TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Jessica Booker]

If it’s a September 2025 start, you’d start in September 2024. The courses are usually a year long and you do sqe 1 in january and sqe 2 in April. If you are part of city consortium I believe they do sqe 1 in january and sqe 2 in july

I am not convinced you can do SQE2 that quickly. You wouldn’t get the SQE1 results until March, and the booking for SQE2 closes 2 and a half months before the assessments.

 

[Law1099]

I am not convinced you can do SQE2 that quickly. You wouldn’t get the SQE1 results until March, and the booking for SQE2 closes 2 and a half months before the assessments.

The university of law and BPP standard courses all do the sqe 1 in January and the sqe 2 in April. The sqe 1 results take 5-6 weeks, but you start the prep before you actually find out you’ve passed. Then you just register to sit the actual exam

 

[Jessica Booker]

The university of law and BPP standard courses all do the sqe 1 in January and the sqe 2 in April. The sqe 1 results take 5-6 weeks, but you start the prep before you actually find out you’ve passed. Then you just register to sit the actual exam

They are very optimistic about the timeframes here. You can’t register for SQE2 until you can show you have passed SQE1, so you won’t get your SQE2 results until mid-March, so four weeks before the SQE2 assessments took place. Most people who sat SQE1 in January 2023 registered for rhe SQE2 in July 2023 due to the registration timeframes.

 

[rayemuse]

There is no set answer to this due to the variety of the courses available and whether the firm will allow you to start having sat SQE2 but not had the results.

The major issue at the moment is it takes 4-5 months to get your SQE2 results, so if you were starting in September 2025 and needed to have got confirmation of passing the SQE2 assessments, you would have to sit the SQE2 in April 2025, which means you would have to sit SQE1 in July 2024. As there are currently only two SQE1 sittings a year (January & July), the timings are rubbish for law firms' current trainee intake start dates.

Thank you! I’m asking as I was planning to apply for jobs now that I’m graduating. I know it’s hard to say, But Would it be safe to say I would be able to apply for 6 or 9 month internships/full-time positions starting September 2023?

 

[Law1099]

They are very optimistic about the timeframes here. You can’t register for SQE2 until you can show you have passed SQE1, so you won’t get your SQE2 results until mid-March, so four weeks before the SQE2 assessments took place. Most people who sat SQE1 in January 2023 registered for rhe SQE2 in July 2023 due to the registration timeframes.

I mean maybe but it worked out for the people on the course this year, I doubt bpp and ulaw would make this oversight if it wasn’t possible but who knows

 

[Jessica Booker]

I mean maybe but it worked out for the people on the course this year, I doubt bpp and ulaw would make this oversight if it wasn’t possible but who knows

Very strange unless they have some form of special arrangement (which is very dodgy if so).

Registrations for SQE2 closed on 5 March 2023 for the April 2023 sitting, and the SQE1 results from January 2023 didn’t come out until the 14 March 2023.

 

[Putt5353]

Very strange unless they have some form of special arrangement (which is very dodgy if so).

Registrations for SQE2 closed on 5 March 2023 for the April 2023 sitting, and the SQE1 results from January 2023 didn’t come out until the 14 March 2023.

I’m not sure if this helps, but I found this info on the SRA website re keeping open some spaces on the next sitting of SQE2 for those waiting for SQE1 results.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I’m not sure if this helps, but I found this info on the SRA website re keeping open some spaces on the next sitting of SQE2 for those waiting for SQE1 results.

I wonder how many they actually held back and given people had trouble booking into the SQE2 assessments due to lack of availability. This is yet another issue with how this is being delivered.

Until they get four sittings of SQE1 this will always be an issue unfortunately.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

They are very optimistic about the timeframes here. You can’t register for SQE2 until you can show you have passed SQE1, so you won’t get your SQE2 results until mid-March, so four weeks before the SQE2 assessments took place. Most people who sat SQE1 in January 2023 registered for rhe SQE2 in July 2023 due to the registration timeframes.

Hi, Jessica. Just curious about what the candidates do after between having taken the SQE 1 and waiting to register for the SQE2 ? And by this measure, the SQE lasts more than a year then, right? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi, Jessica. Just curious about what the candidates do after between having taken the SQE 1 and waiting to register for the SQE2 ? And by this measure, the SQE lasts more than a year then, right? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.

Typically they do SQE2 prep.

As the above poster has suggested, it seems it is possible to sit SQE2 three months after SQE1, but as far as I understand it, many people are waiting for their results to arrive first, then register for SQE2 and then spending time preparing for it.

It is really subject to what you decide to do/how quickly you go into SQE2 (and obviously assuming you pass SQE1 and SQE2). But the shortest timeframe would be 10 months and the longest 15 months, depending on when your course starts and which sitting of SQE2 you choose.

SQE1 results took 8 weeks at the start of this year and they are esitinating it will be reduced to 5-6 weeks going forward. The main issue is SQE2 results which are currently taking 4-5 months. As and when they get that down to 2-3 months, the timescales will not really be an issue. Same goes if they up the frequency of the SQE1 sittings, which I suspect they will need to do sooner rather than later as the LPC becomes a route most people cannot do after 2024.

 

[CallumJR]

A&O is going to swallow shearman..Paul are you ok?!

This comment is not very appropriate, IMO.

 

[hopefulfuturesolicitor97]

SH VS. Thanks to everyone for their support and just to let people know they've started calling if people were waiting. Best of luck to everyone, you've got this 🎉

 

[Emilia]

Has anyone heard back from Teacher Stern? I know one person did last Tuesday so I’m wondering whether they’ve finished offering places for their VS.

 

[gabynosaure]

I am about to do a vacation scheme and I am wondering what the etiquette is if I want to have a chat with a partner or associate from a team which isn't my host team. Do I send an email now to arrange it even though I am not sure what my agenda will look like, or do I email at the beginning of the week (the scheme is only one week)? or do I just give up on that and hope I can meet them at the networking events?
I don't want to bother anyone as I know they are really busy but I also don't want to miss out on that opportunity.

 

[lawapplicant123]

Is anyone else yet to hear from W&C?

 

[N_16]

I am about to do a vacation scheme and I am wondering what the etiquette is if I want to have a chat with a partner or associate from a team which isn't my host team. Do I send an email now to arrange it even though I am not sure what my agenda will look like, or do I email at the beginning of the week (the scheme is only one week)? or do I just give up on that and hope I can meet them at the networking events?
I don't want to bother anyone as I know they are really busy but I also don't want to miss out on that opportunity.

I also just completed a one week vacation scheme - I would say wait until the scheme begins because one week-long vac schemes are incredibly packed. You won't be able to give the associate/partner a time or even a day until the scheme begins, so maybe hold off until then?

Having said that, if there are people you want to talk you and you have already identified them, send them an email on the first day rather than waiting for a networking event etc - there is no guarantee the people you want to talk to will be there, and with hybrid working etc the number of people in the office begins to taper off towards the end of the week, so try and arrange meetings on the first day so that the associates/partners can schedule accordingly!

This is purely my experience though - maybe in some circumstances it is better to contact them in advance.

 

[N_16]

Is anyone else yet to hear from W&C?

After AC?

I've yet to hear back from them post application (which I made in October). I've pretty much accepted what the outcome will be, just wondering if they will send me an email about it or not!

 

[gabynosaure]

I also just completed a one week vacation scheme - I would say wait until the scheme begins because one week-long vac schemes are incredibly packed. You won't be able to give the associate/partner a time or even a day until the scheme begins, so maybe hold off until then?

Having said that, if there are people you want to talk you and you have already identified them, send them an email on the first day rather than waiting for a networking event etc - there is no guarantee the people you want to talk to will be there, and with hybrid working etc the number of people in the office begins to taper off towards the end of the week, so try and arrange meetings on the first day so that the associates/partners can schedule accordingly!

This is purely my experience though - maybe in some circumstances it is better to contact them in advance.

Thank you for your answer! There is a networking lunch on the first day so I'll wait and see if some members of the team are there.

 

[EM23]

Super confused with WBD apparently there is no scheme for the Edinburgh office and there is an insight day and final interview.

This is super disappointing if that’s true

 

[sunnyd]

Has anyone heard back from Teacher Stern?