FE1 Exam Thread (Read 1st post!) NOTICE: YOU MAY SWAP EXAM GRIDS

LawCQ91

Best of luck everyone ! See you all on the other side

Lily Belle

Never failed an exam so miserably. Leaving out competition was a mistake. At least it was in no way borderline so I can't get my hopes up that I passed

LadyLawGa

That EU was awful! I have never seen so many people get up and leave on the 45 minute mark.

lawbear

Lily Belle wrote: »

Never failed an exam so miserably. Leaving out competition was a mistake. At least it was in no way borderline so I can't get my hopes up that I passed

That was actually the worst exam I have ever sat in my life…I ended up doing two questions on competition….wait for it….when I didn't even cover competition so …yeah i just rewrote what it said in the treaties…why i bothered i don't know….I can honestly say I didn't even know what topics the questions where on really… such a disappointment….I don't even feel relieved that I'm finished…after sitting five exams and I think i probably only managed to pass one...

Troels Hartmann

A very, very tough paper.

1. Choice between role of commission and piece on legislative acts, A.288, delegated powers (I did this one last and just realised that I might have totally misread the question...)

2. Choice of essays on either remedies and the Double Jeopardy rule in the CFR (Eh....NEXT!!)

3. Essay on Pringle v Ireland - a case which makes its fourth successive appearance on the paper! And I still hadnt got it prepared! Lols ugh.

4. Problem on citizenship with a vast, rambling and highly confusing set of facts - with some equally confusing questions posed at the end of it.

5. Pretty standard free movement of goods, services question with a nice choice (2 out of three from 30/110, or 34/36, or a services option)

6. Private international law. Moving swiftly on.....

7. Choice between a nice problem on A.102, or an essay on mergers, or an essay on 107 state aid.

8. Case note which included old reliables Microsoft, ERTA and Zu and Chen


A very tough and exhausting paper. I had prepared the Case Notes and Citizenship as my fallback questions .... But ended up doing both of them!! And the Case note was my first question to get it out of the way!! That's when you know things are bad

I know he has a rep as a good marker but he will need to be very VERY fair for this because Id say most people were a bit shocked. Or maybe my fragile state of mind has me imagining how bad it was!

LawCQ91

So upset !! ( can't believe how bad it went Nn I am not going to blackhall in sept ! How do I explain this to my firm! Ya I had two exams and failed them !! Fml could cry right now

Pepp1989

That was the last exam I had to pass to get into blackhall. Devastated isn't the word. Awful paper.

genuinely55

EU eh?

Jesus Christ

lawbear

LawCQ91 wrote: »

So upset !! ( can't believe how bad it went Nn I am not going to blackhall in sept ! How do I explain this to my firm! Ya I had two exams and failed them !! Fml could cry right now

I'm the exact same…my firm has asked me to start working with them next week…its bona be highly awkward working there when results come out and i have to tell them I failed and so I won't be started as a trainee with them in sep…devastating...

jenspondolik

Bloody shocking I did three and a half Q's the worst yet. I covered 2004 citizenship well but I didn't know what those cases were about so I left it. I did a page on pringle with no facts or detail and half a freedoms q just so so depressing

Troels Hartmann

Is it just me or did that EU paper seem like it had been co-written by Eoin Carolan, the Constitutional examiner?

ie. Several essays on very minor, discreet horse-sh*t issues which never arise in practice ..... just like recent Constitutional papers

FE1 student

Pepp1989 wrote: »

That was the last exam I had to pass to get into blackhall. Devastated isn't the word. Awful paper.

Mine too and I left after 45 minutes. Absolutely devastated I have been crying since 10.15.

Troels Hartmann

I know it sounds like a cliché ...... but these blasted things aren't worth getting upset over.

Unless your firms are total a-holes (and generally they are not) ther will be quite understanding that you missed one or more. These exams are hard as hell so there's no shame in not getting them this time around. Remember - they're well used to prospective trainees failing! So it comes as nothing new to them

It's easier said than done but this stuff isn't worth crying over. Don't give em the satisfaction

jenspondolik

Troels Hartmann wrote: »

Is it just me or did that EU paper seem like it had been co-written by Eoin Carolan, the Constitutional examiner?

ie. Several essays on very minor, discreet horse-sh*t issues which never arise in practice ..... just like recent Constitutional papers

I was just going to say that. All the new cases that wouldn't be in manuals texts etc. I mean if you think about the timescale from last sitting to this it didn't leave much time for researching brand new 2014 cases. The last set of results was late November like so thats a joke

southcounty

FE1 student wrote: »

Mine too and I left after 45 minutes. Absolutely devastated I have been crying since 10.15.

Same boat absolutely devastated!!

Troels Hartmann

jenspondolik wrote: »

I was just going to say that. All the new cases that wouldn't be in manuals texts etc. I mean if you think about the timescale from last sitting to this it didn't leave much time for researching brand new 2014 cases. The last set of results was late November like so thats a joke

I wonder how often it happens in practice that a lad in a tracksuit and hoodie walks in off the street into a solicitors practice and says "Story bud! I need a solicitor to tell me about the scope and limits of the exclusive Union competence with regard to monetary policy, as the beaks said in the Pringle case. Know what I'm sayin, yehhhh?"

Arcturus2112

A scandalously bad paper... Absolutely shocking.

lawbear

Are these exams marked with the bell curve marking system does anyone know? I always wonder too if when marking these exams they have in mind how many people in numbers they need to go through to blackhall and things….as in if so many people failed…they would have to mark accordingly presumably as they need a certain amount to go through no??? clutching at straws

sunshine and showers

I actually have no words. Except thank god I wasn't the only one who had no bloody idea what that citizenship problem was going on about. Confusing as f*ck.

dashdoll

Really disappointing to heat that EU was such a crap paper for people today.

I honestly don't understand the need for these exams to be so difficult and time consuming especially for people who have degrees and masters in law etc...seems somewhat futile.

Anyway, Im so glad to be finished since yesterday. My weekend is going to consist of wine, house of cards and more wine! :-)

lawbear

dashdoll wrote: »

Really disappointing to heat that EU was such a crap paper for people today.

I honestly don't understand the need for these exams to be so difficult and time consuming especially for people who have degrees and masters in law etc...seems somewhat futile.

Anyway, Im so glad to be finished since yesterday. My weekend is going to consist of wine, house of cards and more wine! :-)

a friend of mine is putting the house of cards series on my hard drive….im planning on staying in pyjamas all day tomorrow…watching episode after episode...

Arcturus2112

sunshine and showers wrote: »

I actually have no words. Except thank god I wasn't the only one who had no bloody idea what that citizenship problem was going on about. Confusing as f*ck.

Yeah, the never-ending story. Oh how I rambled on that one..

jenspondolik

dashdoll wrote: »

Really disappointing to heat that EU was such a crap paper for people today.

I honestly don't understand the need for these exams to be so difficult and time consuming especially for people who have degrees and masters in law etc...seems somewhat futile.

Anyway, Im so glad to be finished since yesterday. My weekend is going to consist of wine, house of cards and more wine! :-)

Yea like did a masters on questions like what came up but these are entry exams we're not prepping for academic articles/theses but practical application of facts today was to catch us out

southcounty

Wat was that bakery licence thing about? So confusing!

Ashashi

Absolutely horrendous. Vote no to Lisbon.

Lily Belle

You guys I'm so sorry it went bad for most people too but I'm genuinely relieved im not the only who thought that was a horror. I genuinely didn't even recognise the paper, it resembled previous papers so little. Could only do 2 questions. I never in my life thought I wouldn't be able to attempt three (didn't even know that citizenship one was citizenship!). Going to put it behind me but devastated about another year away from blackhall and really concerned about the re-sit (a third of the topics on the paper weren't in my manual?!).

So... Anyone wanna chuck it all in, come to LA with me and try make it as a movie star? 😎

Lily Belle

FE1 student wrote: »

Mine too and I left after 45 minutes. Absolutely devastated I have been crying since 10.15.

There was seriously watery eyed territory on the luas on my way home. Between the tears, thrown together appearance and dazed expression, I'd say everyone just wrote me off as strung out!

Lily Belle

jenspondolik wrote: »

Yea like did a masters on questions like what came up but these are entry exams we're not prepping for academic articles/theses but practical application of facts today was to catch us out

What's going on like?! Is it maybe because the pass rate has been so high previous years? First exam iv ever not been able to hope for the 'maybe he'll mark it easy' approach because I couldn't attempt enough questions!

Troels Hartmann

sunshine and showers wrote: »

I actually have no words. Except thank god I wasn't the only one who had no bloody idea what that citizenship problem was going on about. Confusing as f*ck.

Id love to ask the examiner why he felt it necessary to to include such a vast array of irrelevant facts in such a scattergun way

jenspondolik

That's what I thought every yr says pass high. I'm in a restaurant having steak and wine on my own until I get my bus at three. On my own drinkin wine that's how bad it was. I was flicking through and I was like I know what you're asking here here and here but it's no where in manuals etc and I know u must luck beyond manuals but if I'd read Craig and de whatever I'd still be at a loss. Well feck it as I said they can fire me if they want. Never failed and exam til company but I would've been so upset if I'd worked hard and still not be able to do it. I feel that's what happened to loads even people doing prep courses and essays and lectures and all. Its not fair how can u know what's on the syllabus when is monetary policy etc ever really a big area. My manual actually says its behind the scope of the fe1s!! Rant over