Just two exams left!!!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late blog!

This week was intense as I completed my first two exams... one on Tuesday and I just completed one today (Thursday). The amount of work I had put in was just mad to be honest (I am not exaggerating here!). It's a big weight of my shoulders as I considered those two as the "big guns". Basically I am not taking any chances here... I will go straight down to revision for AUDIT as it's the next exam next week on Friday.

Let me go through what happened:

10th May - Strategic Financial Management: This paper was ok to be fair. As you know this paper was based upon a real life case study which I had picked up 2 weeks before. The company was Toyota and the case study reflected the crisis management which they had to face (recalling their cars for safety issues). I was generally pleased with the exam paper but the only problem I had was time... it was flying big time. I managed to answer all questions but I had to rush one part of the answer. The paper had seven questions in total whereby I had to answer just four. The two weeks was just tiring because I had to familiarise with the case study and do further research on it. Hope I do get a good mark!

12th May - Finance: Just after the SFM exam, I was on it with finance. This one was chaotic in terms of revision... it was just nonstop = practicing, practicing and practicing answering past exam questions. I was feeling the pressure!!! I thought two of my favourite topic questions will be coming up on that exam. Unfortunately both didn't even feature (arghhh) which put me right off at start but I moved on. Luckily I did revise my least favourite topics and these were assessed on the day and overall I was happy with my answers. Finance is a challenging course and it is not just about maths!!! I put in a lot of work for finance... let's see if I have pulled it off.

The next exam I have is AUDIT which is on Friday the 20th. I know I have to put in the same level of hard work as I did for SFM and finance. When I finish up on this blog I will take a break and start to make arrangements for it.

I had so much support from family and friends who have wished me well. Thank you all... really appreciate it.

Thanks for reading as always! Will blog again soon!

The Final Term!!!

Hope everyone is well and I also hope you all had a good Easter break. We all deserved it... didn't we?

The Easter break was a bit intense because I had managed to go into lethal revision mode. Ha ha!!! I was just practicing past exam questions for SFM and finance only because they are the first two exams. I have also made extra notes and kept my focus on time management which I feel is so important as it is regarded as a crucial exam technique. So far I am happy with what I have done over the break but there is a lot to go through. Well the exams are just around the corner and it is my responsibility to be ready at any cost and have the self belief that I can pull it off.

The exam case study for SFM is coming out tomorrow. I am still hoping to keep to my promise to work on it straight away with my mates. It is going to be a really busy day tomorrow as we also have a revision lecture on Audit starting at 9am (I am not a morning person... oh well!). I certainly cannot believe the fact that my uni life is coming to an end (Well I need to pass my exams first!). Better not think about it too much as it can hit me badly.

The support I had from my course tutors was immense and I am ever so grateful for it. Without their continuous support, I don't think I would be in this position today (I am not just saying that). All you have to do is approach them (don't be afraid not to do so) and talk to them and follow their advice and believe me I still actually do this. If you want a one to one chat - just email them directly so that they can confirm an appointment. Its simple.

Just a bit of advice:

For anyone who is coming into our university starting this September (Newbie!!), just be prepared. That is all I can say to you. Do come in with the attitude that you will do well in all your courses - not just your favourite ones (It is just as important that you show you have a good all round performance too). Remember that university life is not like college anyone. No one will force you to do your work - bear in mind that you are paying fees this time. It is also important in which I suggest for you to come into this university with a sole intention that you will keep yourself motivated at all times. Think about it ... If there is no sign of motivation, you will fall behind (unfortunately, I have experienced it this year... but I have picked myself up at the right time). It can be really tough at times to maintain your motivation but you have to try and then it will pay off eventually.

Thanks for reading as always! I will try my best to ensure I keep you all informed about my exams in due course. Take care!!!

My 50th BLOG!!!

I genuinely can't believe that I have done 50 blogs for you all. Well I did say that I wanted to reach this target... and I have done it! I have just got used to it... let's just hope that I can do more until I leave this uni. I have to admit that the past couple of weeks felt as if I haven’t written a blog for ages (I seriously don't know why!).

This Easter break is just flying! The first week just went like that. We all need time to do things and it can be problematic. When you call for it sometimes it smacks you (you all know what I mean... I hope you do!) and there is nothing you can do which irritates me a lot (considering you have a lot on). I know it is hard sometimes but that is reality!

Moving on...

I have been carrying on with my revision alone and popping into uni to revise with my mates. It is going well because we learn from each other and obviously having a laugh at the same time too. What we have been doing lately is going through past exam questions and basically chatting about our own exam techniques. We all have different ways to revise and approaching exams. It is therefore crucial to get it right. I still have a lot to go through and I cannot simply afford to waste any time. I can't take any chances!

I am eagerly waiting what our case study is going to be about this year. Let me explain... my first exam is for Strategic Financial Management and that is based upon a case study which is released 2 weeks prior to the exam. It is therefore coming out on the 26th of this month in which I will have to pick it up in person from the Business School (It's that confidential... lol!). Me and my mates have promised to work on that case study straight away by making notes, gathering more info from other sources etc... we don't want to waste any time. Let's hope it works out that way.

I have received my grade for my Audit report last Friday which I submitted back in February. I was surprised in a good way because I achieved a great mark. The reason why I was surprised was because it was all last minute that coursework. The strain of the third year got to me and that resulted in me taking the "last minute" approach. It has paid off for me. I have to wait for just one more coursework grade and it is for the essay I did for CIMA. That too was last minute but I am not feeling that confident on that one. Well there is one that does your head in.

Anyways people, carry on enjoying your Easter break!!! I'll blog again soon!

Exam timetable is up!!!

I was looking at the blogs I have done in the past and I just realised that it has been a year in which I have been doing these blogs!!! 1 year just went like that!
Moving on...

I am in front of my laptop writing my blog up for you all. Yes... it was a tiring uni week to be honest last week. Revision has officially begun and I have started my independent revision at home (not structured so far!). I also worked at the open day last Saturday (26th) and it was great because the turnout was big. The weather wasn’t all that because it was on and off (you what I mean). Therefore, my weekend was short and it just flew away... seriously!!! I lost an hour worth of sleep because the time went forward. I have to admit that I had to do a lot on Sunday but failed to address majority of them because of time.

Our exam time table was published just yesterday and it is not to my liking. The first week is going to be a killer week for me. I have my first exam is on the 10th of May and this is for SFM. This is closely followed with Finance on the 12th (see what I mean). Audit will be on the 20th and the final exam for CIMA is going to be on the 26th. I just had advice from one of my senior lecturers and what she said was logical and it is the best way to get around the first two exams.

Revision is going ok to say the least (considering I just started). I have experienced a hard year to date and there were times whereby I thought I wasn’t learning anything. I am getting there now and I hope to be ready when the exams are upon us. I have had to work under serious pressure this year which I didn’t experience in previous years. It was odd but it had worked in my favour as I have had achieved good grades for my coursework (I am still awaiting grades for 2 assignments). It is just 5 weeks left till my first exam.

Well this is the final week of term and yes it will lead towards the start of the Easter break. I plan to use this valuable break to build up my exam techniques obviously and catch up with everything. It is bound to be intense but there is nothing I can do to be honest. Obviously, I won’t be doing work 24/7 but I will look towards spending more time with friends and family.

Hope everyone enjoys the Easter break!

Time to face the real world!

Ok let’s be honest here... I have been chilling so far. I have deserved every single minute of it. I will now need to look ahead and plan effectively for the May exams. I am dreading them but all is not lost as if I prepare beforehand then it can work out the way I want it (all you have to do is just stick with it).
You feel good because there are not any deadlines to worry about anymore (one piece of advice: do not be complacent). But there are graduate job application deadlines. I am just taking my time in doing so... just picking out the ones which applies to me (for some people it is not the best approach). I am always like that and my mates know that I always do this. In saying this, I will have to act fast.

I intend to start my revision from this week... you may say that it’s too early but the reason is because the syllabus from three of my courses are ending soon (within two weeks). My course tutors always have given us advice and this was one of them: start your revision from now!!! I just follow my course tutors because they are the only people you can rely on regarding your studies. I have trusted them to an extent that things are working out the way I want it you know. I have to thank them for my development because they played a big part in it.

Obviously it is important to work hard when you are in university. But I do also think that you should have fun within your studies too. It is therefore important to incorporate both into one. I always see myself in a good mood when I approach to do anything... yes there are times whereby it’s too much to handle but I just work at my own pace. When I do leave this University... it will hit me but I do not want to look back at my time here and regret not having enough fun because I have had so much of it within these three years so far. Equally, I definitely do not want to regret not doing enough work either because I have done my absolute best to date!

I need to start thinking soon about what I want to do for the coming months ahead. I have thought about it already because it has been on my mind since I even came to Greenwich University and this is the ACCA professional qualifications. However, I was having an interesting chat with one of my senior course tutors about the ACCA professional papers. She told me that you will need to start off with one paper and gradually take steps forward to address the other papers. I was just listening to her and then I thought to myself that these papers are like 10 times harder (I would think!) than the exams we are doing now. You will need self belief and I would say that I am up for the challenge because you will have to have a good go at it.

No more coursework!!!

No more coursework this year... WOO HOO! I am so happy that this is the case because it was hard throughout the year and I mean it. I had to balance out the coursework with my life and it wasn't easy at all. The month of December along with this month was exactly the same to be honest (crammed with deadlines). Deadlines within those months hit me badly but I knew I had to get the work done.
The amount of late nights I had to go through in order to get the CIMA essay completed... unbelievable. I didn't usually sleep my normal hours which is actually 9 hours. For a week and a half, it was down to 4 hours (I was knackered all the way through... I seriously don't want to experience it again). Well, I do generally hope that it does pay off in the end when I receive my grade for this along with my audit coursework too.

Let’s not get too carried away because I still have the in class test for finance left which is tomorrow. The finance test will take place in our Greenwich campus and is at 1pm. Time will fly as the test is only one hour long comprising 10 questions and is compulsory for us to answer 7. I will just have to do the questions quickly and not risk my time choosing the questions to answer first.

I have spent all this week preparing myself for this test - just practicing past test paper questions and just looking at my notes. This test doesn't count much in terms of percentage for the whole course but this doesn't matter to me. I just want to do well in everything I do... it's my approach!!!. I would say that you should take that attitude also when you do things in life.

Once the test is over... I will just chill for a week (don't worry I will keep up my workload - tutorial preparation and lectures!). Well I do deserve a break... I didn't have much time to chill for ages, trust me. I will then definitely take up valuable time to focus solely on employment applications and preparing for interviews.

Until next time people!

Busy busy busy!!!

The last two weeks have been extremely busy with coursework and other important things too... I need a break!!! Yet, having said that... there is more to overcome :-(. Some people just love challenges and I would agree to say that it wouldn’t be exciting any other way really, would it? Not long left now until the May exams!

I even found time to celebrate my sisters 20th birthday! Well you just have to make up the time for your loved ones. The day itself was just chocolate, cake and even more munch. I just want to say a big thank you to my fellow colleague... Sonia for the recommendation she gave for my sisters birthday present... my sis absolutely loves it (I even bought something similar for my youngest sister too, who is going to be 18 on March the 2nd). I admit that I am actually not used to girly presents apart from the basics you know (please do not get offended by any means). Therefore, I took Sonia’s help.

Moving on:

I have been doing coursework after coursework this month and time was not on my side to be honest. I submitted my Audit coursework on Friday the 11th and it was such a relief because I just wanted it to be over and I can’t say more. The only coursework left for this entire year for me is the CIMA essay based on performance measurement and it is due on the 23rd of this month. After that we all have an in class finance test on the 28th. So not much to go but it is going to be tough for the next two weeks.

After all coursework is done hopefully, the remainder of the year will be even more challenging and packed with some interesting stuff. Obviously, I am talking about the May exams and the build up towards it will be immense. I just hope it works out for me the way I want it.

Anyways people, thanks for reading as always!!!