[Noct]

Make a commitment.

This exam is no walk in the park. It requires a significant investment of time and energy. If you decide to pursue it, give it your all! Dabbling can easily lead to frustration, and be very costly.

Take the hardest section first.

The first exam you pass is the only one you aren’t “on the clock” to pass. You can retake it as many times as you need to at any pace you’d like. Of course, “hardest” is relative to each person, so I suggest taking some practice exams to determine your weakest subject.

Have a plan.

Once you pass a section, put together a detailed plan of when to take each remaining section allowing for retakes. 18 months may seem like a lot, but there are only 6 testing windows in 18 months, so your oppertunities to retest are not infinite. I suggest taking 2 sections per testing window as this will allow 1 1/2 months of study time for each section while allowing plenty of time for retests.

Retake failed sections ASAP.

If you fail a section, retake it before any other sections if at all possible. This will allow you to maximize the benefit from the studying you’ve already done.

Schedule early.

Set your appointment as soon as you get your NTS. You can reschedule for free as long as it’s more than 30 days away from the test date. Scheduling early gives you more flexibility if you need to change your plan to accomodate a retest or other factors (family, illness, work, etc.)

When in doubt, MCQ!

If you are short on time to study, or simply feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, practice multiple choice questions are always a good option. After all, MCQ is the majority of your score for every section. To maximize benefit, make sure you understand why you got each question wrong/right.

Take breaks.

Studying continuously for hours on end is less productive than studying for a few hours per night with breaks. Start studying early so you don’t have to cram at the end.

Read questions carefully

The exam is grueling, and the questions are often complex. It is easy to get exhausted or anxious and misread a question, so take a few breaths and read carefully.

If anyone else has some helpful tips to share, please feel free!

FAR - 79 - 07/2012
AUD - 65, 78 - 11/2012
BEC - 76 - 11/2012
REG - 78 - 01/2013
ETH - 98 - 01/2013

Material: Wiley books

[MCLKT]

Bumping a good advice thread…

A:[73]97 F:[74]85 R:86 B:[74]82
*NINJA 10 Pt. COMBO & Yaeger*

[CPA_Runner]

This was well written.

I will add something to your first point about commitment. Your friends/family/coworkers(unless they are going/have gone through it too) will not understand what you are going through. Make sure they understand this is very important to you and that you have to take studying seriously. It is worth the time sacrificed to finish this exam ASAP as opposed to not spending enough time preparing and having to prolong the journey. Like it was said in another thread, your true friends will understand and support you. The others can try to not let the door hit them on the way out.

It is not an enjoyable process, but anything worth having does not come easy.

Best of luck everybody!

AUD - 80 (05/23/2012)
FAR - 75 (08/09/2012)
BEC - 81 (12/05/2012)
REG - 71 (10/16/2012); 70 (02/12/2013); 78 (04/08/2013)
Ethics - 98

[whatamidoing]

Nice thread idea. I would add the following:

– if you are unsure about the answer to a MCQ on the exam, remember not to freak out, and review the four choices and try to determine which of the four is unlike the other three. It doesn't work on every question, but that has helped me before to identify an answer to a question I wasn't comfortable with.

F - 85 (11/2012)
R - 87 (1/2013)
A - 92 (2/2013)
B - 90 (4/2013)

DONE!

[Noct]

Know how to use the authoritative literature. It is possible to look up answers or at least guidance for simulations. Use every resource available to you by familiarizing yourself with the AL before test day.

FAR - 79 - 07/2012
AUD - 65, 78 - 11/2012
BEC - 76 - 11/2012
REG - 78 - 01/2013
ETH - 98 - 01/2013

Material: Wiley books

[Mr.NiceWatch]

Great tips.

I got one too.

If you're struggling with a certain section or chapter, do not waste your time going over and over it. Often times, I find that the material I was struggling with made more sense after going further into the review material. Also, you don't want to spend your time on one section of one chapter when you can get tested on the several other chapters.

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)

[Author]

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