Alysia Hoe, future trainee solicitor and SQE student at ULaw, discusses staying motivated on the SQE and finding your route into law
Talking to Alysia Hoe ahead of The University of Law’s upcoming event, ‘The SQE Explained’, you get the impression she’s the kind of person who makes the most out of every opportunity and brings a lot of joy along the way.
She’s currently studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) at ULaw and has a training contract lined up with national law firm Stevens & Bolton. But law hasn’t always been the plan. “I actually didn’t do a law degree,” she says. Instead, she studied modern languages at the University of Exeter and only turned her sights on the legal profession later on. “I’d always kind of considered it, but I wasn’t sure at 17,” she explains, echoing the internal tug-of-war that many school leavers face.
It was during her final year at Exeter that Hoe decided to give law a proper shot, enrolling first on the conversion course, and now tackling the SQE full-time at ULaw. Along the way, she threw herself into applications, legal work experience and student life, eventually landing that elusive training contract.
Hoe’s CV includes stints in charity work, an internship at the Devon Community Foundation, and freelance data analysis for litigation analytics platform Solomonic. She’s also worked in a real estate legal team and juggled a part-time role as a student ambassador for ULaw. And while not all the jobs were glamorous — “I didn’t enjoy real estate masses,” she admits — they all fed into her legal growth. “It was really, really helpful when studying the property practice part of SQE. I already knew what all the forms looked like. I might not know how to do them, but I knew what they looked like,” she laughs.
Her role as a student ambassador also opened unexpected doors. “I just really enjoy talking to people,” she says, which made getting paid to do just that “a bit of a no-brainer”. But beyond the social perks, it’s helped her build her legal network, from meeting other students and recruiters to attending major events. “It’s been a really good job alongside my studies, not just for employability, but because I actually think it’s really fun.”
So, how did her training contract come about? Like many non-law grads, her first round of TC applications didn’t go to plan. “The feedback was always the same, that I had no evidence I was committed to law,” Hoe says. Instead of giving up, she used that feedback to build a case for herself, getting involved in pro bono at ULaw and even converting a rejected application into paid work experience. “I managed to persuade them to keep me on one day a week for a whole year,” she says.
By the time she reapplied, she had a clearer idea of the kind of firm she was after. “I knew that I didn’t really see myself at one of the big, massive firms in London,” she says. “It’s really for some people, but I didn’t think it was for me.” Instead, she focused on firms around the Southeast, closer to her Hampshire roots, and was drawn to Stevens & Bolton by both reputation and a friend of the family who had worked with the firm.
A vacation scheme sealed the deal. “Everybody is recruited from the vac scheme, and I think that’s such a great way to get to know the people, the environment, and what it feels like to work there.” Her biggest piece of advice for others applying? “Message someone on LinkedIn who did the scheme the year before. People are genuinely nice and will reply. I wish I’d done that.”
And then, of course, there’s the SQE, that infamous mountain all aspiring solicitors now have to climb. Hoe passed SQE1 on her first try, but she’s candid about how difficult it was. “It’s definitely the most physically and mentally exhausting exam I’ve ever done,” she says. “There were definitely tears.” The exam structure itself doesn’t help. “I had my last lesson on 2 December, and the exam wasn’t until late January, so trying to stay motivated over Christmas was hard,” she explains.
Her approach to revision, though, was methodical. “I broke everything down into subtopics and made a map with chapter numbers, ticking them off as I went.” She made the most of ULaw’s bite-sized revision videos and single best answer (SBA) practice banks, aiming for a balance between content learning and question practice. “I didn’t do this at the start,” she admits, “but toward the end I’d do topic-based revision in the morning and questions in the afternoon.”
So what surprised her most? “Everyone says SQE2 is easier, and I think in some ways that’s true, but it’s definitely still challenging,” she says. The higher pass rate, she points out, doesn’t tell the full story. Only those who’ve passed SQE1 can sit it, so it’s a much smaller cohort. Plus, the skills-based element of SQE2, including legal drafting, advocacy and case analysis is a whole different beast. “You need to know the law but also be able to apply it. In SQE1 you’re just clicking the right answer. Now I’ve got to argue it.”
Still, Hoe feels cautiously optimistic. She’s been taking part in ULaw’s exam prep workshops, where students practise skills like interviewing and advocacy through mock assessments. “It’s really intense, but definitely worth it,” she says. “Having a plan is key. Me and my friends all have different revision schedules, but just knowing what you’re doing helps.”
As for misconceptions? “Everything I thought about the SQE — that it was going to be awful, that it was going to be long, that there were going to be tears — turned out to be true,” she laughs. “But I also knew I’d done all I could, and that helped.”
Looking ahead, Hoe’s advice to future SQE candidates is refreshingly grounded. Don’t just rely on practice questions. Take breaks. Make time for the things and people that energise you. For her, that meant working shifts as a student ambassador, going for runs, and chatting to people about why they should do law. “It’s kind of like a break,” she says. “You’re still doing something, but you’re not revising.”
And whether it’s finding the right firm, passing a brutal exam, or just navigating the Christmas slump, she’s living proof that the SQE slog is survivable.
Find out more about the SQE at ULaw event “The SQE Explained” on 17 April 2025. Apply now to attend.
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