Jaysen does the SQE

[Jaysen]

This was pretty much my experience (I sat last July with the phenomenally low pass rates). And please for FLK2 keep a close eye on the clock - the people I know who didn't make it when they'd had good mock results, just hadn't finished. It will be tiring but if you can finish you have the best chance of passing, which in the end is all you need, much as a first quintile mark must be very gratifying! Thanks so much for being so analytical about all of this and for going through it for TCLA and the aspiring solicitor community.

I know I'm giving this advice ahead of time but maybe re-read it next week, and just banish the mistakes from yesterday, they are in the bag and you just have to turn up and do your best.

Thanks Alison! Yes, I need to remind myself to be fast. I think I was too casual in the first paper for FLK1.

 

[Jaysen]

A few things I'm doing differently to prep for FLK2 now that I've done FLK1:

1. Less mocks and more SBAQs: I think it makes sense to do lots of mocks for the first paper, as you want to get a sense of 'will I actually pass?', and a score is nice. But now I want to just test application of knowledge to facts and write down my wrong answers.
2. I think I did too few questions overall. If you're reading this early for the exam, I find it's now so useful to do lots of questions, experience the pain of getting most things wrong, and then log everything I get wrong. You'll understand so much faster in a way that's well suited to the exam. (It helps if you have a provider that has practice questions!)
3. More questions across a range of subjects (rather than more questions for fewer subjects).
4. It's a bit easier to write relevant flashcards now in a way that's more focused on the exam: e.g. giving myself a scenario rather than 'remember this obscure fact'.

 

[aryan605]

Hey Jaysen - would you be ever so kind to make a cheat sheet of topics like you did right before FLK1 - that was so helpful!

 

[Jaysen]

Hey Jaysen - would you be ever so kind to make a cheat sheet of topics like you did right before FLK1 - that was so helpful!

Sorry I missed this!

 

[Jaysen]

To close off this thread full circle: I'm happy to have passed in the first quintile for both FLK1 and FLK2. This is especially nice for FLK2 as I felt like I had to guess many questions.

My take is that the SQE is intense to study for. Thankfully, they do seem to mark generously.

I think it's also important to share that I was convinced I didn't pass until I received the results, so much so that I didn't want to open it. So when it gets to completing the exam, if you feel you didn't pass, this is a normal feeling!



I'm determined for this knowledge not to go to waste, so please ask away if you have any questions. I'll be doing a few write-ups of my advice soon

 

[S206]

Finished FLK1 yesterday, and I thought I'd capture a few things while it's fresh.

Verdict:

It was hard! I found it harder than any prior mock I did. It's hard to say if that's just me/the way I tend to look at things post exams, or not, but I genuinely don't know if I've passed.

For the first paper, my reaction to the first 10 or so questions was like, 'oh this is going to be so easy.' And then it became very tough for a while. I then imagined the second paper would be considerably easier. It was a little easier, but not significantly. I was also very tight on time in the first paper and finished in the final minute with no time to review anything.

The good

There were only a few questions that I genuinely felt I hadn't been taught/that hadn't been covered by ULaw. There were also some straightforward questions. I also felt the breadth was nice: while the exam did feel it was overly concentrated on a few areas, I am happy that it felt spread out enough.

The challenging

I think a few things make the exam hard. One is that I would often know the principle in the exam, but I genuinely would not be able to differentiate between two very similar options and so I had to guess. I suspect this is also particularly hard for people where English is not their first language.

There were also many questions that focused on areas that I would not have expected to come up in detail.

Finally, as mentioned above, some questions were genuinely not covered in the materials, so it's a little confusing to be tested on that.

Topics

I'll do a fuller write up later, but broadly the types of areas I'd make sure you don't miss include:

• Contract: acceptance/revocation/postal rule/limitation periods
• Tort: Vicarious liability, occupiers liability, CPA, nuisance, Rylands v Fletcher, psychiatric harm and pure economic loss --> I find this is a good one to pick up easy marks
• Disputes: make sure you really know all the dates of deemed service, how to calculate whether service was within the time frame, and the consequences of Part 36 offer. One thing I wish I spent more time here is understanding the Case Management Conference details and when claims could be struck out. You also must make sure you know what amounts leads to the County Court and High Court.
• BLP: make sure you spend time on partnerships
• Legal Services/Legal systems: the names of judges and especially FSMA/COB rules
• Constitutional: take your time with human rights and retained EU law

On to FLK2!

Hi Jayden, Congratulations on passing SQE 1, you smashed it!!

This post and your post just before this one is super helpful. Thank you so much!! You mentioned you will do a fuller list, have you done this please and if so please could you direct me as to where I can find it? Do you also happen to have one for FLK2 please?