Estonian courses or self-study?

This is not a choice between two camps. A course and self-study cover different things, and the exam needs both.

What a course gives you

• Someone who corrects you. You cannot see your own mistake in writing — if you could, it would not be a mistake.
• Someone to talk to. The speaking part is a conversation with a live person, and no solo drill replaces one.
• A fixed slot in the calendar. Most plans fail on the calendar, not on the difficulty.

What a course does not give you

A course follows a syllabus, not your weakest part. If your problem is listening and the group spends the week on grammar, the time is well spent — just not where you are losing marks.

What self-study gives you

• You drill exactly the part that came back lowest in the mock.
• You practise when you have time, as often as you need.
• A full-length timed paper can only be done alone — no lesson runs three hours without a break.

How to combine them

The pattern that usually works is simple: a course or a conversation partner for speaking and for feedback on your writing, self-study for listening and reading, and one full-length mock a week to say which half needs more time.

Start by sitting one full-length mock and reading the result part by part. Before that, neither you nor any teacher knows what you actually need to buy. The rest of the plan is in the preparation guide, and choosing between levels is in the levels guide.

What it costs and who pays

We name no school and no price here — they change, and a list that has gone stale is worse than none. If some body may pay for your course, ask the body that would be paying for its conditions, and ask in writing before you enrol rather than after.