ATPL's -- a bitch pure & simple
First thing - hats off to anyone who passed them all first time. On starting out I thought a reasonably intelligent guy like myself would have no problem getting them all first time. Unfortunately it turned into a battle of attrition. Got 7 of them first time, 5 second time round, AGK at the third & INST went right to the wire -- got it on the 4th attempt. And I took the full 18 months to complete them. I had convinced myself I'd failed the June INST paper & I was going to be doing the whole lot again. Fortunately I managed to pass the bitch (82%).
I studied my tits off for all the subjects & when the white envelope comes through the door & you've failed by 1 or 2 percent - it really, really hurts. The only advice I can give is - don't dwell on failing, pick yourself up - study hard & get as many feedback papers as possible. The exams are a long, dark, frustrating tunnel of s**t. The fun stuff is on the other side..
All the best to everyone still fighting the JAR exams