Virtual or Physical LPC (the great debate!!!!!)

[R203]

Hi everyone!! Thanks so much for being such a supportive forum!

I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on this. My LPC is beginning soon in September (London), and there is now the option, by BPP, to do the LPC fully virtual. I am an international student with a 6-8 hour time zone ahead of the UK (so latest LPC classes might end at 1/2am at my home country). Despite being a firm-sponsored student, the trainee intake is small and thus, there is not really a LPC cohort that I have, given that some of the future trainees have completed the LPC prior to obtaining the TC.

I really wanted to hear your thoughts as to whether you would still head to London, pay rent and living expenses, just so you could do the physical LPC, or would you remain in your home country and complete the LPC virtually. Would there be any disadvantages for me (lower chance of doing well, lack of textbooks, no social interactions with future solicitors, no face-to-face interactions with LPC tutors, no access to BPP library)?


Would love to hear everyone's thoughts, especially those who have completed the LPC (physically or virtually), whether in my scenario, the virtual LPC at my home country would be a better option.

Thank you everyone!!

 

[nina_123]

Hi @Jessica Booker

Just to add to this question. If an international student does the LPC virtually at his/her home country, that would mean that there is no need for a tier 4 student visa. Does that signify any future complications for the firm in giving the student the tier 2 work visa to begin the TC after the LPC?

Thank you very much!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker

Just to add to this question. If an international student does the LPC virtually at his/her home country, that would mean that there is no need for a tier 4 student visa. Does that signify any future complications for the firm in giving the student the tier 2 work visa to begin the TC after the LPC?

Thank you very much!

Is you firm sponsoring your visa during your TC?

Tier 2 doesn’t exist anymore - but the firm could be assuming you could be recruited on a graduate visa so it is worthwhile checking what their approach to this will be.

 

[nina_123]

Is you firm sponsoring your visa during your TC?

Tier 2 doesn’t exist anymore - but the firm could be assuming you could be recruited on a graduate visa so it is worthwhile checking what their approach to this will be.

Yes, my firm will be sponsoring my visa during my TC.

Thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Yes, my firm will be sponsoring my visa during my TC.

Thank you!

Then no issue at all with where you do it, as the differences between people studying in the UK and studying outside of the UK have been removed for skilled persons visas.

 

[Maria-Eleni Georgiou]

Hi! I’m also completing the LPC at BPP this September - how do you know that there will be a virtual option available?

Thank you!

 

[nina_123]

Hi Yall!

@Alice G @Daniel Boden

i’m tagging for reach. i wanted to please hear your opinions about whether doing the LPC (BPP) virtually, with a 7-8 hour time difference (ahead of the UK), might be feasible. I’m worried about the current complaints that i’ve seen about BPP (unresponsiveness, etc) and that not being physically in the uk, i would not be able to contact BPP urgently if need be (something which seems to be important for BPP students i’ve heard).

how was the virtual experience for GDL/LPC for you guys?

thank you!

 

[Alison C]

Hi everyone!! Thanks so much for being such a supportive forum!

I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on this. My LPC is beginning soon in September (London), and there is now the option, by BPP, to do the LPC fully virtual. I am an international student with a 6-8 hour time zone ahead of the UK (so latest LPC classes might end at 1/2am at my home country). Despite being a firm-sponsored student, the trainee intake is small and thus, there is not really a LPC cohort that I have, given that some of the future trainees have completed the LPC prior to obtaining the TC.

I really wanted to hear your thoughts as to whether you would still head to London, pay rent and living expenses, just so you could do the physical LPC, or would you remain in your home country and complete the LPC virtually. Would there be any disadvantages for me (lower chance of doing well, lack of textbooks, no social interactions with future solicitors, no face-to-face interactions with LPC tutors, no access to BPP library)?


Would love to hear everyone's thoughts, especially those who have completed the LPC (physically or virtually), whether in my scenario, the virtual LPC at my home country would be a better option.

Thank you everyone!!

I love London and have been there for years - but it is a crazily expensive city! I love the architecture (free), the transport (reasonable, though it does rack up), the parks (free), the shopping (definitely not free), the museums (some free), the restaurants (generally pricier than out of town), and the drive, energy, creativity and resilience of so many of the people I've made there. I don't love the dirtiness, the council tax, the heat when I have no garden, or the way you so easily sink your cash on goodness knows what.

London is glorious but it isn't quite itself at the moment...

I haven't done the LPC yet, but I gather it's pretty full-on and definitely not quite like undergraduate life in terms of relationship-building. The time change does sound rather antisocial, but given the state of things, if you were able to plan to complete your LPC in your home country, and make a massive effort at the beginning of the course to ensure you were finding online work buddies (from your firm and from your classes) then you would avoid debt at a time when the payoff may not be quite in place. Starting a new job with hefty financial challenges might be something you won't always be able to avoid, whereas right now it's almost expected that online/hybrid is here for a while. But I'd be very interested to hear from other people who know from the front line.

By the way, I love a library and haven't fully adjusted to online materials (I like actual books!) so I might be talking rubbish. Though you can buy a lot of books for the price of a year's rent in London.

Good luck with your choice, and with the course!

 

[Mea]

Hi everyone!! Thanks so much for being such a supportive forum!

I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on this. My LPC is beginning soon in September (London), and there is now the option, by BPP, to do the LPC fully virtual. I am an international student with a 6-8 hour time zone ahead of the UK (so latest LPC classes might end at 1/2am at my home country). Despite being a firm-sponsored student, the trainee intake is small and thus, there is not really a LPC cohort that I have, given that some of the future trainees have completed the LPC prior to obtaining the TC.

I really wanted to hear your thoughts as to whether you would still head to London, pay rent and living expenses, just so you could do the physical LPC, or would you remain in your home country and complete the LPC virtually. Would there be any disadvantages for me (lower chance of doing well, lack of textbooks, no social interactions with future solicitors, no face-to-face interactions with LPC tutors, no access to BPP library)?


Would love to hear everyone's thoughts, especially those who have completed the LPC (physically or virtually), whether in my scenario, the virtual LPC at my home country would be a better option.

Thank you everyone!!

Hello!

I did it virtually with BPP and I strongly advise against studying there. This whole year has been an absolute monkey show! There are countless complaints on Linkedin by many students (receiving hundreds of likes and people with shared experiences) and the majority of my peers are very dissatisfied with BPP. If you can go for ULaw, I would rather do that. It saves you emotional stress. And we are talking about everything from their exam platform shutting down mid-exam (and you fail or must re-take it - no detriment at all), missing documents for the exam so you cannot answer the question, system crashing and exam go missing, learning platform overpopulated so no class/can't pay attention due to connection issues, awful student support service, (some) tutors are clearly not suited for teaching (simply can't answer legal questions students have) and the list goes on.

Please consider your other options. There have been formal complaints by students - supported by lawyers - and there is just a matter of time before legal action will be taken (if not already).

I'm wishing you all the best for the LPC. Although it is hard, it should also be a fun year where you get to interact with peers and learn more practically.

 

[Jane Smith]

If you were already in the UK I would say do it in person (I am assuming BPP will be running it in person in September). As you are not it probably will not matter if you do it online. We also had the BPP email about would you prefer online instead etc but are sticking with in person (as no international travel issues)

 

[travis1]

If you were already in the UK I would say do it in person (I am assuming BPP will be running it in person in September). As you are not it probably will not matter if you do it online. We also had the BPP email about would you prefer online instead etc but are sticking with in person (as no international travel issues)

Given your current location and the likelihood of BPP offering in-person LPC in September, opting for the in-person format seems sensible. Since international travel isn't a concern, you can fully benefit from the immersive experience and interpersonal interactions inherent in face-to-face learning, enhancing your overall educational experience.