[SIR AGE]

Hey all,

I’m new to the forum, but have been a viewer for a bit. I’m searching for your opinions on where I stand. I managed to pass AUD with 2 weeks of studying and have allotted myself 4 weeks to study for FAR, which I will take on July 3rd. Since I knew I was crammed for time I ditched the becker lectures and book and dove right into the MCQ’s.

I managed to make it through everything once, minus SIMs, and have been in my review stage for a few days now. I’ve been doing progress tests as my review at a pace of about 200 MCQs a day. My scores have been ranging from 70-85%. However, I find myself doing a bit of guessing or not feeling confident in my answer. I’m catching myself forgetting small details such as the exceptions to the general rules or the fact that bond issue costs are deducted from the carrying value under IFRS and amortized.

I’m beginning to feel worried that I do not know the material as well as I should. I’m also worried that my lack of practicing sims is going to hinder me come exam day. Do you guys think I should feel good about it or do you have any suggestions for my last week of studying?

Thanks!

AUD: 5/27 82!
FAR: 7/3 80!
REG: 7/21 76!
BEC: 8/8 78!

[Anonymous]

It's possible, but not preferable.

I also passed AUD after two weeks of studying and took FAR the day after AUD. Probably put in about 3 weeks on FAR and stopped studying two weeks out to study for AUD- got a 73 on FAR and a 77 on AUD. I REALLY wish studied two points less for AUD and two points more for FAR.

I like to think I could have found another 2 points had I been able to get in another week to make it four.

That all being said, I would recommend taking five or six weeks if you can. It's nice to have a little cushion in case something needs attention. At four weeks, you're really shooting for perfection.

[Anonymous]

I should add that I've never done a sim. Ever.

I'm all about reading the material once, then MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ. MCQ.

[SIR AGE]

haha well I'm sure you'll nail FAR this time! Thanks for your input. I also agree with you that practicing SIMs doesn't add much value as opposed to doing more MCQ. I gave myself 10 days to review and figured at 200 a day, 2000 should be more than sufficient to see me through!

AUD: 5/27 82!
FAR: 7/3 80!
REG: 7/21 76!
BEC: 8/8 78!

[Kimboroni]

With SIMs at 40% of the score, practicing SIMs could make the difference between passing the first time and not quite making it. I prefer to err on the side of caution and overprepare by practicing them.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[kpb]

2 weeks for AUD and 3 weeks for FAR? where do you people live/reside/work? man I am so jealous. I wish i could pass allmy exams with that LITTLE amount of time. gosh. 🙁 props to you guys!

BEC - 81 4/08/14
FAR - 80 8/25/14 Thank you Jesus!
REG - 69 (Nov 14),80 1/08/15 Thank God!
AUD - 70 (May 14), xx 5/1/15

Becker Online & Becker Flashcards
I definitely wish I was one of those people who got all 4 exams done in 4 months, but unfortunately LIFE (being a newlywed, stress, adjusting to newlywed life and cpa exam study life, as well as starting a job with a Big4 which I am very happy about) got in the way, just happy that I am passing period!!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

[RIST]

TC, are you me? I just took AUD in a short time and pivoted to FAR.

I am taking FAR on July 3rd and I have alloted it 4 weeks (and a couple of days). I am comfortable-ish

I feel like I do some educated guessing like you, but I obliterated the first practice final (over an 85) so I'm feeling better now.

A little about me: I have terrible study habits, but I make myself do two things:

-I do all the sims (even if I cheat on them but checking answers partway to keep me on track and such)

-I do all of the practice final exams. Just 1 more left and I've done all 8 of them!!!!!

[SIR AGE]

Sounds like we are on similar paths RIST! What-a coincidence! I've done a bunch of the practice final exams as well. 85 is better than I've done on them. I just keep hammering away at the MCQ hoping one of these days my brain will remember the concepts haha. I always manage to pull off good scores on the progress tests though. Perhaps, I'm becoming a good guesser.

AUD: 5/27 82!
FAR: 7/3 80!
REG: 7/21 76!
BEC: 8/8 78!

[JamesBJames]

Keep in mind that almost everyone does better on the actual exam than they do on the practice tests. There's a topic where I ran regressions on posted scores (https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/post-your-becker-final-score-vs-actual-score/page/2#post-428926). Even something like a 60 on the practice exams correlates to a good chance at Prometric.

With regard to the topic, sure, 4 weeks is enough. I haven't seen many people who ignore the book and the lecture, but if you can learn from the MCQs it's certainly possible to get a solid framework in a month.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[Mamabear]

I skipped the lectures and ditched the book after reading half of the chapters. Focused solely on Ninja Notes/Audio, Becker Outline Notes, and the MCQ. I would read a section of notes and then do all the MCQ related to that section and continue in the same manner to the next section. Then right before I would start a new section I took a miniquiz of 20 or 30 MCQ on all prior sections I had studied just to stay fresh on them. Just make sure you leave time for review of all sections. You want to make sure you see each topic shortly before the test. I suggest making one page of notes of the “memorization” items to scan right before your test. before you log in at your computer on test day, jot as much of that information down on your white board as you can so you can empty your mind of all that stuff and focus on the concept stuff that requires comprehension and not memorization. It's a lot of material and don't skip over anything.

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[SIR AGE]

Thats a great idea! I think i'll put that sheet together here shorty. As I'm getting tired of seeing MCQ I guess I could devote some more time and attention to the sims. It can't hurt right?

AUD: 5/27 82!
FAR: 7/3 80!
REG: 7/21 76!
BEC: 8/8 78!

[TiffaNiffaNi]

Hi Mamabear,

I like your idea of 1 page of memorization notes. Are these journal entries or mnemonics or…?

FAR: 7/17/14- 79
AUD: 8/20/14- 91
REG: 10/1/14- 88
BEC: 11/10/14- 85

Becker Self-Study

[supercpa11]

yes 4 weeks of pounding is better then 8 wks of ok studying with no intensity…I did Far in 4 wks and got an 84

[SIR AGE]

thanks supercpa!! do you mind me asking what your strategy was??

AUD: 5/27 82!
FAR: 7/3 80!
REG: 7/21 76!
BEC: 8/8 78!

[Mamabear]

@Tiffa–Both. Bascially anything that is strictly memorization: Formulas, Mneumonics, JEs. Just make sure you understand the concepts behind it though. There isn't much point in memorizing a JE unless you know why you have to do the JE that way or how to calculate the amounts. It really was just a quick reference guide of things that I was having trouble remembering during my studies that I wanted to be sure to look at right before the exam.

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Author]

Replies