http://www.cimastudy.com/

nicd1981 · February 2012

Hey all,

I'm hoping to complete AAT in July this year and am planning on going onto studying cima.
I know i will get exemptions from the certificate level and will go onto operational level where there are 3 papers.
Has anyone here used cimastudy.com?
I'm self funding and There online study courses are £112.50 pound each which looks like a bargain compared to kaplan or bpp.
And would it be beneficial to buy them now before i complete AAT so i can start studying the material early?

Any advice would be appreciated

Nicola x

Rinske · February 2012

Hi,

I haven't used them, as I'm funded by my company.

As you plan to do a lot in distance learning, you could consider just buying the books and pay for an QBD or exam review instead of buying the full course.

I would focus on finishing AAT first and then purchasing the next bit. Some only offer limited access or support, up until the next exam dates.

Before you buy the course, also do try and review what books they are using and how good those are perceived by students! There are a lot of comments about on different providers or books and the quality.

nicd1981 · February 2012

Thanks for your advice

Do you know where would i find the prefered book list?

Ive looked on amazon and there are so many

nic xx

Rinske · February 2012

I looked around on the CIMA forums to see comments on books there. Based on that I went with either Kaplan or BPP books and took that in mind when writing the suggested courses for CIMA for them to pay. Personally I wouldn't go by Amazon's feedback, but more likely search different forums (CIMA/ aweb?/ here/ other accounting forums) around and see which one is recommended most, or which ones are really considered bad.

*Jo · February 2012

I too am self funded for CIMA and went with CIMA study for my first CIMA exam F1.

I found it didn't work for me and regretted spending the money to be honest.

When I ditched the CIMA study I went back to studying using Kaplan textbooks and managed to pass.

My pass rate was low but I put this down to the fact that I knew I hadn't put in enough study and was very lucky to just scrape the 50%.

Id used Kaplan for my AAT by distance learning but having found the study support poor I have decided to self study CIMA and now am using Kaplan’s book to study E1.

I don't rely purely on the textbook as anything I don't understand I do further research on using the internet or additional books. I read articles in accountancy magazines and regularly review the forums on here and CIMA to see if there is any information I find useful.

I am finding self study works for me as usually Im motivated and I learn well by doing rather than being taught but it does take an awful lot of work and self discipline.

Good Luck with whatever you decide,
Jo

nicd1981 · February 2012

Hi Jo,

By self study do you mean just by the books?
Ive never homes studied before , as ive done the 3 levels of AAT in college 2 evenings a week.
Is the text book enough to learn CIMA?

nic xx

Thanks for all your comments its giving me alot to think about
And also jo, are you studying one module at a time or two papers at once?

Louise89 · February 2012

I'm also planning to study CIMA for the November sitting, I'm currently studying with Kaplan but not sure if i should change or go with BPP, as I've been told their books are better.

I also can't decide on how many/which papers to sit... any advice?

Claire321 · February 2012

Louise89 wrote: »

I'm also planning to study CIMA for the November sitting, I'm currently studying with Kaplan but not sure if i should change or go with BPP, as I've been told their books are better.

I also can't decide on how many/which papers to sit... any advice?

I am studying CIMA using Kaplan classes and material and I have found their books to be good, easy to follow and with full coverage of the syllabus. Kaplan now produces the CIMA official material which has been written by / approved by each examiner.

I studied for E1 and F1 at the last sitting and am now studying for P1 and F2 together in May. Whilst studying two exams together is a lot of work, it is do-able but you need to be prepared to put the hours of study in. Each syllabus is vast compared to AAT, so you need to be prepared to allow enough time to work through all the material and then practice questions and past exam papers.

As you may be aware when you reach the strategic level, you have to sit the three exams together (at the first sitting), therefore if you were used to sitting one exam at a time it would be a huge step-up to study for three!
Also there is some crossover of material between some exams (a bit like level 3 and level 4 at AAT), therefore if you were sitting one exam at a time, you will be spreading the exams out and therefore some of the knowledge may not be as fresh, if you studied it longer ago. However some people find they like to sit one exam at a time so you have to access how much time you have / want to invest in studying as well as your job & personal commitments.

*Jo · February 2012

Hi nic,

Currently im only studying for 1 exam a time using books alone (but as mentioned I do back up the study with other material I source).

As mentioned by Claire by the time you get to strategic level you will have to sit 3 exams together so im planning on building up to this after my next exam.

I work full time with no study leave and am a mother of a teenager and we have my partners two teenage sons on a sunday as well as my daughters boyfriend around alot too so my studying time is limited at the moment so I have to consider family before going gung ho onto sitting several exams at one sitting. To be honest if I was single with no commitments I would prefer to do more.

Louise89 · February 2012

Claire321 wrote: »

I am studying CIMA using Kaplan classes and material and I have found their books to be good, easy to follow and with full coverage of the syllabus. Kaplan now produces the CIMA official material which has been written by / approved by each examiner.

I studied for E1 and F1 at the last sitting and am now studying for P1 and F2 together in May. Whilst studying two exams together is a lot of work, it is do-able but you need to be prepared to put the hours of study in. Each syllabus is vast compared to AAT, so you need to be prepared to allow enough time to work through all the material and then practice questions and past exam papers.

As you may be aware when you reach the strategic level, you have to sit the three exams together (at the first sitting), therefore if you were used to sitting one exam at a time it would be a huge step-up to study for three!
Also there is some crossover of material between some exams (a bit like level 3 and level 4 at AAT), therefore if you were sitting one exam at a time, you will be spreading the exams out and therefore some of the knowledge may not be as fresh, if you studied it longer ago. However some people find they like to sit one exam at a time so you have to access how much time you have / want to invest in studying as well as your job & personal commitments

Hi Claire,

Thanks for this. I was planning to sit two in November, but a couple of people advised me to test the waters and only sit one as they are a big step up from AAT... I think I will also sit E1 & F1 first since the exams are not on consecutive days.

Also, how much time would you say you spend studying on a subject?

Claire321 · February 2012

Hi Louise,

CIMA is defiantly a big step up from AAT, particularly with the size of each syllabus and it does take over your life in those months before the exams! I try and study for a few hours four nights a week and a day at the weekend or equivalent. I would like to study at lunchtimes at work too, but there isn't really anywhere quiet to go and I would never get away from my work if I stay at my desk! I normally take a few days off work immediately before the exams as well for last minute revision and question practice.

I think CIMA recommend 200 hours study per exam, which is quite a lot of hours if you do opt for two exams together. It did help when I sat E1 and F1 that there was a day and a half between the two exams.

Louise89 · February 2012

200 hours! I can't wait!

Thanks again Claire, its good to hear from a current cima student!

Do you get study leave?

I am so excited, just got to finish AAT...

Claire321 · February 2012

I'm lucky that I get one day off per exam plus the exam day itself but last time I took another couple of days holiday as well & will do the same again this time. At the last sitting I was really behind with my study as I started late (due to not being sure if I would get the Certificate level exemptions through in time) and had lots of disruption with moving house, therefore with this sitting I'm trying to study as much as I can as I go along.

I find CIMA really interesting to study but it is a lot of hard work and is quite stressful around exam time!

Good luck with finishing your AAT studies.

nicd1981 · February 2012

Hi Jo,

Im thinking ill try and do two the 1st sitting, Although im the same as you with not having much time.
Ive got two children aged 11 and 12, work full time and at the minute attend college two evenings a week, but when i finish AAT will have my evenings free for study, once the kids are fed, etc haha

If its doable to study cima without classroom tuition then ill try, worst that can happen is ill fail and need to resit!

Anyway good luck Jo

And thanks for your advice

nic xx

*Jo · February 2012

nicd1981 wrote: »

Hi Jo,

Im thinking ill try and do two the 1st sitting, Although im the same as you with not having much time.
Ive got two children aged 11 and 12, work full time and at the minute attend college two evenings a week, but when i finish AAT will have my evenings free for study, once the kids are fed, etc haha

If its doable to study cima without classroom tuition then ill try, worst that can happen is ill fail and need to resit!

Anyway good luck Jo

And thanks for your advice

nic xx

Glad your going to have a go at it and have a positive attitude. I nearly didn't bother sitting my last exam (first CIMA) as I was sure I hadn't studied enough and would fail. As I mentioned earlier I passed but it was on the margin at 50% which disapointed me. After thinking about it I decided later on not to be disapointed as I considered the fact I'd passed after self study was a good result after all and that I knew why I hadn't put as much time in as I would have liked.

Its really exciting taking on the new challenge of CIMA study as achieving my AAT gave me such a boost of confidence and self esteem.

Good Luck with your studies

SandyHood · February 2012

Best wishes to all CIMA candidates.

It is definitely a very different proposition to AAT.
Aim to maximise the marks you earn per minute so you achieve 50%+
This is about managing the time wisely. AAT is about accuracy and perfection more than time management. Few exams on AAT are time pressured.

I treat homeworks on CIMA in a very different way to homework on AAT. It is preparation for the exam, and I mark it as such.
Read the questions, and make sure you understand exactly what you have been asked for.

Look at the PEGs (post-exam guides) and don't worry too much about model answers - they are typically one approach of many that might be acceptable.

I run the classes at Chichester and offer several tutoring services on the operations and management levels. If you'd like to know more, send me an email outlining what you support you would like.

http://www.cimastudy.com/

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