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accelerated lpc

I have a TC at a good city firm and have the option of choosing when/where I do my lpc.

 

I am currently working in the litigation department of a sc firm. Although I don’t do particularly complex work it is decent experience.

 

I was planning on doing the accelerated lpc next July but have heard horror stories and am considering doing it full time instead.

 

Can anyone who did the accelerated lpc attest to its difficulty? Would they advise against it?

I did the accelerated a couple years ago. It really isn't difficult. It is different to university though, which I think some people struggle to adjust to. Essentially it boils down to being spoon fed a large amount of information in a short period of time and being able to regurgitate it on command without much critical thinking and within the confines of a mark scheme. I studied probably 9-5 during term time and a bit longer during exam periods. But I also spent a lot of that time pissing around, with lengthy lunch breaks and evenings drinking. 

I think it really depends on what you want from the next year. Do you want to just get it out of the way with and have a few months free or do you want that free time spread out a bit more across the year? I wanted to travel for a few months so I didn't mind doing the accelerated (although my firm also required it).

 

My thought process is that doing the accelerated lpc will allow me to get some solid experience before doing the tc.Could maybe fit in a months travelling as well.  Also the  standard lpc seems pretty boring with a lot of free time from what i've heard. 

 

However, I'm wondering if its worth putting through myself through the stress of the accelerated lpc just to get a few more months experience as a paralegal.... 

Any more advice would be appreciated

Unless it has changed markedly in recent years the lpc is a piece of piss. So the short one and get it done with and go and do something fun instead. If you’re already working as a paraweasel then you’ve enough experience already. You don’t need more. 

My thought process is that doing the accelerated lpc will allow me to get some solid experience before doing the tc.

Stop being so earnest and do the longer one. They'll give you the experience on the TC.

Also the  standard lpc seems pretty boring with a lot of free time from what i've heard. 

If the LPC is 'boring' because you have lots of free time, then I'd suggest you are wasting your free time.

Unless you need the money or travel window, i cant see any gain to doing the accelerated version. You're not going to learn much new (of any use) from doing another few months of paralegalling.

Wot most if not all above sed - definitely do the full time one. To do the accelerated in the circs you describe is not so much looking a gift horse in the mouth as kicking its fvcking teeth out for no reason whatsoever.

If you only want to travel for a month or so, and have things you'd happily do with a couple of free days a week (which could include working - I managed two days/week without trouble), then the normal course is much better as long as you don't have an early start date. 

Assuming a September start for the LPC, you'll be done with exams by early June, so even with an August start you have at least six weeks off (and a much more more relaxed time before things become... Decidedly not relaxed). 

I did the accelerated LPC and basically what Captain Crunch said. I suspect you'd spend all your 'free time' on the normal LPC doing additional unnecessary reading judging by your commitment to your paralegal role. Personally I'd opt for accelerated and do something fun with the other months rather than work- or find something which makes you look like a potentially interesting colleague in future job applications (clue: it's not paralegalling).

Bloody hell how things have changed. When I did the Law Society Finals, it was full time and it was unremitting slog. If we were lucky we made it into the pub next door in time for last orders. When I made it home for the Summer after doing the examsI could barely string a coherent sentence together because my brain was full of tons of stuff we had had to memorise. #bunchoflightweights.

The question to ask is this - if you did the normal one, what would you do with your time. 

 

If the answer is lots of extra law work, then do the quick one. 

If the answer is get ratted and put my penis into lots of law students then do the slow one. 

 

HTH

 

That is mental. The Lpc was the easiest year of study I ever had, more so than GCSEs even. 

Granted I had my study on by that stage but I’d say I did four days a week 9-5 (including tutorials) (half days on Wednesday and Friday for sport and drinking). 

I’ve heard it was harder at Nottingham where they didn’t have open book exams. 

Did you do it accelerated or the normal one? 

 

I am aware that the standard version is pretty slow paced, however the accelerated version has a reputation for being pretty jam-packed and stressful, despite the straightforward nature of the work. 

 

Hence my conundrum  

I did it years ago and there was no accelerated option. 

The fact is, when I did it there was a lot of volume of work which you needed to keep on top of. If you did it was easy. If you didn't and some people didn't then you were doomed. Possibly the best practical learning of the whole course. 

Tis true Buzz. I think the failure rate for Law Soc Finals was about 50%. Nobody could wing it no matter how clever they were. You just had to memorize absolutely everything. It was brutal. I worked far harder for it than for my degree which was a doss in comparison.

Did the slow LPC 2017-2018 and loved it. No need to add extra stress where it's not needed. Don't waste your time getting work experience when you've already got a TC.  Enjoy your free time while you can. I'm struggling to come to terms with not having 10 weeks off this summer for the first time in my life. 

 

FFS, stop obsessing about this idiotic conundrum.

You’ve got a TC with a good firm.

They, and no one else, will give a schoite whether you did the LPC in accelerated version or not, and even less schoite about what you did in the 3-6 months you had off.

Stop taking yourself so feckin seriously, and get a grip FFFS.

If you have a choice you’re not doing the accelerated LPC. That one is mandatory for studes going to 5 specific firms. You may well have the choice between the full time and fast track courses but I’d be surprised that firms still give anyone that choice. 

Those 5 do a specific variate of the accelerated lpc. 

 

Students are free to chose between the accelerated or the full-time version (ulaw). Might be different for BPP

FFS, stop obsessing about this idiotic conundrum.

You’ve got a TC with a good firm.

They, and no one else, will give a schoite whether you did the LPC in accelerated version or not, and even less schoite about what you did in the 3-6 months you had off.

Stop taking yourself so feckin seriously, and get a grip FFFS.

 

___________

 

Well yes, it's not a question of who will care what version of the lpc I did. Rather its how I will spend the next year of my life so I am obviously giving it some thought

There's really only two choices:

1. Do the slow LPC and enjoy free time and being a student.

2. Do the accelerated one and go travelling for a few months if you can afford it.

I did 1 and enjoyed it. If you do the same do it two days a week and not 4. There's typically only 8 contact hours a week. Coming in four days a week each time for a single two hour session is a waste of time.

Definitely watered down then. Excluding lectures it's literally 8 hours a week stage 1 and 6 hours a week stage 2. You get 2 or 3 one hour lectures per module in stage 1. There are no lectures in stage 2. No substantive law is covered in those lectures - they consist of study skills, exam technique or a single mock half exam.

The first fortnight is a little busier as they front load loads of the "Introduction to Professional Practice" module (interviewing, research, drafting and advocacy).

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