AAT Level 4 Studies ….. NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP…
Studying for AAT Level 4 exams is never an easy option. Life would be much easier if we didn’t bother but gaining qualifications improves career and life prospects and thousands of students sit professional exams each year.
Juggling work and family life with professional studies always requires effort but sometimes we have to face much bigger issues, such as illness or work problems, that put an even greater strain on our ability to keep going.
One of our students, Elle, recently passed her AAT Level 4 qualification after studying for much longer than the normal enrolment period, for several years in fact. During this time she had to face failing exams, new job, moving house, promotion, family illness and bereavement, wedding, plus of course the lockdown that affected us all. Inevitably these issues delayed her studies over and over again.
It would have been very easy for Elle to feel that it was impossible to keep going with her studies but she never held this view and kept going regardless. We spoke to her to find out how she managed to stay motivated to carry on studying through everything. This is what she told us.
Long-term plan
From the start of her AAT Level 4 studies, Elle had a long-term plan and knew why she was studying. Having a clear goal for her future helped keep her focused when she was facing problems.
Team Elle!
Elle built a good support network around her. She found friends, family, work colleagues and her boss to help her. These were people who were supportive but able to provide some straight-talking when it was needed.
Use everything
Elle used every resource she could find to help her, including of course the tutor support provided by Accountancy Learning. She found AAT forums that helped her with written questions, she asked her manager for work that related to her studies (for example, tricky areas such as report-writing) and she used all the materials provided by Accountancy Learning and the AAT.
Never let failing exams affect her
Elle failed exams more than once but she never allowed that to stop her, she just picked herself up and got back to work. She found the biggest hurdle was making herself open her book again after failing an exam. Once she had taken that first step, getting back into the usual study routine was straightforward and gave her confidence to continue, so she made sure she took that first step and opened her books.
Taking enough time out
Elle suffered a major bereavement during her studies which affected her badly. She allowed herself to take enough time away from her studies to recover and not to feel time-pressured into continuing before she was ready.
Exam boost
Elle found that taking each exam gave her motivation to start her next unit. Results for AAT Level 4 exams take six weeks to arrive. There was nothing that Elle could do about the exam so nothing to worry about and she used that time to make a lot of progress with the next unit.
Have courage and go for it
Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and sit your exams. Fear of failure can be a real barrier for students but failing is the worst that can happen and there are many much harder things to face in life than failing an exam. Elle refused to worry about failing when she took her last exam and of course the result was that she was more relaxed, more able to concentrate on working through the questions carefully and she passed her final exam comfortably.
Every student has their own story and not everything that helped Elle will apply to you. However, there are some useful pointers that may help you to re-focus and regain your motivation to keep studying if you are finding it difficult. Elle found what worked for her and gained the reward of her AAT Level 4 Professional Diploma. Use the ideas here to find what works for you and remember to have courage and go for it!
Written by Pat Leahy
