mrs.jadecpagonnabe
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Hey all-
I AM WONDERING FOR THOSE WHO USED BECKER AND FAILED OR PASSED BEC, WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR PASSING BEC? In other words, what is the best way to tackle this beast and PASS. I have 6 wks to prepare, and from what I hear Beckers coverage of BEC is weak. It is too late for me to switch materials, however, I would love to hear some advice!!!
Please help!
cpa journey
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mrs.jadecpagonnabe
Becker covers the material. The reason I did not pass the first time is that I had not reviewed prior chapters to keep the information fresh in my mind. In reviewing the prior chapters I ran out of time and did not practice MCQ for Chapter 5.
In hind sight:
As you cover the chapters continue to do 20 MCQ practice tests for previous chapters DAILY.
Get examples of the key calculations and practice these problems - pay attention to what you are actually doing
Write down the formulas
Check out which parts of the exam are tested heavier
The Becker material will tell you that many of the more difficult problems come from the CMA exam - they are good learning tolls - but it is not likely you will see a 5 -8 minute problem on your test
Practice using the pop up calculator - my first test was heavy on calculations and I felt the time pressue during the entire exam
Hope this helps
SeanM
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I used becker and passed BEC with an 85. I think that their coverage of Cost Accounting is a little weak (but that could just be the fact that I have never been able to understand cost accounting), but overall I found it good. 6 weeks with Becker should be plenty of time to prepare, just work and re-work the mcq and you should be fine.
DocHalladay
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Becker's materials aren't "weak" by any stretch. I found the exam to be much easier than anything on the Becker software; I felt very well prepared going into the exam. Just practice the problems and understand the concepts for Chapters 3 & 5. I would recommend knowing the IT like the back of your hand, though.
VTHokie13
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I prepared for BEC with Becker in 2 weeks and was worried I needed more time. After taking the exam, I felt more than prepared. I studied 6 to 8 hours a day for 2 weeks. First went over all of the videos and highlighted the book. Then did the homework after watching each video section. Then after finishing the book, I went over all the homework questions again. After that I just focused in on the chapter 3 and 5 things that I was struggling with and nailed them down. The exam did not have questions nearly as hard as Becker. Most of the really hard problems Becker gave never showed up. Becker final exams felt like they were half medium and half hard questions. The actual thing felt like 85% medium and 15% hard. Not sure of my score but I certainly felt like it was a breeze compared to Becker.
My situation has been strange, and that may or may not help you. I initially started with Becker for all 4 parts, passing the "other 3" on my first try. BEC has been a COMPLETELY different story though...I have failed BEC 6 times now (grades ranged from 65-70). After the 5th, i went out and purchased the Yaeger Homestudy after it was so highly spoken of on this site. Of course, just my luck i failed again (taking # 7 at end of July). However, I will say that Yaeger seems to me to be better at explaining "Chapters 3 & 5." Also, the Wiley book that comes with Yaeger has a great amount of supplemental questions. Ultimately, Becker works for a large amount of poeple, so there is no reason to think it wont work for you if you put in the time and effort. If you do feel like you need additional materials, Wiley seems like a good choice.
My exam analysis has been helpful to an extent. Unfortunately I am not too consistent. One test I did real poor in cost and then the next test, i did much better in cost but worse on finance, always resulting in a fail. Strangely (i think), I am much stronger on computational questions, which must be a product of memorizing the formulas hundreds of times. At this point, I am trying to get a better understanding of the concepts so I can easily handle the theory questions. And thanks for the prayers....i need all the praying i can get. I cant afford to fail again, mostly because I will lose AUD...
cpa journey
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Gleim has a test bank of MCQ that may help if you need fresh MCQ - there is a study & test session. I like them because they seem to give you more opportunities to see questions, different formats. It is not very expensive - online purchase with immedite access for about $60..
Let us know your test date
Passed with Becker BEC first shot with a 93. Do the lecture and homework for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th class once and then keep it fresh using progress tests. Focus much of your time on 3 & 5. The homework in those two sections are rougher than what I saw on the actual exam.
CPSU75
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Hi Dale-
Congrats on passing BEC the first time! I'm studying this section now using Roger... what topics are you referring to? I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the formulas and material we need to know. I've gone through entities, economics, and I am working on financial management information. I heard IT is heavily tested and financial. Any advice would be helpful... hoping to take exam in August. Congrats on being done!!
jjsmith25
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I think you will do well. Just study the Becker BEC materials, and you will do fine. I took my first BEC class today, found it to be boring, same exact material as in the Becker lectures. Anyways, study the MCQ's and go over the material, which should be sufficient. I have a friend who studied for three weeks, freaked out, and eventually got a 77. Really smart guy.Well, i gotta go, Peace, Love, and Good Luck on your exam. I am going to smoke some weed and then study.
Joemark
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I just started Becker's BEC material. Man, it took like 20 minutes for me to adjust to the new intructor (just finished using their AUD material). Obviously the material is completely different than AUD, but the instructors have a totally different way of teaching (at least so far). I am 6 1/2 weeks out and nervous after reading all of the different opinions on here.
I stink at cost accounting. God i hope this material clicks!
cpa journey
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Joemark
Yes, the instructor styles are different. Peter will grow on you. The ECON section is well - just as exciting as econ was in college. No way to make that stuff fun - in my opinion. It is a good thing it is only tested about 8-10% on the exam.
The material is diverse - just keep doing practice tests over previous chapters, keep examples of the "key" calculations and practice them and you will do fine. Look at the test breakout and focus on where the major points are (Chapters 3, 4 & 5) Chaper 1 & 2 you need to go over but they are not as heavily tested.
Also, the Becker material will tell you some of the more complex examples come from the CMA exam and are more difficult than what you will see on the exam. They are good to drive home the concepts.
Good luck!
MPoni123
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i agree with you 75 CPA. Yaeger is definitely the way to go for BEC...i just took it for the third time on Monday and actually just ordered Yaeger homestudy for FAR as well (even though I already paid for Becker 2010 FAR material!) Oh well, I need to go with what works and Yaeger does a far better job of actually explaining concepts so you can apply those to the exam. That is the way I felt during my BEC exam - I actually knew what to do on most of the calculation questions! I don't wanna chance it for FAR. I am looking forward to Cindy again lol
MPoni123
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I think the thing with Becker for BEC is that the multiple choice questions are literally ridiculous. The exam questions are NO where near as hard as the Becker ones...so I feel it wasted my time. I was so stressed trying to understand how they arrived at some convoluted answer that I think it took away from what the main concept was. It honestly confused me!
MPoni123
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We are taking FAR the same day! What state are you testing in? I am in Mass. I am also waiting on my BEC score (3rd time). I am waiting on my Yaeger material to get here..just ordered it today. It will be a LONG 5.5 weeks but hopefully it is my last section. I am glad I have all you guys to share this experience with me. It makes it way more bearable!
cpa journey
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MPoni123
TX here. When will the Yeager material arrive? Glad to be taking the test with so many others too! Hopefully,we nailed BEC this time. Did you start studying with Becker for FAR or just switched to Yeager? Our scores in the same range - can Ihope for a 90 in REG too? Do you work in taxes?
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