My experiences of SQE1 as an international student

When did you start and complete SQE1?​

I started SQE1 in July 2022 and completed in January 2023

Who was your SQE provider?​

BARBRI

Why did you choose the provider you did?​

My friend suggested me the same. Also, I had chosen QLTS school to take last MCT. Unfortunately, I couldn't sit MCT due to closure of exam centre because of Covid-19.

This time for SQE, I thought to go with a different provider and BARBRI was talk of the town as per their passing rate. Apart from this, BARBRI was providing only 2 books for FLK1 and FLK2 which was comparatively easier than the books provided by QLTS School for each subject.

What kind of support did your provider offer during the SQE?​

Tutor Support and personalized study plan

Please explain the structure of the SQE programme in your own words​

SQE1 was a whole different experience. Having studied and qualified in a different jurisdiction, it was very challenging. This exam requires attention to details and preparation is quite demanding in terms of dedication, hardwork, logic, consistency, and patience. As per my experience, one needs to really know how to read in between the lines to understand the questions in the exam.

How did you study for SQE1?​

1. It was all about time management. I had to cut on my personal things as my whole focus before and after job was to prepare for the exam and get through it anyhow. I knew that it is going to be challenging but my eagerness to clear the exam, family support and a good study material really helped me a lot to prepare well for the exam.

2. I completely rely upon the study material provided by BARBRI. Many a times I discussed this with my personal tutor if I should look at some external resources to gain more knowledge and it was a BIG NO by her. I feel I took the right decision by following her advice. Also, I made a study group with another aspiring Solicitor which helped us to discuss and resolve our queries before approaching the provider to get a clear answer on the topic. Having a study buddy really helps you to get that kick, motivation, confidence and what not.

3. I only used my course provider's platform and study material to prepare for the exam. I think the study material in itself was sufficient enough to prepare you well for the exam.

Now that you have completed SQE1, what advice would you have for passing the exam?​

To pass SQE1, my first and foremost advice would be to skim through the material once so that you know what is in there going forward. If someone is going with BARBRI, they provide overview of every chapter and start with videos where you just need to listen to the Professor properly. Once you've done it, then it comes reading of the textbook based on the lectures covered in the videos you have already watched. This is a great method to put some pressure on your mind to think what you studied earlier and help you memorize the concepts.

As per my experience, we know that we learn from mistakes. If you are making a mistake in any question while attempting practice questions or mocks, please please go through the concept and read the explanation provider for that answer carefully. In case you have done a question correctly, it is always better to go through all the choices again once you are revising the questions because it is quite possible that you would have thought in a different way to reach to the correct answer but explanation says something else.

One strategy while attempting questions is to first read the question what is asked for and then the statement provided for that question, before looking at any of the options, it is good to think in your mind what the answer could be and try to find that answer in the 5 choices given for that question. This is an extremely useful technique. It helped me a lot and improved my thinking process to learn the concepts. With regards to time management, I simply followed what was coming in my personal study plan and I mostly made sure that I was completing everyday tasks as mentioned. If anyhow there was a lag, I tried to cover it up on weekends due to more time availability. As mentioned earlier, I did not look at any of the external resources.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently to study or revise for the exam?​

I would say yes. I should have looked at the explanation of other choices much earlier as I realized this later that it is going to help me understand the concepts in a much better way. Also, reading in between the lines and noting down very small details is very important. In exam, choices look very similar as there is a minor difference in between two choices. For ex: one answer choice mentions "or" and another answer choice mentions "and". In exam, it is imaginable that we can easily get confused. Therefore, it is much helpful to read carefully and make a point of it either by using flash cards or bullet points.

When it comes to revision, I would say one needs to keep on revising the old chapters so that nothing goes out of the place moving forward to the new subjects.

Also, please revise practice questions as many times as possible because every time I revised them, I learnt something different even if my answer choice was the correct one. The only mantra is Practice, practice and only Practice...

Were you employed alongside the SQE?​

I was doing a full-time job alongside the SQE preparation. I completely depends upon the person to study along with having a full/part time job. If one can commit a few hours of study along with the job, nothing can be much better than this. It is all about time management but I has to be very attentive while reading textbooks, listening to videos, reading overview or attempting practice questions. Because preparation is really very demanding.

Is there anything else you feel that future SQE students should know?​

Most of the things I have already explained above. My top tip would be to choose your provider very carefully because it makes a lot of difference in your preparation. Give as much time as you can for preparation. One has to be really determined to get through this exam and prepare accordingly. Again, Practice is the key.