Anyone studying ACCA by using one of the Kaplan Distance learning courses?

Hi,

I’m doing P6 with Kaplan distance learning. Although I think open tuition is better 🙂

Hi,

I have self studied using open tuition and textbooks from F4 up to P3 and I like that you can work at your own pace. I have done Kaplan distance learning for P6 and P7 and it feels too rushed trying to stick to their schedule. The tutors are excellent and if you email them questions they always respond within 1 working day with good explanations. But the schedule was quite tight. If you fall behind you will miss the assignment deadines so you can’t go at your own pace. They teach the course over 8 weeks with 2 weeks dedicated to assignments, so learning the materials in 6 weeks. You are left with about 5 weeks for revision and question practise after that which is good but I feel like I haven’t learned the material properly in the first place. I work full time though so perhaps if you have more time to spend on studying it would be okay for you. P7 wasn’t too bad as I work as an auditor but P6 is a struggle – although it is a massive textbook which could be part of my problem.

Also I did the Premier course which has 4 assignments – I think some of their other packages just have two assignments

Never tried lsbf. I’ve sat my first exams in June 2014. I was doing two every 6 months for the f papers then for p1-p6 I changed to one exam every three months. Last exam tomorrow 🙂 Everyone studies differently so maybe you will like Kaplan. You could try Kaplan for the first exam then lsbf the next exam? I do think the open tuition lectures are pretty good though. Good luck

@usmanraza1993 said:
why you think that open tuition is better than Kaplan?

I am in a similar situation as Kirsty: self studied for all my papers from F2 to P3. I have solely relied on OT notes and lectures and have never purchased a study text.
However, I have always used the most up-to- date revision kits from an approved publisher (BPP in my case, but I don’t think that really makes any difference, it could have been any other approved publisher) and practised as much as possible.
So far I passed all my exams first attempt, while working full time.

I have no experience with other tuition providers but I can tell you that the material offered for free on this site is accurate, comprehensive and easy to understand. There is also an extremely useful Ask the Tutor forum section for any doubts you might have on the paper you are preparing…

@usmanraza1993 said:

@palmy: I am surprised and shocked with your statement that you relied solely on OT lectures and notes, passed all your exams at first attempt without using any ACCA approved study text. So do you mean that OT has everything which is required to prepare fully for the exam. For some papers I used both Kaplan and BPP kits because they are just for extra practice but the understanding comes from study text and lectures either online or face to face.

Could anyone please tell me why the OT don,t charge the fees for their notes, lectures and even for their tutor support?

Thanks for sharing such an important information with me about OT.

Don’t be surprised, I am not the only one!
Anyway, everyone is different.
I think a lot depends on your personal and professional background: I have a university degree in Business Administration and work in a Financial Reporting department.
However, I still find Acca exams challenging!

I always start by watching the lectures with the notes in front of me.
In order to fix the concepts as soon as possible, I start looking at relevant questions in the kit after each lecture.
I then read carefully the solution in the kit and add any relevant information to the notes.
I then start attempting questions, both the examples in OT’s notes and those in the kit until I no longer make any mistake and am perfectly clear about the reason behind each of the steps (for example in consolidation questions).
If I have any doubts, I search the forums and usually someone else has already asked the same thing in the past. Otherwise, there is the Ask the Tutor forum.

3 weeks before the exam, I start focusing on the written bits of the questions and this is when I start reading the Acca technical articles.

I then normally take one week off before the exam to revise everything.

I started Acca at the beginning of last year and I still have two papers to go, hopefully in December, depending on the results of the 2 I sat this week. So yes, based on my experience, OT material and lectures are everything I need and everything is free, amazing.

Hey @Kirsty I see you did not have a good experience with Kaplan as the tutors were rushing with the syllabus, did you choose distance learning or was it live tuition? I am asking as I want to sit for Mar 17 sitting for P6 and I am confused between Kaplan,bpp or lsbf?

Kindly help as your experience will really help me choose appropriately.

Regards
Basil

I have tried Kaplan distance course and it is not worth the money. OT is simply the better and free. Kaplan tutors are little arrogant. Once I get the higher salary I will definitely support OT. My advice is not to waste money on such expensive packages. The videos in distance plus learning are simply worthless. I have not tried Kaplan tuition.