Interview with Vipin, Genius Hunt winner in Paper F2

Can you tell us more about yourself

My name is Vipin Viswanathan from South India (Kerala), now residing in Dubai, UAE. I have done engineering in Computer science. Myself have worked in sony computers as technical executive in bangalore. also, did a 4 months diploma course in bible studies from bangalore. Last 4 years, i was working in Nagaland (India china border) as a high school teacher in mathematics and science.teaching is my favorite job. It is a noble profession but no good salary. My heart filled with a desire to go for higher studies esp ACCA. I am fortunate to have good parents who support me now. I am a full time student now. I wish to do BSc and MBA from Oxford Brookes university.

Which Study Texts and/or Revision Kits and other resources did you use, or found the most useful in your studies?

I found BPP and Kaplan very helpful. but for f2, Kaplan is better. Kaplan discuss with simple examples so easy to understand. BPP’s explanation is classic but uses lengthy examples. It is good for theory papers F3 I found BPP more useful. I used both BPP and Kaplan revision kit. also, did emilewoolf example questions and from opentuition. GTG revision kit is good for F3. It is always good to refer at least 2 text books.

You have scored such high marks, many students must wonder what is your study technique?

I read text book 3 times and make sure all formula is thorough. Then I take revision kit. i have practiced around 1000 MCQ (multiple choice question) for f2 and 2500 MCQ for f3.

F2 was easy for me compared to F3, it depends on the students. Some chapters were easy and some others were tough. tough chapters take longer time to cover. so when planning equal time for all chapters may not work.

I don’t take any chapters very easy even if they were easy for me. i practiced all questions as if they were tough. when we take lightly there is a chance of making mistake. if you find a tough topic spend more time until all the basics are thorough. i repeatedly read that portion until all doubts are cleared. If you wish to nail a wall you have to hammer it repeatedly.

I don’t study chapter wise, by that i mean: first studying the one chapter then doing all questions related to that chapter from revision kits. i don’t do that. it is not good. after completing ST, then i go for Kaplan revision kit, then BPP revision kit then GTG revision kit. so at regular interval i do questions from same chapter. that is better.

I took only 2 months for f2, but took 3 months for f3. we have to discipline ourselves. I don’t waste time watching movie to relax after reading ST. I go to friends and talk a while. Then come back to study. if we put a film, 2 hrs gone. another 1 hr is wasted for hang over. talking with friends is the best way to relax. One whole day i used to take rest from studies every week. that time i watch movie 🙂

What do you think was the most important factor in your success in your ACCA exams?

Diligence is the key factor for success. I am a man of prayer but prayer cannot substitute hard work.

I wished for scoring 100 marks. So I worked hard. It is wrong to aim for 50 marks according to me. If i didn’t put that target i never going to score good marks.

How did you find out about OpenTuition and which OpenTuition resources helped you towards your success.

While searching for free acca resource, I found OpenTuition. I make use of forum to post my doubts and also to reply to others doubts. Replying to others doubt is not a waste of time. it really helped my studies. I worked out all examples in OT study notes.

Thank you for your time and congratulations!