Some motivation if you’re feeling discouraged

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  • #2917671
    alpot
    Participant

    Hey Everyone,

    Want to share my story and hope that it helps anyone that might need some motivation if they are feeling down or discouraged about the tests.

    I started studying in 2017 and decided to start with reg since I am in the tax industry. Thought I would get a quick W to jump start the tests. I was wrong, failed my first time taking reg and decided to retake it. I retook it 4 months later and passed. I moved onto FAR which was much harder to study for than REG in my opinion, I really struggled and ended up completely bombing it with a 57.

    At that point it was about a year into studying and I felt some pressure since I have overlap coming in less than 6 months (I really took my time studying which was a mistake). I decided to switch up my approach and take AUD, BEC, and REG (it overlapped) and save FAR for last. I took AUD in March of 2019 and failed… At this point I knew I would have to take REG again and essentially start from scratch after nearly 2 years of studying. I was very discouraged and seriously contemplated giving up. I decided to retake AUD and go from there, I remember telling myself if I fail AUD again I am going to give up… I passed with a 75 and moved on to BEC. I really started making a routine out of my studying and found a formula that worked which I will share later on this post. I passed BEC with an 82 and then took REG again and passed it with a 79. Finally, I have 3 tests down with FAR to go, I was extremely nervous since I completely bombed it the first time with a 57, but I decided to take the same approach with the last three tests and study my ass off. I passed FAR with a 77 yesterday and I cannot be more relieved!

    Moral of my story is to not get discouraged! If it is something you really want to do it doesnt matter how long it takes you. Remember that you only fail if you give up! It was a long and hard 3 years of my life but I pushed through and it feels so good to see my hard work pay off.

    For anyone wondering what I changed and how I studied to pass 4 straight tests (I used Wiley only)

    1) I started by going through the video lessons and would only watch them once, do the multiple choice until I got a 75 and move on. Did not want to spend a log of hours on the video lessons.

    2) Once I was done with video lessons I went straight to the test bank and filtered to questions I had not seen yet. I went through each topic and each question until I had seen every single question.

    3) I filtered to questions I got wrong and went through every single wrong question over and over until I got a 75+ completion on each topic.

    4) Once I got 75+ on each I just cranked out multiple choice questions covering all 4 sections. I did about 100 questions a day until test day.

    Few things to note: I never touched the book or the flash cards, those are a waste of time in my opinion. I also did not touch the practice tests (also think those are a waste of time. I would skim through the simulations the last few days and I would only do the shorter ones because the long once are just research and I did not want to waste time on them.

    What I would take away from studying is to REALLY FOCUS ON MULTIPLE CHOICE. Beat it to death until you understand the concept.

    I hope this will help you guys in some way. If I can do it literally anybody can.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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  • #2917890
    MalEvon
    Participant

    OMG Thank You for posting this. I am starting to study now for FAR and it seems overwhelming considering it has been years since I've graduated. I like your tips and will take this into consideration. I am also using Wiley and see how it works out with FAR.

    Again thanks for your post.

    #2918172
    Tncincy
    Participant

    Very encouraging post. Congrats on passing. Keep those fingers crossed for the rest of us. I'm determined this year that nothing will stop me from studying and passing.

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader.....time to pass

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

    #2918583
    f
    Participant

    I hope to pass all 4 exams too. Even though I've passed 1 section there's still a little doubt in me wondering if I could really do this. Congrats to you!! When you suggest cranking out mcq, how comfortable were you with the concepts? When you got questions wrong did you really learn from the explanations themselves?

    A-

    B- 82

    F-

    R-

    #2930796
    Road2CPA
    Participant

    Thank you so much for the encouragement! I'm scheduled to take BEC on Sunday, and it's my first exam of the 4. I've been so nervous and don't know what to expect, so I've perusing the forum for various tips. I stumbled across your post and the title caught my attention because I've let my nervousness get the best of me these past couple of weeks.

    AUD - 81
    BEC - 83
    FAR - 75
    REG - 75
    Great things never come from comfort zones - Roy T. Bennett
Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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