College of Legal Practice GDL - why so cheap and quick?

[PaulieWalnutsGualtieri]

I have a training contract with a firm that does not require the PGDL, but I'm planning to self-fund it to gain the underlying legal knowledge needed ahead of the SQE (hopefully reducing my chances of failing it!).

ULAW's online PGDL is £12,450

BPP's is £12,600

Whereas the College of Legal Practice's is £3950.

Why is CoLP so much cheaper?

It's also considerably shorter than BPP and ULAW's courses (full-time, 20 weeks, September to March).

As a self-funder with a TC at a firm that doesn't specify a provider, it seems like a no-brainer...

Can anyone share their experiences of the GDL (or other courses) at CoLP? What's the catch?

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

I have a training contract with a firm that does not require the PGDL, but I'm planning to self-fund it to gain the underlying legal knowledge needed ahead of the SQE (hopefully reducing my chances of failing it!).

ULAW's online PGDL is £12,450

BPP's is £12,600

Whereas the College of Legal Practice's is £3950.

Why is CoLP so much cheaper?

It's also considerably shorter than BPP and ULAW's courses (full-time, 20 weeks, September to March).

As a self-funder with a TC at a firm that doesn't specify a provider, it seems like a no-brainer...

Can anyone share their experiences of the GDL (or other courses) at CoLP? What's the catch?

Hey!

Whilst I didn't do the GDL (either at CoLP or elsewhere), my firm did use CoLP as their provider for SQE1 and SQE2. Overall, I was pretty happy with my experience with CoLP and I felt that it prepared me well for my SQE exams. I liked that it was pretty flexible and regularly tested your understanding as you went along, which helped me keep the law fresh rather than leaving everything until revision at the end.

I can't really comment on the GDL materials specifically, but I thought the SQE manuals were decent overall. There were the occasional mistakes here and there, but they were very receptive to feedback and quick to correct anything that was flagged.

I wouldn't be able to say definitively why CoLP is so much cheaper, but I imagine part of it could come down to fewer contact hours/live teaching and a more self-directed style of learning compared to BPP/ULaw. I think a lot of it depends on how you learn best and how much structure you want around you.

As you are someone self-funding with a TC already secured, I can definitely see why CoLP may be the most appealing from a cost-benefit perspective - especially if your main goal is building the underlying legal knowledge ahead of the SQE rather than needing a 'traditional' GDL experience