I feel like the best way to learn is by doing MCQ.

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  • #186605
    GSU-CPA
    Member

    At least for me…

    I watched all the lectures and highlighted all the material mentioned in the lectures in the book. I then read over the material and go and try to do Wiley MCQ’s for that particular section. I usually end up getting 40-50% however every time i get a right answer i make sure i got the right answer for same reason i thought i picked that answer. If i get the answer wrong i then read why i got the wrong answer and try to understand why i got it wrong.

    After doing all the questions in Wiley for that particular section i go do the Ninja MCQ’s and usually score in 80-85s…honestly the questions i do miss are because i dont read the question right i really should be scoring 90’s.

    Anyway i just feel like doing MCQ’s is so much more efficient then watching lectures and reading the book. Has anyone tried passing a section by jumping right into MCQ’s and learning from the explanations?

    I spent about

    40 hrs on watching all the lectures

    10 hrs on revewing the materials

    20 hrs doing MCQ’s

    and i swear i felt like i got more out of the 20 hrs doing MCQ’s then i did with 50 hrs of watching lectures/reviwing materials.

    What is your opinion on this ? My first exam is July 5th so i am just trying to find a better way to study for future exams.

    REG-77
    BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
    AUD - May 30
    FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • #578367

    Do MCQ and watch video/read problem areas. or if you forsee a problem area read/watch. mostly do mcq.

    maybe read the book (take what, a week tops?) then straight into mcq's

    #578368
    RIST
    Member

    One of my biggest secrets in life (keep in mind this is an anonymous board so I'm not outing myself) is that I am a lazy SOB. No one believes me since I have a way of faking work perfectly. It is my art!

    As lazy as I am (I never do all the Becker MCQs or SIMS and don't really do review) I ALWAYS watch the videos. I find them instrumental in providing a foundation. I'd skip them if I thought I could but I think they are necessary.

    In Becker they always tell you that “You'll hear our voices on the exam” and they are right. It doesn't feel like you are learning but I think that you are.

    Just the 2 cents of a guy going up for his last section in a few days!

    #578369

    ^^^ you are an odd ball!

    not in a bad way of course, but I would say most of us here wouldn't fair so well with that strategy!

    #578370
    GSU-CPA
    Member

    Honestly the only thing i got from the lectures is Phill (from yeager) telling me what i should focus on in the chapters. He goes over the stuff that is important and usually like 10-20% in each chapter of wiley book he says not to worry about.

    I know for a fact that there is NO WAY i would pass this exam just by hearing the lectures.

    REG-77
    BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
    AUD - May 30
    FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

    #578371
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I think the fact that you are scoring in the 80s and 90s on your first pass with the Ninja MCQ says what you are doing is working for you. If you weren't getting anything out of the lectures/books then you would definitely not come out the gate doing as well as you do. I am skipping lectures/books for REG and scoring in the 50s and 60s in my first round of Ninja MCQ, but I'm using it to learn, not to test. Keep up the great work!

    #578372
    Amay
    Member

    I think lectures help you understand the basics and do lay out the groundwork for the MCQs. You are applying the info you learned with your lecture watching/note taking when you answer each question. I have heard of people passing by only doing MCQs, but I personally don't recommend it unless you already have a solid understanding of the basic concepts. For example, I work in auditing, so I felt I had a good grasp of auditing concepts and jumped straight into MCQs for that section. All other parts, I must watch the lectures because I don't like going in blind to the MCQs!

    BEC: 73, 81
    AUD: 85
    FAR: 71, 77
    REG: 74, 75...finally DONE! 😀

    *This is my 2nd attempt at the CPA exam. For all of you who have failed this exam many times, given up on it, or taken a break like me, remember that it is still possible to finish what you started...failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently 🙂

    #578373
    GQStatus
    Participant

    @GSU_CPA I feel the exact same way! I can watch the lectures and I'll think that I'm grasping the materials then I try the MCQ's and after it whoops my ass I'm staring at my 65-50% score like, wtf happened? I have definitely thought of skipping the lectures all together at one point because I rarely grasp all of what I need to grasp while watching the videos. I'm the WORST note taker too, never was good in college and it hasn't changed now that I'm studying for my CPA. I do take notes however, on the answer explanations on the MCQ's and I found that this method works a hell of a lot more for me because I can actually see how concepts apply to different situations. It's all about finding out what works for you. I watch videos to give me a taste, if you will of the material. The details lie in the MCQ, which is the most important part because we all know these examiners like to throw us questions from all types of angles.

    FAR - (Let's not talk about that score)
    AUD - 77!
    REG - 70, 70
    BEC - 77!

    #578374
    NYCaccountant
    Participant

    I have not watch one lecture ever. They are a waste of time and money. I read the book, take notes and then do MCQ's to reinforce concepts over and over again.

    AUD - 99
    BEC - 84
    FAR - 93
    REG - 87
    NYC born and raised.

    FAR - 93
    REG - 87
    BEC - 84!!!!
    AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

    #578375
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I've given up all lectures and only refer to the book if I'm having a hard time with a particular topic. I do read over the NINJA Notes more than a few times before I start the MCQs, just so I have a basic understanding of the topics being presented in each section, and for AUD I also quickly read over the Wiley Focus Notes and supplemented the NINJA Notes with a few extra tidbits from those. This wasn't necessary for REG and probably won't be for FAR, though, AUD just happens to be the area I have the least experience in.

    I felt that the Notes/MCQs method prepared me for REG a lot better than the lectures/book/MCQs prepared me for BEC, mainly because I was so focused on putting the time into watching the lectures and reading the book for BEC that I didn't dedicate enough time to the MCQs and barely managed a pass because of that. If I had just one thing to study with, it'd definitely be MCQs. And the NINJA MCQs, in particular.

    #578376
    GSU-CPA
    Member

    My next section is FAR and i am definitely leaning toward reading book and doing MCQ's. I will do wiley MCQ's first and then follow that with ninja MCQ's .

    Lectures took forever to go over and i am not really sure it helped me much.

    REG-77
    BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
    AUD - May 30
    FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

    #578377

    I am with you OP. I'm using Becker and in some ways the lecture is info overload. I feel like I sometimes miss questions that are actually easy because I over think things since the lectures have so many details that may only be tested on occasion. This added info makes me think of what-ifs that are irrelevant to the question and lead me to waste time and accuracy at times. I think for my next exam, i'm going to read the material as a baseline and then use Becker + ninja's mcq test bank to learn it.

    I've wasted so much time “reviewing” by re-reading notes and watching lectures but am only retaining info by reading explanations on the mcq regardless of whether I was right or wrong

    FAR - 84
    AUD - 76 (phew)
    BEC - 88
    REG - 77

    DONE!

    #578378
    ymmit
    Member

    i'm a multiple choice man myself. That's all I really do and I'm 2 for 2 so far. But I do all of beckers questions at least 3 times each plus some Wiley test bank. After doing (and really knowing) that many MC questions over and over, the ones on the test have been simple and automatic so far.

    Licensed CPA!

    #578379
    JamesBJames
    Participant

    IMO, lectures are helpful when Olinto is going over the book and pretty close to useless when Gearty is, instead. I always go through the lectures, however, and type out notes throughout the video.

    I agree that MCQs are much more valuable.

    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!

    #578380

    ^LOL. I love it and agree. Gearty is so useless. You might as well highlight the entire book when he talks. At least Olinto only makes you highlight key aspects and breaks down the concepts a bit. Gearty just drones on and on. The only ones of his I'll watch from now on are the ones that are titled something like “page 31 (video)”. In his videos, he actually explains stuff and it helps a bit. When he lectures, he just makes you highlight the entire text and I roll my eyes throughout.

    FAR - 84
    AUD - 76 (phew)
    BEC - 88
    REG - 77

    DONE!

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