MCS Exam Experience Survey, what we learnt...

As always, the MCS exam experience survey produced some interesting results. Thinking of taking the February case study? Or interested to know how the MCS November students got on? Well, here's what we learnt in our survey.

Our students put the effort in!

• Over two thirds revised for more than 5 weeks in the run-up to the exam.
• Over 80% did 4 weeks or over.
• Less than 10% did 3 weeks revision.
• 40% of our students dedicated 10 hours or more a week to revision.
• Over 80% did more than 5 hours a weeks.

We usually recommend 6-8 weeks revision before the case study exam, averaging around 10 hours a week. Good to hear many of our students are taking our advice!

Knowing what to prioritise and how to structure your revision is tricky yet vital, we asked our students how they could have better planned their schedules...

• Over 50% said they wished they had spent more time revising theory, a third also mentioned time management practice.
• More than 60% of respondents said they wish they had dedicated more time practising mock exams.
• Less than 20% of students said they wish they spent more time analysing the pre-seen, good to hear they got this organised early!

Overall, most of our students said the exam was more difficult than they had expected, very few said they actually found it easier. As a result, we got some interesting advice for future students. 

Here are some examples:

• Theory is key. Second would be how to apply the theory accordingly to the pre-seen and most importantly the unseen.
• Do lots of mock question practice.
• Prepare set answers for key theory areas. Fully read the unseen and plan your answer before typing.

The results found showed how much work needs to into preparing for the MCS exam, definitely not to be underestimated! If you would like to see more responses they can be found here.