u/Past_Platypus8594

First time sitting FE1s. Is it too late to start studying full time for 4 exams now?

Hi all,

Sitting four FE1s (EU, Property, Contract, and Equity) for the first time in October and trying to put together a proper study plan starting now. I've done a good bit of reading around the subreddit but a lot of the advice is fragmented across threads, so I wanted to ask everything in one place, both for my own benefit and hopefully as a useful resource for others in the same position.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out:

1. Curriculum
   Where is the official curriculum actually set out? Do the prep course providers effectively define what's examinable through their manuals? Are there topics that technically appear on the syllabus but are never examined in practice?

2. Prep courses
   For someone working full-time from September, is a course genuinely necessary, or is it more of a useful supplement to self-study? Do the live/recorded lectures add much beyond what's in the manuals, or are the manuals largely sufficient if you work through them properly? Is it subject-dependent, e.g. are some of the four I'm sitting more course-dependent than others?

3. Notes and manuals
   If going the self-study route (or supplementing a course), what materials are people actually using? Is buying second hand manuals the norm? Are older manuals still usable given legislative updates, and if so, how do you identify what's changed? For people who make their own notes, whats your starting point?

4. Legislation
   This is one I haven't seen clearly addressed - what legislation do you actually need, and in what format? Whats allowed in terms of tabbing or marking the legislation before hand, and do you need all of whats allowed or just segments.

5. Past papers and exam technique
   How central are past papers to preparation? I've heard that examiners change in some subjects and the papers have changed as a result. Is there a clear pattern to what comes up, or does it vary significantly session to session? Any advice on structure and technique for the essays specifically - are these more like undergraduate law exams or do they have their own style?

6. Things I wouldn't think to ask
   This is the one I'm most conscious of for my first set of exams. What are the practical things like admin, registration deadlines, exam day logistics, common mistakes, that people only find out the hard way? Anything that isn't obvious from the outside looking in would be genuinely useful.

Appreciate any input, especially from people who've sat these four subjects specifically.