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REG - Exam Experience

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Started 1 year ago by Jeff - another71.com
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sieverd

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New member to 71 here. I am waiting for my study materials which are currently in the mail as we speak. I have my NTS for REG and I am planning on finishing the reg section during my last quarter in school (Winter Qtr). Does anyone think it is feasable to study 16-20 hours a week and take REG after 6 weeks of studying?

I work on the weekends all day so my weekends are blocked off completely from studying.

I was also wondering if anyone has used the audio piece that another 71 offers?

REG: Waiting For Results (4/26/13)
BEC: 5/29/13
FAR: 7/3/13
AUD: 8/2/13

Posted 5 months ago #
foreseeableCPA

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@HeyPawl

Congrats! I just checked my score and I passed as well! Cheers

FAR- PASS!
REG- PASS!
AUD- PASS!
BEC- 5/16/13 ALMOST DONE!

Posted 5 months ago #

1 (HeyPawl)
Jade CPA-to-be

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I want to thank everyone here in this forum. I was checking here periodically during the past month just hoping to get a feeling about REG exam. There are a lot of helpful tips and techniques about the exam that people talking here, and I am so grateful I read through those posts. Sometimes I even write down the stuff I think it is good, like people talking about leaving at least 1:30 hours for Sims; like moving on if you encounter a difficult MCQ; like supplementing Becker with Wiley, (which i did), and I review those tips before the exam. Today, I am glad to find out I pass REG.

Can not do it without everyone here! Good luck on studying, everyone!!!

FAR 88 08/06/2012
REG 94 11/26/2012
AUD 91 02/26/2013
BEC ? 05/28/2013

Posted 5 months ago #
KLBHouston

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Are scores posted on Sundays?

REG 11/24/12 - 73
REG 2/23/13
BEC 2/2/13

Posted 5 months ago #
Mr.NiceWatch

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Got my REG scores a couple days ago. The good news is I passed. After taking FAR & REG, I can honestly say that REG is probably the tricker of the two. I walked out of the testing center thinking there was a very good chance I scored in the high 80s or low 90s. However, the score received was a few points above passing, which is great. I also thought I did decent on the simulations because I guessed on a couple, felt somewhat confident on a couple, and was pretty confident on the remaining questions including the research questions. However, based on my 'score report,' I was weaker on simulations and stronger on the others (except business law). Again, I think this leads to believe REG is pretty tricky and wasn't really what I excepted. In the end, I had a solid understanding of the tax portion, which I think helped me passed the exam.

Good luck to everyone else!

Journey begins in July 2012.

FAR - 87 (8/7/2012)
REG - 89 (11/19/2012)
AUD - 95 (1/17/2013)
BEC - 81 (2/26/2013)

Posted 5 months ago #
KLBHouston

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Unfortunately a retake for me. 73...

REG 11/24/12 - 73
REG 2/23/13
BEC 2/2/13

Posted 5 months ago #
LivingtheDream2012

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JasonRobbins,

Based on what you said about your multiple choice questions I think we might have had the same testlets. I am in a snail state, so if you dont mind will you post your results when you get them friday or monday? I think that would give me a little bit of an idea on how I did regarding the multiple choice and would help calm some anxiety while waiting. Thanks man.

Best of luck to everyone.

Posted 5 months ago #
rossbenny

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For those who have failed and then passed REG, what would your advice be? I am reviewing the questions in Wiley book and Wiley test bank again at least twice....

FAR 7/28/12 77
BEC 8/31/12 82
AUD 10/12/12 58 2/8/13 78
REG 11/30/12 64 1/5/13 80

Posted 5 months ago #
Meadows30

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Reg was my first exam and I passed with an 80. I think I lucked out a bit on the SIMs in the topics they gave me. I have been using Becker and certainly didn't complete all the homework or lectures but just focused on the stuff that I felt was really complicated (corporate tax, partnership tax and some federal tax) and then did either the lecture or homework for the other chapters. I completely agree with leaving AMPLE time for the SIMs. If I saw a multiple choice question I didn't know, chances are I wouldn't know it after staring at it for 5 minutes either so I guessed and moved on. I had about 1:45 at least left for the SIMs which allowed me to really research the topics in the authoritative literature and then answer the questions. I didn't do great but I certainly did better than I expected for my first one.

Reg 11/26/2012 80
BEC 01/05/2012
Audit
FAR

Posted 5 months ago #
MRgoodbar

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I recently took REG and received a 65. Even with that score, I would not change my study approach. I did fairly well on the MCQ, but the SIMS destroyed me. For 2 of the SIMS, I understood what was being asked and knew the answer, just didn't know in which format I was supposed to give the answer.

I completely agree with Meadows30 in that I didn't do all of the homework as well. I certainly read and reviewed the entire book for all topics, but only did homework for the "computational" chapters (i.e. C corps, S corps, partnership tax, gains, gross income, etc.). With the other chapters, I feel that doing questions is a waste of time. If you read and understand what's in the book, that is more than enough.

However, I do want advice on how to approach the research sim. I'm 99% sure I got it correct on my exam and it took me about 30 seconds to find, but I don't know if I'll get that lucky the next time around. I feel that the research sim is "easy" points and I don't want to miss it.

Posted 5 months ago #
MRgoodbar

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Also, how soon after do you normally retake an exam after you have failed? I took my first attempt at REG (also my first attempt at the CPA exam) on 11/29 and want to take it the first week of January while it is still fresh, plus before it gets busy at work. By taking it early, it will give me an opportunity to study for AUD so I can knock that out in the same testing window. Some have also suggested that they studied just as long as they did the first time, meaning I would take it end of January or February.

Posted 5 months ago #
KLTCPA

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My REG score is in, I failed with a 68:((( Bummer!!! Found out today.
Not sure if I should stay on track with AUD or shift back to REG?

Posted 5 months ago #
H.Singh7

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I posted this before but its fitting here again.

Hey guys, I rarely post but I felt like I needed to for reg. I kinda feel like it is made to be extra scary here. I studied 3 weeks and passed with a 75 using Becker. I felt like Becker got me ready for the mcqs by drilling them 3 times. The Sims however, are a whole different animal. So I did the Becker Sims and it was helped build a deeper, more detailed knowledge of the topics. Then, I made my own index cards and review them. I took the first practice test and scored around a 70. The 2nd practice test, I didn't even take fully, I did the mcqs that I didn't know or wasn't sure of, but I did all the Sims, again trying to plug in more details. The actual exam, the mcqs were just as I predicted, and fair. The Sims were hard but not as hard as people made it seem. My best advice would be, make sure you know the equations. Memorize and memorize because that's what I did and even though they might not be all used, they give you the details to answer any question that is thrown at you.

Now only one to go. The beast, FAR. And believe me if I can do it, so can you. All you need is a 75, nothing else matters.

BEC Passed
AUD Passed
FAR 1/13
REG Passed

Posted 5 months ago #

1 (disonthewaytocpa)
disonthewaytocpa

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@ H.Singh7

3 weeks for REG? How? Omg, you are my hero! I want to do this in 3 weeks, I am willing to not sleep! How many hours did you spend on studying every day?

AUD 80 10/2012
FAR 76 11/2012
BEC 79 02/2013
REG 73, 75!!! 01/2013, 04/2013

DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. THANK GOD!

Becker Self-Study

Posted 4 months ago #
BuckytheCPA

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Well, at least it's over...

Testlet 1: Easy... marked a few but had good guesses on them.
Testlet 2: MUCH harder. Marked probably 8. Business law killed me in this testlet.
Testlet 3: Easier than Testlet 2... not a good sign that the questions got easier. But I made it through this one pretty easily.

Simulations:
SIM 1: Research (took about 10 minutes to find): 100%
SIM 2: Did well, but I'm not sure how SIMS are scored (hopefully there is carry-through credit in case I made a mistake): 70-100%
SIM 3: Another research! (easier than the first, found it right away): 100%
SIM 4: Pretty easy. Like the second question, if there is carry-through/partial credit, I did well. 80-100%
SIM 5: HARD. Had to completely guess. Hopefully I get some of them right (there were multiple independent answers).
SIM 6: Relatively easy. 60-100%

I'm guessing one of the two research questions was the pre-test, but I'm really hoping it was SIM 5.

Hopefully the second testlet didn't drive down my score too far. I really don't want to have to study this stuff again.

Posted 4 months ago #
MrsBklovn

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Soo I've been lurking for a while and now that I'm back at this again, I figured I'd contribute..

The History - I've passed REG and lost the credit so I thought I would spend 3 weeks reviewing the material and I took the exam today... I haven't taken an exam since July 2011.

Testlet's weren't bad .. First one was easy, second one appeared to be hard, and on the third one I was tired of taking MCQ's. The research SIMs were harder than I expected.. I spent too much time on the two I had. The other four; 2 of them I blanked out on the formulas and the other 2 were ok.. I'm praying I got at least a 75.

REG- 77 (EXPIRED), 1/2/13 67, 4/1/2013
AUD- 63, 4/2013
BEC- 54, 2/1/13
FAR- 64, 5/2013

Posted 4 months ago #
CPABLUES

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Took it today.....

Testlet 1: Easy
Testlet 2: Seems like it's Easy to Medium-and yes, the business law part killed me.
Testlet 3: Easy
Easy-to easy to med-to easy---> Not a good sign! Yet, I still had a bunch of questions that i wasn't sure.

Sim 1: i probably got 50% right
Sim 2: 80-90% right
Sim 3: HARD! A bunch of independent questions, that I'm guessing I probably got all of it wrong. Maybe i'll be lucky to get one or two!
Sim 4: Easy
Sim 5: Easy
Sim 6: 80-90% right

Somehow, I think I did better on the Sim than MC questions, which is odd. The 1st time I took it, i did decent on the MC, and did poorly on the Sims.

All I really want is a 75. I want this part to be over and done with! I HATE REG! Why do they torture us?!

Posted 4 months ago #
BuckytheCPA

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Sounds like we had similar experiences. I was really blindsided by that second MC set. I wouldn't be surprised if I got almost half of them wrong. And the SIMS were easy...

I scored so well on the MCs on the Becker review tests... so I'm pretty disappointed with the actual exam..

Posted 4 months ago #
BuckytheCPA

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My last post about my REG exam yesterday! I promise! lol

I can't shake it. One thing that I'm worrying about now is that in one of my SIMS I realized I had added something that I shouldn't so I deleted everything from that line... but I didn't move the other entries/lines in that section up. I would assume it isn't a big deal... but now I'm worried that if it is computerized scoring... a blank line could throw something off. Hopefully they just grade the subtotals!

OK, as I typed this, I started to feel better because it sounded so ridiculous. Hopefully no issues here...!

(I'm such a spaz)

Posted 4 months ago #
samdiegoCPA

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Bucky, you're just like me. However, to keep me a bit sane, I did NOT think about my SIMS at all... I had a friend ask me the topics of mine and I told her 2 of them in a very general sense (and to not disobey rules) but I did not want to think of them again, otherwise I'd go over the answers in my head 1000 times. I've never in my life gone over questions after the exam cus I have terrible after test anxiety and it seems you do too!

AUD: 84
REG: July 1, 2013
BEC: August, 2013
FAR: October, 2013

Posted 4 months ago #
VTCPAsomeday

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Any suggestions for preparation for the week before the exam? I've been studying since the week before Thanksgiving, and seem to have a solid base in all the subjects...it's the micro-details that the exam usually seems to get into that I'm worried about.

Posted 4 months ago #
H.Singh7

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@disonthewaytocpa

Sorry for the late reply.
I didn't watch any videos. I used Becker and did all the questions 3 times.(Must) I made notes every time in a notebook.

Then once I was done with them three times, I did small practice tests with about 20 questions, about 10 total tests. I wrote down what areas I was weak at and re-read the sections of the textbook for those areas.

Then I made about 30 index cards of all the formulas & key items that I struggled with.

Next, I did all the TBS twice or most of them twice.

I spent about 5-6 hours a day. 21 days times 5hrs = 105 hours.

Its a lot but a smart, organized study plan goes a long way. I stayed focused because test date was near and I wanted to be done with this exam because then I would only have one left. Find whatever motivation you can and use it. I made no plans, didn't go anywhere for that time. Just work, and study.

BEC Passed
AUD Passed
FAR 1/13
REG Passed

Posted 4 months ago #
CubsFan7

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Just got back from REG retake - it was the opposite of my first experience, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing? lol

10/1/12 test - I felt awful through the MCQ, and "decent" on the TBS. (Result = 72)
1/3/13 test - felt pretty darn good through the MCQ, but LOST on many of the TBS. I got the research at least, and maybe part of 2 other questions. But for 2 sims I really didn't even know what they were asking for.

I made sure to leave nothing blank in the TBS, although for some that meant doing calculations without really knowing what I was doing. (I had the pleasure of having NO dropdown lists/choices in my TBS - aside from my research question - so I had to fill in dozens and dozens of empty cells with no way to check my work/see if I was on track.)

Overall, I REALLY want to be pass and be done with REG. I feel like I know enough now to deserve a 75 - but I'm not sure if my test will show that to the examiners.

Oh, and a big thanks to Jeff for the NINJA program. I really credit the audio/study guide for making me feel comfortable with the MCQ's this time around.

Is it February 5 yet?

AUD - PASSED (91) - 8/2/2012
BEC - PASSED (86) - 10/15/2012
REG - PASSED (72, 79) - 1/3/2013
FAR - FAILED (71) - WAITING FOR SCORE 5/18/2013

Posted 4 months ago #
rossbenny

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Just took REG today. It is going to be borderline because I could not tell if the MCs became harder, but there were definitely some lengthier/harder questions mixed in. I am not sure if all of them have to be harder or how that works. Not every one was harder, but I could tell there were lengthier and harder questions in testlet 2 and 3. The simulations were difficult. There was one where I had never seen before. I studied topics that did not show up on the exam and I encountered topics on the exam that I have never studied.

When people say their testlets got harder, do you mean every question was harder or you just saw a handful of lengthier questions in the testlet?

FAR 7/28/12 77
BEC 8/31/12 82
AUD 10/12/12 58 2/8/13 78
REG 11/30/12 64 1/5/13 80

Posted 4 months ago #
primgirl

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I took the exam this morning and it wasn't as bad as I expected. Disclaimer: I work for a small CPA firm and am entering my 7th tax season. One of the advantages of working in a small firm is you get to do every type of return imaginable. For the past two years I've been the office reviewer, which means I see every return we do before it goes out the door. I am the go to person for research in my firm and I honestly really like tax.

I thought the 1st testlet was incredibly basic. On all of the other parts of the exam I thought the 1st testlet was medium/hard. I'm really bad about judging if the testlets get harder, but the second one did not seem that much harder than the 1st. The second testlet focused more on a specific type of taxable entity. I don't know if it was supposed to be harder because I have had a lot of experience in the type of entity. The questions in the third testlet were more obscure. One of the questions I know I did not see in any of my testing material, in fact I checked when I got home. However I did know the answer because I've had to research it at work before.

The sims were also not as bad as I expected. Two of the sims were difficult and I used the research function to help answer them. I "think" I got them mostly correct. The wording on the choices in the drop down menu for one of the harder SIMS was odd and not at all concise. One of the sims seemed difficult at first glance, but was not at all once I got into it. One of the sims was very simple. I had two research question, one easy and one hard. I think I got in the ballpark with the hard one, but I'm not sure if I got it correct. I hate the authoritative literature on this test because it is not at all what I would use if I were researching these questions in real life.

FAR 78
AUD 73 Retake 2/4/13
BEC 74
REG 83

Posted 4 months ago #
Happen4reason

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I am baffled. I just got out of REG and I have to stay I taken REG before and my exam had so many odd ball questions that were absolutely not covered by my review course!!! I am so furious right now.

Posted 4 months ago #
rossbenny

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Primgirl-I feel you on the difficulty of the questions. Like I said, they seemed lengthier but I am not sure if that means they are harder. I don't think we as candidates can tell for sure if the questions get harder or stay the same. All we know for certain is that the first testlest is a medium testlet.

Happen4reason: I totally feel you. There were a couple things that came from left field. We can't do anything now though, just have to wait.

FAR 7/28/12 77
BEC 8/31/12 82
AUD 10/12/12 58 2/8/13 78
REG 11/30/12 64 1/5/13 80

Posted 4 months ago #
TonyTx

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Hi Everyone,

After reading the post of those who just took REG, I feel like I need to push back my exam just to better prepare for this exam. I took all of next week off to just review and redo all of Beckers M/C questions and simulations, in addition to the "Ten Point Combo". Any advice on how to approach this exam and if my time line is enough time to prepare for the REG exam. Any response or comment will be greatly appreciated.

B - 76
A - 84
R - 78
F - May 30th

Posted 4 months ago #
mrwills12

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Just got done taking REG. The 1st testlet was super easy, i only flagged 4 that i wasnt 100% for sure on. The 2nd testlet was a whole different story. It hit my like a ton of bricks, much harder flagged about 6-7 that i did not know. The questions were much wordier and more complex details. The 3rd testlet was even harder then the 2nd testlet. The sims were very managable. Overall hopefully i did enough too pass

FAR - 88 (Jul 2012)
AUD - 85 (Oct 2012)
BEC - 82 (Nov 2012)
REG - 92 (Jan 2013) DONE!

Using Becker Self Study 2012

Posted 4 months ago #
Jeff - another71.com

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Reminder: you cannot disclose even the "nature" of your exam

Example: "My exam was heavy in ___ but not as many ___ as I thought".

If I see disclosure issues, I will delete the entire post. The AICPA takes this seriously.

Just a friendly reminder,

Jeff

Free NINJA Notes/Audio/Flashcards

Posted 4 months ago #

REG - Exam Experience

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