Interview with Justina, December 2015 P1 Genius Hunt Winner, who scored 83% (2nd place in the world)
Please tell us in which country you live, and what work do you do.
I live in Dublin, Ireland and work in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
How much time each week did you spend studying, on average?
I attended a 3 hour class each week and I made this time really count. I took about 5 days study leave from my work. With work and family commitments it’s quality rather than quantity.
Which study resources did you use?
I used the study notes that the lecturer provided and I also used Open Tuition lectures especially where I wasn’t fully clear on a topic. I probably used the OT lectures and notes more for F7 and F9 where I could work through the practical examples.
Did you get support from your firm?
My Department pay for my fees and also give me 5 paid study days a year. I have never worked in an accounting area but I am hoping to start doing some work in the area of corporate governance which is good considering I did well on this paper.
What was your approach to your studying?
The key for me was understanding where each mark on the paper was hiding. A 10 mark question might have 3 sub questions to it and you need to know how the marks are allocated. It might be 2,4,4 even though you are not told this. The most you should write for 2 marks is 2, 3 line paragraphs. As you will max out on 2 marks anything else you write is a waste. I think this is one of the reasons why people think they may have passed as they have written lots of what they consider to be relevant but the marks are just not available for it.
The other thing is that knowledge will probably get you about 35%. Applying knowledge to the specific scenario will get you another 35% and then the remainder is probably for developing those points which can be tricky.
Sitting a full paper under exam conditions is also key.
What would you say was the most important factor that helped you to achieve such a high mark?
I really had an excellent lecturer who approached the exam in a strategic way. That, and giving 100% attention in class.
How did you find out about OpenTuition, and which of our resources did you use?
I was struggling with a few concepts on the F7 and F9 course and I found the lectures from a google search. I use Open Tuition regularly and expect I will need it for the P2 exam. I also pop in and out of the forums on a regular basis. It is an excellent resource to have.
Congrates