The QLTS (Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme) was brought in 2011 by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) to replace the QLTT (Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test). However; please note, the QLTS will come to end in the next couple of years as the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) comes into effect in September 2021. 

The Multiple Choice Test (MCT) is the first assessment under the QLTS and you have to pass this to become eligible to sit the OSCE. There are only two more MCT exams left to attempt- July 2020 & Jan 2021. Pass the MCT and you will have up to one year to pass the OSCE. 

Update- I have confirmation that there will be another MCT in July 2021.

While studying and preparing for the MCT there are a number of things one can do that can really make a difference in passing the exam.

These are my tips:

Weekday or weekend studying

Working full time and studying is extremely difficult and in most cases the focus is more on work rather studying for the MCT. 

Some people prefer to have uninterrupted hours of studying as it gives them a sense of achievement over that time to cover vast number of topics. If this is you then keep your studying to the weekends and dedicate all of your time only to studying and nothing else. Some people prefer to study small bits everyday and actually look forward to (a break from working) the evenings which may very well be exciting for them.

Identify your preference, write out a time table and stick to it. Having unreachable goals (i.e., I will revise Contracts in next 2 hours) is simply setting yourself up to fail which will inevitably undermine motivation to study/prepare for the exam.

Practice and practice only

I chose to study the QLTSchool’s MCT basic package (which is now called the Advanced pack). Each subject came with a book, notes and practice questions (offered via the online account). I initially read the book thoroughly, however, the practice questions became my foundation. The notes which QLTSchool provide are extremely good but if you are anything like me, you will prefer to make your own notes. Remember, “Writing once is equivalent to reading ten times“.

I went through each and every single practice question for each subject, hand wrote my notes, made flash cards from these questions and it became a great revision workflow. I also carried my flash cards with me where ever I went or while travelling to work- note the question on the front and write the answer at the back. I also used colour flash cards for some subjects (as there weren’t 11 different colours) which helped a lot.

My goal was not to study the books in and out because I had read most of the subjects during my law school years (with the exception of the UK additions to it i.e., property law, equity & trusts, Solicitor’s accounts and lastly EU law). It was more to get a feel of the subject (if it is new to you), to help me recollect basics and then I moved on to the practice questions, my hand written notes & flash cards.

As much as you read the books you will be lost in it and you have to understand how that principle applies. Kaplan states on their website, “Each question is designed to be answered by applying fundamental legal principles to the given fact patterns.” For example you should know what the “golden rule” (Rules of Interpretation) is but at the same time be able to apply it to a scenario (identity it in a problem based question).

So your reading should help you summarise some important points and ensure that you also know how to apply that rule of law or principle.

The MCT is a project

Treat the MCT exam as a project for yourself. Some candidates need four months, others may need six months and someone else may need a up to year to prepare for the MCT exam. However long it takes you to prepare for the exam, dedicate yourself to it. Everything else should become secondary and the MCT has to be your primary focus.

Practice the mock exams

As I mentioned above I used the QLTSchool’s MCT package and this came with 15 mock exams. The mock exam is a good way to measure your performance and to keep within the time.

The 180 questions in the MCT are divided into two parts with a 1 hour break (not mandatory) and then you sit through the second part which also follows the same time limit (see table below). Time flies really fast when you are in the exam and practicing mocks without timing yourself is dangerous as you have to ensure that you have answered all 90 questions within the given time frame.

MCT	180 questions in total- 1 day exam
Part 1	90 questions- 2 hours 45 minutes
	BREAK- 1 hour (not mandatory)
Part 2	90 questions- 2 hours 45 minutes

Practicing the mock exams will give you hands on experience of how it feels like to do this in the actual exam while timing yourself. I used the mock to assess my performance and went from a starting score of 46% to an average of 70%+ in less than two months.

Is practicing the mocks enough?

If you blindly practice the mocks and learn nothing from it, that’s a wasted effort! You have to do something more after practicing each mock.

Track your mock results. Write down what you score in each mock exam so you can compare your performance as you attempt it the second time and third time etc.

Note all the incorrect answers and work on them- the idea here is to go back and read your notes and understand why you answered this question incorrectly. Once this is registered in your mind then you cannot possibly get this wrong again! It worked really well for me. I made flash cards for the legal points I answered incorrectly- Remember “Writing once is equivalent to reading ten times.”

Practice the mocks as many times as possible. I practiced all the 15 mocks three times before the MCT exam. The last month before the exam was dedicated to only practicing mocks and the questionnaire for each subject that was provided by QLTSchool.

If you could practice the mocks (offered by your course provider) even twice before your actual MCT exam, you will perform well with little or low stress levels which means you will certainly pass!!!!!

Identify or Eliminate

This is a trick I practiced while preparing for the MCT. If the question is clear to you and you fully understand what it is asking you then identify the answer. If the question is confusing or you are unsure about the answer then eliminate the wrong answers first.

This is a purely subjective approach. What someone finds straight forward may be confusing to another candidate. You have to decide what category the questions falls into.

If you choose the eliminate approach, I have a further suggestion- note the answers you are eliminating on the plastic sheet you are given in the exam room along with the question number. However, do not spend too much time doing this as time is of essence!

Flag questions

The computer based MCT exam has a feature which in my opinion is fantastic! Red Flag. While you mark your answer and go through the 90 questions you can click the red flag against a question that you may want to come back, read again and check that you answered it correctly.

The QLTSchool mock exam doesn’t offer this feature, so while practicing the mock exams, I wrote down the question numbers I wanted to go back and read again to ensure I marked the right answers. However, if your course provider offers this feature then please get accustomed to using this it.

For many you who may have done the UK driving theory test the red flag option is available in this test. It is exactly the same feature you can use in the MCT exam.

Flagging questions helps a lot. Once you have gone through the 90 questions, you can go back to only the flagged questions and read through it again to make sure you are certain the answer marked is correct. The flag feature should be ideally used only on those questions you are unsure of and want to come back to. If you flag too many questions, remember that you may not have the time to go through all of them. For the flagged question, when you are happy with the answer you marked, remove the flag- this way you have completed that question and can move on to the next flagged question.

How much time should you spend on each question

This is again a subjective approach. Practicing the mocks will give you an idea on time strategy. If we were to take the time (per 90 questions) which is 2 hours 45 minutes, then based on the total number of minutes which is a total of 165 minutes you can dedicate 1.83 minutes per question. It does not sound insane to think like this but it definitely works.

However, I came up with a slightly different approach. I concluded on this strategy after having practiced the mocks several times (for appx 2 months). Divide the number of questions into three parts- 30 + 30 + 30 (that’s a total of 90 questions). Dedicate 40 minutes per 30 questions which means you can complete the 90 questions in 120 minutes (2 hours). The remaining 45 minutes can be spent on going through the flagged questions and potentially going through the 90 questions for the second time making sure you have marked the correct answer. This approach can be very intense but it worked wonders for me. I would not recommend this approach if you haven’t practiced it enough number of times to know that this could work for you. So please do not follow this approach blindly- the last thing I want my readers to do is to follow a strategy without having tested it!!

Come up with your own strategy for time management as sometimes knowing the right answer but unable to mark that answer as you ran out of time will cost you significantly.

What if you don’t know the answer at all?

We have all been there and faced this situation an umpteen number of times. If an exam was solely an essay based style there are ways where you can write something related to the topic and gain some grace marks for that question. However, when it is an objective based test like the MCT it becomes hard to decide on which is the correct answer.

Read the question thoroughly and identify the area or areas of law it touches on. Try to recollect any topics that you revised which comes close to this question and based on that, answer the question. Do not leave a question unanswered. There is no negative marking in the MCT so if you took a wild guess you score a point for that question.

Study group

The MCT is a computer based exam. There is zero interaction with anyone during the exam- except for when you need to raise your hand to ask permission from the computer test centre people to go to the toilet.

I studied on my own for the MCT and I found that helpful as I had my own pace in the months preceding the exam. I am sure a lot of you reading this blog may have found a study partner or a group on LinkedIn- which can be extremely helpful and more stimulating to study with someone else. Whatever is your choice, make the best of it.

I have noticed that sometimes when you become part of a study group- you have to work around each other’s schedule and may be your study partner is way ahead which can cause unwanted panic and low confidence or way behind you which can lead to frustration.

In the event that your chosen study partner or group is unhelpful, please drop it immediately. Do not waste time trying to reason such decisions. All your effort, focus and energy should be on preparation and studying for the exam.

Which course provider?

I used QLTSchool and I know friends who have used QLTS Advantage and BARBRI and they liked the structure of the course and material. Each of you will have different experiences with course providers. I also know of some friends who initially choose a course provider and they were not happy and moved to another provider.

Please do your research on the course providers, ask them questions before you pay out, speak to others who have taken up the course with that provider to gain an understanding of the quality etc- all this can help you decide who you ultimately choose. Some providers also offer discounted rates when you do both the MCT+OSCE with them. There are a number of factors that may play an important role in helping you decide who you ultimately choose.

Keep yourself sane

Preparing for an exam is no small feat. We are social animals; studying for an exam may eventually make us anti-social! It is easy when you think of catching up with friends after 3 weeks instead of one week but it’s a different matter to meet them after the exams which sometimes could be as long as six months or easily up to a year! How do you stay sane?

People find baking, cooking, ironing, cleaning the house helps them relax. Keep yourself company during this time, it helps with not getting stressed out while studying for the exams.

Exercise

Do you remember how much time we spent playing in the school ground- hide & seek or long chain/short chain etc and we could still sit through the rest of the day listening to our teachers with the highest concentration!

Exercise is very important and more so when you are preparing for an exam. It can help you stay focused, keep your mind in a positive state and increase energy levels.

Choose some form of exercise- running, swimming, yoga, walking, cycling, zumba etc – give yourself that time in the week to exercise and see what a difference it makes!

Sample questions

Kaplan has published 20 questions just before the QLTS was rolled out. You can find them here (click on sample questions link on this page).

The SRA published 90 questions which can be found here to help providers prepare course materials for the upcoming SQE.

Failure is the stepping stone to success

This is one of the most wonderful things we will read, nod our head and forget. However, the reality is that we can handle failure badly.

The MCT is a challenging exam especially due to its format. The results on Kaplan’s website is proof that this exam is a tough nut to crack! The pass rate has never gone beyond 60% whereas the GDL and LPC pass rates are usually 80% and above.

If you fail the MCT exam, do not waste time pondering why you failed. Ask yourself what should I do to make sure I pass it the next time. Don’t give up because you failed! Focus on working hard for the next exam.

This reminds me of some wonderful words by Abraham Lincoln, “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.  There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

Strategise financing your exams

I have read a lot of blogs on stress buster tips while preparing for an exam but not one of them actually spoke of what role money plays during your exams. By the way ‘money‘ plays a very important role during your exams- if you don’t have the money, you cannot write the QLTS exams!

My advice for anyone out there who are funding themselves- start saving and putting aside money for your exams and course materials- one less thing to worry about!

I hope that my tips can help you with your preparation for the MCT Exam. The next is scheduled for 8 July 2020.

I wish all of you the best for the exams. Please leave your questions in the comments section as it will help other readers.

Stay calm and smash the exam!!