[Ash]

This morning i took the AUD exam for the third time. I studied a lot differently compared to the last two times and I walked out of there feeling better about most of it than I have in the past.

The MCQ was SUPER easy for the first set, and harder for the second set but I still felt I was answering at least 75% of the questions right. I finished the MCQ in 1 hour 45 minutes.

Then came the TBS. I have gotten comparable and weaker on the TBS in the past mostly because I was not studying effectively. Out of the 8 TBS I know maybe 3 I guessed completely on. I of course gave them my best effort but I would be shocked if I got them right. The remaining 5 I know I might have gotten the majority of them right. I knew the subject matters a lot better now that I have studied this much and I have perfected my study technique to work for me.

I am hoping after waiting 4 months I will find out I passed AUD. I am moving onto REG which I bombed last time around. Good Luck to everyone!

AUD- 72, 71, TBD (now i am pissed no more messing around)
BEC-8/29/16
REG-10/10/16
FAR-70 retest-11/28/16

[ssaetern]

Can you share how you studied differently this time around? I take AUD next month. Thanks.

[Ash]

@ssaetern First thing I did differently is I gave myself more time to study. I needed 9-10 weeks. In the first 3 weeks I went through my Becker Materials (watching the videos, doing the MCQ and their new skills practice/Simulations) I only wrote notes when I got questions wrong or guessed and did not know the materials related to the question. I decided reading and copying notes did not work for me personally. The next 6 weeks all I did was Ninja MCQ question sets 30 at a time and I would do anywhere from 3-7+ sets in a day and sporadically I would also do Becker progress tests. Again only taking notes when I got the questions wrong. I also decided to do the Mock Exams in Becker once each and because of the new emphasis on SIMS i decided to do as many Ninja sims as I could on top of the Becker sims from the first 3 weeks. I did a similar study method for BEC and finally passed in February.

The most important thing is I developed a study method for myself. I read the forum while I was failing the first year of taking the exams and I tried other methods (shorter periods of time, not enough MCQ, too much emphasis on writing out notes) but this is what I have put together for myself I feel it has worked and hopefully will get me through to pass the CPA exam by September.

Good luck to you! In your last month I would do as many MCQ as you can.

AUD- 72, 71, TBD (now i am pissed no more messing around)
BEC-8/29/16
REG-10/10/16
FAR-70 retest-11/28/16

[Madhav]

You sounded like me but i thought i did terribly. Regardless, first one i thought i nailed it but to my surprise i got low score. So doing terribly might not sound that terrible at all.

[ssaetern]

@acpa143 thanks again for sharing. My study plan is almost like yours. I found out I was taking too much notes as well. Now I try to only take notes on the concepts that I really don't understand. Good luck to you as well. Hope you pass with flying colors come August.

One more question would you say the SIMS in Becker prepared you well for the actual exam? I'm also using Becker.

[Ash]

@ssaetern I have to answer Yes and No to your question on SIMS in Becker preparing me for the exam. I like practicing the sims because I get used to answering the questions on different topics in a different format from the MCQ. I also feel there is no way in knowing which SIM I will get on the exam and which way the SIM might be formatted since there are so many ways the test could be written. I defiantly feel even answering the MCQ can help me prepare for SIMS because knowing the topics is what is needed for the SIMS and I try to think of each cell of each SIM as just a type of MCQ sometimes you need to type in an answer but the majority of the time you get a choice of different answers.

AUD- 72, 71, TBD (now i am pissed no more messing around)
BEC-8/29/16
REG-10/10/16
FAR-70 retest-11/28/16

[cpa007]

@a cpa143
Are sim on exam similar to ninja. Some people say that, sims are very lengthy and it was like, to many document to flip to ans them. Do you had similar experience. Thanks!

[hiphopbaby]

I know the new exam has three different sections for simulation. Does each tablet have the research source? Research tabs helps a lot for the reporting.

[jivexturk3y]

Yeah each of the 3 TBS testlets allow you to use the AL. Also, you get a 15 min break after the first testlet without it counting against your 4 hr limit.

[CPAwesomeCA]

lol looks like you're used to failure anyway. Your score cracks me up! Keep up the good work!

[maverick87]

@Ash , Great score on AUD! I got the same testing in Q2. 75!! Holy grail!! I took the AUD exam 3x as well.
61, 56, 75.

Attempt 1 (61) 2016 Q3. I studied pretty hard, but realized I did not do enough mcq and sims. I also don't think I got the research question correct on either attempt 1 or 2. Sims were not too bad, but I did have some tough mcq.

Attempt 2 (56) 2017 Q1. had tough mcq and tough sims. I don't think I got the research question correct. I took this one in the middle of February during busy season. It was kind of a shot in the dark attempt. I did not study to par. I probably studied 15-20 hours/week for 4 weeks while working 48-56 hours/week.

Attempt 3 (75) 2017 Q2. I think I killed the mcq, sims were not as difficult as other times I have taken but were manageable and I am 100% I got the research question correct. This time around I did a hell of a lot more mcq. I finally supplemented with ninja mcq. I studied at minimum 25 hours a week. Sometimes went up to 32 hours a week. 4 weeks to study material over again and a week to review.

Now I only have FAR to pass. I have not attempted FAR yet. Good luck in the rest of your journey.

[Author]

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