Patrick Dunne Geraghty ACII of Aviva earned his ACII designation in less than 12 months. We spoke to him to hear his advice on balancing studying towards an advanced qualification with the pressures of work and family life.

When you are studying towards any qualification, knowing your learning style can help you get off to the best start possible. We have created this quiz to help you identify your learning style and find out which of our study supports will work best for you.

When it comes to an exam, all students know that every single mark counts. Good exam technique and precise time management can be the difference between passing and failing, and all too often these are the areas where students tend to miss out on the opportunity to gain more marks.

Creating and sticking to a study plan can be difficult, particularly when you're trying to balance this with a busy home and work life. Whether you're facing the first exam you’ve sat in a while or you’re a seasoned student, knowing how to make a plan that fits in with your schedule is a key first step towards achieving success.

There are few things in life more disappointing than realising you’ve been unsuccessful in an exam.

There could be any number of reasons you didn’t pass. Covid of course is still having an impact on all of our lives, or maybe you were experiencing a personal difficulty that hindered your ability to study over the last few months. Perhaps your work schedule was so jam-packed that you didn’t have as much time to revise as you would have liked. Or maybe you can hold your hand up and say that you didn’t put in enough effort this time.

When studying towards any qualification, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The long evenings and weekends you give up to read textbooks, make notes and take mock exams can feel frustrating and never-ending. However, as you pass each exam and draw closer to your qualification, remember that there is plenty to look forward to beyond gaining extra letters after your name.

When you register for any qualification, it's perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin – particularly if you're planning on studying while you work. Getting organised and planning your time is the key to success and helps to relieve some of the stress, so it's important to prepare for the next few months.

Frantic study, mini mocks, brain straining to retain every detail, a little more study... Yep, that’s me a couple of days before the exam.

As I try to keep everything on track with the day job and with so much going through my mind before entering the exam hall, my thought process isn’t always the clearest.  Let’s face it, as a man multi-tasking may not be my thing, so I‘ve put together a quick checklist to avoid turning up at the exam hall and having a panic over something vital that I’ve forgotten. 

We’re always looking for ways to achieve the best result possible in exams – whether that’s perfecting your study habits, creating a detailed study plan, asking for advice from mentors at work or getting up a half an hour early to fit in some revision. However, just as you are preparing your mind in the weeks before your exam, you also have to start preparing your body. Long exams are like mental marathons in which endurance is critical, and what you eat and drink can drastically affect your exam performance.

So here we are in the final sprint to the finish line...

For those of us sitting exams, there are a mere seven days until the exam hall beckons. I don't know about you, but for me it feels a bit...aarrrgghhh!!! I feel like the kid in the back of the car asking 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet?' Well, we really are nearly there and I for one am looking forward to getting the show on the road.