Does anybody have any particular revision techniques they use that work. I have never really been good at revising and just looking for done techniques to try??

Hello, i have a tests on 11th february and i would just like to ask if anyone knows a cheap hostel or something to stay at for one night close to the NATS center?

@Mazza

I went through the booklet and highlighted key points that I thought were important (acronyms, values like speed and flight level etc), then I rewrote the entire document in my own words.
I made it considerably shorter, though, by using dot points.

For the aircraft specifications I made flash cards and organised them into piles based on similar characteristics such as the routes they fly.
Rather than learning each individual aircraft, I can remember which aircraft goes in which group and I have a rough idea of the specifications of that particular aircraft.

Hope this helps!

Preparation time for stage 1 test
 

Hi, I have been reading this thread a lot and it really helped me answer questions I have regarding what to expect on all the NATS application stages.

I just received my Stage 1 invitation letter today, but before I book my dates I want to ask if roughly a month is enough to prepare for the Stage 1 test? I realise different people have different learning styles and speed, but I just want to know how long you guys here take time to prepare (by rough estimate) :confused:

Any answer would be great help!! xx

Stage 1 tomorrow; nervous as hell. Good luck to anyone else who'll be there!

Cheers manderson1993

Good luck for tomorrow hope all goes well!!

I am about 6 months away from validation. I started on a course at the college in July 2009 - yes...2009!!! I was put on hold for a year, so if not for that I would be valid 6 months already. Anyway, with regards to revising... Read the document. Read it again. Then read it another 5 times. Ask someone to test you. Then read it again another 10 times. I'm not actually kidding. You will need to get used to reading a LOT! If you go in with the idea that you aren't good at revising then you are already starting off on a bad foot. Get good at it, and quick. You will need to learn a lot of paragraphs WORD FOR WORD!

Are there any applicants that attended the jan 7 assessment that are yet to hear back. I know they said up to 15 working days but I was hoping it would be a little quicker than this.

Just got back from Stage 1 now.

Was so nerve racking after the ATC test while waiting to hear if we got through.
The lady came back, read off a list of names, and those people left the room.
Then the other lady said "congratulations" to the rest of us. Such a relief!

I answered 48/50 in the diagramming questions, and I'm 100% on all those.
I only got up to 35/40 for the cubes which is still good I guess, but I'm really not sure how that went.
Fingers crossed I guess.

Well, the ordeal is over. I find it funny when the lady was giving us the intro she said “and how many of you read PPRuNe?" :\. Maybe it’s just me but I actually found the first paper surprisingly hard, or at least not what I was expecting, I really did not enjoy that dreaded wait to find out if I’d made the first cut or not :yuk:. When she was reading out the people who failed my heart was pounding so hard I could feel my ears throbbing. I was actually surprised, a large amount passed the motivation paper, I didn’t do a head count but it seemed a little more than half stayed on (reading peoples experience in this topic it seems like it’s usually about a 70% fail rate). I’m fully confident with how I did with the diagraming, so if I do fail it’s because of the cubes (yes, they are as hard as everyone says). At least I get a few days of hopeful optimism before I know my fate for sure, ignorance is bliss.

Duration
 

Hi, can anyone tell me how long Stage One should take? Having to fly down on the morning of it unfortunately and back at night. :ugh:

Thanks

Impossible, PM sent.

In my opinion a month is more than enough time to prepare. I got my invitation in the second week of January, and decided to go for yesterdays assessment, partly because I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible and also because I didn't think those extra five days would add to my chances. I figure two weeks is plenty time to prepare, provided you actually use that time efficiently.

@Greendotz: Thank you so much! Your opinion's a big help, now I can plan my preparation. I'll book my dates for Birmingham (on 22 Feb) since that's where I live, and work hard until then.

And good luck for your stage 1 results!! :ok:

Anyone on here going to Stage 1 in Sheffield on 21st Feb?

Nervous already and still 24 days to go!

hi guys - could i ask a silly question. i know nothing really of atc... i filled in an application online and got a reply and did online test. got reply inviting for assessment day (both replies in 24 hours if that helps some of you asking) .. im now wondering am i out of my depth or is it worth going to the test day??

Do some research , see if it suits you . Go to day 1 , you have nothing to lose except some travel money and you'll experience some wonderful ATC selection process tests . I'd go no matter what if you ask me .

In all fairness Salimnina, every single thing to expect in the motivation paper was posted on here in some form, ranging from the geographical distance questions to the SDT questions. If you dig deep enough into this thread you'll find everything you need to know about every stage.

Remember, the women instructing the tests also said not to disclose details of what was involved in them, so I'm sure people had that in mind when posting their stage one experiences on here.

I passed the first part of stage one when I took it on Thursday and I'm awaiting the result. Unfortunately I'm quite certain the cubes will let me down. They are very tough, and unless you're a natural at spatial awareness then you'll struggle with them unless you practice and practice.

Hello jbba94 Congratulations on passing the first part of stage one. Were you in the assessment at 9:30 on Thurs? I was in this group. I also got to the next stage and also found the cubes tough. I wonder when we will find out if we make it to the next stage?

RE: Aircraft SEATING question
 

Hey guys.

So I've been grinding hard to learn the 24 page test material given by NATS.

And so I have reached the aircraft specs/characteristics/ section.


Here is an example from the document.
1. Aircraft type: Airbus A319
2. Seating details: Maximum 148, standard 124.

I am unable to get my head around the reason as to why there is a MAXIMUM seating 148 and a standard seating capacity of 124.

Statistics from SEATGURU show that the A319 has a TOTAL 124 seats which include all classes. So what is the reason for this maximum seats? Is it to include the cabin crews seats? Are there other seats that are not categorized as standard?

If anyone can briefly explain it to me it would be much appreciated because i've been doing a lot of research and i cant find any explanation. :hmm:

I found out today that I made it to stage two. It really did come as a pleasant surprise. I thought that I did ok but it's impossible to tell how we'll you really did.

I really hope I have what it takes and there is on,y one way to find out.

Good luck to all those going through the process.

Congrats aawallace,

I saw that you had your stage 1 on the 7th so now I'm worried it's going to be as long a wait as you had before I find out my result!

@student630

If you pass the online selection test after you apply for ATC, then they will send you the documentation.

Maximum seating is what the aircraft is rated to allow as a maximum. Standard seating is how the aircraft is generally specced out by the airline, although it varies massively between airlines.

Taking 1" out of the available leg room will give you an extra couple of rows in the aircraft

Congratulations Wallace, though that does seem a little worrying, the amount of times they stress how you’ll hear within 15 days and yours took 21. Hope I don’t have to go through that :\.

i think you'll find they got back to him after exactly 15 working days. It's working days, not calendar days.

And they're now saying 30 working days.... just to keep you up to date

Stage 3
 

With thanks to this thread i have managed to get to Stage 3. I was just wondering if anyone who has successfully completed the stage would be willing to talk to me and give a few tips?
I am trying to arrange a visit to Swanick and I'm finding it quite tricky, so any advise with regards to that would be much appreciated as well!

Online test
 

Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what the online test after the initial application involves? And how long does it take.

Thanks!

Okay, fair point with the 'working' days part, that never occurred to me. The 30 days part is news to me though, do you have a source? I can't find that anywhere on the site and the lady invigilating my stage 1 definitely said 15 (working) days.

EDIT: Grammar

well, either it's a new policy as of monday this week, or a new policy for Stage 3s, or the guy was winding us up. We did ask him to repeat himself though and he seemed serious!

Woo hoo got through to Stage 2 :) It's on the 8th of Feb, anyone else at this one?

I actually did not hear back from the recruiment team. I contacted them after 15 working days and asked if there was a delay. The next day they replied saying that they emailed me on the 7th ( the same day as the test) to say that I had passed. That seems almost too soon to have heard back and I could not find the email. However, they were very prompt to reply to my email and as a whole they seem very efficient. The long
Wait just made the relief even greater. Good luck guys.

Phew, just got conformation, I’m through :) Only a week to prepare though :\ I suppose you can’t truly prepare for this stage anyway and it’ll be good to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Good luck to everyone else next Friday.

Took my stage one on the 24th January and have been told I didn't make it through. It was expected, but I'm still disappointed.

I knew the cubes would be tough, but they were even tougher than I expected.

I also only completed 36/50 on the diagramming which may have not been enough for the pass grade on those.

I've got 10 months till I can re-apply, so no excuse not to make stage two next time. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to beat those cubes, but I've got plenty of time to try and master them. If anyone has any tips on them it'd be good to hear.

Good luck everyone else with the application process.

Stage 1 - 11th Feb
 

Anyone doing their stage 1 on the 11th Feb?? Dreading the diagramming!!!

@sambo, ye, i'm going for stage one on 11th, i have scheduled my test at 9.30, you?

Hello everyone :)

I'm going to my stage one assessment on the 21st of Feb in Sheffield... I've only just booked it so I've not looked at the documents properly yet, but I'm a little scared! I hope it's not too bad!

I don't seem to be too bad at the spatial assessment thingies, so fingers crossed it'll go okay!

Anyone else going to Sheffield on the 21st? Say hi if so :8

Hey all :)

I have my stage 1 assessment on the 19th in Southampton :D

Been lurking this thread for a while now trying to shed some light on
what the stage 1 actually involves :ok:

Nice to know i'm not the only one freaking out about revising the ATC booklet!
Read it through once and going through it slowly when I get 20 minutes to myself! :ugh:

Going to the Travelodge on the Sunday and staying till Tuesday, make my
drive from Wales a bit more fun before the assessment!

Good luck all, see you there!

I just booked myself onto Stage 1 at Sheffield on the 21st too! I'm there between 13:00-15:00. Be sure to say hi anyone; I'll ask if anyone is from PPRuNe.

Sheffield 21st
 

I am also booked for Sheffield on 21st February! See you all there!

Any advice from anyone that has been to the assesment days on what was appropiate outfits for girls. dont wanna be over or under dressed :)

thanks!