I liked a lot post from Sarah because I am in the same situation = I did my manual and computerised bookkeeping Level 2 (+ payroll still on-going) and after useful advice (also discussed on this forum) I decided to continue with Level 3. (I realised that even if I will choose my own path as self-employed I will need knowledge from Level 3 definitely.).
I used to study distance learning till now but I realised that all that money which I did pay to provider was just waste of my money because I did my study during the nights (when my family was sleeping) and on my knees during the day brakes in my full-time job. I did not feel any extra support from my tutors I mean 98% was my hard study and rest tutors pointing on the pages in books and marking my assignments
So please will you be so kind and can one more time explain to me how does it work to study as EXTERNAL CANDIDATE??? (Is it just to buy cheaper studying materials via lets say e-bay, doing my study alone =what I am doing this practically now anyway and pay for my exams? + I believe that even in this case I still need to be registered with some professional body, organisation .)
As I look at this I can save this way huge amount of money
You need to a student member of the AAT to take AAT exams. For most modules, you can pay with certain providers to sit an exam as an external candidate, that is you're just paying for the exam (and any admin fee). To do this, you have to buy any study material, i.e. books, separately. This way, you're not paying for any tutor support and since you're choosing any books on your own, you're not bound to whatever publisher your training provider decides to use.
You can search for an assessment venue that accept external candidate inside MyAAT. Each entry will also list which modules they accept exam only.
