How long should I study for the synoptic?

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting but I’m looking for some advice on how long I should allow myself to study for the synoptic exam? I must admit that I opened the Kaplan study text and already feel overwhelmed. All advise would be appreciated. Thank you

Comments

  • Alexa
    Alexa Registered Posts: 14
    Hi I have started to do my revision 2 months ago and i feel like is not enough. I have my exam in two weeks time and i am studying 4-6 h ever day as i am panicking that i dont have time to get ready. I haven't even started mock exams. I had so much break since I have done my mandatory levels that i need to learn the theory again especially the early ones. And i have failed the MDCL first time so i am learning loads on this subject not to get caught again.
  • shauna_96
    shauna_96 Registered Posts: 2
    I took my MDCL exam last week and I feel like it went absolutely terrible but I’m hoping I’ve done enough to scrap a pass. It’s the Accounting Systems and Control element of the synoptic that I’m struggling with. Literally just started studying this week and feel like my brain is about to pop aha
  • Pian32
    Pian32 Registered Posts: 474 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Time is a tricky metric and depends on the person as much as anything else.

    What I would absolutely reccommend if you havn't done it already/previously is reading through the exam reports and the sample exam (the one with more detailed mark scheme and sample answers)

    The questions all follow a structural pattern so you can almost learn the best method to tackle things by question.
    e.g. Task 3 in all examples is a find weaknesses in a system.

    If you're still on Ruby Dale I'd also recommend speaking to @Emmalouise18 or looking for older comments as she seems to be able to explain things well on this topic.

    I wouldn't recommend sitting the synoptic until you know you've passed the MDCL module. I'd also wait until you're really happy with the content needed for Tasks 1,3,5 as those are in theory the quick and easy marks so been able to do them quickly gives you more time for the more wordy questions in Tasks 2,4,6.
    AAT Level 4, MAAT
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  • Emmalouise18
    Emmalouise18 Registered Posts: 237 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Pian32 said:

    Time is a tricky metric and depends on the person as much as anything else.

    What I would absolutely reccommend if you havn't done it already/previously is reading through the exam reports and the sample exam (the one with more detailed mark scheme and sample answers)

    The questions all follow a structural pattern so you can almost learn the best method to tackle things by question.
    e.g. Task 3 in all examples is a find weaknesses in a system.

    If you're still on Ruby Dale I'd also recommend speaking to @Emmalouise18 or looking for older comments as she seems to be able to explain things well on this topic.

    I wouldn't recommend sitting the synoptic until you know you've passed the MDCL module. I'd also wait until you're really happy with the content needed for Tasks 1,3,5 as those are in theory the quick and easy marks so been able to do them quickly gives you more time for the more wordy questions in Tasks 2,4,6.

    Thank you for the recommendation! I am happy to help anyone with Synoptic! Drop me a message or tag me and I will respond to you all :)
  • Claudine71
    Claudine71 Registered Posts: 8
    Hi I sat my avsy yesterday and I know I'll be resitting it. In all fairness I didn't put enough effort in it as the college didn't know if we were sitting it or not. The first part wasn't too bad. But the spreadsheets omg. In task 2.2 I needed to do a vlookup and that took me 20 minutes I had errors coming up telling me that there were circular references. I'm convinced that the spreadsheet had an error, other people in my class also had problems with the lookup as well I would have got through the rest of the task if it hadn't been that pesky lookup. Any advice on how to keep on top apart from the looking at aat. I do feel overwhelmed with Kaplan as well. Wfh and studying do not mix?
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