IN A RUT

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  • #188015
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    So I’m striking out but so close! I’ve received a 69 on FAR, a 68 on REG, an 80 on BEC which has now expired, and a 71, 72, and this morning a 74 on Audit, . I have been using the NIU CPA materials as well as GLEIM test bank/sims, and Wiley test bank. My Gleim is now expired for BEC and just recently AUD and expires in Dec for FAR and Feb for REG. Do I move on and study for FAR again before my Gleim expires or do I try to get the extra point on AUD? I’m at a complete loss where to go from here. Any suggestions welcome….

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  • #588482
    ala72
    Participant

    I'd say retake the one that you've recently studied/taken. No sense in jumping around and putting all that study time to waste. Keep on reviewing and focus on the areas that you're iffy on and then take that sucker again with a vengeance.

    I had to start living with the concept of Sunk Costs to handle the money and time spent. Sometimes I would just have to grit my teeth and say “ok, well too bad I spent that money on a NTS when I'm no where near ready.” Or “too bad I bought that review supplement one test too late,” etc. It's an expensive process and it works best for me personally to not let myself worry about the money aspect of it – it makes taking the tests so much more stressful when you view it as another ‘$200 + allocated portion of review material' down the drain.

    Ultimately, I say stick with a section until you pass it. Good luck! Hope this helps!

    Licensed NH CPA as of July 2015

    AUD - 74 (Oct '13), 84 (Jan '14)
    FAR - 79 (Feb '14)
    REG - 61 (May '13), 81 (Aug '14)
    BEC - 79 (Nov '14)

    #588483
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    After the 2nd failing score, did you change anything?

    I know you are close in the low 70s, but a few brain busters and you could easily be in the mid-high 60s. Aim for an 85, and you'll likely get a passing score.

    My advice: start changing your study habits. Once you've seen something several times, it's really tough to judge if you're learning or just cranking out answers to questions you've seen before. If you're getting 70-90 on questions, but failing the exam, that's likely a partial explanation. Perhaps invest in a new question bank?

    #588484
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @ala72 thanks for your feedback. I think you're right I need to concentrate on getting the last point. I keep jumping around after I fail one and move on to another one because I can stand the thought of going back to that material. I need to just plug through and keep the materials fresh.

    @fuzyfro89 I did change my study habits the second time and would nail down particular sections in bite size chunks versus read all the material then test. I would read a section then test on it, read a section then test, and then once I was through all the material I tested on everything and went back and reviewed my trouble areas. I'm worried that maybe I do know the questions too well though? I'm scoring in the 80s/90s in Gleim. Do you have any suggestions for study materials that have worked for you? I have Wiley, but I didn't feel like it was as challenging as Gleim.

    #588485

    My advice is to rotate between audit and far until you pass them. You are letting all of your hard earned knowledge deteriorate once you move to another section. If it were me I would take FAR in the end of the next window and then take a vacation while I am waiting for my score. If I failed I would get back to it and take FAR again in January. Bouncing around from section to section is the worst mistake people make. You brain is not designed to hold on to information that is not being used, so when you don't take a section for 6 months you are ultimately throwing 80% of all those hours of study time in the trash. However if you studied the same section after you found out you failed you would be working with good retention of the material you just studied.

    DO NOT BOUNCE AROUND ANYMORE.

    Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

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