nolifecpa
offlineMember
first off, congrats to those that have passed this window!! SUPER congrats to those that are done with the whole exam!!!
now that it is all said and done, how did you pass?? what was key? what did/didn't work? what did you learn?
please guide the rest of us to CPA island!!! we will be forever greatful!!
herbert7890
offlineMember
B-E-C-K-E-R really. I believe this review program is so magnificent that I almost feel like I'm cheating by using it.
The other half is hard hard study, with a lot of sacrifice. Reviewing each chapter 2-3 times, MCQS twice and studying the flashcards constantly to not forget key concepts.
michelle119
offlineMember
I would say just focusing and studying and putting in the time to study... it was a bit easier for me since I had the summer off and only had to focus on my first 3 parts... now I started work Monday and 2 grad classes..... and have barely touched my REG materials since last weekend :( back to the books tonight...
DocHalladay
offlineMember
@GSUJosh-- Have you looked at local insurance, medical, other companies in your area just to work in corporate accounting or internal auditing to get your foot in the door? I worked at a regional accounting firm for about a year and left for corporate accounting (less hours, no travel). I have all my audit hours in, but if I didn't, they were going to be flexible and let me work a few hours a week in internal audit to get the hours...
3 Letters
offlineMember
i study with becker and one trick i've been using is to write down notes for all the pratice questions i get wrong. not the actual answer choice but make notes on the concepts and material that i missed. I review those notes a lot and use them as a guide when i go back and review the book. it can get frustrating making notes on a section where you're doing terrible, but it helps point out your weaknesses.
in general, i tried to make sure i study in as many different ways as possible. i try taking MCQ, quizzing myself on flashcards and practice reciting from memory those things you're supposed to memorize in between reading and rereading the text. it can be easy to get in a rut where you're just reading the book over and over especially when you've been studying hard for weeks. i think it's a little less draining when you don't keep repeating your methods.
nolifecpa
offlineMember
i currently write down the answers to the ones i get wrong or guess, i think this is just making me memorize the correct answers to the questions. i will try to write concepts behind the answers going forward. i also tried to take notes on a pad but as you know, becker's books are outlined notes, feel like i'm being redundant and not productive by rewriting it...now i only write down notes i will probably forget and do not know.
i hope this does the trick, i'm seriously considering moving to yaeger if i don't pass this time around
financeguy
offlineMember
nolifecpa
Different things work for different people. You have to find, and recognize, what works best, and what works least for you. For instance, for me, reading the book and taking notes is nearly a complete waste of time, and I thouroughly despise both, and so I rarely used those tactics. I learn best from interaction and hands on...and so working the MC problems helped me learn the best, along w/ always thourougly reading every answer, regardless if I got it right or wrong.
You need to look at what things you have continued to do the same when studying for each exam and stop doing those things. You need to switch it up. There is something that is not working for you, and if you continue to use that tactic(s) you are simply just wasting time and energy.
nolifecpa
offlineMember
financeguy,
i do not retain information when reading the book but i feel like i have to in order to get a general idea of how to answer the questions. also, the book is so general and sometimes doesn't help with questions that are specific. i also agree mcq is the best way to learn the material, it just sux when you keep getting the answers wrong and scoring a low %.
a common trend in my studying is lecture, reading all 60+ pages in a chpt, then doing mcq. i switched it up a little by reading each section w/in the chpts then doing mcq for each section, not sure if it's gonna work. i gonna also try reading the correct/incorrect answers thouroughly for every question
another thing that makes it difficult for me is that i was never a really good student and never really learned how to study, just got by with C's. it's definitely coming back to bite me in the you know what
thank you for your comments, i hope to be in your shoes in the near future
financeguy
offlineMember
I graduated college w/ like a 2.7. I never studied at all. I was a total slacker and just partied a lot. I passed 3 of the exams on the first try, failed BEC the first try by 1 point, and passed a few weeks later. Just because you got good or bad grades in college means nothing when it comes to this exam.
My advice, if you don't retain the info from reading the book, then stop reading the book. Watch the lectures, work the MC questions, use cpareviewforfree.com, and process the information for each mc question - why is each answer right or wrong.
nolifecpa
offlineMember
financeguy,
you are a true inspiration to me! my GPA was like 2.7 maybe 2.8. i'm currently doing cpareviewforfree during work everyday and i even have a wiley cd i got for free, which i'll probably do after i go through all of becker mcq again.
another thing is towards the end near exam time i never feel ready, always feel like if i had 1 more week i would be fine but never extend the exam date...not sure if that's normal among candidates
which materials did you use? did you supplement with any other materials?
financeguy
offlineMember
I used yaeger and supplemented w/ cpareviewforfree. I think it is a mistake to use more than 1 study course. I couldn't even come close to utilizing all the material w/ my 1 course, much less adding in a 2nd or 3rd course.
cute_fefe
offlineMember
I used CPAexcel. I went through all the text at least twice. I took notes and copied pasted questions that I got wrong so that I could go over them again. I did lots and lots of practice questions. I did ALL the multiple questions in CPAexcel and Wiley, some in Gleim, some in Becker, and some in cpareviewforfree.
nolifecpa
offlineMember
looks like the key to passing is to do mcq over and over and over. i would go over the mcq then only do the one's i got wrong. during the final review i would pretty much do the same but at this point i pretty much memorized them by now. i'm going to try questions from different sources
PSU06
offlineMember
I passed using Yaeger. I did all the required M.Choice and circled any that I guessed on or got wrong. Then I went back over the circled questions again and again until I was comfortable with them. For me, it was more important to focus on the multiple choice rather than the simulations. I did also use the Gleim test bank to regularly check my progress.
Also, thankfully, I was able to take two days off work for each section of the exam in order to cram. I have heard others say not to try to do that on the cpa exam, but since I was trying to pass before my three children went back to school, cramming was essential!
TheCPA
offlineMember
I finished my cpa this last window, all on first attempts. I think the key for me was just to believe that I can do it. I couldn't afford any software so I went with the wiley books which I bought from amazon for about $ 32 each. I studied each book twice in about 10 days and just sat for the exam. I I think another important thing I learnt is that CPA is not as hard as it sounds and the key is to concentrate and remain focused. Especially on the exam, don't look beyond the next question and not worry about all the rumors that it is adaptive and each section should get relatively harder, I once even read on this forum that marking questions for review lowers your score (wow really!!!!!). I would always mark about 10 questions on each testlet on which I has some slight doubt and then come back at the end and second time around it would make more sense or I just eliminated a couple of answer choices and guessed.
I have taken a lot of exams and I am almost certain that CPA on first attempt is possible with good concentration and focus.
Good luck everyone!!
weareallone
offlineMember
To "TheCPA"
In your post my friend, you say that you "studied each book (Wiley books) twice in about 10 days and just sat for the exam".
I would bet 10 days of my salary that what you said contains elements of exaggeration, lying, and/or the act of not telling the 'whole-truth' to the rest of your fellow bloggers because there is no way someone reads (not STUDY, I mean simply READ) the Wiley FAR book in 10 days! Don't lie my friend; do I need to tell you that lies, whether big or small, makes people lose their respect over you?
Oh, and I almost forgot, not only must one STUDY and LEARN the material, but one must also solve the questions that appear on the book at least once (unless you are a MASTER/Ph.D in ACCY and you've got some mad skills). Even if you flew through the practice problems - that is, in your first attempt - as if you were solving them in the real test taking environment (you must do 90 MCQ per 2.5 hours to save time for the Simulations in the actual exam), the Wiley REG and FAR contains 1000+ questions each, so even if you DID NOT study the book and went straight to the questions, solving the FAR questions alone would have taken you, at lest 30-40 hours, which means that alone would have taken you 4-5 days assuming that you studied 8-10 hours/day. hahaha
Furthemore, based on your comment that you "couldn't afford any software so I went with the wiley books", I am assuming that you are either (1) fresh off college and (2) have no work experience and do not make money yet (You might be making money, just not enough to pay for Beckers? who knows) and (3) did not get a sponsorship from one of the big 4 ACCY firms, which means that even if you might have went to a Good ACCY College, you did not graduate in the top 30% cause you did not get a job that pays you well. So I doubt that you've got MAD skills studying from college OR even from working! (with all due respect to ppl who have yet found jobs)
It would be near impossible to study, for example the REG or FAR section ONCE using Beckers Review in the time frame of 10 days - let only Wiley, which has about 2 times the information in a much*100 less organized manner! Somebody who knows how small the font in the Wiley Books are, please help me out here!
Maybe you are telling 'some' truth here, but to be honest, anybody who has seen the Wiley Books will have doubt towards your comment, and in that case, I will advice you to tell the 'whole-truth', as in admit that you 'just breezed through the Wiley Books' instead of saying you 'studied it'.
Peace.
CPAWannaBe
offlineMember
weareallalone,
You are not alone.
Show me someone who can read ONE Wiley book in 10 days and I'll show you one disturbed individual. BORING! (But it is thorough).
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