How I Passed SQE 1 on My First Attempt: The Strategy That Worked

When I sat down to study for SQE 1, I knew I had to be strategic. With a full-time job and limited study time, I could not afford to waste hours on topics that would not significantly impact my exam performance. This is the exact approach I used to pass in September 2024.

The Reality of SQE 1

SQE 1 is tough. With a 44% pass rate in July 2024, nearly half of candidates do not make it. But here is what I learned: it is not about studying more. It is about studying smarter.

The Winning Strategy: Strategic Focus

1. Know Your Baseline

Once you have completed your foundational learning, take a full practice exam under timed conditions. Just see where you stand.

Why? Because you need to know which topics are your weakness areas. You will probably find 2 or 3 topics where you are scoring lower than others.

2. Focus on Your Weakest Topics First

This is where most candidates go wrong. They study evenly across all topics.

Instead, identify your weakest topics and allocate more of your study time there. Your strong topics? Maintain them with light review.

Why this works:

• Improving from 30% to 60% in one topic equals 30 marks gain
• Improving from 70% to 80% in one topic equals 10 marks gain
• Same effort, very different returns

3. Practice Questions More Than Lectures

I know this sounds obvious, but most candidates do it backwards. They watch lecture videos, make notes, then realize they cannot answer practice questions.

Here is what actually works:

1. Do a practice question
2. Get it wrong
3. Read the explanation
4. Understand why you got it wrong
5. Repeat with similar questions

This is called spaced repetition and it is backed by learning science. Your brain remembers what it struggled with, not what it passively watched.

4. The Power of Consistency

Many candidates try to cram 20 hours on weekends and burn out. Or they study inconsistently, lots one week, nothing the next.

Consistency beats intensity.

Each day you study, you are actively recalling what you learned yesterday. This strengthens your memory far more than studying once a week.

5. Build Your Wrong Questions Bank

Keep every question you get wrong in one place. Use a notebook, a Google Doc, or a folder with screenshots. Call it "Wrong Questions."

Revisit that pile every week. Try to answer them again without checking the solution first. When you can explain why the right answer is correct, remove it.

That is how you know you are improving. Your wrong pile gets smaller.

When You Hit the Wall

The content is hard. But the hardest part of SQE prep is holding it together when a mock goes badly. Everyone hits that wall. I did too.

When it happens, step away for a bit. Go for a walk. Take the evening off. Do not tear up your study plan or decide you are doomed. You are not. One bad mock does not mean your strategy is broken. It just showed you where to focus next.

Then, come back to your wrong question pile. Questions that once stumped you now make sense. That is progress, even if your score does not jump yet.

The Biggest Mistakes I See

Your Next Steps

You now have the exact approach that worked for me. Start with Strategy 1 this week. Know where you stand. Then apply the other 4 strategies consistently.