MCQs & Outlines = Pass?

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  • #201231
    Montiel68
    Participant

    Hello everyone!

    I’m back after my failure from last testing window. I finally decided on a date for my retake (6 weeks from today )as well on a new review course.  Audit has been a nightmare for me as my scores can tell ( 61& 59,used Becker on 1st and added Ninja on my 2nd).

    For this next test, I bought Gleim review but I’m not sure of what to do. I was wondering if any of you have just used the outlines provided by either Becker or Gleim as a substitute for reading or watching lectures (Becker)? I’ve read the AUD Becker book twice (previous attempts ) and I still did horrible. I’m not sure if I’m better off by just practicing thousands of questions (Gleim’s~ 2000 MCQs + hopefully Ninja’s 1500 MCQs).

    So, what do you guys think? Should I read Gleim’s outlines and hammer MCQs like crazy or suck it up and read the entire Gleim Audit book (super thick, haven’t even open it) first ? Please tell me what worked for you to pass this section.  Also, if anyone has been able to pass an exam by just doing MCQs, please share your strategy (how many questions total, per day, review course, etc ).

    Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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  • #771500
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Don't want this to sound meaner than it's intended…but…

    If you've failed AUD twice, you shouldn't be looking for the easy way out at this point.

    If you'd passed 3 exams on the first go-round and were approaching your 4th, then you could be looking for an easy route, maybe just outline and MCQs or something like that, cause apparently these exams come easier to you. But that's not the situation you're in.

    At present, you need to obtain at least 75 new points, and prior attempts have resulted in only 61 or 59 points. So, you need to do everything that you did before plus some new stuff that you never did before. Previously you read the book and did some MCQs, from what I'm gathering. So, this time, read the book, do even more MCQs, maybe throw in some SIMs and a few lectures (if you didn't buy Gleim lectures, then use the Becker ones). Gleim's book may be intimidating, but break it down into bite-size pieces and make it happen. Plan out how many study hours you have between now and when you need to take the exam; break that down into what portion you want to devote to book, what portion to MCQs, etc., then figure out how many pages of the book you need to read per hour/day, and make it happen.

    To pass after failing twice, you need to do everything you did before and something more, too, not do less than you ever did before. So, do more MCQs, read the bigger book, etc. etc. If there's something that you did before that you learned nothing from, maybe cut it out, but don't cut out something that you learned from just cause it was time-consuming. Re-reading the Becker book may not be useful, but reading the Gleim book should be since it's a new book.

    P. S. The way I passed AUD was reading the Wiley book (just looked it up on Amazon – 2013 version was 864 pages) and doing MCQs from the Wiley test bank. I don't remember how many MCQs were in the Wiley test bank at the time, and I didn't quite complete them, so not sure how many I did, though I still have the notes at home in a Notepad file. However, reading the book – entirely, cover-to-cover, except the in-book MCQs – and doing MCQs through the test bank is how I passed it. I didn't use Gleim or Becker materials, but a similar method should apply. Also, I'm a firm believer that AUD is a major weak point for Becker, so I think switching materials should help you a lot. Reading the Gleim book should be substantially more helpful than the Becker book. AUD seems to be the most likely exam for people to have a major improvement switching away from Becker, from what I've seen of other people's experiences on here (and there's other exams that people switch to Becker for major improvement, so not hating on Becker, just saying that AUD is their biggest weakness from what I've seen).

    Edited to add: Not saying don't use the outlines, they may be one of the things to add to make this time better than last time. Just saying don't ditch the book. Don't get rid of anything that might have been good last time. You need all the 60-ish points from last time, plus some way to get another 15-ish points this time. So, do what you did to get 60 last time, plus something new (outlines, more MCQs, etc.) to get 15 more this time. I read the reply below me and realized my response looked like it was saying the outlines should be ignored, which wasn't my intention at all, so figured I'd edit and add this note. 🙂 Use the outlines, but don't ditch the book.

    #771501
    mtaylo24
    Participant

    Definitely read the Gleim outlines, which I think are pulled from the book. You can also check out the Audiovisual presentation, or listen to audios because they pretty much match the book. If you went premium, the lecturers are also pretty much reading the book, they don't mix it up well on Gleim. There are also Summary of Core Concepts for each chapter that summarizes everything. I think that the Gleim Sim Wizard put me over with Auditing, but definitely try to make it through the test bank at least once, then either go through it again or you can review your previous tests.

    CPA (2017)

    REG:  75

    BEC:  76

    FAR:  77

    AUD: 78

     

    CMA (2019)

    P1: 380

    P2: 360

    AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
    REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
    BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
    FAR - (8/16)

    #771502
    Montiel68
    Participant

    @Lilla, you have made a great point and I appreciate your honest response. You're right. These exams have drained a lot of my energy and I just want to be done. I'll try to use my study planner and see how I can incorporate the book into my studying time.

    @mtaylo24-I think I'll see if I can include the book into my studying time. Maybe I could read the outlines for the topics I feel comfortable and read the book for the sections I still don't fully get (internal control, assertions etc). Definitely will spend time going over the Sims this time (didn't do that as much last 2 times).

    Thanks for the reply guys!

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

    #771503
    mtaylo24
    Participant

    Now when you say outlines, you are referring to the knowledge transfer outlines online, right? Because that is the same as the book lol. Just making sure…

    CPA (2017)

    REG:  75

    BEC:  76

    FAR:  77

    AUD: 78

     

    CMA (2019)

    P1: 380

    P2: 360

    AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
    REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
    BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
    FAR - (8/16)

    #771504
    Montiel68
    Participant

    @mtylo24 See how I didn't lie when I mentioned above how I hadn't open the book…I just got home and realized that the “outlines” online are basically the book + some questions lol I thought Gleim's outlines were like Becker's where they are like a summary of the book…Oh well, now I feel dumb lol

    Did you use Gleim's review as well? I see you struggled with AUD too, how did you pass this section? If you don't mind, would you share what study materials you used and your strategy. I'm struggling with this exam and will do everything I can in the next 6 weeks to see a 75 in my next report, just have to keep pushing.

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

    #771505
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Lol, looks like the outlines are the book by a different name…? I assumed from the name they were like a content outline (like basically just headers for the sections made into a list, or something like that) – a cram tool of some sort. Guess my reply is pretty irrelevant if they're the same as the book. 😛

    But on the bright side, Montiel, it means you're further ahead in your studying than what you thought you were! 🙂

    #771506
    Andyred04
    Participant

    Ha! I was going to mention something about how the outlines are the exact same as the book but decided to keep that to myself.

    FAR 80
    REG 87
    BEC 87
    AUD 96

    Primarily Gleim, supplemented with Ninja Notes & Ninja MCQs

    Missouri CPA as of January, 2017

    FAR: 80 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
    REG: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
    BEC: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
    AUD: 8/27/16

    PA Candidate

    #771507
    Montiel68
    Participant

    @Lilla, I feel really silly. I even emailed Gleim's support to ask them how could I access the “book” online because all I could see were the outlines >.< lol In my defense, they should've of just put a link to “ebook”online or something and not named it “transfer outlines” as the title of the hard copy book is “AUD Auditing & attestation” and not outlines…Oh well, I'll try this book and see how it goes. It looks like the material is very condensed and straight to the point (less words than Becker's, at least the first unit). If this doesn't work for me, I'll invest in Wiley next…so your response still applies.

    @Andyred04, you should've said something. Now, I made a fool of myself with the Gleim's support people lol Just kidding, that's what I get for being lazy and not even bothering to open the book :p

    Thank you guys!

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

    #771508
    mtaylo24
    Participant

    @Montiel68, Yeah, I struggled big time with Audit. Can't really explained how I passed, I just know after failing 3 straight times a few years ago, I decided to call it quits. Switched jobs back in August and had a few weeks until my start date, so I decided to get back into study mode and try to tackle this monster. Fortunately, my new job turned out to be pretty slow, so I got a lot of studying done at work.

    I actually retained a lot, as I studied with Gleim before, so I breezed right through the review. I don't really follow their suggested steps, I just do MCQs after reading a particular subunit. Sometimes, if the material is dry, I will play the audio and follow along with the text. I wasn't really big on the audit lectures, but sometimes I did the presentations to mix it up. I ran through the sim wizard during the final week. I also supplemented the Wiley Focus Notes android app. I thought that was decent for Audit. I actually thought I failed audit tho lol, I guess I got lucky. You never know with these things…

    CPA (2017)

    REG:  75

    BEC:  76

    FAR:  77

    AUD: 78

     

    CMA (2019)

    P1: 380

    P2: 360

    AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
    REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
    BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
    FAR - (8/16)

    #771509
    Montiel68
    Participant

    @mtaylo24 thanks for sharing. Maybe what you needed was just a break from when you started. Now, it looks like you're ready to finish off these exams. I agree and think that you never know with these exams. I thought I had failed FAR & REG and I passed. BEC was the only one I thought I passed and did. On the other hand, AUD has been unpredictable, although last time I really thought I had a score like an 80 lol Good luck on your exams, you can do it!

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

    #771510
    nadroj
    Participant

    In Gleim online, the Knowledge Transfer Outline is the e-book. The Summary of Core Concepts is the compressed version of the chapter. Between the summary and the audio, I think the key information is covered.

    #771511
    Montiel68
    Participant

    @nadroj I see… It took me a little to figure out Gleims program, but I think I know what to do now 🙂

    FAR- Passed
    AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
    REG- Passed
    BEC- Passed

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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