This has thrown me slightly, as I can't figure out whether this is:
(a) a good thing, because surely it would be cruel of them to invite me to an open day unless they were planning on accepting me;
(b) a bad thing because as my second choice, they will have only gotten my application if BPP have decided to reject me (is this the way it works or have I made this up?);
(c) a test. If I don't apply to go, will they reject me. (Common sense tells me that this is not how it works, but all the same, I have a suspicious mind).
(d) none of the above. I should stop speculating and let life unfold as it pleases.
I has also set my mind spinning about whether or not I want to go to CLS. Aside from the fact that it is only one initial different from CLG (positive) their part time course is no where near as appealing as the part time course at BPP. They have week night sessions rather than weekends, and the whole reason I decided I would be able to do the part time thing was because of the weekend sessions, and yet I decided to put CLS as 2nd and College of Law 3rd.I know why I did this, it was based on all the good things the Barristers in the pub had to say about CLS, and the lack of anything positive that I've heard about CoL. This could well be because the Barristers that drink in the pub all went to CLS, and are therefore biased, and I've only met LPC-ers from CoL, so who knows whether that was a good reason to base my choice on or not.
What I am absolutely clear on now though, is that it's BPP that I want. This goes against my initial instincts completely... I thought I would absolutely hate going to another institution that feels as corporate as LSE (which the Open Evening they had proved to me that it does), but they really do offer the best deal for part timers. Even if it is the most expensive, it just seems to offer the most flexibility and support for part timers like myself. Oddly, I also found the corporate feel quite comforting. I may have hated my university for most of the time I was there, but I know I managed to do well (enough) there, and it made me feel more comfortable! Plus the Law Zombies all went off to do the LPC. Surely they wont have infiltrated the BVC, and of those that do, surely they wont be part timers like myself?
So, fingers crossed, on the 2nd March I'll get the offer I'm after. But maybe I should register for that open day...
CLG, if you think that BPP is better than CofL for part time students, you just have not been reading the current Blogs properly.
ReplyDeleteBarMaid and Bar Boy are at BPP and complain on pretty much every post about the impossible workload, the demands and the pressure.
I go to CofL and claim its like finger painting in Kindergarden.
Now, you could take the view that my quality of education is not as high as theirs, and I am inclined to believe that, or you could take the view that the BVC is a hoop to jump through to get a Pupillage and THATS where you really learn to do the job of a Barrister.
I dismissed ICSL because of the evening lessons, and went to CofL purely on a whim.
Every single Barrister I spoke to said 'Don't go to ****** because its crap' (Insert whichever school they attended)
I also received an invitation to CofL, despite having already attended an open day. I actually attended all 3, and liked them all.
I would recommend CofL, and would steer clear of BPP. Maybe if I was at BPP and had forgiven them for making my life one endless stream of pressure, I would recommend them and suggest avoiding CofL because their teaching is poor. Either way, they both give the same result, and the same tick on the sheet to progress forwards.
I was more worried about actually being offered something!
Fingers crossed you get your first choice.
Swizzy
BPP P/T is, by a country mile, the worst delivered course of study I have ever experienced with any educational establishment. You could say the only thing BPP are good at is getting your money but, even then, you get f**ked about over the invoicing.
ReplyDeleteJust don't.
Oh dear...
ReplyDeleteSwizz,
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible at Art. Finger painting would ruin me. So if you're try to sell College of Law to me, you'll have to do better than that! If you get to tell stories, look at picture books and play kiss chase at playtime, I'm there.
Bar Boy: Thanks for the advice. I kinda guessed they'd be all about the money, which is something I hated at my uni (even tho I didn't have to pay a penny) but for some reason I found that corporate feel oddly comforting at the open day. A kind of "better the enemy you know than the friend you don't know" feeling...
To be honest, I'll go with anyone that accepts me, if anyone does :s I should have had this debate before I sent off my application rather than worrying about it now!!
CLG, as that nice Mr Public Enemy once said .. don't believe the hype. I recall some wag once saying that, apart from the dosh, the only genuine entry criteria was being able to complete the online application in less than three attempts.
ReplyDeleteDifferent aspects of the courses offered by the providers will appeal to different individuals. Knowing what I now know, my advice would be to wait for your offers and then get yourself down your Inn and ask to be put in touch with current students for advice before accepting a place at the end of March. Hopefully, you have joined Inner Temple, the Inn of choice for discerning students. If so, you might bump into Swiss, who will show you his colouring books.
Hello CLG,
ReplyDeleteI think that I should add my opinion on providers if only to muddy the waters even further.
DO GO TO THE OPEN DAYS. The open days are the only way that you will get a feel for which provider is best for you. Do try and get info from current BVC students as to what they think about their providers.
I am at BPP part-time and chose them in preference to ICSL, mostly because people who were at ICSL (CLS) gave negative views about ICSL (courses not very well run, lack of I.T., poorly structured course etc.).
BPP are hard task masters, no doubt about it and the workload is truly massive, but I'm going to give a balanced view of BPP and also say that:
1. on the whole, the teaching is very good
2. the literature is very good (we get White Book, Archbold, Blackstones plus half a dozen or so other texts)
3. the classes are run punctually
4. the online 'Blackboard' suite is reliable and fairly comprehensive
Depends what you want? Send me an email via my blog if you want more info (I won't publish it).