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September 28, 2014 at 9:39 pm #188970AnonymousInactive
What are everyone’s thoughts on this?
Do all of you do something as simple as review Ninja Notes/Audio or cram a ton of MCQ until the very last minute?
I obviously know not to stay up late and get a good night of sleep, but I was just curious to see what all of you do the night before an exam…
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September 28, 2014 at 10:13 pm #610870KimboroniMember
I take it pretty easy and generally review notes. I might also do flashcards or take a couple of notes to look at right before I walk into the exam. I try to avoid anything that will sap confidence like MCQs.
I also always do something physical and completely non-exam-related like take a Zumba class or go salsa dancing for a bit. It's good for the brain.
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. đŸ™‚
September 28, 2014 at 10:28 pm #610871umkcfuturecpaMemberDay before the exam (at least the two I've taken, and plan on doing this Thursday night as well) I usually do a ton of MCQs until I get tired. Once I feel like my brain is no longer processing the info, I stop for the night. Then I watch a movie, or a TV show, and get to bed early. I've been scheduling my exams for the noon-ish time slots so that I can get up in the AM and take a final practice exam and do some more MCQs.
I don't think there's anything wrong with a last minute “cram session” provided you've already done the work. If you're trying to teach yourself new things versus just review, that is when it becomes more a detriment than anything, I think.
REG - 87 (Becker)
AUD - 96 (Becker & Ninja MCQs)
FAR - 85 (Becker, Ninja MCQs, Audio and Blitz)
BEC - Last one! Waiting on score release 11/24!Remember: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
September 28, 2014 at 11:20 pm #610872Iggy1985MemberI study some the day before, but not too late, and make a single sheet of paper covering my weakest topics in really small snippets in different ink and just look over that the night before and morning of. This helps me visualize key things that I'm afraid I'll forget.
FAR - 89 (8/19/14) Wiley TB, Wiley Book, Books from School, Ninja Audio/Notes
AUD - 92 (10/14/14) Wiley TB, Wiley Book, Ninja Audio
BEC - 82 (5/8/15) Mostly Ninja MCQ, sprinkles of Becker lectures and Ninja Audio
REG - (8/14/15)September 29, 2014 at 7:58 pm #610873playonwardsMemberI've always sworn that doing MC more than twice is a complete waste of time. Once you know the question and the answer you are testing your recall of the correct answer as much as your knowledge regarding the topic. Even if you don't realize it or try to do it, your brain is incredibly efficient at remembering the right answer. I tend to think the MC questions make people over-confident in their knowledge of the material- hence why we see some posters here who swear they knew their review course front and back, but still failed the exam.
The key to reviewing a few days before your exam (including the day before) is to see as much of the material as you can one more time. That means you need to be reading through the material and your notes. Even type out quick new notes to test yourself to see if you can remember the gist of what you just read. My personal technique is to flip/read through all of the chapters in Becker. See all of the material one last time, and emphasize important areas or areas that you don't feel good about. Even if you have to skip a chapter or 2 due to time, you end up feeling very good about the ones you got through.
The bottom line is this- the exam is going to be a mile wide and a foot deep. As long as you've done the MC questions throughout your studying and some for review, doing them again for a 3rd time is a waste of time. There is essentially a 0% chance that the MC questions you are doing are going to be on the exam. On the other hand, there is a VERY good chance that reading through the material will add points to your score. I've taken 2 exams (got in the 90's on both) and remember several times in the exam thinking, “I sure am glad I skimmed that topic over during my review.”
FAR- 92 (7/25/2014)
AUD- 93 (8/30/2014)
REG- 93 (10/10/2014)
BEC- 91 (11/10/2014)Using Becker self-study only. Working full-time.
September 29, 2014 at 8:47 pm #610874AnonymousInactiveBecker flash cards and finalize memorization details
September 29, 2014 at 8:51 pm #610875rzrbkfaithMemberI take final exam #2 the night before (I use Becker). So far, both times it killed my confidence, but helped me with critical thinking the next day. I do sit in the parking lot the morning of and go over items that I had trouble with (skimming text or chapter outlines) for about 20 minutes. Kind of my ritual now. In all I review for 4 days – 2 days for final exams and 2 days going over chapter outlines as review. (Those are both done after work.)
AUD - 99
BEC - 97
REG - 91
FAR - 1/8/16September 29, 2014 at 9:20 pm #610876AnonymousInactiveThanks for all the input!
September 29, 2014 at 10:52 pm #610877tomq04ParticipantI did NOTHING the entire day before the exam, just mentally rest and get as much sleep as possible, coupled with a good “brain” dinner and breakfast. That being said, I did go into work, just no studying for me.
Kick butt!
REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75October 1, 2014 at 8:57 pm #610878zoctomanMemberI try to take it easy the night before the exam. That being said, I found it extremely helpful to look at some material i was shaky on the morning of the exam. I felt that maybe I would just remember it for the test and forget afterwards. I figured the stuff i knew really well wouldn't be worth studying cause i already knew it.
Low and behold I got a few questions and a simulation right from the material i looked at right before the exam. I was absolutely stunned as I had never done this before, but with FAR i was a bit nervous so i gave this a shot!
Audit(11/5/13) - 89
Reg(5/16/14) - 86
FAR(7/18/14) - 82
BEC(11/14) - 85October 1, 2014 at 9:00 pm #610879ziebaParticipantI continued to do a top level review (notes, outlines, flashcards) during the night before and day of exam. I calmly read my Becker Outline and NINJA notes in the car before heading up for the exam.
Some people don't do anything, but I don't know about that. I'd rather have certain REG dates [ for example] committed to short term memory, rather than yanking them from long term storage.
AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory scoreOctober 1, 2014 at 9:00 pm #610880AnonymousInactiveSince I take AUD friday, I'm probably gonna bang out MCQ's tonight in the adaptive learning and tomorrow night go over ninja notes in my weak areas (evidence & reporting). Also, review some SIMS.
October 1, 2014 at 9:07 pm #610881ziebaParticipantThis is going to be a tangent…lol
Did you know that over the years DD's prices have crept up to SBUX levels, and in certain cases even more? I used to frequent the former thinking there was some sort of insurmountable bourgeoisie price gap. There isn't. Come to the other side buddy! $3.16 gets you a large ice coffee, which you can refill for FREE with your phone app thing… and most are chill spots to power through some MCQ test banks.
AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory scoreOctober 1, 2014 at 9:52 pm #610882AnonymousInactiveHa! I know the prices are relatively the same. There is some myth that only Starbucks is the most expensive, but they're all the same. I buy Dunkin by the half pound and brew at home. But when I do get Starbucks (my username doesn't mean I'm anti-Starbucks :P) I get blonde roast or an Americano, everything else is too strong and burnt tasting imo.I gotta check out that app though, could be good to use during busy season!
October 1, 2014 at 9:56 pm #610883samdiegoCPAMemberI did MCQ up until test time. I always scheduled my exams for around noon because I am not a morning person and I like to “wake” my brain up and do a few hours of MCQ in the morning.
I did not “cram”, I just did the questions normally. I went to bed and slept normally. I have bad anxiety so this helped it a little bit.
AUD: 84
REG: 84
BEC: 79
FAR: 83October 1, 2014 at 10:50 pm #610884GironheMemberDon't do all MCQ, only the ones you really missed. The “3 Stars” according to my system see explanation below.
When I did my MCQ I would use stars to rate the questions I missed
1 start for tricky or confusing problems which I would gotten correctly if read carefully
2 stars for I didn't quite understand the problem
3 stars if I had no idea, or needed to look at the answer to figure out the problem
Also read your notes, whether its ninja notes or other notes.
review acronyms, formulas, charts etc.
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