BARBRIReviews of barbri.com

I purchased learning materials from Barbri to prepare for the SQE exam, and my experience has been mixed. For SQE 1, I found the materials quite helpful. They provided a solid foundation and covered a lot of the necessary content. However, when it came to SQE 2, I was disappointed. The revision book failed to cover some essential topics, such as leases, which I neglected to revise before the exam. This oversight contributed to a stressful experience during the test. Additionally, I found the number of practice questions to be inadequate. With only 20-30 practice questions available across five subjects, I struggled to get the practice I needed. This left me feeling uncertain about how to approach the exam and answer questions effectively. Ultimately, I failed the SQE 2 exam, which not only caused me stress but also resulted in significant financial strain. I now have to work for over a year to save money for additional materials from another company to better prepare for my retake. Overall, I would recommend Barbri for SQE 1, but caution anyone considering their materials for SQE 2 to thoroughly assess if they will meet their needs.

Passed both exams on my first attempt. First prep course was much more structured and prepared me better. I passed with good margins. Second course was more independent and I am not sure it covered everything that came up in the exam. Tutors are really good but perhaps the material should be more comprehensive.

Well structured

I completed the SQE1 40 week prep course with BARBRI. The BARBRI teaching method was fantastic - the PSP (the learning platform) was easy to use and intuitive and their systematic problem solving approach to the SQE1 exam is, without doubt, the reason I passed. I would highly recommend BARBRI.

I’m currently studying with Barbri and I would not recommend them. Having completed the LPC, I feel this course isn’t well-suited for those who haven’t previously completed SQE1. They expect you to start with a strong foundation in FLK knowledge, which can be incredibly overwhelming as you’re left to learn it all on your own. This often leaves you feeling like you’re constantly playing catch-up—struggling to keep up with weekly tasks while also trying to learn the FLK independently. The course is only 20 weeks long, which adds unnecessary pressure, especially when compared to other providers which offer longer courses such as a 40-week courses. On top of this, Barbri charges £599 if you want to defer your exam, which gives the impression that their primary focus is money. The course and exam are already expensive enough, so how Barbri expects students to afford an extra £599 is beyond me. While they do offer a free prep course if you fail SQE2- provided you attend 70% of all tutor calls, submit PFAs, and complete the mocks- the overall experience feels disorganised. Their SQE2 course seems underdeveloped, with frequent changes and omissions that make it feel as though students are guinea pigs in their trial-and-error process. The tutor feedback is another issue, as it can vary massively depending on who you get, which is frustrating and unhelpful. While they do provide both written feedback and a personalised video, the inconsistency in quality makes it hard to rely on. You can see for yourself from the reviews on their Trustpilot page that feedback for their SQE2 course is overwhelmingly negative. Overall, I feel there are far better and more supportive options available.

Separate practices for each subject

I took BARBRI’s 20-week course to prepare for the July 2024 exam, and I couldn’t be more impressed. Coming from a non-common law background, I found the course to be exceptionally well-structured. The repetition method they employed worked wonders for my understanding and retention of the material. The course is designed to build your knowledge step-by-step, which was crucial for someone like me who had no prior exposure to common law. The mix of lectures, practice questions, and detailed outlines helped solidify my understanding of key concepts. One suggestion I have is to include SRA sample questions within the mandatory hours of the course. Detailed explanations for the correct answers to these questions would have added immense value and better aligned the course with the exam’s focus. Overall, I would highly recommend the BARBRI course to anyone preparing for the exam, especially those new to common law.

Thought SQE1 Barbri course was well managed and thought out. Feel exactly the opposite with the Barbri SQE2 course and would not recommend. The tutors are doing their best and are being very helpful, but the way the course is laid out and the timetabling is confusing. Self-marking exercises are not helpful - although you think you are making the points raised in the exemplars, sometimes the tutors are looking for particular words or phrases, or are looking for the exercise to be set out a certain way, so mark you down when it comes to a tutor-marked exercise. Personally, I think all exercises should be tutor marked so that you know expectations from the outset, then the exemplars provided, preferably at superior performance level. After all, this is what you are working to for your exams! The set-out of the SQE2 course is muddled and ill-thought out. Halfway through the course and Barbi have changed workshop dates so that we are discussing the content and feedback for exercises that are not yet closed. What is the point of discussing how you should have undertaken an exercise BEFORE you have done it??? The timetabling for this course is all over the place which makes it hard to follow and keep up with consistently, especially if you are working full time - which most of my cohort is, currently. Very disappointed after such a great SQE1 Barbri course. Barbri have let themselves down with their SQE2 admin and conduct. Have had to seek extra tutoring outside of Barbri to try and get me through this nightmare.