Friendly Advice Required Please

[Somedaymaybe]

Hi Guys,

I will hopefully be starting my ATPL ground school in the upcoming month and really need some friendly advice.

I have decided that i will undertake the distance learning course with Bristol GS.

My plan is to do 2-3 hours per night 2 being the minimum, however i do have a full time job which soon could turn from shifts to working 9-5, 5 times a week.

My questions really are:

1)how many hours do you guys currently do per night/per week?

2)what methods of revision do you use(I know its down to the individual and what suites)?

3) Do you just read your notes and try to absorb as much of the information as you can or do you take notes on the notes?

Thanks, hopefully it will help other pruners as well!

:ok: :ok: :ok:

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Somedaymaybe,

I am afraid I do not have any advice on techniques for distance learning as I did the full time ground school, however I can share my experiences with you.

From talking to others that have done distance learning, it would appear that working 2-3 hours per night including weekends will put you on track for completing your ground in around 12 months, including your brush up courses. On saying that, I take my hat off to those guys who managed to do this consistently for a year. Holding down a full time job and then coming home and studying certainly takes come discipline, but if you want it bad enough it won't be a problem for you.

With regard to revision, I think everyone is different. Personally I used to read the notes, then try and consolidate them with my own hand written notes. I would then set myself an exam on what I had consolidated, then test myself. This method works for me, but like I say, everyone learns differently.

I hope the above helps you, and good luck with your studies.

All the best.

[Somedaymaybe]

Thanks Cat3c,

Please keep your comments coming, I would like to get a wider perspective on other peoples methods and techniques.

SDM :ok:

[muppethead]

SDM,

I have been studying distance learning with OAT for well over a year now and am just away to sit my final exams. I think you've got the right idea about studying around 2 hours a day. This should put you in good shape for the 2 week brush up course at the end of each phase.

There is a lot of work to get through, but if your determined then you will succeed. The brush up courses will narrow down your studies towards what the exams require. Bristol's feedback, I gather, is excellent and will help your exam preparation greatly!

Good luck with the studies!!

[GoldenMonkey]

SomeDayMaybe

I took the BGS course from August 03 - August 04. Sat the Mode 1 exams in Feb 04 and the Mod 2 in Aug 04. I worked full time through this period, taking 6 weeks 'holiday/unpaid leave' for the brush up and exams. Have nothing but good things to say about Bristol, but that's not your question!
So...

1)how many hours do you guys currently do per night/per week?
I studied on the tube to and from work every day. That's a 50 minute journey each way. When I had finished reading a frame, I would spend the evening going through the associated progress test. For this, I would spend whatever time it took. (1-4 hours depending). At weekends I may have done a couple of hours in the early weeks, stepping this up in the weeks leading up to the brush up. I tried to bosh one frame a week.


2)what methods of revision do you use(I know its down to the individual and what suites)?
3) Do you just read your notes and try to absorb as much of the information as you can or do you take notes on the notes?
I simply read the notes and answered the questions in the frames first time through. Then, I went through the subjects again and made abrieveated shortened notes. Not sure these were any use to me as I didn't look at them once during the brush up.



In general, studying for the ATPLs distance learning is very much a rollercoaster ride. There were times when I was chomping at the bit to learn more and get it done. Others when the temptation of the pub was just too much. For me, the key was getting into some sort of routine. As long as I stuck to it most of the time, I was happy. You do have to let yourself out for good behaviour once in a while though!


Good luck with it, what ever you do.


GM

[Somedaymaybe]

Thanks to you all for your replies.

I now have some good information which i can work on, its nice to know that there are many out there who have kept down a full time job and studied.

Take Care

SDM :ok:

[Sky Wave]

I would have to echo most of GM's comments.

I started with BGS in June 03, took the first exams in March 04 and then increased my pace and took my final exams in October 04. I could have taken my mod 1 earlier but Christmas was busy at work, January is snowboarding time so February brush up it had to be.

I tried to do a couple of hours a day, however that didn't always happen. My work varies and sometimes I'm home early and other days I have very long shifts. Also it depends what subject you’re on. 2 hours of air law is hard work, two hours reading about interesting stuff like EFIS or doing practical Nav plotting is much easier.

I always made sure that I took study material with me wherever I thought I’d have 5 minutes to read it, I even took a whole load of chapters on holiday to Cuba with me. Probably looked very stupid reading a massive A4 binder at the poolside, but who cares?

As for revision I'm not a great fan of making my own notes because as GM says, I never refer back to them. That said there are some things like tables of figure that are best learnt by writing them down, then starting again from memory, checking what you got wrong, then start again. It seems to work, I can still write down tables of radio frequencies, numbers of fire extinguishers required on aircraft etc.

Hope this helps, and good luck with the studying

[willby]

Hi SDM,
Just a suggestion to add to all the good advice already posted. Purchase one of those little notebooks with the elastic band attached ( yes, same as the police use!). Jot down the formulae etc that are difficult to remember in the beginning. Keep this book with you at work etc and have a browse through it during breaks etc.
Good luck with the studies.
Willby

[G SXTY]

I’m halfway through mod 2 with BGS, so here’s my two penneth:

1)how many hours do you guys currently do per night/per week?
It depends how jaded I’m feeling, but I aim to work all day Sunday and generally manage 2-3 hours per evening Monday – Thursday, leaving Friday night off for recreational purposes;) and Saturday to catch up with the rest of my life.

The coursework is divided into ‘frames’ of between 2 and 4 progress tests, and working as above, I can usually manage 1 frame per week. Mod 1 took around 5 months, and I expect mod 2 to take around 4. Adding in time for the groundschool and exams, around 12 months start to finish is probably about right. (It’s certainly possible to do it quicker, but you have to be realistic – if you are working full time as well, there will be times when you’re frankly knackered, and just not up to studying. Beware of burning yourself out).

2)what methods of revision do you use(I know its down to the individual and what suites)?
Erm, I don’t. Like everyone else, I take the progress test and promptly forget what I’ve just learnt. There is no way you can sit at home and memorise every fact from every subject – there is just too much, and you’d go mad trying to do it. That’s what the brushup courses are for. You’ll work like you’ve never worked before, but believe me, 9-5 in the classroom every day, then enough homework to take you past midnight every night and you’ll be dreaming exam questions in your sleep. Literally.

3) Do you just read your notes and try to absorb as much of the information as you can or do you take notes on the notes?
It depends on the subject. If it’s simple enough to absorb without making notes, I’ll just read the coursework and take the test. With more complex subjects (e.g. gyros:zzz: ) I have to make notes just to get the information into my head. They don’t have to be pretty – I took a whole folder full of notes for my mod 1 brushup and never even looked at them. What would be useful is to write down all the relevant equations for each subject and try and commit them to memory – you’ll need most of them for the exam.

Just a general point, when the box lands on your doorstep you’ll probably get this sinking feeling as you realise just what you’ve let yourself in for. Don’t worry, everyone else thinks “I’ll never be able to learn all that.” Just take it one step at a time, set yourself a realistic schedule and appreciate that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Bristol’s results speak for themselves.

[Mosspigs]

SDM,

To briefly answer your questions.

I would say that 2 hours a night is a good figure to hang your hat on. Some time the frames coincide with this time frame and others they do not. Above all, make it work for you or it will become a chore and the value with depreciate.

As for revision tech, try several. I started off making long hand notes which I never referred to again. The process was a way to ingrain the knowledge into my thick melon. After the first crammer, I change techniques to highlighting and this is working also.

I would throw two lines of advice though.

Sometimes the study goes wrong or you can't get it to sink in. Have a beer, give yourself a night off and attack it with gusto the next day. You’ll be amazed what a new day brings.

Lastly and most importantly - trust BGS and the crammer.

Good luck.

[Penguina]

(e.g. gyros )

Oh good, glad I'm not the only one! :zzz: :ugh:

Anyway, I'd agree that you have to make it work for you. Soon as study becomes a boring chore you have to do, it stops sinking in. At this point, I make myself take a deep breath and remember why this is something I'm doing for myself and that _I_ will be the one to suffer if I let it fail. (ie - I'm not at work!)

There are focussed ways of learning (like making summarising tables/diagrams, playing with the relationships in formulae, putting things in your own words, playing with globes, etc) that take slightly longer but are vastly more rewarding than just reading and pretending you've absorbed it. It's not always necessary, but don't ignore it when it is!

I do 1-2 hours a night whenever I can and some work at the weekend. This is getting me through at about a frame in a fortnight or more and I wish I had more time. But I don't! :rolleyes: