Surviving the first 2 weeks of the BPTC: advice from former students 2

The BPTC is a frenetic and hectic rollercoaster ride, taking you from an academic knowledge and understanding of the law, to a different plane; one where you have judgment, practicality, problem solving skills and the confidence to with the major responsibility of other people’s legal conundrums.

There are some very simple things you can do to make sure the foundations of your learning are strong, and they are best put in place from the very beginning.

My former students helped me by providing advice to incoming BPTC students so plentifully and generously,  that this is my second post. If you missed the first, you will find it here: http://snigsclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/surviving-first-2-weeks-of-bptc-advice.html.

So, once again, I am proud to say: “OVER TO THE STUDENTS!”

Eloise Turnnidge emphasises how important starting well on the BPTC is:

“Hit the ground running! There is so much work to do starting in the first week. Consider your timetable and the preparation required, then plan how you're going to use the time. It helps to get into a good routine early on.”

Ahsan Zaman had a four point plan:

“I advise simple methods:

1. Don't be tense (stressed), have fun, just try to enjoy the environment of City.

2. Strictly follow the lectures during the first two weeks.

3. Every day give at least 4 to 6 hrs to prepare your class-work. It would be better if you prepare your work in advance during the off-days.

4. Make a few good friends who strictly follow the classes and are more serious students than you.”

Working together can be a great way of building your confidence up and getting ahead. Group study, done efficiently and without distraction can be one of the most effective ways of learning. 

Peter Khoury endorses this advice:

"Get to know the other members of your tutorial group! Setting up a study group as soon as possible will assist you in keeping up with workload and also allow you to share personal frustrations along the way."

Friends and group mates in the course are not just there to be study buddies. A support network is vital. You will need people to give you a listening ear and a big hug from time to time.

Wasiul Hoque Chowdhury advises keeping good company:

"Just try and enjoy yourself and stay away from people who demoralise you. Then you would do great!!"

Staying positive and building confidence will stand you in good stead. Avoid negative people who bring you down... unless they are your tutor! ;)

Heath Jamal sums up with this excellent list:

“1. Don't panic. You will get through this.

2. You're not alone, everyone struggles and feels a little overwhelmed.

3. Engage with your group, they are the best support you will have.

4. Use the energy to get organised, in particular files for the mountains of papers you will get.

5. If all else fails, speak to Snigdha. Not only is she an amazing teacher, she also really cares about her students.

6. The end line is a long way off but keep in mind that the reward is amazing. Nothing beats Call Night!

7. Give yourself a break, you are not superman/woman.

8. Work bloody hard, but from time to time, say what the fuck and go have fun!

Good Luck.”

You will see I included the profanity. Sometimes you do have to say “what the fuck!” In other words, accept that other things are also important in your life. Taking time for friends and family. Taking time for your hobbies. You will need these things to keep you sane.

Alvin Chai, a former BVC student has written practically a whole, wonderful, blog post on the subject:

“Your partner in crime is very important. Get to know your classmates and have 1-2 people who you can count on. These are also the people who will help you in notes sharing, and proof read your work in the future (except for assessment work). They are the people who will know exactly how you feel, having deadlines after deadlines, watching the sunrise of London after sleepless nights, studying through Christmas. These comrades will make your challenging days much better.

I was fortunate to have a few of these friends on the BVC. Snigdha, Chris is one of them. English is not my first language, so advocacy was not my strength, but having Chris to learn from was of great help. There were so many solution, ideas and realizations that came from long talks with my team mates.

There are such people who do not share positive energy. Stay away from them. Choose to spend your time with those who are disciplined, with positive energy – these things money can’t buy.

Coming back to Snigdha’s question about how to cope with the first two weeks of the BPTC:

1. Spend the first few weeks building relationships. Having a team mate is better than going it alone. This is a challenging ride, but you will learn skills that are good for life.

2. Prepare or read before going to class. I didn’t do this at the start, I do regret it.

3. Spend money buying ring folders to have your notes organized by subjects. No last minute magic can help you if you are not organized.

4. Don’t care about what other students tell you such as we can slack first, work later. They will wish they never say such things.

5. Hunt down past years papers for civil and criminal MCQs (if such things still exists) for practice later. Do it early because such information is hard to find during my time, but worth it. :P [Sadly, only the papers released by the BSB CEB to the providers are available these days. Sorry! – Snigdha]

6. Go find out how to online book your dining sessions early. Sort these things out early so you don’t need to have a last minute panic.

7. Revise on how to use the online databases, legal research skills are gold because they will be the first steps of many of your work tasks.

8. Need to understand that there are subjects that you will really need to allocate time to practice them such as Drafting because you are required to draft in exam conditions with a time limit. Last minute prep just doesn’t cut it. Suffice to say, they are many type of examination methods. Plan your time accordingly for how to approach them. Talk to your tutors about this, and they will be able to give indication on how to prep for each subject, the strategy etc.

9. Snigdha is truly an educator and a friend. She will give good actionable advice from advocacy to study. Get to know her if you get the chance.

10. If you are new to London, check out places you can get your favourite food. Comfort food goes a long way as small reward, as motivation.

11. Enjoy your time in London with like-minded course mate. It’s gonna be memorable. At the end of the day, you need fun too.”

Jeremy Heywood says:

"I would say the following: 

(1) take a deep breath and don't panic about it - the course is going to throw up some new challenges but there is nothing to be scared about and everything is eminently passable; 

(2) make sure to take some time in the beginning to get to know your tutor group outside of the classroom - these are the guys you are going to share this with and (if they are anything like the folks I met) they are likely to be pretty awesome and stay with you long after the course has gone; 

(3) be realistic and give yourself down time - no one works well when they are knackered; 

(4) never be afraid to take part, or ask for help (from your tutor or your classmates) - everyone is in the same boat and you will get most out of the course if you speak up and play a part in it; and 

(5) enjoy it while you can - it is a really good, fun, course and one of the best years of study and fun I have had. 

That was my approach anyway. Hope all is well. J. x"

Katie Beard has these thoughts about keeping your sense of perspective:

“My advice is don't panic/worry/overwhelm yourself.

Don't worry about what other people have done before starting the course, or that they are better/have more experience than you. Get to know as many people as possible and most of all - try and enjoy it.

Before you know it you'll be buried in revision so make the most of the first 2 weeks to take everything in and enjoy.

Also- use your inn! And pupillage workshops and extra advice sessions - it will really help in the long run.

Good luck, everyone! :D

Oh and find Snigdha - she is a diamond and helped me so so much x”

Do try to avoid being too competitive or comparing yourself with others. We do learn at different paces. Provided you are not slacking or avoiding doing the work required of you, don’t worry if you perceive others are doing better than you or “getting it” more. Stay calm, keep working. It will all fall into place.

Vishal Shamsi recommends making the most of the induction programme, which I heartily endorse and reminds you of the importance of sleeping properly:

“I started a week late because I could not arrive in London on time and OMG, I was so lost on my first day! I missed all the introductory LGS and SGS, so I basically I just jumped into the deep end of the pool.

My advice would be to make sure you attend all the introductory lessons you can, especially the ones that familiarise you with legal research and our law library. Knowing how to research and use the library in the beginning saves so much time throughout the rest of the year.

Next comes managing your day and getting enough sleep. Throughout the BPTC, sleep might be the least of your priorities, but I think it’s really important to not just stay awake during LGS but also actively make notes and participate where required. Llack of sleep WILL put you to sleep during lessons, trust me!

I guess organizing all the notes, books and your time would be the key (the first reading week helps with this).

Also studying for BPTC and knowing how to study for BPTC are two different things, Snigdha Nag has some amazing material on pinterest that can help with that, she also shares it on facebook from time to time. :D

I hope this helps x”

Sleep is your body and brain’s way of resting and repairing itself. You will learn most effectively if you ensure you get enough sleep. Pulling all nighters at your desk makes you feel like you are working heroically, but robs you of the ability to think the next day. You need to sleep to learn. It is as simple as that. If you put in consistent amounts of work during the day, you should not need to stay up all night working.

Shakir Ahmed has these thoughts:

“Enjoy the first couple of days. Check out the CLS library, the beautiful fields. Drink coffee from Starbucks. You are going to need a lot of it in the next nine months. Check out other amazing restaurants around CLS. You might also have a look at the Grays Inn and Lincoln's Inn, which is very close to CLS. Now the serious part: prepare before you go to classes. Make friends with like-minded people and study together sometimes. It makes studying easier. And if you have any problems or facing any difficulties talk to your personal tutor. He/She will give you the best advice.”

Brilliant advice, but I would remind you that other coffee establishments are available.

Imtiaz Bin Hafiz continues the theme of how important being organised for the course is:

“Get bundles to arrange the heap of papers given to you. Make separate files for each subject.”

Dawn De Coteau has this concise and sage advice:

“Follow your instructions, get going with the preparation from day one, as there is no downtime on the BPTC.”

Tom Jones has a deceptively simple tip:

“Use the first two weeks to try out different ways of taking notes and preparing SGSs. Type in some and write in others and see what works for you.”

I cannot stress how useful this advice is – do not assume your previously used methods and techniques will work for the BPTC and the life in practice which awaits you. Yes, you are graduates and intelligent people, but you may find that your previous note-taking and learning methods are not effective on a course of this pace, volume and difficulty.

Ahmed Durrani says that getting relevant work experience is important, and can give you a break from the relentless pace of Small Group and Large Group Sessions:

“Prioritise. That's the magic word. Even though the workload will seem daunting, it is equally important to engage in other activities such as mooting/work experience/mini-pupillages, etc, to give you that much needed, and simultaneously a very useful, break from studying.”

David Green has the following to say:

“The pace is unrelenting and you don't get a reading week till November - so learn to move on.

Allocate a fixed amount of time to a task (eg an opinion for class), and use it, but don't exceed it - it's better to have 3/4 of a class opinion and all of your civil and crim lit reading for the week, than it is to have a perfect opinion, no sleep, and incomplete notes for your other classes.

Take good notes - you'll revise from them. I typed all of mine: if you do too I STRONGLY recommend Microsoft OneNote (which is free as part of MS Office - if you have office you already have it). It's perfect for taking notes on the fly and organising, categorising and searching them. It got me through my GDL and BPTC and I still use my notebooks from each.”

Managing the workload is immensely important; you may find that you have more than one class to prepare for in a day. It is not going to help you to prepare exhaustively for one and then go to the other unprepared. We are capable of self-deception, saying “oh, I want this piece of work to be perfect, so I’ll carry on with this skeleton argument rather than read up my civil litigation”. What you might actually be doing is spending time finessing an already good skeleton argument to avoid doing the civil litigation preparation because you dislike the subject or find it difficult. David’s advice is astute and worth absorbing.

I would like to express my sincerest and deepest gratitude to the students who have essentially wrote this post.

These two posts on surviving the first two weeks of the BPTC are amazing, but only because my former students are amazing and brilliant people.