[Lukedavidhopkins1]

I want to take STEP 1 and 2 next year so that's just under a year to prepare left. When do you suggest I start, with what, and how do I go about it?

[Farhan.Hanif93]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I want to take STEP 1 and 2 next year so that's just under a year to prepare left. When do you suggest I start, with what, and how do I go about it?

Once you've got C4 under your belt, just start working through papers. I didn't bother with the Siklos booklet and it didn't really affect me at all, if I'm being honest.

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by Farhan.Hanif93)
Once you've got C4 under your belt, just start working through papers. I didn't bother with the Siklos booklet and it didn't really affect me at all, if I'm being honest.

I did C4 about a month and half ago so should I start soonish then? I want to do STEP III at some point as well, can you take all three in one year? I've heard some people recently have done so.

[jameswhughes]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I did C4 about a month and half ago so should I start soonish then? I want to do STEP III at some point as well, can you take all three in one year? I've heard some people recently have done so.

Yes, by all means start soon, start with a small amount then gradually build it up. I did all three papers this year, it is possible, longest week of school you'll ever have.

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by jameswhughes)
Yes, by all means start soon, start with a small amount then gradually build it up. I did all three papers this year, it is possible, longest week of school you'll ever have.

I am thinking about doing all three just if I can get the further pure units finished soon then I can start prep for III as well what's a small amount then because there aren't THAT many past papers for a whole years worth of work?

[Farhan.Hanif93]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I want to do STEP III at some point as well, can you take all three in one year? I've heard some people recently have done so.

You can do all three but it's probably not the recommended course of action for someone in year 12. Taking STEP I in year 12 was pushing me as far as I could go at the time and I am pretty confident that I wouldn't have been able to make good grades in all 3 papers back then.

If you think you can handle it, by all means try it but make sure you make this decision much closer to the time you're taking the exams as you would have done enough STEP to make an informed choice. It's quite likely to be much harder than you're expecting it to be.

[jameswhughes]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I am thinking about doing all three just if I can get the further pure units finished soon then I can start prep for III as well what's a small amount then because there aren't THAT many past papers for a whole years worth of work?

Hmmm...an hour a day perhaps? Realistically there are plenty of questions, you would have to be an absolute machine to complete all the STEP past questions, it's not like A-Levels where you can do all the past papers within a few days.

EDIT: By complete I do mean over 2 years like Farhan has said, you may think you have loads of time but it's not like that at all.

[Farhan.Hanif93]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I am thinking about doing all three just if I can get the further pure units finished soon then I can start prep for III as well what's a small amount then because there aren't THAT many past papers for a whole years worth of work?

Trust me, it's very unlikely that you will get anywhere close to finishing all the papers over 2 years of work.

[jonnyboy1993]

I know Farhan has said not to bother with the Siklos booklet, but you have plenty of time to prepare, and there's only so many papers. I would recommend looking at the Siklos booklet and trying a few of the questions, then comparing his solution to what you did. Some of it may seem trivial, but that's how I started and it definitely helped adjust me to the style of thinking STEP wants. It made my first attempt at a paper seem far more manageable and was generally a nice way to start my STEP preparation.

[jameswhughes]

As to whether it's a good idea to do all 3 papers, I'm not really sure, it was a lot to do in 1 week, and I hate to think what grades I'll be receiving in August

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by Farhan.Hanif93)
You can do all three but it's probably not the recommended course of action for someone in year 12. Taking STEP I in year 12 was pushing me as far as I could go at the time and I am pretty confident that I wouldn't have been able to make good grades in all 3 papers back then.

If you think you can handle it, by all means try it but make sure you make this decision much closer to the time you're taking the exams as you would have done enough STEP to make an informed choice. It's quite likely to be much harder than you're expecting it to be.

I do know how difficult it can be and I'm far from certain what I'm going to do but as you said I'll decide closer to the time. How long does it take to do a single paper fully then?

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by jameswhughes)
As to whether it's a good idea to do all 3 papers, I'm not really sure, it was a lot to do in 1 week, and I hate to think what grades I'll be receiving in August

I'll see closer to application time whether I think I could

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by jonnyboy1993)
I know Farhan has said not to bother with the Siklos booklet, but you have plenty of time to prepare, and there's only so many papers. I would recommend looking at the Siklos booklet and trying a few of the questions, then comparing his solution to what you did. Some of it may seem trivial, but that's how I started and it definitely helped adjust me to the style of thinking STEP wants. It made my first attempt at a paper seem far more manageable and was generally a nice way to start my STEP preparation.

I have got the Siklos booklets just I've been hearing mixed opinions about whether they're worth the time

[Farhan.Hanif93]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I do know how difficult it can be and I'm far from certain what I'm going to do but as you said I'll decide closer to the time. How long does it take to do a single paper fully then?

Well, I can't possibly say without knowing you and your maths personally.

It took me well over a week to kill off about 6 or 7 questions on my first paper (to be fair, this was with the time constraints provided by College work/Call of Duty).

The best way to find out is to try it yourself. Try the STEP I 2010 paper (apparently, one of the easiest of all time).

[jameswhughes]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I do know how difficult it can be and I'm far from certain what I'm going to do but as you said I'll decide closer to the time. How long does it take to do a single paper fully then?

You get 3 hours, but you don't 'complete' it as you do with regular exams, e.g if you gave me the the whole day, then I could answer more questions. Start your preparation by just choosing questions, then move onto papers and timing.

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by Farhan.Hanif93)
Well, I can't possibly say without knowing you and your maths personally.

It took me well over a week to kill off about 6 or 7 questions on my first paper (to be fair, this was with the time constraints provided by College work/Call of Duty).

The best way to find out is to try it yourself. Try the STEP I 2010 paper (apparently, one of the easiest of all time).

Ok I'll start with that one soon then I do want 1's or even S's if I can pull it off as it'd stand me in good stead for all uni applications and I'd just be happy with the achievement

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by jameswhughes)
You get 3 hours, but you don't 'complete' it as you do with regular exams, e.g if you gave me the the whole day, then I could answer more questions. Start your preparation by just choosing questions, then move onto papers and timing.

Yeah I've looked into it something like 3 hours, 13 questions, 4 fully is good, 5 is almost certainly a 1 and six or more generally complete is S I've been going through all the threads lol

[jonnyboy1993]

(Original post by Lukedavidhopkins1)
I have got the Siklos booklets just I've been hearing mixed opinions about whether they're worth the time

I wouldn't recommend doing all of both of them. But, seeing as you have almost a year to prepare, I'm just suggesting doing a few questions from them to get the ball rolling, that way you can look at how you answer compared to how Siklos sets out his solution. It's just a nice easy way to get into the world of STEP preparation rather than jumping straight in. You won't gain a lot from the booklets, but it could help your confidence with STEP before you start, you'll probably find that STEP will knock your confidence at times, but if you persevere it's very rewarding.

[Lukedavidhopkins1]

(Original post by jonnyboy1993)
I wouldn't recommend doing all of both of them. But, seeing as you have almost a year to prepare, I'm just suggesting doing a few questions from them to get the ball rolling, that way you can look at how you answer compared to how Siklos sets out his solution. It's just a nice easy way to get into the world of STEP preparation rather than jumping straight in. You won't gain a lot from the booklets, but it could help your confidence with STEP before you start, you'll probably find that STEP will knock your confidence at times, but if you persevere it's very rewarding.

Thanks I'll try that then thanks for the advice, I'll probably start next week

[Extricated]

(Original post by Farhan.Hanif93)
Well, I can't possibly say without knowing you and your maths personally.

It took me well over a week to kill off about 6 or 7 questions on my first paper (to be fair, this was with the time constraints provided by College work/Call of Duty).

The best way to find out is to try it yourself. Try the STEP I 2010 paper (apparently, one of the easiest of all time).

lol