A fully digital, data-driven approach to SQE self-study

[Polaranu]

Hi all! I’ve been a member of TCLA for a while now and wanted to share my SQE journey with you all!

For those of you who are skimming, I’ve marked the things I’ve found most helpful with a star .


Background

• I graduated with a 2:1 LLB from a Russell Group uni almost a decade ago and went on to do an unrelated MSc. A few years ago I reached final partner interview for a training contract at a boutique London firm in my chosen practice area, private client law. Since then I’ve been working in a non-legal field and have recently re-dedicated myself to the SQE.
• Since June, I’ve been self-studying full-time (though this may drop to part-time in Q4) for the SQE, with a prospective July 2027 SQE1 sitting. I’m going fully digital with a data-driven approach, and I thought I would share my process, as this community has been really helpful in the past.

My Study Materials

• University of Law Manuals (Paid) - I’m currently using the ULaw study manuals (e-books) and have found them to be extremely thorough, providing enough information for me to succeed in MCQs across different providers (more on that below). I’m reading each Manual cover-to-cover, taking notes as I go. The ULaw App is also amazing as it provides helpful MCQs and a really great dashboard to track my progress and how I compare to other users.
• Obsidian (Free) - If you add one tool to your workflow, this has to be it. The beauty of Obsidian over tools such as Word/Google Sheets is its linking feature. Screenshot attached to see how it works!

• Anki (Free*) - I’m currently around 25% of the way through the entire ULaw SQE1 material and have around 3000 flashcards on Anki, ranging from short True/False cards to longer ‘explain the entire case law’ cards. I religiously spend around 1 hour each day covering my due cards (roughly 150 per day), and this is likely one of the biggest differentiators in whether or not I do well on the exam because it is immensely helping my retention of information across different subjects. *There is a paid iphone app version, but the desktop version has been enough for me!
• MCQs (Free) - these are the different providers I use (I’m currently using their free resources, but am aware that many of them have paid resources):
  • Barbri
  • BPP
  • Kaplan Select
  • ReviseSQE
  • SRA
  • QLTS

My Digital System

• Google Sheets Tracker (Free) - I’m quite data-driven, so I've built a pretty meticulous tracker that covers different areas:
  • Progress: I track how much of each subject I’ve covered based on pages from ULaw manuals. This gives me a good headline overview of how much I have left to go for each FLK.
  • Forecasting : I’ve input historical data on how long it takes me to read each manual chapter, make notes, create Anki flashcards, and memorise those cards. It has immensely helped me with planning the next few months. To give you an insight into its accuracy (a testament to Google Sheets, obviously): I can forecast to roughly +-5 minutes how long it will take me to complete my Anki revision for the day. This is a super easy thing to replicate yourself, if you would find it helpful.
  • Scores: I track my scores across different sources (informal MCQs, exam-conditioned mocks, and the MCQs at the end of each ULaw Manual chapter). These are tracked via subject and then within each subject, via sub-subject (e.g. devolution, judicial review, etc). This gives me a quick snapshot of how I’m performing across each subject and which areas I may need to focus on within each subject, so I know what to target. I also track my MCQ scores by provider, as some providers are supposedly harder than others. I also have an overall Average for each FLK - I have weighted the subjects based on the SRA’s guidance so I give myself a more accurate picture of how I’m performing, but of course this still has its deficiencies (e.g. it’s not scaled).
• Gamification (Free) - I’m a big game show fan, so of course I had to build my own game dashboard on Google Sheets: an homage to Jeopardy! I have thousands of questions on there across the topics I’ve studied so far, and it’s pretty fun, allowing me a bit of levity each week when I play for half an hour or so. If you’re into things like that, building something similar can be a fun side-project and light addition to your study process! Screenshot attached to see how it looks!

Current Status

• As mentioned, I’m about 25% of the way through the material, having finished Constitutional Law and Legal Services and halfway through Legal Systems and Business each.

How are you studying?

• I’d love to know what other sources (for MCQs etc.) you guys are using. Without a structured course, it’s been really helpful to have extra sources such as BPP and QLTS’ free questions.
• I’d also love to know if anyone has any experience with one-on-one tuition and whether they've found it useful.

I’ll try to keep this post updated every now and again with progress, and please leave a comment or send me a DM if you have any questions! Super happy to connect, and I hope you’ve found this helpful!