Hating BEC

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Hating BEC

14 posts from 12 voices

Started 2 years ago by glutenator
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glutenator

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On chapters 1 and 2, I was getting 80% or better on first try of homeworks (better than my 60% on all the REG homework). Now I'm in chapter 3 and doing horribly. Looks to be all downhill from here. Need to decide if I put off the Nov 30th date. Problem is, as you all know, then I'm stuck waiting until next window, which sets back my schedule and causes me to drag out this studying. Ugh.

I'll Pass Eventually
REG (67, 66), BEC (79), FAR (5/26/10), AUD (August 2010)
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Posted 2 years ago #
kris7179

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Glutenator - I am in the same boat. Using Becker material & I am finding the explanations to the question answers not very supportive. I am going to push ahead with my test date of 11/29 and hope that I can get through chapters 4 & 5 in the next week & have a full week to go through all my marked questions and hopefully a practice exam. I was having the same results with homework problems, scoring in 80s, then started going downhill. All the chapters are so different, some easier to understand than others I believe. Good luck.

AUD (8/19/09) - 84, REG (10/8/09) - 63 retake (3/8/10), BEC (1/11/10)- 68, FAR (tbd)

Posted 2 years ago #
WICPAHOPEFUL

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I felt the same as both of you and I was so ready to give up because I thought there was no way I would remember all of the information for this exam. I also used Becker and found the ?s to be ALOT harder than the actual exam. I left almost 2 weeks to review after I finished the lectures and I felt really good when I left the exam. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! We'll see once I get my score.....who knows when that will be since I live in WI and they take FOREVER. Keep plugging away and I think you will both be fine. Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
ginabiniCT

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glutenator and kris- I would HIGHLY recommend the Yaeger Cram for BEC. They explain things in a much different way than Becker, and using the two systems together is what got me an 84 on BEC this past window. It will ship in just a few days, so you should have it in time for your exams. It's definitely worth the investment!!

REG(92) - FAR(82) - BEC(84) - AUD(11/23)

Posted 2 years ago #
Cowpatty

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do the cram and work alot of problems from all over.......cpareviewforfree did not help with this section too much for me......but let me just say.....some things you might not have in your study material....so use logic when faced with that situation......keep your head in the game....don't get all twisted and confused

Aud 76 Bec 76 Reg 83 Far 2/27/2010

Posted 2 years ago #
CPAoriented

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That's my feeling about BEC - pure hatred. My friends keep telling me it's the easiest part but I'm still struggling. Anyway, I'm not changing my schedule and going this Sat. Will see...

Posted 2 years ago #
ineedadrink

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glut and kris:
Don't fret -- Becker's chapter 3 is definitely the worst of the five. I got a little panicked with all the formulas, too, but push through to chs. 4 and 5 and they aren't nearly as bad. I'm not sure how old you are, but if you've grown up with computers, the IT stuff in ch. 4 is pretty logical. ... And if you've ever studied managerial or cost at all, ch. 5 is a pretty broad overview.

Maybe I shouldn't give advice since I'm not taking the test til tomorrow and I can't compare Becker to the exam, but I would say definitely wait til you make it all the way through the book before postponing your test.

REG: 76 (would have lost credit 5/31)
AUD: 71, 78
BEC: 74, 81
FAR: 74, 61, 66, 69, 75 DONE

Posted 2 years ago #
HopeToPassOneDayFL

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CPAoriented...BEC is considered the easiest of the four parts, but by no means do I feel it will be easy. I am taking the exam next Monday (Nov 30) and the five sections feels like I am cramming for five different courses. The BEC feels like it is a catch all that didn't make it on the other three.

FAR - 69 (Feb '10), AUD - 59 (Jan '10), BEC - 80, REG (Q2 '10)

Posted 2 years ago #
Anna

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Trust me - Becker definitely over-prepares you on chapters 3 and 5. Do your best, but don't go crazy about them - there is no way you get those 1 page fact patterns on real exam.
Of course, I studied finance and cost accounting somewhat more than other sections, and on real exam it felt like I over-studied.
Yet, i never did more than low 60's on Becker final exams for BEC.
Advice: don't underestimate IT - on actual exam they test it heavily and with very precise specifics. I'm certain than even though I thought I was weak in finance and cost accounting before I took the exam - I ended up knowing these topics better than IT and partnership laws.... Becker takes care of that:-)

BEC (82), AUD (86), FARE (75) => Becker 2009
REG (74),(74),(83) => Yaeger HS & Audio

Posted 2 years ago #
glutenator

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Thanks for the advice. I finished the book, did all the homework, and feel confident about chapters 1, 2 and 4, but 3&5 are killing me. I can't do well on them. I'm going to literally do question after question, and write down any formulas provided in the answers and rationale (The answers do a better job at concisely giving formulas then the book does within the chapters).

I'll Pass Eventually
REG (67, 66), BEC (79), FAR (5/26/10), AUD (August 2010)

Posted 2 years ago #
PACPAHopeful

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I'm sitting for BEC in the AM and having a hard time with Becker Chapters 3 and 5 as well. Just trying to go through and ration out every MC that I get wrong. Hoping that's enough to get me through it.

Posted 2 years ago #
Lee_IN

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Glutenator/PACPAHopeful

I would agree with Anna's assessment. I took BEC last Thursday and used Becker study material. I took the Becker Practice Final Exams and bomb royally (56% & 63%). I had trouble with Ch 3 & 5 with all the formulas. I just concentrated on the formulas and must have watch the lecture on Variances in Ch 5 half dozen times. I am more of an audio/visual learner instead of reading. Having said all of this my exam was far easier than either of Becker Practice Final Exam and I walked out of the test center feeling like nothing on the exam was out in left field except one IT question.

Good Luck.

Becker - FAR 80, AUD 73, 81, BEC 76, REG 81 (2010) DONE!!!! IN LICENSED CPA

Posted 2 years ago #
Rski

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For Becker ch 5 I was having a bit of trouble with the FIFO and weighted avg. questions. You know the the MCs where there's about 6 - 8 questions all on the same set of info? I printed those out and did all the FIFO and then all the weighted avg so that I could see step by step what I was doing. That really helped me out.

Also for variances I wrote out the little charts |_____|_____|_____| and wrote the formulas above each line. I refered to that for the first few questions trying by myself. I think that helped a bit. And after you use the formulas a few times and your looking at your chart, I think it helped me rember the order of the formulas and what went where.

Posted 2 years ago #
glutenator

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My only issue with Becker was that they didn't clearly give you the formulas in an easily identifiable place. When I studied, I went through the whole book and wrote down all the formulas, and had trouble finding some that simply didn't stand out on the page.

I'll Pass Eventually
REG (67, 66), BEC (79), FAR (5/26/10), AUD (August 2010)

Posted 2 years ago #