uol for example) and asking my firm to reduce my paralegal hours to part-time or vice versa (1 day part-time LPC and 4 days working).

Doing it full-time sounds ideal as you can get it over with quicker (9 months rather than 21/22) but I have heard that it is super intense. Has anyone successfully done it this way? Is it realistic / manageable? Or would you advise doing the LPC part-time instead?

Please let me know your experiences and thoughts

Hello!

I am currently enrolled in the full-time LPC at BPP (over 3 days) and am not working, so I can only give you a bit of my advice! For the full-time programme, it is advised to treat it like a full time job. That is, doing school work for 40-45 hours a week depending on how much material you have to cover for that specific week. My friend is in the full-time LPC and is currently working part time from 4-8pm (5 days a week). She is finding it a bit easier to balance school and work due to her hours (i.e she does school work from approx 8am-3pm or so, and on the weekends sometimes too). However, she doesn't get much of any "down time" except for maybe on Saturdays. They suggest that if you must work part-time whilst doing the full-time course, then to only limit yourself to 8-10 hours of work per week. I'm not sure how lenient your firm will be in regards to that, but it's just an idea for you before you choose your options.

For the part-time option, you would either do classes on the weekends or on 1 day during the week. If you still want to work during studying, then I would probably recommend choosing the part-time option. Again, you may not get much down time because you will have to study after work. Although it's more intensive then the full-time programme because you are also working a full-time job, there are loads of people who have successfully completed it. I think it will depend on whether you want to spend most of your time studying or working, because depending on your answer that's what you will need to prioritise.

I hope this helps!

 

[Jane Smith]

If you have found funding as you describe then would that cover you doing the full time LPC without doing as much work or doing less work at the same place you are working as a para legal? If so I would do it full time and gt it over with. Also will the firm where you are a para legal let you become a trainee whilst doing the LPC part time over 2 years ? We know someone who did that (in-house) and although it was hard - full time work with part time LPC at weekends and the company allowed time off for exams it did mean when the LPC was done that person was qualified but the work they were doing was what a trainee would do so it may depend on the kind of paralegal work you are currently doing as to whether that would work and of course if the firm is even prepared to consider it.

 

[LU123]

Hi,

I'm currently studying the i-LPC part-time, and working full-time as a paralegal. I'll be honest, even the part-time course is pretty full on, especially when you work full-time. At the moment, I finish work around 5.30, and then I study from 7pm-10.30/11pm, also my weekends pretty much revolve around LPC work. That's just my current situation, and I'm sure people study/work differently to me. I'm also studying the online version of the LPC, which I believe is a slightly different format to the face-to-face version. It's definitely worth doing some research on the different formats of the LPC, and obtaining advice from a number of different people doing those different formats.

If you think of it this way, it's £12 + thousand to study the LPC, and is a requirement of being a solicitor. Whether studying for 1 year, or 2 years, it's really important that you do well, and you definitely want to get as much out of it as possible.

I'm considering going down to part-time at work in order to give myself extra breathing space, because at the moment - I don't have much!

It's also worth thinking about:
(1) how much downtime you need for yourself (which is really important!!)
(2) if you can go down to part-time at work; or
(3) if you could/would stop working all together to do the LPC full-time.

Hopefully this helps.

Lucy

 

[M5JM]

Hi All

Thanks so much for your responses, they have been really helpful!

By the sounds of it, it is going to be full on regardless of whether it is done full-time or part-time (especially if working also). I really can’t stand the thought of having little downtime and losing most if not all weekends for 2 years. I would happily commit to that for 1 but two doesn’t sound ideal for me.

I think it is probably worth saving up living costs for the next year and then consider self-funding for September 21 full-time intake. I will apply for scholarships in the meantime and the loan option I mentioned will be a back up. I want to put my all into vac scheme and TC applications this cycle but I am willing to self-fund the lpc from September if not having the lpc as a graduate is going to hold me back.

Appreciate your input guys

 

[M5JM]

Hi,

I'm currently studying the i-LPC part-time, and working full-time as a paralegal. I'll be honest, even the part-time course is pretty full on, especially when you work full-time. At the moment, I finish work around 5.30, and then I study from 7pm-10.30/11pm, also my weekends pretty much revolve around LPC work. That's just my current situation, and I'm sure people study/work differently to me. I'm also studying the online version of the LPC, which I believe is a slightly different format to the face-to-face version. It's definitely worth doing some research on the different formats of the LPC, and obtaining advice from a number of different people doing those different formats.

If you think of it this way, it's £12 + thousand to study the LPC, and is a requirement of being a solicitor. Whether studying for 1 year, or 2 years, it's really important that you do well, and you definitely want to get as much out of it as possible.

I'm considering going down to part-time at work in order to give myself extra breathing space, because at the moment - I don't have much!

It's also worth thinking about:
(1) how much downtime you need for yourself (which is really important!!)
(2) if you can go down to part-time at work; or
(3) if you could/would stop working all together to do the LPC full-time.

Hopefully this helps.

Lucy

Thanks for this Lucy, I was considering doing the LPC online. How have you found the online course so far? Are you doing it at Uol? Would you recommend?

 

[IntrepidL]

Hi, I am not so sure about LPC part-time and full-time work but I do have a friend who did the LPC full-time and did part-time work (20 hours a week) and found it to be pretty manageable. They managed to get a distinction despite working part-time (working two weekdays and one weekend).

 

[M5JM]

Hi, I am not so sure about LPC part-time and full-time work but I do have a friend who did the LPC full-time and did part-time work (20 hours a week) and found it to be pretty manageable. They managed to get a distinction despite working part-time (working two weekdays and one weekend).

This is really helpful, thank you and congrats to your friend!

 

[Studentoflaw]

Hi All

I am looking to enrol onto an LPC course in January 2021 as it is too late to join the September intake.

I was concerned about finding as I have already used the postgraduate loan option but found options which allow you to make repayments after you have graduated.

I am now trying to decide between the full-time LPC (over 2 days at Uol for example) and asking my firm to reduce my paralegal hours to part-time or vice versa (1 day part-time LPC and 4 days working).

Doing it full-time sounds ideal as you can get it over with quicker (9 months rather than 21/22) but I have heard that it is super intense. Has anyone successfully done it this way? Is it realistic / manageable? Or would you advise doing the LPC part-time instead?

Please let me know your experiences and thoughts

How did you manage to set up a repayment schedule after graduation?