Hi, Barely a month more for the exams, and here I'm still crawling with the course notes and struggling to finish up Q&A, mock tests, etc. I'm with a baby, doing housework & on top of that - studying. I'm motivated to study but with the stress and tension of everything, I just feel like giving up. My baby constantly needs me & I just don't know how to balance my time. Could someone advice me on how to proceed with preparing for the exams. I know it's way too late to ask, but please advice.
Yes giving in is an option but for this sitting you've paid your fees so you need to give yourself your best chance. So, my suggestions are ESSENTIAL complete the course. You have no choice of questions on the day so you need to have seen all material. WEAK AREAS: Do you know what these are: try to go through these again. PAST PAPERS: These are the closest to what you are going to face so this is what you should be hitting hard. Do them under full conditions ie without support from your notes. With a baby, sitting down for the full 3 hours could be hard so do individual questions but proportion your time down so you do feel some time pressure. Q&A doesn't really simulate the exam, but if you have the odd 5 mins then yes it can help. Try to think positively: its not so much quantity of study; its making sure its QUALITY. If you are doing the exams for a challenge, there are easier ones. Just because you change from this profession doesn't mean you're a failure. Maybe you could come back to it later when the baby is less demanding? Just be realistic and try to stay calm.
me again... Noticed your post on CT1 board so I presume that's what you're studying. I'm with Bystander on the need to go through the course notes. As for the rest, with CT1 I'd say the more questions you can do before the exam the better. And the best practise is past papers! I'd give the mock exams slightly lower preference, as they are *ahem* mock exams, whereas the past papers give a better idea of what the examiners are after. You also don't have to do the whole exam in one sitting (although that would be best...) but can easily do one question at a time. It is doable.... got get 'em!
Still plenty of time. Is there anyone who can look after your baby to give you a few hours break - your mum or partner? An afternoon off may help you get back on top. I agree with the others - with CT1, past exam papers are the key. Forget the Q&A unless there's an area you've identified as needing some targeted work.
good luck! juggling with study and baby must be hard work! personally I wouldn't worry about the Q&A bank - they're good if you have extra time, otherwise, I'd just do lots of pastpapers.
