[Anonymous]

I borderline cannot believe I failed REG with a 65… I was expecting a score between 73-77, but clearly I was wrong. The Sims gave me a lot of problems because I had never seen the material before.

Any advice from candidates who failed REG their first time and then passed the second time?

I will be working my ass off again and trying to pass this exam. I’ll probably put in another 100-150 hours to make sure I have a decent chance.

Thanks.

[BatmanInTraining]

Full disclosure, I know I have not failed REG, however if you're looking for some small advice. What I honestly had to do for REG was write my own notes, and even notes off multiple choice questions which helped reinforce the material. When it came to studying sims, I found it more beneficial to really just grasp the concepts than trying to prepare for the million different ways they can format the question. (Other than research question). I used Becker and every homework/exam sim they had was not like the one on the test. They were good practice for nailing down concepts better but overall my opinion is to focus on the content. Also writing notecards was a huge help. REG was the worst one studying wise for me, and struggled the most with it. You can AND YOU WILL do this! Best of luck!

"The night is always darkest before the dawn"

AUD- 76

BEC- 83

REG- 81

FAR - 88

[Anonymous]

@BatmanInTraining

Thanks for your positive feedback. I definitely agree that writing you own notes and really having a thorough understanding of the topics is very beneficial. And, none of my Becker Sims were similar to the exam either. I think I just freaked out and blew it on the Sims. However, a few of the Sims seemed like you would have needed to work in Tax for a year or 2 to really understand what the examiners wanted. I was absolutely dumbfounded by 2 of the Sims.

Goodluck everyone.

[BatmanInTraining]

Honestly it happens, other than my research sim , I felt pretty darn terrible about all my sims, and had to use the authoritative literature just to get a mild idea of how to answer some of the problems. As a recent college grad, definitely agree that work experience probably would have made REG a slightly smaller beast. With the 65, it shows you have a general understanding of the exam, just need to tackle some details, and sadly REG is all about details. So defiantly a great start to what will be a passing grade next time!

-Batman Approved

"The night is always darkest before the dawn"

AUD- 76

BEC- 83

REG- 81

FAR - 88

[Anonymous]

@BatmanInTraining

Thanks again for the positive feedback I think I can pass REG, but I am a little frustrated with my score. Like you said, REG is all about the details. I'll comb through the material again and focus more on the concepts to hopefully improve on the Sims.

Congratulations for passing all of your exams my friend!!

[TheGoodCPA]

I've been studying for REG for more than a year.. I got 57, 58, and finally 77. I will admit the first 2 times I did terrible was because I was lazy and arrogant thinking I got this, but nope.. you really have to put in your 100% to pass this monster of a test..

That being said, here's my advice: Start completely over, take new notes and don't rely on your past notes. Practice a set amount of multiple choice and sims a day. If you do alot of sims on Becker (or any other review), you get used to doing them and it gets easier on the actual test. My first 2 tests I completely bombed the sims but this time around I got stronger because I really put in a lot of effort to use the authoritative guidance. Get familiar with that because it can come really handy on the test.

Good luck!!

AUD - 83
BEC - 81
FAR - 77
REG - 77

*Prays to the CPA Gods*

AUD - 83 (5/13/16)
FAR - 77 (7/20/16)
BEC - (8/12/16)
REG - (10/15/16)

[Lamis]

I got 65 in the first time before the exam changes , I was in hurry to take it before the new changes , I didn't nail the entity taxation and didn't practice enough sims, sim used to be my nightmare.
second time I got 82 after the exam changes! I purchased ninja MCQs and sims , I practiced all sims 3 times in Becker till I got them all right, focused on my weak areas ,take ur time in study don't rush to the exam till ur exactly sure u will get 99, cuz the exam is extremely hard anyway , u should not sit for the exam if u know u missed any area.
Don't give up , u can and u will do it 🙂

AUD - 83
BEC - 77
FAR - 79
REG - 82

It's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be worth it!

 

[the marathon continues]

I feel the same way as well. I felt I did a lot better and was expecting a pass for REG. I took in 8/21 and turns out i did 2 points worse than FAR. I'm so disappointed in myself and the results. I dont want to even think about having to restudy for REG all over again…

FAR - 70 - 5/30/17, 75 - 9/10/18
REG - 68 - 8/21/17, 82 - 12/10/18
BEC - 72 - 12/4/17, 86 - 3/5/18
AUD - 61 - 3/4/19, 63 - 5/28/19, 77 - 8/26/19

yo fk audit, for real for real
~no one said it would be easy

[Anonymous]

@TheGoodCPA

Thanks for your advice about rewriting my notes again, practicing using the AL, and reworking the Sims and MCQ's. I agree with what you said about starting over, but it should be a lot easier this time around – hopefully.

@Lamis
I 100% agree with you about nailing down entity taxtation – super, super important. And, I may purchase some Ninja materials since I have memorized some of Becker's materials. My buddy swears by the Ninja material and I sometimes regret purchasing Becker's overpriced products. But, it is what it is.

Thanks guys for the encouraging feedback. I have been feeling like shit and down today, but I'm STRONG and will recover. Like you guys said, I can and WILL pass this Beast!

Goodluck to all of the other candidates out there making sacrifices. No one truly understands these exams except other Candidates!

✌️

[seju52179]

if you took the exam then I would assume that you covered the whole subject.
with that being said, just go for MQs and sims, just study what you got wrong, and occasionally go over your notes.
i did like 50~70 MQs and 1 or 2 sims per day for 30 days and re-took the test and passed (barely but passed)
if you have more time than i recommend doing 70~90 MQs and 2 or 3 sims. but you must go over the questions that you got it wrong. that is the best way to learn your mistakes.

AUD - 75
BEC - 81
FAR - 76
REG - 75

“Of course it’s hard.  If it were easy, everyone would do it.  It’s the hard that makes it great.”        -Tom Hanks

[habitual]

I failed REG with a 68 the first time. I knew I wasn't fully prepared for it, and I walked out of the testing center knowing I failed. As horrible as REG is, I can honestly tell you that studying the material for the second time isn't as bad as it may seem. When I was going through the material the second time, so much more was clicking than it was initially. I could just tell I was getting a better grasp on the concepts, and I forced myself to really pay attention to the things I skimmed over the first time because I thought they were too hard.

Personally, I learn the most from reading the chapters. I would recommend reading the textbook cover to cover and doing tons of MCQ. I didn't practice any sims because I felt like it was a waste of time. The sims on the exam are so much different than becker i just didn't see the point. I did go through the solutions though! Good luck, you got this!

BEC - 74, 79

AUD - 82

REG - 68, 80

FAR - 79

[Meg267]

I failed REG the first time. I passed the second time with a 20 point jump. How did I do it? I started over. Completely over. I went through EVERYTHING again. Took all new notes. I used Wiley materials and then supplemented with Ninja materials. It was good for me to see two different ways of presenting the same topics.

Take the “free” break during your exam. It's a great way to get away from the computer for a few minutes, stretch your legs, and calm your nerves. Then go back to the exam ready to crush the remaining simulations.

**Edit: I have literally no tax experience.

BEC - 57, 68, 78
REG - 62, 82
AUD - 61, 76
FAR - 79

Licensed.
No one ever fails the CPA exam, there are only those who give up.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for your replies and encouragement. I sincerely appreciate all of the feedback and it gives me hope. I just feel like saying f*ck it because I am so done with this sh*t. But, I'm in too deep and really need to pass REG on my retake and be done.

Thanks again everyone and hang tough. Gotta keep Grinding it out.

[Matt]

I love these more positive forum posts.

Gleim/NINJA

FAR 74,81 Pass November 2016
AUD 71,74,84 Pass January 2017
BEC 79 Pass March 2017
REG 71,80 Pass November 2017

FAR 74

[ddongmo4]

I failed REG after losing it, (69) and passed on my 2nd trial with the new exam (83). After reading reviews from this blog of people who took the new format, I studied so hard and I wanted to come back here and help someone else too.
I used a combination of Becker, Yeager Cram, and Gleim test bank. It worked perfectly for me. I watched Becker lectures once and did all the MCQs, then I took the first final exam. I watched lectures for a second time and took notes. I watched Yaeger Cram, wrote my own notes. I read over all my notes and did Becker 2nd final exam. Then I used Gleim Testbank. I must say that taking notes and reading them really helped me understand the concepts. Gleim MCQs testbank are very detailed and challenging, but they are really helpful in understanding the hard concepts. I printed all the MCQs answers I got wrong and read over the answers explanations until it made sense. I didn't start practicing SIMS until 5 days after the exam.I used Gleim to practice SIMS. Their Sims are more similar to the ones on the REG exam. I also took the AICPA sample REG exam and worked on understanding the sims I got wrong. Understanding the concepts and doing them over until I got them right and it paid off. I got one sim that really similar to the AICPA sample one. You have to really understand the concepts to do well with SIMS. I will highly recommend complementing Becker with Gleim test bank. I love Becker. I used it as my main course to pass all four sections, it gives you a general understanding, but there are some other topics that Becker don't go over in details, but Gleim does. For anyone who has no experience in Taxation, Yaeger Cram lecture and especially book is really good. I printed the topics pages I needed to reinforce my knowledge in and read them. You just have to put in the time. I did really good in SIMS Stronger than average. I felt it was because I understood the materials. For the DRS SIMS, You don't always need all the information thrown at you, but you need to be technical to know what you need and where to look for it. Hope it helps~! Don't give up, keep at it and you will eventually pass. It took me 2 and 1/2 years and losing, retaking 2 parts to finally pass all four sections of the CPA exam! If I can do it, anyone can!

[Author]

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