LPC - ULaw v BPP

[123Law1234]

I was wondering if anyone who is currently studying at either BPP or ULaw could help me to decide which one to choose?

In particular, I was wondering if ULaw was fully open-book other than the MCQ's? I am also interested to hear whether this is the case for BPP?

Also, I have heard that BPP provides model answers, is this something ULaw also does?

Finally, is there a significant difference in the difficulty of the exams and the pass rate?

 

[Abii]

Hi,

I’m a current ULaw LPC student - in my second year as a part time student.

All exams at ULaw are open book. Including the MCQs.

There are often exemplar answers given to more difficult workshop tasks and points to note for mock exams.

The only thing I would really question is why the LPC? Are you self funding, or firm-funded, or have a TC lined up that requires it.

I only did the LPC as I got a full fee scholarship. Otherwise I would have waited to secure a TC, I’m currently interviewing with firms now and they have all said they would want me to do SQE 2 for a 2024 TC start.

 

[Jane Smith]

They are both good so you probably cannot go wrong with either choice.

I am a lawyer and my sons are both doing the LPC with BPP currently and they know someone very well who is doing the UoL LPC currently. as the boys live at home and I work from home I probably have a bit more contact than when they were away at university.

BPP is fully open book eg you can take anything into the exam which is on paper, your own notes, books, anything (but nothing electronic other than the computer on which you are working). I do not know as much about UoL but it is probably open book too. With BPP you can choose if you do the exams proctored/via web cam or in person in an exam hall but in both cases you may take any materials in. For my sons who type very fast and find hand writing exams more difficult that tipped the balance in their choice of online exams over in the exam hall,although either is an option with BPP. I believe this academic year UoL has exams in the exam hall whereas BPP obtained permission from the SRA to keep the choice of online exams for those who want it for this academic year.
BPP provide a sample paper and examiner's report of the year before and also I think some video reports on certain sample assessments.
More of the bigger firms use BPP although UoL is an excellent LPC course too.
BPP is wholly open book even with MCQ including today's professional conduct exam.
For BPP online exams students may not print anything in the exam not even the exam paper and pdfs supplied and nor can you take electronics like a mobile in nor google search terms of course, but my sons have not found that a problem and found the online exams fine. We were worried as our internet here at home cuts out once a day briefly that might mess up the exams but it has never been a problem and they could have chosen in person exams had they preferred.

BPP holds the core subject exams in January (business law, property, criminal and civil lit, public law) and I believe UoL hold them about now in March. I prefer the fact BPP gets them over with a bit earlier on so by about mid Jan you have done exams worth about 63% of the year's marks, and then does the skills topics (and then the electives which are the balance of the marks as the electives do not feed into the overall mark but you do have be assessed as competent with them) but it is not a huge difference.

I am not involved enough to know if the exams are harder. I thought I heard UoL might be slightly different or trickier but that just anecdotal from my BPP twins who are not doing the UoL course. If I had to guess I would say those with high A level grades and/or sponsored by a law firm (whether at UoL or BPP) are probably both as likely to pass whichever they chose.

The pass rates by institution are not published so no one knows.

If you do not do the LPC with LLM option then BPP's course finished when the exams do in mid June (or earlier if you do the accelerated version) whereas I believe UoL finishes a bit later, but I might be wrong.

 

[123Law1234]

Hi,

I’m a current ULaw LPC student - in my second year as a part time student.

All exams at ULaw are open book. Including the MCQs.

There are often exemplar answers given to more difficult workshop tasks and points to note for mock exams.

The only thing I would really question is why the LPC? Are you self funding, or firm-funded, or have a TC lined up that requires it.

I only did the LPC as I got a full fee scholarship. Otherwise I would have waited to secure a TC, I’m currently interviewing with firms now and they have all said they would want me to do SQE 2 for a 2024 TC start.

Thank you. My TC is funded. How much time would you say the LPC takes per week?

 

[123Law1234]

They are both good so you probably cannot go wrong with either choice.

I am a lawyer and my sons are both doing the LPC with BPP currently and they know someone very well who is doing the UoL LPC currently. as the boys live at home and I work from home I probably have a bit more contact than when they were away at university.

BPP is fully open book eg you can take anything into the exam which is on paper, your own notes, books, anything (but nothing electronic other than the computer on which you are working). I do not know as much about UoL but it is probably open book too. With BPP you can choose if you do the exams proctored/via web cam or in person in an exam hall but in both cases you may take any materials in. For my sons who type very fast and find hand writing exams more difficult that tipped the balance in their choice of online exams over in the exam hall,although either is an option with BPP. I believe this academic year UoL has exams in the exam hall whereas BPP obtained permission from the SRA to keep the choice of online exams for those who want it for this academic year.
BPP provide a sample paper and examiner's report of the year before and also I think some video reports on certain sample assessments.
More of the bigger firms use BPP although UoL is an excellent LPC course too.
BPP is wholly open book even with MCQ including today's professional conduct exam.
For BPP online exams students may not print anything in the exam not even the exam paper and pdfs supplied and nor can you take electronics like a mobile in nor google search terms of course, but my sons have not found that a problem and found the online exams fine. We were worried as our internet here at home cuts out once a day briefly that might mess up the exams but it has never been a problem and they could have chosen in person exams had they preferred.

BPP holds the core subject exams in January (business law, property, criminal and civil lit, public law) and I believe UoL hold them about now in March. I prefer the fact BPP gets them over with a bit earlier on so by about mid Jan you have done exams worth about 63% of the year's marks, and then does the skills topics (and then the electives which are the balance of the marks as the electives do not feed into the overall mark but you do have be assessed as competent with them) but it is not a huge difference.

I am not involved enough to know if the exams are harder. I thought I heard UoL might be slightly different or trickier but that just anecdotal from my BPP twins who are not doing the UoL course. If I had to guess I would say those with high A level grades and/or sponsored by a law firm (whether at UoL or BPP) are probably both as likely to pass whichever they chose.

The pass rates by institution are not published so no one knows.

If you do not do the LPC with LLM option then BPP's course finished when the exams do in mid June (or earlier if you do the accelerated version) whereas I believe UoL finishes a bit later, but I might be wrong.

Thank you! I heard elsewhere that some students faced issues during covid, how have you found BPP's organisation?

 

[Abii]

Thank you. My TC is funded. How much time would you say the LPC takes per week?

It varies, some workshops might only need a couple of hours prep some might need more like 6.

If I am honest I wouldn't recommend part time LPC study with a full time job to anyone. It's very time intensive, and I am someone that worked almost full time during a full time LLB and I've worked a full time and part time job at the same time and both of those were easier than the LPC part time and a full time job.

Picking up on your organisation question about BPP I think both ULaw and BPP suck in terms of organisation, both have had their serious issues (I have a lot of friends that are at or have been to BPP).

I had a full choice as to where I could study and I chose ULaw as their exams have always been open book, pre covid BPP was closed book, and I was more interested in the MSc than an LLM.

 

[123Law1234]

It varies, some workshops might only need a couple of hours prep some might need more like 6.

If I am honest I wouldn't recommend part time LPC study with a full time job to anyone. It's very time intensive, and I am someone that worked almost full time during a full time LLB and I've worked a full time and part time job at the same time and both of those were easier than the LPC part time and a full time job.

Picking up on your organisation question about BPP I think both ULaw and BPP suck in terms of organisation, both have had their serious issues (I have a lot of friends that are at or have been to BPP).

I had a full choice as to where I could study and I chose ULaw as their exams have always been open book, pre covid BPP was closed book, and I was more interested in the MSc than an LLM.

Thank you! I will be doing the full time LPC.

 

[Jane Smith]

Thank you! I heard elsewhere that some students faced issues during covid, how have you found BPP's organisation?

BPP moved the PDGL 100% online by September 2020 (and I assume the LPC) so did not have the issues of physical classes being off and then on and it was able to do that because it already had an online PGDL. It certainly took some students particularly those who booked at the last minute on the LPC or GDL a week or two to get registered and access to the pre reading but I have not seen anything that would mean I would recommend a different institution instead. I think the basic systems are fine - online and posted materials, good course structure, lectures and teaching and the ability to watch lectures on line is useful to fit around other things. It certainly can take a while to have a response to queries which have to be raised on a special form (or by telephone) if you have something out of the ordinary. Eg my twins wanted to be in the same group as they travel in together and in that very busy first week it took a while to get that changed but it was changed by the time of the first seminar (and it was probably BPP's busiest week of the year).

I think we have found the admin for BPP better this year on the LPC than on the PGDL but is because my twins were the first year ever to do the brand new 2 term PGDL course and secondly it was in the middle of covid and moved 100% online so that was a huge change for BPP and everything was fine.

UoL is fine too (I was at the old College of Law, now UoL, in my day and have no particular bias to BPP other than my children have used it and done fine). They are both good. None of my 4 children who have done/ are doing the LPC with BPP has chosen a masters option, just the basic LPC, so I cannot comment on masters v MSc.

 

[F1_Legal]

BPP moved the PDGL 100% online by September 2020 (and I assume the LPC) so did not have the issues of physical classes being off and then on and it was able to do that because it already had an online PGDL. It certainly took some students particularly those who booked at the last minute on the LPC or GDL a week or two to get registered and access to the pre reading but I have not seen anything that would mean I would recommend a different institution instead. I think the basic systems are fine - online and posted materials, good course structure, lectures and teaching and the ability to watch lectures on line is useful to fit around other things. It certainly can take a while to have a response to queries which have to be raised on a special form (or by telephone) if you have something out of the ordinary. Eg my twins wanted to be in the same group as they travel in together and in that very busy first week it took a while to get that changed but it was changed by the time of the first seminar (and it was probably BPP's busiest week of the year).

I think we have found the admin for BPP better this year on the LPC than on the PGDL but is because my twins were the first year ever to do the brand new 2 term PGDL course and secondly it was in the middle of covid and moved 100% online so that was a huge change for BPP and everything was fine.

UoL is fine too (I was at the old College of Law, now UoL, in my day and have no particular bias to BPP other than my children have used it and done fine). They are both good. None of my 4 children who have done/ are doing the LPC with BPP has chosen a masters option, just the basic LPC, so I cannot comment on masters v MSc.

Hi Jane,

Do you mind if I ask why your children did not opt for the Masters option.
I am weighing up whether or not to go for the integrated LLM option.
I understand getting an LLM from BPP by doing 2 extra modules is not that valuable (compared to a full year LLM at a 'proper/traditional' uni)
But if it is free and not too much extra work, would it not be worth it just to get the LLM?
Finishing earlier with the basic LPC would mean I could paralegal at my firm before I start my Training Contract.
Do you think this is worth more than studying an LLM?

Thanks to anyone for their insights on this!

 

[Jane Smith]

Their older sisters didn't bother and said it was just a bit of extra work with no need to do it (and everyone knows it is not a normal proper masters anyway - in a sense it just means you need a student loan or your law firm sponsoring you insists you do the masters, not all firms do).
I would say do it if you need student loan masters funding or if you want to do it. I only have LLB after my name which is hardly anything compared with my siblings and my father (two are doctors and have strings of letters after their names). I would have probably have done it if I had had the option actually (not possible in my day as College of Law in those days did not have university status).

I tihnk it was a bit like them and trying for Oxbridge - it means more effort and work so couldn't be bothered. This is not a great attitude of course although they are all happy and quite relaxed so I am not knocking their approach -we are all different. I think I read somewhere the masters could be a bit of a hassle. It just seemed an extra complication so not really worth taking on or doing. I don't anything about the pass rate of difficulties with it however. It may well be pretty easy and you get LLM after your name after all which for someone who does not even have an LLB might look impressive to some clients.