[Anonymous]

I have been studying my butt off for 2 months, while working full time, and I am still only averaging a 71% on the Wiley online test bank. My most recent practice tests were in the 60’s.

My test is Friday.

How does this REG exam expect you to remember the amount of an adoption credit off the top of your head, or the specific income levels to disqualify you from filing bankruptcy?

FAR & AUD made sense. REG seems like a test of memory for random deduction amounts, loopholes, and other items that do not flow in any way, shape, or form.

For those of you who have passed, how did you do it??

Is REG *really* the random, specific hodge podge that it appears to be through the Wiley Online Test Bank??

How can I get through this???

[gobias]

It is a test of memory. I wrote down all the formulas (basis, every credit, PHC, etc.) and mnemonics on a couple pieces of paper so I had them all in one place, and then memorized them.

Since your test is Friday, I would recommend writing down every calculation formula for the tax chapters and only a few of the most important mnemonics (e.g. AMT) and memorize them. It doesn't take nearly as much time as you would think. Collecting all the formulas might even take more time. Once you have that, you can commit it all to memory in less than 2 hours.

I've been doing this for BEC and probably have 40-50 formulas and ~20 mnemonics memorized. I go through them once a day to make sure they're fresh and it takes less than 30 minutes. You can do it.

Good luck!

F - 86
R - 90
A - 97
B - 91

[Anonymous]

Thank you; that is solid advice. I'll start making a master list for tax tomorrow.

What is your advice for tackling B-Law? I feel like it is so easy to get tripped up on the specifics of agency, UCC, etc..

[gobias]

I can't help you much there. I didn't focus nearly as much time on blaw as I did tax. I went through the material once and left it at that.

My best advice on the test is to think about law questions intuitively. Consider which answer seems to make the most sense and hope for the best.

F - 86
R - 90
A - 97
B - 91

[SeattleAccountant]

@CPA_or_die,

Hey, don't despair buddy! Getting 70s is not bad. You have a decent chance comes the exam day, seriously. Meanwhile, as it had been suggested, type up a list of mnemonics & very important limits/percentages for tax b/c it is after all 60%.

For business law, reviewing all chapters twice including listening lectures twice, answering all MCQ/sims and making flashcards with terms might be the best.

As we speak, i'm reworking tax sims and have to agree that amount of materials we are expected to know for this particular section is mindboggling! But, everybody else is in the same boat and AICPA grades also on comparability to other candidates, so there is a good possibility if you did not get something right, your fellow test takers also did not.

So hang in there, take the darn test – looking forward to hear of your success.

Becker Class of Jan - Aug 2013: FARB DONE!!!!
CPA license pending 🙂

[memmy29]

Don't worry, REG is passable. It's all about knowing the calculations. There isn't any logic to it. I find that studying insanely for a shorter amount of time works well for me for subjects with a huge amount of information. Haven't found a way to pass FAR yet though…

AUD - 84
BEC - 84
FAR - 77
REG - 75

So glad to be done!

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill

AUD-84, REG-75, BEC-84, FAR-77

Licensed CPA

CIA Exam
Part 1 - Passed
Part 2 - Passed
Part 3 - Passed

[mla1169]

Best tip I ever heard for REG “Whichever answer results in the most taxes paid to the govt is probably the right one” LOL!

All kidding aside, it sounds like you're scoring right where you should be. At ~72 hours left to go time I gave myself a goal of COMPLETELY understanding 3 new topics that eluded me up until that point. 3 topics is less overwhelming than “omg I have to know ALL of this” and it was a confidence boost that I needed to finally understand something that I thought I never would.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[myyear2013]

I am starting to feel like REG is impossible too 🙁 so much information and so little time it seems! My exam is Friday as well and I think I will take the advice to write out the formulas and then just pray!! So ready to be done.

BEC - PASSED!
FAR - PASSED!
AUD - PASSED!
REG - May 2013

[ImaCPA168]

I thought that, too. But then I passed after 4 tries. (68, 70, 72, 81)

Use up to date materials — Don't bororw a book from a freind that is two or three years old. I didn't know this and that is how I ended up with the 68 and 70.

Double check info online — If your instructor (online/DVD) is telling you that the tax law might change (different deduction amounts, etc.), look it up online to make sure you are learning the most up to date information. Because unless your instructor is lecturing live, recorded online playback and DVD lectures can be over 6 months old. After realizing I couldn't use old materials, I bought a new book and lecture from Yeager. I didn't check all the changes online. Yeager mentioned at least 5 of them. I saw at least 3 on my test and I was using old deduction rates! Ended up with a 72.

Study All Topics and Memorize — Don't skip studying any sections (for those who underestimate business law). And there's no way around having to memorize much of the info for REG. There is no rhyme or reason to many of our tax laws. So understanding a concept will not help you rationalize your way to an answer. If you don't know it, you just don't know it. Take good notes. Re-write your notes. Read your notes. Practice MCQs and SIMs until you have nightmares. I even bought NINJA audio and listened to that in the car and when I slept. Immerse yourself! Make a cheat sheet of all the stuff you need to memorize. Bring it with you to Prometric and commit all the info on the sheet into memory before you enter the testing room. I did all these things and I finally passed.

Don't give up. Good luck.

B - 83 Done
A - 88 Done
R - 81 Done
F - 77 Done

Ethics - Done
Attest Hours - Done

Licensed-May 2013!

[Almost Done]

You studied hard, believe in yourself and remain positive throughout the test. Don't let any of the questions discourage you during the test. Once you close a testlet FORGET ABOUT IT there is nothing you can do about it. Look forward and concentrate on the question in front of you. You CAN pass this POS test. I was getting the same score on REG with wiley too, felt the same way as you and then I found out I passed. Trust yourself.

BEC: Passed
REG: Passed
FAR: Passed
AUD: Passed

[theknoxman]

Don't believe the people that tell you BLAW is only 17-21% of the test. Just took it today and found that around HALF, 50% of my test was business law. I wonder how many donations it will take before they decide to pass me. What a scam

[Anonymous]

I re-took REG the other day and the SIMS I got were ridiculous. Even if I had more time to study I would have never looked at the topics I got in that much detail. So crazy.

[Anonymous]

@theknoxman, there's also a fine line between the lecture 5, and lectures 6-8 content, and it's often hard to discern where a question would fall.

[Anonymous]

I felt reg was the easiest of all exams don't get discouraged.

[005]

Hang in there, it'll come. Don't worry too much on the specific amounts, just focus on the main points and keep doing MCQs until your eyes bleed.

Good luck

BEC - ✔
REG - ✔
AUD - ✔
FAR - 11/29/14

CPAExcel, Ninja MCQs, and a sh*t ton of coffee

[Author]

Replies