Here are 6 Top Tips to becoming an AAT Exam Preparation Pro!
Studying for exams can be hard. Working through the maze of materials, prep tests, green light tests, practice assessments can fox even the most prepared of students who need to ensure they are very organised to achieve success. Thanks to our personalised Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), we have this side covered (you’ll soon hear from us if you haven’t submitted a practice test!) yet one of the areas students may fail to cover in their preparation, is for the exam day itself!
Very simple questions should be asked, such as where is my test centre (assessment venue)? How do I book exams? What can I take into an exam with me?
As we give guidance in this area on an almost daily basis, we decided to create our own top tips so you can become a preparation pro!
- Check your diary, do you have the day free to sit the exam?
If you’re working, ensure you leave adequate space in your holiday calendar for exams.
Not all exam centres offer weekend or evening exams and therefore those slots are at a premium. It is more common for examination centres to offer exam times during weekdays, so do factor this into your timetable. - Have you registered with the AAT? In order to sit exams, all students must be registered with the AAT, so make sure you do this in advance of your exam and you’ll have one less item to worry about (this should have been done within 4 weeks of your enrolment!)
- Do you know where your nearest exam centre is?
Ensure you have fully mapped out your route to the examination centre, if possible phone the test centre the day before to check the location of the exam has not changed.Also if you can, test your route out! Do you know where to park? What public transport you can take? Plan ahead, arrive early for your exam and you’ll feel calm and collected. - Do you have a suitable calculator for the exam?
These days everyone has a calculator, even on their phone! However examination centres may not allow you to take in a calculator (they may provide their own) or they may have strict rules on models you can take into the examination room.Read the guidance on the examination centres page or give them a call to ensure you are fully prepared. - Which version of excel do examination centre use? If the exam centre use version 2016, you should have practised on this version! Call the exam centre in advance before you commence revision to ensure you are using the correct version of Excel (there can be a lot of differences between the versions, so you don’t want to waste time on the day figuring out where everything is).
- Which version of SAGE is used by the examination centre? Again, much like Excel, there are a number of SAGE versions out there and you need to feel comfortable with the version the examination centre use. Phone the centre and ask which version they have and if they are able to, ask whether you can arrive early/pop in the day before to test run their version?
Finally, follow your Individual Learning Plan (ILP), complete the practice tests, run through the tips above and you’ll feel very confident on exam day, good luck!!
Written by Chrissy Greatwood
