Holding out Hope: Not Giving Up Before REG Exam

Patrick is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

My kids and I had a little contest yesterday to see who could score the highest on a random sample of 20 REG questions out of the Wiley Test Bank. I scored 20%, my 5 year old son scored 15%, and my 7 year old daughter scored 40%!

As improbable as a passing score seems right now, I have not given up. I once read a book on quantum physics that made my head spin but was nevertheless a fascinating read.

One theory stuck with me: if you were to walk into a wall enough times, eventually, there is a chance that your molecules could re-arrange themselves and you could pass through the wall. Not probable, but still possible. That, and the fact that my daughter scored a 40% gives me hope, but it will take a miracle.

I'm focusing mostly on tax still and it is somewhat coming together. I listen to the audio program every morning and in the car. I've abandoned the video lectures in favor of the NINJA Notes and Wiley Test Bank.

One technique that has really helped me, is to pull all of the formulas out of the NINJA Notes and re-create them in an excel spreadsheet with actual formulas and numbers built in. This forces me to actually think about and conceptualize the calculations.

I then print these spreadsheets and use them as a quick resource for working MCQ's. While I don't have the calculations memorized, I feel like I'm making progress.

It has also been helpful to compartmentalize my review. Again I'm focusing on tax right now so instead of working MCQ's on all tax-related questions, I'll focus on a specific area like partnerships or individual taxation. I do 30 questions at a time, referring back to the spreadsheet that I created as needed.

When you review all tax topics together, it's easy to get certain treatments confused between partnerships, corporations, and individuals. I know I'll need to distinguish these eventually, but I think this is the best way to start out. I wish I would have used this approach sooner.

If the Wiley Test Bank is anything like the exam, I think the NINJA Notes have enough information to answer most questions in the exam. In other words, if I truly understood everything in the notes, I think I could pass. The topics not covered by the notes appear random and obscure, and I think I can pick them up through repetition.

I've been listening to a lot of Cinderella lately, to stay energized. I'm not ashamed to admit that they're my favorite band of all time, and that in the 80's, I secretly wanted to be David Hasselhoff.

Related Posts

New NINJA CPA Review Flashcards

Check out the new NINJA Flashcards. No additional app is needed – it’s all included in the new DOJO that’s been optimized for mobile studying. Want To Try The NINJA Flashcards for Free? To Your Success, Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) NINJA CPA | Another71

NINJA CPA Promo Code

Does NINJA CPA Review have any promo codes? No. NINJA CPA Review doesn’t run promo or discount codes. Most CPA Review courses play the discount code game where they say, “this is the price (but it’s not really the price…wink wink)”. NINJA CPA doesn’t play the promo code game. Instead, we offer the same affordable […]

cpa exam simulations

15 New CPA Exam Simulations added to NINJA MCQ

NINJAs, We just added 15 CPA Exam Simulations to the NINJA MCQ Simulation list. New Simulations: FAR: Consolidation: Eliminating Journal Entries AUD: Evaluating Audit Evidence BEC: Direct vs Absorption Costing (SIM), Expected Value (SIM), Budgeting: Master, Static and Flexible (SIM), Economic Indicators (Written Communication), Financial Statement Analysis (SIM), Performance Measurement (SIM), Capital Budgeting Decision (Written Communication), […]

With a Full-Time Job and Two Kids, I PASSED the CPA Exam!

Hello Ninjas, This will be my last blog entry as a NINJA CPA. I found out at the last score release that I passed both AUD and FAR to bring an end to my CPA exam journey. My journey with NINJA began about 4 years ago. After not having taken the exam for 7 or […]

Leave a Reply