TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[user55998384]

Hey!

Your structure seems absolutely fine - you don't necessarily need a separate paragraph on the quality of training, especially if you don't have enough meaningful detail to justify one. It's better to keep your points concise and well-supported than to add a standalone section that feels light and slightly empty.

If you've attended insight days and spoken to trainees but didn't get a single standout "unique" point, you can still weave training into another paragraph. For example, you can reference the firm's reputation for thorough, hands-on training or the consistency you heard from trainees, without needing a dramatic "USP". It's better to be honest and grounded than forcing detail that isn't there.

Overall, your three-part structure (which is similar to what I would usually follow) is perfectly acceptable. What matters most is that each point is specific, genuine, and tied back to why you want to train there.

thank you so much!!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Davis Polk keeps sending me a reminder to my unsubmitted app, whilst I think it'd be a waste to apply if I am ineligible as I don't have a law degree or studying PGDL. How can I tell them to withdraw my app if there's no button like Linklaters?

Also, specific question for @Andrei Radu since you a future trainee there, how is your experience at Barbri? I heard its alumni has the highest SQE pass rate compared to other providers, wondering after completing PGDL at BPP/ULaw we can pick Barbri as SQE prep?

I would say Barbri has a couple of important pros and cons as a course provider, which makes it well-suited for some people but not others, depending on how you best learn. Its main advantages would include:

• Flexibility: as an online and self-paced course, you can study anywhere and at any time, for however long you want to. This means you can make your SQE prep fit the rest of your schedule, which makes Barbri a great fit for people who work part time, full time, or have other major commitments.
• Efficiency and saved time: the total amount of study time required by Barbri is overall lower than that of other course providers, as it does not include the LLM part of the course and also does not have many of the practical and somewhat time-consuming tasks like the other providers. Furthermore, you have the option to watch its lectures at 1.5 or 2x speed, which can enable you to go through the material quicker, and you also save a decent amount of time by not having to commute.
• Design of platform and planning: in my opinion, its the online platform is very easy to use, quite interactive, and makes it very easy to track progress and plan ahead. In particular, its PSP (Personal Study Plan) function allows you to specify what days you want to be working and what days you want to take breaks or vacations in and then automatically generates an evenly spread set of tasks to complete until the exams; this makes it easy to simply tick off lectures, readings, and tests every day as recommended by the PSP. By comparison, the other course providers seem to provide less step-by-step guidance to their students, who will as such sometimes use the available materials in quite different ways.
• Focus on MCQs: by comparison to the other providers, I would say Barbri has a way heavier emphasis on learning by doing, and in particular, learning by doing as many MCQs as possible throughout the course. Thus, you will get more exposure to MCQs, which some people say is the best way to prepare for the exam.

As for disadvantages:

• Barbri covers less content than the other providers: Barbri's philosophy is to teach you really well the majority of the content, focusing on what comes up often, rather than trying to give you all the information that could possibly be relevant to an SQE question. This means that some subchapters (for instance, in business law, the chapter on balance sheets) are excluded almost entirely by Barbri. This in turn means that you could get a couple of questions in the SQE that you simply do not have any idea about.
• Barbri's MCQs are overall easier than those offered by the other course providers, and also easier than the actual SQE exams - in large part, because Barbri's questions are less heavy on the fact patters, which means there are less red herrings to distract you from the right answer. Thus, the experience with Barbri mocks may not be the most representative one for the actual exam; and the scores you get on Barbri tests may not be indicative of what you could expect to score on the SQE. To an extent that is true of all large course provides (bar Revise SQE and QLTS, which are thought to be the same/somewhat harder than the SQE), but it seems to me the general opinion is that the Barbri tests are the easiest among the major providers.
• Less socialising and support: with Barbri, you will not get to have a campus or classmates you meet with on a daily basis. This means that (i) you do not get the benefit of meeting people and making new connections; and (ii) you may not have access to all of the sets of notes and insider resources that people generally share with their classmates at the other course providers.

 

[Unknowncabbage]

Has anyone got any tips for Hogan Lovells' Job sim, i.e is the prep time for the VI unlimited and are they primarily motivational? would really appreciate anyone's insight.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Do we need to address davis polk to anyone and sign it off?

I do not have any insider knowledge about this matter, but I did this back in the day when I applied, and I would advise you to do this as well. As for who to address it to, it should be fine to write "Graduate Recruitment Team/Early Careers Team".

 

[Andrei Radu]

Do you think it's a mauvais ton to mention an upcoming internship if it's at a very prestigious place?

I would not say so, provided you integrate your mention of this in a way that makes sense in the context of the point you are making. For instance, if you are describing your ability to manage time well and juggle commitments well, you could explain how alongside academics, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities, you managed to invest significant time to build your commercial awareness, an effort that resulted in you answering technical questions well in an interviewing and receiving this internship offer.

 

[panda1989]

I do not have any insider knowledge about this matter, but I did this back in the day when I applied, and I would advise you to do this as well. As for who to address it to, it should be fine to write "Graduate Recruitment Team/Early Careers Team".

Okay great, thank you!!

 

[user55998384]

has anyone who applied for simmons for the bristol office heard back post test/vi?

 

[Amgrad]

I would say Barbri has a couple of important pros and cons as a course provider, which makes it well-suited for some people but not others, depending on how you best learn. Its main advantages would include:

• Flexibility: as an online and self-paced course, you can study anywhere and at any time, for however long you want to. This means you can make your SQE prep fit the rest of your schedule, which makes Barbri a great fit for people who work part time, full time, or have other major commitments.
• Efficiency and saved time: the total amount of study time required by Barbri is overall lower than that of other course providers, as it does not include the LLM part of the course and also does not have many of the practical and somewhat time-consuming tasks like the other providers. Furthermore, you have the option to watch its lectures at 1.5 or 2x speed, which can enable you to go through the material quicker, and you also save a decent amount of time by not having to commute.
• Design of platform and planning: in my opinion, its the online platform is very easy to use, quite interactive, and makes it very easy to track progress and plan ahead. In particular, its PSP (Personal Study Plan) function allows you to specify what days you want to be working and what days you want to take breaks or vacations in and then automatically generates an evenly spread set of tasks to complete until the exams; this makes it easy to simply tick off lectures, readings, and tests every day as recommended by the PSP. By comparison, the other course providers seem to provide less step-by-step guidance to their students, who will as such sometimes use the available materials in quite different ways.
• Focus on MCQs: by comparison to the other providers, I would say Barbri has a way heavier emphasis on learning by doing, and in particular, learning by doing as many MCQs as possible throughout the course. Thus, you will get more exposure to MCQs, which some people say is the best way to prepare for the exam.

As for disadvantages:

• Barbri covers less content than the other providers: Barbri's philosophy is to teach you really well the majority of the content, focusing on what comes up often, rather than trying to give you all the information that could possibly be relevant to an SQE question. This means that some subchapters (for instance, in business law, the chapter on balance sheets) are excluded almost entirely by Barbri. This in turn means that you could get a couple of questions in the SQE that you simply do not have any idea about.
• Barbri's MCQs are overall easier than those offered by the other course providers, and also easier than the actual SQE exams - in large part, because Barbri's questions are less heavy on the fact patters, which means there are less red herrings to distract you from the right answer. Thus, the experience with Barbri mocks may not be the most representative one for the actual exam; and the scores you get on Barbri tests may not be indicative of what you could expect to score on the SQE. To an extent that is true of all large course provides (bar Revise SQE and QLTS, which are thought to be the same/somewhat harder than the SQE), but it seems to me the general opinion is that the Barbri tests are the easiest among the major providers.
• Less socialising and support: with Barbri, you will not get to have a campus or classmates you meet with on a daily basis. This means that (i) you do not get the benefit of meeting people and making new connections; and (ii) you may not have access to all of the sets of notes and insider resources that people generally share with their classmates at the other course providers.

Wow thank you for the super insightful response! I personally can thrive in an online learning as my studies were 75% during covid. I enrolled in 2019 and graduated in 2024, so both in person and online learning don't bother me most. I only aware to the living cost if doing in person in London, many companies do offer maintenance grant below 15k/year which seems nearly impossible to live comfortably. I consider cheap city like Nottingham, but some firms adjusted the grant too.

I saw their price is quite affordable however (2-4k), if I got a firm which offer 20k/year for SQE I'd subscribe a provider like Barbri, I've been thinking like that by combining traditional university education with supplemental course. Hence, I might be less anxious about social life and learning pace to get a balance of grit and motivation. (I knew many people got frustrated on TikTok about the leaning curve and being overwhelmed, but I'll guarantee by doing my best)

 

[johnsmith]

has anyone who applied for simmons for the bristol office heard back post test/vi?

They advised January at the OD! Think volume for Bristol like less than London so they focus on that first.

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

Q. Do you require permission to work in the UK?
I'm unsure of how to answer this question. I do have permission to work during the VS but I will need it for the training contract. And the only options are yes/no - with no space for clarification.
@Abbie Whitlock

 

[user55998384]

They advised January at the OD! Think volume for Bristol like less than London so they focus on that first.

that is so annoying i wouldn't have rushed to get the app in!! - thank you tho!!

 

[Lawlawland]

Just received my FF stage 1 report.
Strengths are:
Thriving under pressure
Delivering extraordinary outcomes
Embracing transformation

Weakness:
Challenging ourselves
Campaigning our clients and giving them edge

Am I cooked? And, is this also reflective of the WGT equivalent? If not, how can I get to know about ny performance in that?

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Just received my FF stage 1 report.
Strengths are:
Thriving under pressure
Delivering extraordinary outcomes
Embracing transformation

Weakness:
Challenging ourselves
Campaigning our clients and giving them edge

Am I cooked? And, is this also reflective of the WGT equivalent? If not, how can I get to know about ny performance in that?

Hey!

Whilst I'm not too sure on the WGT element, I wouldn't assume that a rejection is imminent based on your weaknesses. It's important to remember that just because those traits have been rated as your 'weaknesses', this doesn't necessarily mean you scored badly in them - it just means it was your lowest scoring trait overall. Every candidate will be given a weakness, so everyone will have an area they can improve in. You could have still scored highly across all of them

 

[Lawlawland]

Hey!

Whilst I'm not too sure on the WGT element, I wouldn't assume that a rejection is imminent based on your weaknesses. It's important to remember that just because those traits have been rated as your 'weaknesses', this doesn't necessarily mean you scored badly in them - it just means it was your lowest scoring trait overall. Every candidate will be given a weakness, so everyone will have an area they can improve in. You could have still scored highly across all of them

Thank you Abbie!
Hope you're having a great weekend ✨

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Q. Do you require permission to work in the UK?
I'm unsure of how to answer this question. I do have permission to work during the VS but I will need it for the training contract. And the only options are yes/no - with no space for clarification.
@Abbie Whitlock

Hey!

Whilst I'm not 100% sure, I would tick select the 'Yes' option. Even though you already have the right to work for the vacation scheme, you did require permission for this and will also need it for the training contract - so the most complete answer is that you do require permission for the long-term role.

If you wanted to be sure, you could email the graduate recruitment team after submitting your application and explain the context of your situation. Most firms are used to this situation, so I think communication is just the most important thing!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Thank you Abbie!
Hope you're having a great weekend ✨

No problem!

I am, thank you - I hope you are too!!

 

[pfoapplicant]

No, not at all!

Thank you so much - you've been tremendously helpful!

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

Hey!

Whilst I'm not 100% sure, I would tick select the 'Yes' option. Even though you already have the right to work for the vacation scheme, you did require permission for this and will also need it for the training contract - so the most complete answer is that you do require permission for the long-term role.

If you wanted to be sure, you could email the graduate recruitment team after submitting your application and explain the context of your situation. Most firms are used to this situation, so I think communication is just the most important thing!

Thank you!

 

[yk1906]

Thank you so much - you've been tremendously helpful!

No worries - I was also terrified in the beginning after looking at the practice test because I thought there were going to be numericals etc, etc. But the real test was just a slightly harder version of WG. Good luck!

 

[DavidJC]

Just received my FF stage 1 report.
Strengths are:
Thriving under pressure
Delivering extraordinary outcomes
Embracing transformation

Weakness:
Challenging ourselves
Campaigning our clients and giving them edge

Am I cooked? And, is this also reflective of the WGT equivalent? If not, how can I get to know about ny performance in that?

Having done both FF tests, and echoing what Abbie's said, my weakest traits were the ones I thought I'd answered quite well on, it's just the nature of the Cappfinity feedback report that insists on there being weaker traits. You got this!