BARBRI Reviews 378

This flexible course is not flexible, although it is advertised as a ok to do alongside full time work it is really hard to manage due the scheduling of the course.

The course material is out of date, full of types and other issues but it’s not being corrected year after year.

When material is marked, the reviewers don't seem pay attention marking you down for things they then tell you should be doing.

It is cheaper than other courses so there’s that.

I did the SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses. The SQE1 platform is very slick and refined, the SQE2 platform less so but all the materials are good and comprehensive.

There were times I had my doubts, but ultimately I passed all the exams on the first attempt and in the top quintile.

SQE1 course was great. SQE2 course was awful. Not enough mocks, not enough slots out of working hours, forcing you to take time off work weekly for the video calls. The threat of losing the course’s second time guarantee if you don’t do 70% of the mocks was incredibly stressful. The scheduling team were rude and unhelpful if a slot was missed due to illness or work. The feedback from tutors varied wildly. The dashboard was absolutely unnavigable. The textbook was useless as well. I just ended up teaching myself using the SQE1 resources.

The lectures and activities are very helpful and well explained. However, when I get stuck on something there is no one to ask for help. I have the most contact with my coach, but she doesn't seem to have access to Barbri, and doesn't seem to know much about the course material or be able to answer questions about law. There is a button that supposedly allows students to submit legal questions but I've never been able to get it to work. There are periodic strategy sessions with a tutor and a group of other students, but these are rare and I'm not entirely sure if I'm allowed to ask legal theory questions in these sessions or only questions relating to the practicalities of sitting the SQE1. My experience of Barbri so far is of isolation.
There is no down time built into the schedule either. The 40 week course leading up to the SQE1 has no breaks. If you fall behind due to work schedules, personal circumstances or illness I have no idea how you're supposed to catch up.

A great teaching experience, excellent resources. This is a great educational resource for part timers and mature students. Excellent!!!

The videos are too many.

If you want to pass your SQE 2, avoid Barbri! Mocks they provide and sample answers are easy and lacklustre compared to the real exam. Have a look at the SRA sample papers and answers and you'll see the stark difference between the two in terms of details and expected level of application. Year after year they don't change or update their materials so you're just doing the same outdated course that hasn't been updated or improved. Workshops should be focused on going over workshop material but tutors tend to waffle on and on during workshops answering silly questions from some students who can find the answers if they read the materials properly. They provide sample answers for marginal passes meaning that the standard you're aiming for in the real exam is below the required standard. They don't provide you with realistic mock exams. Feedback is mediocre at best and not nearly as comprehensive. They underestimate the importance of the law and focus more on the skills. Going with Barbri is a waste of time and money and I would advise anyone considering them to consider other providers if you're serious about passing.

Barbie is the best compared to other experiences I had in the past.

The course is structured in a way that is easy to catch up and studying is interesting.

Awful, absolute waste of time and money

Well structured, highly relevant course material. Delivered in a flexible and digestible way, with ever-increasing sample assessments to be prepared. Highly reccomended.

The material is very clear. The audio of some videos could improve but aside from that all good

The SQE is already an intense course not to mention many of us are working at the same time. I am doing both and have children at home. I have no time to do more than what I am already required to do in terms of preparing for the exams. I find it utterly unprofessional that during my studies, multiple changes have been made to the study guides and we have not been notified about the changes at all. I have to manually check from time to time only to discover that changes have been made, often to material I have already studied so I am forced to unlearn things I already picked up. In one instance, the most recent change was undoing a previous change we were instructed to action. The very least Barbri could do, for both our convenience and sanity, would be to notify students each time amendments are made so that we are not having to check on a daily basis out of panic and fear. It’s such a simple step that could reduce so much additional stress caused purely from the thoughtlessness of not updating students who are already juggling more than enough.

Barbri have some great tutors and very helpful example questions, would recommend!

The SQE1 and SQE2 prep course materials helped me fee prepared for my SQE exams. The SQE1 prep course broke down the course into daily tasks so that I was able to stay on top of my studies while working full time. The personal tutors were also very helpful and the weekly strategy sessions provided candidates with the opportunity to ask questions throughout the course without having to wait for weeks to get a response via email.

I have used BARBRI twice before (for the NY and MA bar) and always passed on the first try, so I really trusted the method and the approach. This, however, was the first time I doubted the efficacy and reliability of the material.
What I liked: the bite-size lectures; the questions within the lectures to force us to learn actively; the good mix of lecture and quiz; the way earlier material was tested later to ensure that we didn't forget it; the learning pace and time left at the end to absorb it all. The BARBRI teaching method clearly works.
What I didn't like: the material was not up to date, eg criminal law, trusts and estate (this is not acceptable); some new legislation appeared in the exam both morning and afternoon sessions (eg, The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 in constitutional law) that was not featured in the material at all (also not acceptable); some exam questions / answers were erroneous (not many thankfully, but there shouldn't be any), once you doubt the accuracy of the material, it makes learning that much more difficult; I found the exam MUCH harder than the mock exams provided, it was quite a shock to find out on the day of the exam, and it made it difficult to remain calm when realizing the order of magnitude by which the difficulty level was increased.
But I passed both the FLK 1 and FLK 2 on the first try, and am grateful to BARRI for it because I used nothing else to prepare for it.
Last point, I definitely walked into the exam (at least the first one) more confident than I should have been (my confidence was based on my scores in the mock exams) and I walked out of both exams wondering what hit me. In the end, I scored 65% and 59%. I know that the only thing that matters is to pass, but I didn't have that much margin for someone who completed the entire course and who did fairly well (around 75%) in the exam preps.

I have just completed the 20-week SQE2 prep course having successfully passed SQE1 in January using Barbri's SQE1 40-week prep course.

Pros:
1. All tasks relate back to the exam specifications from day 1.
2. The mock exams are good preparation for the actual exams.
3. A good community built with others doing the course through a centralised WhatsApp group - great for me, but might not be for everyone.
4. Some of the tutors are really knowledgeable and helpful, with a great understanding of the exams and the law behind them.

Cons:
1. Not enough contact time with tutors, especially when coming from SQE1 40-week course when you can book an appointment anytime in your tutor's calendar. There was only one 1-1 tutor session, which was not enough especially as the group sessions were quite forced.
2. No revision of the law at all and this is expected to be done in your own time, which seems a bit mad given the price of the course you would hope some law would be included.
3. After completing the mock exams, you are just told to revise but with very little guidance or input from the tutors. I felt quite lost in the first week of revision.
4. The feedback across different assignments was very variable, and therefore a bit confusing at times. When I tried to raise this with one of the course organisers, I did not feel heard or listened to.
5. If you want a hard copy the updated version of the FLK revision book (referred to throughout the course), you need to pay for a new one rather than it being included in the course price.
6. The interface of the online course is quite clunky and dated when compared to the SQE1 course, which I found to be really intuitive and user-friendly.

Overall, I was not impressed with the SQE2 course especially when compared to the SQE1 course. Fingers crossed I have done enough to pass. If not, sadly I do not think I will be using my Barbri guarantee for the resits.

The personal study plan is fantastic, tailored on your needs and occupations. The teachers are competent and clear and the Barbri staff is welcoming and reassurnig.

All is good except test qs which are easier than the real test