[jenuno01]

Hello everyone, just I’d post about my AUD experience today. I hate to feel overly confident, but I think I totally nailed it. I would say that almost every single MCQ I had seen before in Becker…some even word for word! I finished the 3 testlests in about an hour and 15 minutes. I didn’t really notice the questions getting any harder as went on with testlets… maybe a little bit? But I could hardly notice. After my 3 testlets, I had a lot of time left, so I took a break and went to take a sip of Redbull, at this point I was happy of how easy the MCQs were, but I was also freaking out thinking the SIMS would be horribly hard!…To my surprise, they were not very hard. Did anybody else feel good about their test today? I am worried that I’m so confident and end up failing LOL

Class of 2012

[Anonymous]

I think you'll score very high.

[gms361]

I took REG yesterday (hopefully the last one) and felt similar. When I took this test a couple of months ago, it literally felt like it was written in a foreign language. I was in a dream-like state the whole time thinking “can this really be happening?” I probably knew about 10% of the stuff and still squeezed out a 69. How in the heck did that happen? I didn't even know one entire SIM! I'm still amazed. Then, this time around, I was like “I cannot believe that I know this stuff!” It was a totally different experience. I took a break after my MCs and couldn't believe that I actually knew the stuff and wasn't just guessing at everything. I was so nervous to start the SIMS but when I got there, I realized I knew all of them. The research was really hard to find and I don't think I got it. And one of the SIMS was do-able but would have taken me about 4 hours to complete so I entered $10,000 in all the blanks and hoped and prayed it was a pre-test (I don't know if the SIMS have pretests). Anyway, I'm like you – afraid to get too excited b/c I could still bomb! But if I do, I'm gonna be thinking “what the heck do I have to do to pass this thing?” I felt like I knew the stuff.

OH! I so hope we pass!!

AUD - 83
FAR - 78
BEC - 76
REG - 86 PTL!!!!!

Used CPAExcel & Wiley testbank (awesome by the way)

[Mainer]

I had the same exact experience today. I flew through the MC, half of which seemed to come straight from the book, had 2:30ish to do the sims, and just left when I felt comfortable with my answers. I didn't look at the clock before leaving but I know I had at least 1:30 remaining.

I'm hoping I didn't miss something! Nothing is for sure until the score is released.. But I did study pretty hard and I work in audit, so maybe this long journey is over. 🙂 Good luck to you on your score!

FAR - 80 (11/30/10)
BEC - 84 (5/31/11)
REG - 83 (10/1/11)
Aud - 95 (11/30/11)

[katiekanton]

I finished my MCQs in one hour. But the sims…. OH. MY. GOSH.

I'm smart. REALLY smart. I made a 34 on the ACT and went to college on a full scholarship. I graduated with a 4.0 while working full time. My mind has an amazing capacity for consolidating information into logical progressions and remembering COPIOUS amounts of facts (for the short term anyway). Now before you think I'm bragging, I acknowledge that none of this is anything to take credit for, any more than Peri Gilpin (in the first season of Frasier especially) could take credit for her amazing hair. There are plenty of people who can claim they're smart because they worked at it–THOSE people deserve credit. God just decided to give me this mind and compensate by making me struggle with an addiction to Rolos. Anyway, we're just born with different talents, some have an amazing metabolism, some are natural people persons who can sell ice cream to Ben and Jerry. I'm book smart.

Why did I say all that?

There is NO WAY this exam isn't curved. I absolutely could not have prepared more. I knew the review material inside and out. But the sims I got were RIDICULOUS. I honestly don't know how most people pass this EXCEPT that the exam is curved. Now maybe it isn't so much curved as based on percentiles (which is the same thing), i.e. anyone that scored above the 60th percentile gets to go on through the AUD door and immediately forget everything we studied because most of us aren't going to be auditors, but that's another angry rant. (FYI, none of this negates the “adaptive” format of the exam. They aren't mutually exclusive.)

In college I had a professor who couldn't be bothered to get off his lazy butt and update his tests when he changed textbooks. The ONLY way I could get an A on his tests was to buy the solutions manual and work every single problem in the entire chapter until I could do it perfectly. I had to know 100% everything within my power, because I COULDN'T prepare for the questions he was going to pull out of his butt that had never appeared in a lecture or in the textbook.

That's what the CPA exam is like…. times about five. I expected to feel elated having finished (I'm pretty sure I passed). I don't. I feel angry. I hate busy work, and jumping through hoops just because someone can make me. I really feel like the whole system needs a good workover (or a complete start over) and the benefit of a little free market system-ing.

I'm going to get a margarita.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[Anonymous]

@Mainer

I had the same experience! All the multiple choice i felt like i had seen before in my review and the testlets didnt seem to get any harder. I felt like i nailed it. I had 2.45 hrs going into the sims and my sims were 2 research and the other i pulled write from the research as well. The others were a little more detailed but nothing i couldnt understand or not answer. I really felt confident which scares me. I left with 1 hr and 10 mins left.

I really hope I passed.

[yankeeaccountant]

@jenuno and chrystie, and mainer, and katiekanton

sounds like you guys all had good experiences ……. I think I had sims that were most like katiekanton. Mine were tough. Definitely didn't see mine in the review sims that I worked, I felt like the sims were more or less trying to think beyond what was taught. I am not hopeful, but a win would sure feel good.

@katiekanton,

I laughed when I saw your 34. ( not in a bad way) My son got a 34 and the summer before his senior year my hubby and I called him “mr 34”. ( he got a 36 in Reading, I couldn't believe it!!!) I have many times thought, I wish I had his testing chops 🙂 I digress, well, about the curving…… I sure hope it curves my way this time!!!!! Enjoy the margarita!!

[Anonymous]

congrats to those who think sims were easy. 🙂

Audit second time for me, agree with Katie and Yankee, sims were brutal, but all topics were covered by Becker, I knew what they were asking, but I just couldn't sure, every question (except for the research question) I was super not sure 🙁 if sims were only 30% back in the old days i wouldn't worry. oh gosh!! all i want is one more point.

[yankeeaccountant]

@atelery

Damn those sims!!!! I agree, let's go back to the old format 30% sounds better to me!! I am still pulling for ya, hope to see some great news that you are done next week:)

[Anonymous]

@Yankee,

THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙂 I am pulling for you for your audit score as well. Lets hope we both get that 7 and that 5 😀

[katiekanton]

One of the things I'm not particularly good at is writing something and realizing that the reader can't read my mind and I've left out stuff (I'm worried about that with BEC).

The point I was trying to make earlier was that intelligence and ability are not hindrances to me. I have studied for several months, with top of the line review materials, I don't work, my husband is supportive, I have no kids.

If the sims were so frustrating that I left angry, having fully prepared under the best of conditions (those described above), how on earth do people with less than ideal circumstances pass on a regular basis, except if the exam is curved as discussed previously or is tremendously varied in difficulty (and how could that be fair?).

Anyway, sorry for the rambling and the ranting. I appreciate the support of this forum and hope the best for all of us.

@atelery, I hope so much you get your extra point.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[misanthrope87]

Seems like everyone had a good feeling about AUD. I'm in trouble!

B 2/12 87
A 11/11 90
R 8/11 86
F 5/12 88

[jjm1181]

@jenuno01 – glad to hear that you're feeling pretty good about your exam. I could tell my testlests were getting harder am maybe that's why I started getting topics I hadn't seen before. Or maybe I should have looked further at the ancilary material. I think I bombed the sims. They were tough. I had questions that you clearly had to look up and I did, but I spent too much time researching. I'm second guessing a lot of items from that test. Not feeling so great about passing. I hope you nailed it.

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[Anonymous]

@katiekanton

You explained the difficulty of the CPA exam so very well 😛

The sims are plain brutal for all exams. But the first time I took AUD, the sims felt impossibly hard, even the FAR-sim was on one of those impossibly vague FAR-topics.

The second time I knew the FAR-sim (although the tricks were so well concealed) plus two audit-related sims. I believe I did well on the two research questions too. And that's how I passed.

You pass not because you got everything right, but because the rest of the people got even less stuff right. What I hate about the CPA exam is that it makes me feel so dumb and I know that I'm not 😀

[jenuno01]

@jjm I could barely notice an increase in difficulty, and I am hoping this is because I was prepared (that's what I tell myself to make me feel better LOL). Overall, I felt like the SIMS were very do-able. I had one that was clearly a FAR SIM, but it wasn't really tough..no JE's involved. I don't know if I overly simplified the SIMS or if they were actually easy…It's a weird feeling because I was expecting to royallly bomb the SIMS…I guess I don't like feeling good about the test because I know if I failed, I will be crushed, it's such a weird feeling. I wish I could go on and describe each SIM but I shouldn't! I would predict that you passed as well!

Good luck to everyone!

Class of 2012

[Anonymous]

@katie,

thanks, i so wish that too, one point one point, pleaseeeeee!!

[Author]

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