Jimbo, you're preaching to the choir, my friend! I'm well acquainted with the feeling that you're experiencing; I'd bet my bottom dollar that 90% of the people on this forum have smacked "rock bottom" at some point during their studies. These tests have a happy knack of ripping your sanity right out of your noggin and tossing it straight in the garbage. In fact, the rigors of the CPA have led me to commence my anti-anxiety drug regiment again. I hadn't taken any medicine for a couple years, and then BAM, I was back to being a monumental ball of stress! It can seem like too much to handle at times, but you need to do some soul searching every now and then and really reflect on why you began this journey. If you have a family, think about the positive impact it could have on them down the road-- the financial stability to send your kids through college, treating your spouse to a nice vacation, etc. If you're a young/single person like myself, think about something that you really want (in my case, I'm saving up for a down payment on a fun car) and make plans to reward yourself one you get through the remaining tests. You've earned it. It has given me tons of motivation--I really want that car and the bonus for passing all four parts will certainly help! Take a page out of Happy Gilmore and search for your "happy place" whenever the anxiety starts building.
As far as BEC goes, I'm in the same boat. I was under the impression that it was the "easy one". I've come to realize that even the "easy ones" will seriously test your patience. One thing I would suggest that you should mentally block out is the comment, "...I will be that unlucky person who gets an exam from outer space." Stop! Don't think about it! Don't pay attention to horror stories that pop up on this forum. Nothing positive ever comes from stressing out about what may or may not happen on exam day. Who knows, maybe you'll get a straight forward test! The key for exam day success is confidence and mental clarity. Stress and anxiety is the CPA Anti-Christ! And no, there's no way that you can know everything, but you don't have to. BEC is only 72 MCQ, remember that. On both REG and FAR I was fahhh-reaking out about certain topics that I wasn't strong at. In hindsight, did I see anything on them? Maybe one or two questions here and there, but nothing that would seriously jeopardize my ability to pass. I've gotten tips from other BEC passers that basically said to be proficient with Ch. 1/3/5 (in Becker--basically financial management/managerial accounting/COSO) and you should be in decent shape. And judging by your post, you're a competent writer. The W/C is as close to "free points" as you'll get taking these exams.
Take a step back, relax, and trust yourself. You did really well on your first two tests, there's no reason BEC will be any different. Best of luck!
FAR-Passed 8/26/11
REG-Passed 10/4/11
AUD-Passed 10/31/11
BEC-Passed 1/14/12
First time's the charm.
