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

XxMCRxBabyxX

ArthurDayne wrote: »

Yea due to start September and this was my third sitting. I reckon it's game over. I'm drafting up an email to them now. So heartbreaking to have gone through a degree, masters, all the work experience and interview processes -- only to fail one of the glorified memory tests and have it all thrown in the dirt.

I wouldn't give up just yet. I've heard very few stories of people being losing their contracts for failing. If you want to PM me which firm it is I can tell you what I know of them but I know a lot more good stories than bad.

Blazedup

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

Guys I'm in shock. After 6 sittings and 21 exams I have finally passed my final FE1! Thanks to all in this forum for the support and tips. I nearly gave up before and it was people here who stopped me. Commiserations to all who didn't pass but there's always next time and if I can do it anyone can! ��

RESPECT

Blazedup

6-0
2 Sittings
Cons / EU - OCT, 2018
No T/C
Target - PP1 SEPT 2019

ArthurDayne

castle123 wrote: »

Anyone else fail that Equity exam thinking that they passed? It was my last one. Absolutely devastated

Equity is a recurring banana skin for a lot of people. I know a few guys (including myself) who have failed it a couple of times while loads of others find it one of the easiest. My understanding is that the note questions are marked particularly hard and should be avoided if possible. After that I really don't know. I've passed 7 of these bloody things now and Equity has somehow just become my Everest.

lsheehaneire

Me too !! Only just 😉

yournerd

I failed one today so can’t go blackball in September as planned. I’m terrofied of telling the partner. Anyone else in g position?

Supermax1988

ArthurDayne wrote: »

Equity is a recurring banana skin for a lot of people.

Two sittings in a row now I've missed out on the magic three because of Equity. I genuinely don't understand how I failed it this time to be honest. Came out thinking it was my best exam but got 43.

Tony_TwoLegs

Tony_TwoLegs wrote: »

castle123 wrote: »

Anyone else fail that Equity exam thinking that they passed? It was my last one. Absolutely devastated

I failed it THREE times. Passed today with 50% in my forth sitting. It's a devious paper. She was obviously sick of seeing my handwriting. The 50euro note inside the booklet may have helped too.(Joke)

Blazedup wrote: »

6-0
2 Sittings
Cons / EU - OCT, 2018
No T/C
Target - PP1 SEPT 2019

Snap !!!!!! Albeit Tort in Oct, not Constitutional

Tony_TwoLegs

Supermax1988 wrote: »

ArthurDayne wrote: »

Equity is a recurring banana skin for a lot of people.

Two sittings in a row now I've missed out on the magic three because of Equity. I genuinely don't understand how I failed it this time to be honest. Came out thinking it was my best exam but got 43.

Equity is a bit of a funny one. Passed others no problem (Well, within reason), but took 4 sittings to nail Equity. Infuriating

Supermax1988

Tony_TwoLegs wrote: »

I was set to give up if I failed it again!!

Trying to think of reasons not to do just that right now!

LawGrad216

/Mod. Pls do not discuss the various courses here./

Tony_TwoLegs

Supermax1988 wrote: »

Tony_TwoLegs wrote: »

I was set to give up if I failed it again!!

Trying to think of reasons not to do just that right now!

I honestly couldn't see HOW I failed it THREE times. If four, I would be stumped. I have a fair bit of Equity material. Some overlaps. If you need extra material PM me an email and I'll forward ya my folder. Hang in there, you'll pass it next time.

Lumi77

thank you it has been a hard hard road and driving them mad too with my panick attacks but its all done now.
to the ones that failed equity , my advice is a bitch of an exam, cut down on notes, i got a very high mark after i learnt the first time. be short and to the point. 2 pgs to 3 max per topic.

Lumi77

/Mod; Pls do not discuss the various courses here/

LawGrad216

Lumi77 wrote: »

i did Griffith on campus best thing I ever did honestly

Thanks!

yournerd

Ok anyone wanna share magical rechecking experience? I don’t know what to expect or do

Tony_TwoLegs

yournerd wrote: »

Ok anyone wanna share magical rechecking experience? I don’t know what to expect or do

I believe (open to correction) the recheck only sees if the marks were totted up correctly. It doesn't remark it.
I rechecked twice and my mark stayed the exact same.
In saying that, you might be fortunate.....
Damned if you do/don't really.

jus_me

Any advice for those sitting in October!! Well done everyone who got what they needed. Is there any guaranteed topics that always come up? I heard there was one in equity?

XxMCRxBabyxX

LawGrad216 wrote: »

/Mod deletion. Pls do not discuss the various courses here.

/Mod deletion/

decco201

curlyheadedfck wrote: »

Anyone else fail Company? I thought I did amazing in it and got 42..

I got 43, rechecked and was brought up to 50, I think company is definitely the one to get rechecked. I know a few people who were brought up from early 40s to 50

Tommybojangles

Got magic three in second sitting. Company Tort and Property. who knows where I'd be only for the atrocious Oct 17 company paper. Still delighted considering I'd never even see a law book this time last year. I literally didn't know what 'tort meant 🀣😂

Robbo

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

Guys I'm in shock. After 6 sittings and 21 exams I have finally passed my final FE1! Thanks to all in this forum for the support and tips. I nearly gave up before and it was people here who stopped me. Commiserations to all who didn't pass but there's always next time and if I can do it anyone can! ��

Lumi77 wrote: »

I have passed my last one being my 3rd sitting in total for all 8.
I want to thank this board for all the support and help to all of you.
All I can say is possible, head up, dont give up, keep going at it no matter what, no excuses.
I have done it with two kids single mam of two and working full time.
I ll be staying on this and if any of you need guidance ill be happy to help.

Congratulations to the pair of ye. Don't be a stranger to this thread in future as success stories are always welcome.

L124

Just wondering could anyone please tell me what stage in the year do applications for the next sitting open? I googled and all that comes up is the PDF March form. Wanna see whats needed and by when really.


Edit: Completely forgot my manners... Thank you!!

Lumi77

L124 wrote: »

Just wondering could anyone please tell me what stage in the year do applications for the next sitting open? I googled and all that comes up is the PDF March form. Wanna see whats needed and by when really.


Edit: Completely forgot my manners... Thank you!!

I applied straight away when I got the results

Fergalr2092

First FE1 sitting and got all four, with a 69% in Criminal (somehow) when I was convinced I failed Criminal haha.

Company 54
Equity 57
Criminal 69
Property 60

Delighted isn't even the word!!

Gunslinger92

L124 wrote: »

Just wondering could anyone please tell me what stage in the year do applications for the next sitting open? I googled and all that comes up is the PDF March form. Wanna see whats needed and by when really.


Edit: Completely forgot my manners... Thank you!!

Open now pretty much. Deadline is 24th of August!

L124

Lumi77 wrote: »

I applied straight away when I got the results

Gunslinger92 wrote: »

Open now pretty much. Deadline is 24th of August!

Thanks guys - thats perfect! Any idea where I would get an application form from?

Mesutozil

Got the good news today that I passed my last 4.

I'd be happy to send people my notes if anyone's interested. Just pm me

bluntspoon

Just passed my last FE1s. Thanks to everyone on boards for their advice and, most of all, for making me feel like I wasn't the only one struggling through these wretched exams! Congrats to everyone who passed today. And chin up to everyone who didn't. You can do it.

When I started this process it all seemed very daunting. I had never studied law before, but in the end I passed the exams without any repeats while working full-time. So I've decided to post some advice based on my experience, for what its worth. It's geared mostly towards people who are working and studying. I hope it will help someone!

First off, be committed to this and don't underestimate it. People told me in advance that these exams were hard, but I wasn't fully prepared for just what a slog they would be. Most of the material itself isn't that difficult, but there is just so much of it to get through. Be prepared to study pretty much every evening and every weekend. Be prepared to say goodbye to your normal social life for a while. This is really hard work. If you expect that at the outset, it won't come as a shock when you're five months in and you can't remember what your significant other looks like!

Having said all that, don't go overboard and lock yourself away for six months. I read about some people getting up at 5am to study before work and then coming home and studying again until midnight. In my book that's a recipe for a nervous breakdown. Do give yourself a break. Take a day off every weekend. Get out in the fresh air. Spend time with your friends and unwind. Take the odd evening off too. Don't pull all-nighters. Get lots of sleep. When you are happy and well rested you will study 100 times more effectively than when you are distracted and tired.

I did the prep courses for every subject. I would recommend them, particularly for someone who's never studied law before. Even when I had a bad lecturer, the structure of the course was still really helpful in forcing me to get through a certain amount of work each week. If you keep up with the material covered in the lectures every week and make notes as you go, you will be in a really great place to start memorising once the course ends. It really pays to stick to that schedule.

Don't over-rely on the courses however. They are not always up-to-date or fully accurate. Read the exam reports and make a note of the examiner's criticisms. Some of the examiners will regularly say "students don't seem to know the difference between X and Y" or "students don't seem to understand Z principle". Make sure you're aware of these criticisms and that you DO understand the issues!

Don't wreck your head learning 100 cases for each topic. You'll never have time to write them all down in the exam anyway. You'll probably have time to mention 5-10 cases for each question at the most. Look at the exam reports and, where possible, learn the cases the examiner mentions. Don't bother learning 15 cases that illustrate the same point.

Do allow yourself to cut out topics. If you are working while doing these exams, you will have very limited time in which to study. You need to make the best possible use of that time and studying obscure topics that almost never come up is not a good use of your time. Having said that, be smart about what you cut out. Cutting out topics is always a risk - don't take stupid risks and cut out half the course. My strategy was to get an exam grid and look through the past 10/12 papers. I made sure I could do at least 6 questions on each of those papers with the topics I was studying. If I had a bit of extra time at the end, I would study an extra topic. But I made sure I knew those core topics really well.

I know it's not a very popular viewpoint on here, but I would say that you shouldn't feel like you have to do 4 exams on your first go. I only did 3. I know people say it's a risk, what if you get a nasty paper, etc. But I felt it would be an even bigger risk to spread myself thinly over 4 subjects, rather than knowing 3 subjects really well. It's a call everyone needs to make for themselves. Do what feels right for you.

In terms of what subjects to pick first, it's hard to know. Property, equity and contract have some nice overlap. Constitutional and EU are both very big courses so ideally you would try to split them up. Look at the timetable for the exams and try to choose subjects that give you a bit of breathing space between them - doing them on consecutive days is exhausting. Outside of that, I think it all depends on your own interests. Some people hate certain subjects while others find them easy. In the end you have to do them all, so it probably doesn't matter a huge amount - don't stress too much over the choice.

In the exam itself my advice would be to focus on the problem questions. They are so much easier than the essay questions (once you get the hang of them) because they flag all the issues for you. As long as you can identify and address those issues and remember to advise the correct person, you're almost certain to pass a problem question. Essay questions are harder because they're usually quite vague and they focus in on certain issues, requiring you to have a more detailed knowledge of those topics.

Time management in the exam is something people really struggle with. My answer to this was to use a stopwatch. At the start of the exam I gave myself 10mins to read the paper and decide which questions to do. Then I would start the timer, start writing and (crucially!) stop when my time for that question was up, even if I hadn't covered everything I could potentially have covered. It meant that I was never in a situation where I only had 5mins left to scribble a few things down for the last question. And it also helped to focus my mind and stop me from waffling.

Finally, I would say don't rely too much on what other people tell you! Do what feels right for you.

Good luck to everyone who's taking these exams. They are awful but they are doable and you will feel like a million quid when you finally get them done!

lsheehaneire

Firstly, congratulations on an amazing achievement. Secondly, it is commendable that you have taking the time to give and honest and fair account of your journey to inspire the rest of us to appreciate our dream is achievable given hard work and a genuine love of law.
Wishing you all the best on the road ahead.