[DMV18]

Is it just a waste of time to do lectures for FAR? should I go directly to MCQ and TBS?

Your attitude determines your altitude

[Mike J]

That depends. For me, I liked lectures because I took notes throughout my test prep. The lectures formed a baseline for them. As I completed more MCQ and some of the SIMs, I updated my notes.

Ultimately, the lectures are a resource available to you. Use whatever you feel you need to get to 75.

AUD - 90
BEC - 79
FAR - 77
REG - 77

They don't trust JUST ANYBODY to count beans

[RoseMarie]

It depends on how you learn best, which is something you need to figure out about yourself. There is no way I could have passed the two sections I did without lectures. I learn best by listening and very little form just reading so I listen to every lecture at least one and some more than that. I only read the book after I have a general understanding of a topic just to fill in details and see it put together in writing. Then I move on to MCQ and TBS (sometimes, although I practiced less than 30 or so TBS for FAR and less than 10 for BEC). A little TBS practice to determine timing and some of the possible structures is maybe helpful but overall most TBS are basically just like a bunch of MCQ combined into one big problem with the same set of facts instead of new facts for each part so practicing them didn't seem as important to me as just getting through as many MCQ as possible.

FAR - 11/05/18 - 92

BEC - 12/04/18 - 95

AUD - 2/27/19 - 96

REG - 4/17/19 - 93

I’m done!!

 

[DMV18]

Thank you guys!

Your attitude determines your altitude

[Steven K]

Not sure if you're still looking for responses but i'll give you my opinion. The true answer is “it depends.” This is because everyone learns differently and you ultimately have to find what works best for you. I originally started studying for the CPA about a year ago, I would watch the Becker lectures, do the MCQ, etc. Ended up failing FAR and AUD with a 70 both times and tanked REG (NTS was expiring). I took a few months off and decided I would start back up while doing my MAcc degree. I realized that watching the lectures was ineffective for me because a.) I didn't have 8 hours to spend per week on just lectures, and b.) they would spend like 45 minutes on a topic that was 6 pages and I could finish in 20mins. So overall, I switched my strategy to skipping the lectures, and even the practice skill sets within each module. To be honest, I don't even do the MCQ as I go through the material and save all of it to the end. Now maybe this won't work for you, but it helped me pass FAR in a month (November), then AUD a month later, and hopefully pass REG and BEC within a month of each other (took those earlier this month and last month; waiting for 2/26 score release). So ultimately I went from not being able to pass a section, to potentially passing all 4 in 4 months simply by figuring out a strategy that works for me.
Obviously if you skip the lectures, you have to read the book. What I did was I would read 2 chapters a week and re-write important concepts in a padfolio/notebook. Then when I got through the chapters, I would do a rapid review and go through 2 chapters a day, and when i was done with that, I just drilled MCQ (I think for REG i average 400 NINJA MCQ/day) for about a week before my exam. Never bothered to take the Becker Mock Exams but did take the AICPA exams.

"If you put in the extra effort at the beginning, the process won't take as long."

FAR - 81 (11/10/18)
AUD - 79 (12/8/18)
REG - 84 (1/22/19)
BEC - 84 (2/13/2019)

[pwhite8388]

I really think you need to either watch the lectures or read the book. You don't need to do both though. I've passed all my exams by watching the lectures, doing the practice questions, and then cramming MCQs. Without watching the lectures, I wouldn't have had the background knowledge to do the MCQs. It's one thing to use MCQs to shore up weak areas but it's an entirely different thing to try to exclusively learn from MCQs. At least in my case, I needed that background info from the lectures as a foundation.

FAR-81 August 2018
REG-81 November 2018
AUD-83 January 2019
BEC-91 March 2019

[12tang]

I think reading is most important. However! There will be tips, tricks and hints in the lectures that you will not find in the reading or even MCQ. If you can, maybe watch them at 1.25 or 1.5x the normal speed. If you find just reading works out, then maybe watch lectures for only problematic areas. With me, I cannot skip anything. It's just not worth the gamble to me to skip something in my studies and get a 74 or less…

BEC - PASS

FAR - PASS

AUD - PASS

REG - PASS

BOOM!  JUST LIKE THAT, I GOT MY LIFE BACK!  =D

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[Jimmy Dugan]

I get the most out of reading the book but watch the lectures on areas that I have trouble with after starting MCQ. RE: FAR specifically, it would have been pretty damned hard to not watch the lectures on at least Governmental and NFP just because I had no academic background in those areas. I have also used the lectures on revenue recognition and leases, both of which have changed quite a bit since the last time I passed FAR.

AUD - 95
BEC - 87
FAR - 84
REG - 90

You're killing me Smalls

 

[HT415]

The “it depends” is 100% correct. Depends on how you learn best… BUT

I would say rule of thumb is it doesn't hurt to watch the lectures one time through just to gain an understanding and see something other than the textbook. Sometimes there might be something they say that better phrases something written in the book or they mention something that isn't in the material. After you run through it one time it may help or it may not, but at the minimum you might get a nugget or two that you can use going forward.

I failed quite a few times so I had more opportunities to go back to the lectures and I eventually felt I had enough, if I could go back I'd watch them once or maybe twice but that's it. I do think that they are helpful as a separate form of learning other than just reading, but again that part depends on how you learn best. I think mixing it up is always refreshing to the brain and helps you stay interested.

AUD - 77
BEC - 77
FAR - 75
REG - 82

Licensed CPA practicing in California.

This journey is a test of will.

The feeling you get when you see that last score, is like no other.

[Brokenglass]

Everyone learns differently, but I'll share my experience. I skipped the lectures for FAR because:
1) I went through the first 2 units and realized that I remember the material from Bachelor/Master's courses, so I stopped doing lectures and went straight to MCQ.
2) For my previous sections I'd go through the lectures and then do the MCQ and end up with a 60%-70%, mainly because a lot of MCQ isn't covered by the lectures. I ended up with the same average doing MCQ without lectures.
3) FAR is calculation-based, my thought was that I learn calculations better through working actual questions and that although lectures are helpful, a good portion of them is spent on doing the math, which is a waste of time.

I did all the MCQ and did a little less than half of the simulations. According to the score report, I ended up getting 75-80% on the MCQ and 40-45% on the sims. The second time I still skipped the lectures and redid all the MCQ, but did almost all of the sims. Score isn't out yet but my first thought was that I scored anywhere between 70-82%.

But then again what works for you might not work for everyone. Is this the first section you're taking? if not how did you study for the previous ones and did it work? That's how I would evaluate and adjust my technique.

AUD 77 (6/2018)

REG 77 (9/2018)

FAR 61 (12/2018), 84 (1/2019)

BEC 88 (2/2019)

Studying time using Becker (4-6 hours)

AUD: 16 days

REG: 13 days (skipped units 7 and 8 and did only flashcards instead)

FAR: 28 days, 12 days, skipped lectures for both attempts

BEC 13 days

[yfz]

Like other posts mentioned, it depends.

I skipped the lecture and read the book instead when I did my first round review. Why? Because most of the time Becker's lecturer just read the text without explaining too much. I used the pre-annotated ebook so all the notes are there.

Then after my first mock exam, I listened to the lecture at 1.5 speed with a Bluetooth headphone when I was doing something not important, like cooking. Since I already know most of the material, listening to it is like a re-emphasize of the key points. And it's a more efficient use of time.

FAR - PASSED ON 12/19/2018

REG - PASSED ON 2/5/2019

AUD - PASSED ON 3/19/2019

BEC - PASSED ON 5/7/2019

[Author]

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