Interview with Theingi, June 2015 F3 Genius Hunt Winner, who scored 98%

Please tell us in which country you live, and what work do you do.

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I’m Theingi Tun. I live in Myanmar (formerly Burma), a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. It is also included in the list of least developed countries. I work as a Programme Support Director in a small local NGO.

How much time each week did you spend studying, on average?

Approximately, I study 10 hours per subject each week depending on how much time I have available. I’m a full time employee and married with 2 children who also need my time. Studying has meant that I have had to sacrifice leisure time and I am unable to do things like watching movies, and travelling.

 Which study resources did you use?

I use BPP study text and revision kit. I also use the OpenTuition lectures and study notes. In Myanmar, there is the limited access to internet connection and I am unable to stream the lecture movies. So, I mainly focus on the study notes and BPP course materials. I use the internet and downloaded the old questions to practice. I also study the technical articles which I find very useful.

Did you get support from your firm?

My firm gave 3 days leave as a study leave.

What was your approach to your studying?

I think setting Objectives is very important not only in your study but also in your daily life. And I would like to share the quote of Mark Twain “If you don’t know where you are going then you are sure to end up somewhere else”. I set the SMART objectives.
I will sit 2 exam papers within 6 months’ time. So it will take 3.5 years to finish all 14 papers.
As I took some tuitions, I have to give 4 hours per subject per week. After the tuitions, I study myself whether I understand the subject very well or not. If not, I read it again until I fully understand it. Sometimes you can’t solve some questions even though you work hard, then I just leave it for a while, taking some time with my family for chatting or walking around the river side. Then I come back to study, then amazingly, questions can be solved.

Also I use the ACCA self-study guide which is a very good guideline to follow. You have to make a commitment to your studying. The important thing is to make sure that you understand the concepts and assumptions and do not just learn by heart. Level 1 is the foundation for the Level 2, so really you need to understand the Level 1 concepts very well as it will help your study in Level 2 papers.

What would you say was the most important factor that helped you to achieve such a high mark?

The most important thing is practice as much as you can. I use different sources of questions, mock exams from OpenTuitions and CBE specimen (on ACCA website). Read carefully what the question is asking. In Myanmar, unlike other countries, most of the students are weak in English and sometimes they didn’t really understand what the question asked for and lost marks.

How did you find out about OpenTuition, and which of our resources did you use?

When I was searching for ACCA materials on the internet, I unexpectedly found the OpenTuition site and then I always visited it and used it as a resource center. For my study, mostly I used to post a question in “Ask the tutor” and “ACCA Forum”. I also look at what the other students have posted and the answers from the Tutor. I use the study notes provided by OpenTuition as unfortunately I can’t watch the lectures movies due to limited internet access. I also use the mock exam for practice.