[scubacamper]

Hello,

I’ve read several threads on this forum over the last several months and it has been encouraging to a point.

I’m really worried about my exam this Friday – I took my practice exam on the computer and scored a 49 after 3.5 mos of studying.

I’m feeling quite discouraged and have no idea what to expect. I’ve got the next few days off work and I’m trying to study hard but it seems impossible. I am really having a hard time understanding how one is supposed to retain all this information!

Any help/suggestions/encouragement is greatly appreciated!

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[jstay]

when are you taking and what review course are you using?

[scubacamper]

I'm taking it this Friday – 8/29 and I'm using Wiley CPA Excel

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[jstay]

ahhh im on sunday 8/31. i'd say keep hammering out mcq especially on your weak areas. and gov/nfp

[scubacamper]

Have you taken any parts yet?

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[jstay]

nope first one as well

[scubacamper]

A 49 on a practice exam a week out is not a good sign to me. What do you think?

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[jstay]

im not really sure. was it because you made silly mistake like not reading the questions or you just had flat out no idea the answer? how long did it take you?

also, do you know the “correlation” between practice exams and real exams- although its not guaranteed

[gflurry]

I am a CPAexcel user as well. I suggest stop taking practice tests, its a waste of time. Do the MCQ's in study mode so you get the answer right away. Take quick notes on what and why you got the question wrong. I scored a 67 on my first exam(AUD) by just using CPA excel, after receiving that score I bought Ninja MCQ's and increased my score 14 points! Try to understand why you get questions wrong and take notes on that info.

AUD: 67, 81 (NINJA MCQ's ONLY for 2nd Attempt)
FAR: NOT GOOD, LARRY!
REG: ??
BEC: 4/4/2015

"F**K CALM, GET MAD. DESTROY!"

[ijustwant76]

Know your debits and credits. That really helps.

[scubacamper]

One thing that annoys me about CPAExcel is the repetition of the same questions – I really don't learn anything when I can just go back through and blindly pick the right answer due to plain memorization of the answer…

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[Anonymous]

Dictate your handmade flashcards out loud ( or a verbal whisper).

[Kimboroni]

I'm guessing that you may have gone through all of the chapters just once during the 3½ months without going back and reviewing the early parts? It is very hard to remember so much material over such a long period of time, so a 2 week or so review period at the end is vital.

I don't think practice exams are a good idea either. They are scored differently than the real exam, and that can really kill your confidence at a time when you need all of it, and then some. But a 49 is quite low, and probably reflects that you are not ready, I'm sorry to say. It would probably be best to reschedule to October so that you can review everything and gain a lot more confidence with the material. I don't think anyone goes into FAR feeling 100% about it, but a certain amount of confidence is pretty important, and I don't know that you're there yet.

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. 🙂

[maxwillguy]

Just FYI, I have never “passed” a CPAexcel practice exam (used for all 3 sections so far) but I have passed every section in real life so far on the first try. Although I did score higher than 49 each practice. I find the CPAexcel practice exams to be much more difficult than the real thing.

Speaking of which, I have to go take the practice test for BEC right now! Last (hopefully) exam on Saturday…

FAR - Passed (2/14)
REG - Passed (5/14)
Audit - Passed (8/14)
BEC - 8/31

[scubacamper]

Kim – thank you for your candid feedback and honesty; I value it greatly.

While I don't feel prepared, I'm still gonna hammer it out and give it a go on Friday. I've already made non-reversible decisions regarding this exam and really don't have the time to re-schedule.

I admit that my study habits to this point have probably not been real effective, but this being the first time, I somewhat expected to not pass.

I think the biggest thing at this point will just be experiencing the real thing, so I know what to expect.

I started by making sure each section was “green” before moving on, but it was taking up so much time that I switched to just blowing through each topic, to make sure I at least touched each one.

Now, I'm going back and addressing the “red” sections.

I REALLY hope to pass as I can't afford to keep paying $500 for each attempt, but I'm pretty sure this will just be an expensive lesson to be learned. :/

B TBD
A TBD
R 57
F 62, 70, 65

[h1522gq]

Make sure that you try the AICPA sample test before Friday.

https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/forcandidates/tutorialandsampletest/pages/exam_tutorial_parallel.aspx

And make sure that you know your journal entries backwards and forwards. If you get stuck, knowing the JEs will help you out.

Good luck!

FAR - 83
BEC - 8/2014
AUD - 10/2014
REG - 11/2014

[Author]

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