FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

Charlie D · 11-05-2012 3:50pm

chopser wrote: »

Yeah from my experience I think the examiner is a very tough marker.
I know I failed it and only just passed it the second time despite being very confident and fully sure I did a better paper in it than other exams (that I later received better results for)

I think it is considered on paper the easiest and most predictable and that is why many fail it. that was my excuse anyway.

I think you hit the nail on the head there about the predictability of the paper. There are usually three or four different type of questions that come up on each topic all the time and she does repeat exact questions. I guess the key to equity like so many other papers is practice past papers.

Gibbonw2 · 11-05-2012 4:04pm

where are the results on the website??

noseriously · 11-05-2012 4:16pm

Gibbonw2 wrote: »

where are the results on the website??

You need to log in and then search on the website for “results“.
To anyone who‘s feeling disheartened about failing, i failed all 4 last time (my lowest mark was 28 in equity) but got 3 out of 4 this time so no matter how crap you did, passing is possible! was convinced i‘d failed both property and equity this time but passed em both... you never know!

Gibbonw2 · 11-05-2012 4:57pm

noseriously wrote: »

You need to log in and then search on the website for “results“.
To anyone who‘s feeling disheartened about failing, i failed all 4 last time (my lowest mark was 28 in equity) but got 3 out of 4 this time so no matter how crap you did, passing is possible! was convinced i‘d failed both property and equity this time but passed em both... you never know![/QUO

cheers, Im shocked. but also a little pisssed with myself!

I was sitting exams for first time, registerd for 4, studied for 3. I left after 45min for tort, done my constitutional on thursday and was convinced i had failed, at most securing a late 30s to mid 40s. I had a seizure on friday and i wasnt right for the next two days so I decided that seeming that I didnt pass constitutional (it wasant that the exam was that hard, just made a complete hash of my timing and i finished only 2 questions reasonably) I would be best not to stress myself out and decided to miss the next two exams (contract and EU), and resit in October, when I am more confident and my health is sorted.

Lo and behold, I open my results and I got 55 in constitutional!

Dont know whether to laugh or cry!

ElleWoods · 11-05-2012 6:44pm

Muskyy wrote: »

I got 46 in equity! Extremely disappointed! I really thought I got near 60 I was so happy after the exam! I'm defo rechecking but does ne 1 know how likely or how often they'd bring up your result! Im convinced there's a mistake. It's so disheartening! :-( do ya's think it'd b possible to come up 4 %?

Well I'm appealing 40% so you have a better chance than me anyway!
Luckily I got my three but no thanks to the equity examiner. I thought that exam was my best one, really thought the paper couldn't have suited me better. Maybe that was the problem, the standard going up? But then these are threshold exams so I just don't understand it. I studied that subject alone for like a month! Its concerning because I know I wrote five good questions so I'm wondering how will I ever pass it. I guess I can't complain because I'm one of the lucky ones today, but I'm definitely appealing because I can't understand that grade.

It also makes my life more difficult in that now I'm not sure whether to go ahead with five in October or split them. Does anyone have any advice on making this decision?

grainneol · 11-05-2012 8:28pm

id def go thru with the 5 its a lot of work i did d same as you last october and sat 5 dis time. unfortunately i got 44 in eu and passed the other 4 so am gonna appeal it since its my last one. but get them done and over with. you passed 3 dis time so your well able. give it socks!!

filosoraptor · 11-05-2012 8:58pm

I dunno if I should be encouraging people to do this, cause by all accounts it just results in the Law Society getting more money from students (and they get enough!), as from what I've heard, there is no change in the majority of rechecks.

However, I sat my first 4 in October and was greated with the dreaded 2 & 2 on results day getting 42% in contract. I wasn't overly confident about passing, knowing it would be touch and go, but I definintely felt I done better than this so went for the recheck and got bumped 8% to 50 on the nose, giving me the my magic 3! Despite the delay in getting this result meant I could only do 2 this time round cause I was studying for ones I ended up having already passed up until mid January, there is no better feeling than getting by on a recheck. Actually receiving the refund of €120 from the Law Society instead of the other way round was pretty sweet as well.

Also, it makes you wonder how my original marker could miss out on 8%. Infallible? certainly not!

Basically, I'd recommend if you genuinely believe you made a solid attempt go for the re-check. I remember I done 4 pretty solid answers and winged the 5th with 2 pages of anything I could conjure up on the topic. If I got bumped 8% there's hope!

JCJCJC · 11-05-2012 9:28pm

Beat this - I passed Company this time, first shot, and I left my marked-up Acts at home in West Limerick on the kitchen table that morning! I missed it around Portlaoise and was very tempted to turn back and scrap the attempt altogether.

To those who got two on your first attempt at three - I did that too and so did loads of people here. Don't let it bug you - in future years you'll be able to boast that you passed ten FE-1s ;-)

To the folks considering appeals - timing is everything, like doing a rain-dance. If a few marks is all that's between you and BHP this autumn - it has to be worth a try, there's a year of your career and time hanging on it. A friend of mine who is now a solr was in that pos'n and she got a 43 in EU bumped up to 50. On the other hand, if you have more exams to do next October, and if you're a bit wide of 50, maybe leave it to October or March 2013 because you ain't going to Blackhall this year anyway, and you have two more sittings to get all your FE1s.

This board has been great for me. There's very rarely any flame war or disagreement, and the swapping of info and materials etc is vital. I've been studying for these pretty much on my own at home, so having the constant chat and interaction with colleagues is great. I'll be dropping in from time to time to see how things are going.

To the dude who rang the lawsoc YESTERDAY for the PPC1 pack - rock on dude, I'll definitely recognise you in September, you'll be the one with the biggest cojones ;-)

-aboutagirl- · 11-05-2012 9:35pm

Got my final three

Delighted to finally have them out of the way. The relieve is unbelievable - I'm due to start my TC in 2 weeks & looking forward to Blackhall in Sept. Congrats to those who passed & to those who were unlucky this time around- keep your heads up! It happens everyone with these exams, you just have to move on & keep swimming!

Tea-a-Maria · 11-05-2012 9:43pm

While the prospect of starting into study again after final year exams is a sickner right now,it seems from this thread that you need to do a lot of preparation for these exams.I'm thinking of starting my FE1s in the next session in October.When should I start studying?

RebelScorned · 11-05-2012 9:57pm

ElleWoods wrote: »

Well I'm appealing 40% so you have a better chance than me anyway!
Luckily I got my three but no thanks to the equity examiner. I thought that exam was my best one, really thought the paper couldn't have suited me better. Maybe that was the problem, the standard going up? But then these are threshold exams so I just don't understand it. I studied that subject alone for like a month! Its concerning because I know I wrote five good questions so I'm wondering how will I ever pass it. I guess I can't complain because I'm one of the lucky ones today, but I'm definitely appealing because I can't understand that grade.

It also makes my life more difficult in that now I'm not sure whether to go ahead with five in October or split them. Does anyone have any advice on making this decision?

I did five this sitting and got them all- put in a months work into studying but literally eating, breathing, sleeping my manuals and samples answers, and I got them all. 5 in one sitting can def be done, I think you should go for it and just try to clear the table and be rid.

steph86 · 11-05-2012 11:53pm

MoneyMilo wrote: »

Well done to everyone who got what they wanted!

Having gotten 3/4 in October, I only got 2 out of the remaining 5 this time around. I know there are people out there without any, but I'm very disappointed..

I was least confident about EU but it happened to be one that I passed! I was most confident about Constitutional, but I got 43

With Company, I thought I had a chance of passing, but I got ****ing 32! - cannot believe it.

Dunno what to think

that was the same for me with company. in october i thought i had nailed it and got 38%. resat it in march and got 51% and thought i had failed it.

Mojo22 · 11-05-2012 11:59pm

Passed my last 3 exams today, am delighted, didnt think I had passed

To everyone else that passed well done, its a great feeling

For those who didnt pass, do not let it get u down to much, take some time out & keep trying, it will work out for you in the end.

I dont have a TC lined in unfortunately, finding it impossible to get one.

How are ppl managing to pay for the fees for blackhall? Must check out the grant situation.

steph86 · 12-05-2012 12:14am

Mojo22 wrote: »

Passed my last 3 exams today, am delighted, didnt think I had passed
To everyone else that passed well done, its a great feeling
For those who didnt pass, do not let it get u down to much, take some time out & keep trying, it will work out for you in the end.

I dont have a TC lined in unfortunately, finding it impossible to get one.

How are ppl managing to pay for the fees for blackhall? No grants available for bh now.

try and get a voluntary tc. i'm doing mine for, having to pay my own fees etc and no wage. it says on the website that you can get a grant from the county council. a girl in my office is just back from ppc1 and she got 6000 of a grant whch covered her accommodation while in dublin.

chopser · 12-05-2012 12:59am

steph86 wrote: »

try and get a voluntary tc. i'm doing mine for, having to pay my own fees etc and no wage. it says on the website that you can get a grant from the county council. a girl in my office is just back from ppc1 and she got 6000 of a grant whch covered her accommodation while in dublin.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the post graduate grant was abolished end of 2011 for all new 2012 entrants . No grants for Blackhall anymore. I really,really,really hope someone can prove me wrong.

JCJCJC · 12-05-2012 6:03am

steph86 wrote: »

try and get a voluntary tc. i'm doing mine for, having to pay my own fees etc and no wage. it says on the website that you can get a grant from the county council. a girl in my office is just back from ppc1 and she got 6000 of a grant whch covered her accommodation while in dublin.

I thought solicitors were obliged by the law society's standard terms to pay the minimum wage to trainees?

JCJCJC · 12-05-2012 7:59am

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

While the prospect of starting into study again after final year exams is a sickner right now,it seems from this thread that you need to do a lot of preparation for these exams.I'm thinking of starting my FE1s in the next session in October.When should I start studying?

Get hold of some recent past papers and decide how ready you are to meet that standard. Better still, try to get some GCD past questions and sample answers and decide if you are fit to answer to that standard. If you are, then go for as many subjects as you can. You'll be in BHP in Sept of 2013 at the earliest so you have two FE1 sittings between now and then - no real need to kill yourself doing all eight in October 2012 then. Most of us find FE1 exams a little bit tougher than undergrad ones.

JCJCJC · 12-05-2012 9:44am

chopser wrote: »

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the post graduate grant was abolished end of 2011 for all new 2012 entrants . No grants for Blackhall anymore. I really,really,really hope someone can prove me wrong.

I have a few buddies working in the CoCo and VEC, I'll ask. Even if those schemes are closed off, the Leader Group companies are literally awash with cash and very amenable to funding anything leading to employment. You'll get details of your local one on pobal.ie. Make out a reasonable case and write it up. they'll fund anything from a truck-driving license to a PhD. Is Blackhall considered to be post-graduate? If you go to Blackhall on the basis of having passed the preliminary exam, then your primary degree is irrelevant. I know solicitors who don't have any degree of any kind - not many, but they're there.

steph86 · 12-05-2012 10:38am

chopser wrote: »

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the post graduate grant was abolished end of 2011 for all new 2012 entrants . No grants for Blackhall anymore. I really,really,really hope someone can prove me wrong.

God i really hope you are wrong, that just makes thing so much harder. Rent in dublin is so dear. i'm paying 165 a month at the moment and the cheapest i can see so far in Dublin is 400.

steph86 · 12-05-2012 10:42am

JCJCJC wrote: »

I thought solicitors were obliged by the law society's standard terms to pay the minimum wage to trainees?

yes they are meant to but the only way i could get a tc my boss said he couldnt pay me. I was just thankful to be offered a tc. I'll be working part time in the evening and weekends.

valleyoftheunos · 12-05-2012 10:46am

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

While the prospect of starting into study again after final year exams is a sickner right now,it seems from this thread that you need to do a lot of preparation for these exams.I'm thinking of starting my FE1s in the next session in October.When should I start studying?

If you have been studying law before and have a good grasp of the fundamentals in 3 or 4 of the subjects then I would say you have enough time to give yourself a break for a few weeks but I wouldn't leave it too much longer than that.

If you haven't studied law before you need to get cracking straight away, the syllabi are large and you have an awful lot to cover.

I think that owing to a number of factors there is a significant step up in difficulty between the FE-1s and undergrad finals, it is of course surmountable but the effort required is far greater. you need to cover more and know it better.

I believe the key is to commit to it fully, if you give the exams your all you will get there, from what I've seen half-attempts rarely succeed.

Best of Luck:)

Mojo22 · 12-05-2012 2:26pm

Thanks Steph & Jc.
I really hope that there is some kind of grant available, especially if not getting paid during the TC. A voluntary one is a good idea steph, I will try that

A few more hurdles to cross before getting to Blackhall :rolleyes:

ElleWoods · 12-05-2012 3:13pm

Hi everyone, I'm going to take courses in EU and Constitutional but I'm undecided between Independent and City. I heard that the manuals are shorter in CC and it's also cheaper so I'm leaning towards them. Did anyone take the CC courses in those subjects? Are the manuals as easy to read and understand as Independents? I know it's subjective but which college has the best lecturers in those subjects? I heard the GCD constitutional lecturer is fantastic also, decisions decisions!

Also I would appreciate if someone could send me sample answers in EU, Constitutional, Property and Tort.
I can send Criminal, Contract, Equity and Company in return

DaleWinton · 13-05-2012 4:03pm

Mojo22 wrote: »

Thanks Steph & Jc.
I really hope that there is some kind of grant available, especially if not getting paid during the TC. A voluntary one is a good idea steph, I will try that
A few more hurdles to cross before getting to Blackhall :rolleyes:

I hate to say it but I really think taking on an unpaid TC is not the wisest move for your career. Think about it this way, if they can't afford to pay you a trainees wage, what chance is there that they'll be able to afford to pay you a solicitors wage when you qualify.

You traineeship and who you do it with is probably the most important choice in the development of your career. Plenty of firms may promise you they'll start you in Blackhall in September, as a means of getting cheap labour, but I would say wait, bide your time, apply for paid contracts and your time will come.

Mojo22 · 13-05-2012 10:38pm

Cheers for that Dale

Hopefully it will all work out.

Tea-a-Maria · 14-05-2012 12:04pm

JCJCJC wrote: »

Get hold of some recent past papers and decide how ready you are to meet that standard. Better still, try to get some GCD past questions and sample answers and decide if you are fit to answer to that standard. If you are, then go for as many subjects as you can. You'll be in BHP in Sept of 2013 at the earliest so you have two FE1 sittings between now and then - no real need to kill yourself doing all eight in October 2012 then. Most of us find FE1 exams a little bit tougher than undergrad ones.

Thanks for the advice!I'm just finished a law degree,so hopefully that'll help.Forgive my ignorance,but what do GCD and BHP stand for?

RandolphEsq · 14-05-2012 12:15pm

Letter arrived in the post today giving me an official hard copy of the results I got. Until now I was worried there was a mistake, that I didn't pass all 4, but now it has sunk in.

4 to do, think I am going to start studying the end of June, 2 weeks earlier than I would've started for these 4. Not looking forward to summer studying though.

Robbo · 14-05-2012 12:26pm

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

Thanks for the advice!I'm just finished a law degree,so hopefully that'll help.Forgive my ignorance,but what do GCD and BHP stand for?

Griffith College Dublin and Blackhall Place.

trying to cram · 14-05-2012 12:37pm

RandolphEsq wrote: »

Letter arrived in the post today giving me an official hard copy of the results I got. Until now I was worried there was a mistake, that I didn't pass all 4, but now it has sunk in.

4 to do, think I am going to start studying the end of June, 2 weeks earlier than I would've started for these 4. Not looking forward to summer studying though.

Ha ha - I was the same, I thought they had made a mistake too and waited till this morning to see for sure that I had passed - which I had - awful exams over - finally. Quick question does indentures mean fees? And if so, is it the norm that the student pays them or is it the norm that a firm will?

JCJCJC · 14-05-2012 1:59pm

Robbo wrote: »

Griffith College Dublin and Blackhall Place.

brake horse-power too ;-)

FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

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