Beware of what you are getting yourself into...

Posted on July 07, 2011 by RAQUEL RODRÍGUEZ



Here is a picture of the pile of manuals I received for my MCT preparation… and as if that wasn’t enough there is another one coming out soon! Looking forward to it!  
I have been developing a dry sense of humour since I started the QLTS 
As you may know by now, the QLTS is a conversion process overseas Lawyers need to go through to practice in England & Wales. It is made up of three different parts: a multiple choice test (MCT) and two practical assessments; Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Technical Legal Skills Test (TLST). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) runs the QLTS and has appointed Kaplan as the sole assessment organization for the first three years of the operation of this scheme.  
The MCT needs to be completed before you have a chance to take the practical assessments so for now it is all I will be talking about. Consisting of 180 multiple choice questions divided into two separate three-hour sessions the MCT is no easy ride. The test is split into morning and afternoon sessions each with 90 questions. The 180 questions are divided roughly equally between the 11 Day One Outcomes which have been stated by the SRA (check this out: www.sra.org.uk/).  
This brings me to my next point; self or guided studies?  
Since I am not a native English speaker and my background in common law is limited I opted to take a preparation course with the QLTS School www.QLTS.co.uk. They offer a self study course which includes the booklets above (made by experts that are supposed to cover the 11 outcomes), some MCT sample questions and mock exams via the online system. There is a chance to access tutorials and lectures of some type also however they cost more and are not included in the basic package. If you have additional questions you can submit them for expert answers but you will be charged for each question (no idea of how much it is but I could easily find out if someone is interested). For the MCT package you will pay about £900. To have most of the information laid out in front of me has made it easier in some ways but the school is in the first year so is not running as smoothly as I expected.
I am interested in finding out how people who haven’t taken a course are doing. If that is you… please leave some feedback so we all can weight up the pros and cons.

8 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I'm also studying for my Qlts. Initially I thought that I would also buy the course books from the qlts school but on further consideration I realized that 800 pounds was just too much.in stead I'm studying from the University of London external program hand outs. These study guides I supplement with legal text books which I bought second hand. I will practice MCQs online free of charge from various publishers shoo have them up on their websites. All for less than 100 pounds!

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  2. Hi there,
    I wish I had known this before... Are you happy with the materials you got? Less than £100 sounds terrific!!

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  3. Hi there I plan to take the qlts in January and to be honest I'm just about to start studying and I face the same question self or guided study?
    I have looked at what the qlts school has got to offer and as Mahin above noted the difference between the cost of sourcing these course materials independently and buying the "package" from the qlts school is a lot!

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  4. Hi
    Mahin - thanks for your comment. I am also preparing for the qlts in Jan. I would really appreciate it if you could guide me as to how and where I can access the free online MCQs.
    Thanks in advance

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  5. Hi Rini,

    My next entry will be about this issue.

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  6. Hello. I also intend to take the test. Is there any other Multi-Choice Test after January?

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  7. Hi everybody, does anyone knows where we can fine more questions banks?
    thanks a lot!
    Luigi
    lcascon@tin.it

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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