I got LRPS last March, you can see my panel here
http://karlphoto.co.uk.
As suggested go to the advisory days and take along 20 or so images and they will tell you if your images meet the requirements..... I took 15 they told me 7/8 would be exceptable but the real bonus was learning why the others were not, your photos are very personal to you and critque can be very hard to take, but the Fellowship members who assess your images usually on a one to one basis are extremely skilled in getting their point across without making you feel bad.... remember they look at 1000`s of pic`s a year and can spot a technical fault from the back of the room.
The LRPS is all about technical performance and showing you have the camera work and knowledge to produce a technical perfect picture which is the first basic knowledge you need to progress.
I can honestly say I learnt loads and the experience although hard and sometimes `hair pulling ` frustration but was worth every penny spent and hour working towards it, but the the biggest thing I learnt was how and why I take photos the way I do.
A very rewarding experience on every level and the qualification at the end of it really was just the icing on the cake.