[mom2fourinpink]

Well, I studied for what seemed like a gazillion hours for BEC and scored a 59…. I feel completely deflated and very disappointed even though I completely lost it during the test in terms of my heart rate and ability to calm down. I let my nerves get the better of me, and knew when I walked out that I had failed the test… but NOW WHAT DO I DO?

I am going to take it again in May but I need to learn how to calm down on test day… any advice? I am not giving up but I feel like a complete FAILURE. I feel like I’ve let down so many people it’s ridiculous… most of all myself.

What I learned about the test is that it’s super HARD and that I didn’t do enough MCQ’s…so I am not walking away without a better understanding of what I am in for, but I am super depressed over having to start all over again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated-

I used Yaegar and Wiley Test bank (just not enough)

BEC - 2/13/13 (59) retake 5/15/13
AUD -
REG -
FAR -

[mla1169]

I believe now that you've BTDT once, your nerves won't be quite as intense the 2nd time. I mean you went, you took it and you even know now how to handle not passing. What could you possibly be nervous about at this point? Hang in there!

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[LSNYC]

First off you are not a failure at all, it was your first exam, a lot of us have been there. All you can do is take a day relax then kick it into high gear! I would recommend the NINJA notes for BEC, they were exrtremly helpful.

Next look at the positive better to fail your first exam then your 4th your 18 month window hasn't started yet, so keep studying and kill this test in Q2!

A - 61, 91!!
B - 78!
F - 76!!!
R - 71, 73, 74, 69, 77!!!!

Finally done!

This is my 2nd attempt at the exam, I had two parts passed (failed many) and I stupidly quit, big mistake. Now I'm back and with a vengeance!

[MCLKT]

I've been there.

Yaeger says to only only do the homework they assign, but I highly disagree. If you do all of the homework and understand those concepts front, back, and sideways, you'll be on the right track. But not ready for test day.

You need to do a ridiculous amount of homework. So you feel comfortable answer random questions. Do as many practice questions as you can until you want to throw your computer across the room.

And calm the hell down, it's only a test 🙂 I say this with love, because I have to tell myself the exact same thing. On multiple test days I walked up to the Prometric feeling physically ill and sweating. I would get sooo nervous and psych myself out.

It wasn't until I changed my way of thinking and decided I deserved to pass, reminded myself that I put in the effort, and I could do this, that's when I finally got my first passing score. It took a year and it was a confidence thing for me. Once I approached the exam like it was a battle and I had to win, that's when the nerves calmed down.

Lastly, don't give in and don't let up. You can do this.

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

[whatamidoing]

First thing to do is breathe and relax. These are hard exams and being a type A personality, I totally understand not wanting to let yourself and others down. Instead of spending time worrying about what others may or may not think of your score, you have to pick yourself up and look to the next exam. The most important piece I got from your post was that you've already taken things away to improve upon for next time – i.e. doing more practice MCQs, getting your nerves under control. I think that's a huge step for moving forward and improving your score to pass next time.

If I get nervous during the exam, I usually just close my eyes for a few seconds, breathe, and think back to all my prep time to boost my confidence that I do know this stuff (or at least 75% of it!). If that doesn't work, I usually flag the question and come back to it later. The worst thing you can do for your psyche during the exam is start to freak out if you don't know a MCQ or SIM. During FAR, I got this super ridiculous SIM that came out of left field. Instead of panicking, I broke down the SIM into more manageable parts and used the AL to the best of ability and made educated guesses based on what I did know from my studying.

Good luck next time! Look at the things you've already said for improvement and move on from there. Don't dwell on your score.

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

DONE!

[mom2fourinpink]

thank you so much for all the advice and the responses. I appreciate the advice so much. I plan on doing thousands of MCQ's and really focusing on my time management skills hopefully that alone will alleviate some of my stress… I was not handling the calculation problems quickly before I took the test in February so my stress level was through the roof when I got to the test and every problem was a calculation problem – or over half anyway — Gleim states that BEC is primarily non-computational and that is not only misleading and inaccurate it really hurt me because I listened to that and believed it and it was not true. (they sent me something in the mail and I thought it was super helpful… )

As for the NINJA Notes are those different from the Wiley Focus notes?

BEC - 2/13/13 (59) retake 5/15/13
AUD -
REG -
FAR -

[Anonymous]

Don't obsess over it. Get up, dust yourself off, and start studying again. Failure is just another disappointing part of life. You'll get it next time.

[theilya]

I know few people who take beta blockers for severe anxiety, but I would stay away from it.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your rough experience. However, I'm sure you'll be much more mentally ready next time, having gone through it once. You've seen the CPA exam at one of its nastiest moments- and once you've successfully gotten back up and knocked this one out you'll know you can do this!

Did you do any full-length practice exams? Try doing some of those, and do your best to replicate exam conditions. I found that by doing those (while on the clock), I can get some of my nervousness out of the way before the test.

Best of luck to you- I'm sure you'll make everyone proud!

[Author]

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