When planning your CIMA studies, the first thing we would recommend you do is decide which sitting you wish to attempt your Case Study exam in and then work backwards to decide on when to sit your Objective Test subjects.
There are a few different ways you can choose to do this.
One subject at time
Studying 1 subject every 3 months allows you to focus on one subject at a time which you may find beneficial as you progress to the higher level subjects. This example shows how your progress through the Management level might look like if you are ready to start it in quarter 1 of a year and want to study the level over 12 months.
Flexible study with a break
If you wished to have a bit more flexibility through the year and vary the number of subjects that you take each sitting, either to allow for peak times in work or important events in your personal life, you are still able to sit 4 exams a year but incorporate a break. For example, you could sit two subjects in quarter 1, one in quarter 2 and Case Study in quarter 4. This would mean you are still sitting 4 exams in a year, but you have time for a summer holiday.
Fast track
If you wanted to fast track through a level then you can opt to sit more than one subject per quarter. This means you can complete the level faster to then move on to the next level.
Study at your own pace
With our OT courses starting frequently throughout the year, you can move on to the next level whenever you are ready once you have completed the previous level.
For example, if you completed your OCS exam in May and wanted to move on to the Management level straight away, then you can attend the course for your first OT in Q3 following through to the case study in the May the following year.
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