[FutureCPA]

Hi everyone,

So I was wondering if anyone has studied audit for MONTHS (I plan for 3) and reviewed two weeks and passed. I am concerned about not retaining information. I record my notes and play it during my drive to work and back to help keep the topics fresh.i plan to leave two weeks to review all 4 areas.

I am asking because I am trying this approach for my next test date because frankly, I dk what else to do. I can’t seem to pass audit. Also, it’s taking me long to go through material. I take lecture notes and MCQs notes and it takes time. However, I am getting good scores on MCQs. I get to ponder on the topic and really get it.

I need to pass before busy season.

[Recked]

Seems like a rather long time to me.
When I was just starting out it was recommended to me to never study more than 8-10 weeks at the most.
If you do try 3 months I would recommend you spend one day per week doing cumulative quizzes so you don't forget the earlier material.

[Hank Scorpio]

That is too long I think. I took 10 weeks for REG and felt that was long. Give yourself 2-4 hours a day minimum and get into the material.

FAR - 10/3/16
BEC - 69 - 10/31/16
AUD - November 2016
REG - December 2016

[pwhite8388]

That seems like way too long. I started studying for audit on December 5th, took the exam on Jan 31st, and passed with an 83. I spent one month going over the Wiley lessons and one month reviewing. In hindsight I should have reviewed for 2 weeks tops instead of a month. This was while working full time too.

[lfranc8]

I studied for 6 months. I was initially schedule to take it in February and then moved it to after Tax Season ( I work full time in the tax sector). I was also planning my wedding. I took it a month before my wedding and passed with a 77. I am not sure if that helps!

[jombe]

I studied ~3 months per section, every section.

FAR - 94 (10/4/15), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
AUD - 99 (1/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
REG - 96 (4/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
BEC - 91 (7/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ

581 days of listening to lectures, reading texts & 10,000+ MCQs...

[WarEagle]

I studied for ~2 months for AUD.

The key is to consistently review. I liked to create my own note cards, and review them on my lunch break or when I needed a break from MCQs. Listening to your recorded notes should be effective as well. Also, Recked makes a good point about using one day a week to review. I would usually spend my Saturdays reviewing earlier chapters by going over notes/doing cumulative quizzes.

Good luck!

[ndunsmore]

As a previous poster said, 3 months is much to long to study for audit. You cannot expect to remember everything you have learned in such a long period of time. I am about to take audit this Wednesday after having studied for 1 month. If I were you I would try to find a way to increase your time per day spent reviewing the material and try to take the exam no later than 6 weeks. You should also consider that studying for a whole quarter minimizes the amount of time you can sit for the exam because chances are you will miss out on the next quarter to retake if you failed. All the best, just my 2 cents.

[FutureCPA]

Lfranc8 and jombe, thank you so much for sharing your success with studying for 3 months. I feel like I have no other choice with work.
You have to tell me how you kept material in your head? Do you think my method would work?

Pwhite and Hank Scorpio, you are smarter than me. Hands down.

I need to pass before busy season.

[jombe]

A lot of people would feel that what I did was an overkill since all you need is a 75, but I put in a minimum of 3 hours a day during the week for ~3 months and I listened to all the lectures, read the book, took notes, did ~2,000 MCQs and 100-150 Sims. Any problems I got wrong, I looked at the explanations and made sure I understood the reasoning behind the correct answer. I did all that per section. I never tried “listening” to notes though. I took most weekends off for my own sanity. 2 weeks prior to the exam, I studied on Saturdays, but I took Sundays off. ~3 hrs per day also should be manageable even if you have a full time job. That's the exact reason I never studied more than 3-4 hrs a day. I was afraid of getting burnt out and just giving up.
–
If you do all that, you should be able to retain enough materials to pass and still keep your sanity.
W/ enough repetition, you should be able to retain what you need to pass.
–
W/ that said, everyone is different and my method might not work for you, just like some of the methods mentioned above would've not worked for me. Passing the CPA is really about finding the studying method that works for you and sticking w/ it long enough to pass it.

FAR - 94 (10/4/15), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
AUD - 99 (1/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
REG - 96 (4/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
BEC - 91 (7/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ

581 days of listening to lectures, reading texts & 10,000+ MCQs...

[Biff Tannen]

Ideally for audit, you want to complete all the chapters within 6-7 weeks (about 1 chapter per week if using Becker) and leave 1 week of study/final review. 3 days before your exam make sure to work on nonstop MCQ's. The day before your exam make sure to go through flashcards.

[YouCanDoIt]

Well nothing is impossible. Just need dedication to a plan. I did the 1 test per Q so that's about 2 – 2.5 months max. Have BEC coming up, and god my brain HURTS. So ready to be done with it.

FAR: 76
REG: Currently studying
AUD:
BEC:

[Jimmy Dugan]

I have done 2 months per section. Honestly, if you have already taken audit after going through the course, you may just need to spend all your time doing random MCQ and Sims. Use the analysis tools in whatever test bank you have to figure out your weak areas and attack those.

[lfranc8]

@FutureCpa So I finished sitting for the 150 in December gave myself a two week break and went straight into studying for AUD. I basically almost had a breakdown because I was trying to sit for it in two months. I also had just finished two years of night school to get to the 150. I rescheduled for May 12. I then took another two to three week break because honestly I needed it. I then restudied from maybe mid Feb to my test date. I felt that audit was my strongest one to start with. I had a great Aud teacher and even had recorded lectures I could listen too. While I think your strategy will work for AUD it will not work for FAR. I did everything your doing for FAR made a 72 on my first test and then just took my retake and I am waiting for the March 8 release date (say a prayer to the CPA gods for me lol). FAR is to much info to watch lectures for everything. I know realize this. But if that's the way you learn than that's what you need to do. Let me know if this helps!

[LittleTimmy]

I had 17 days to study for AUD last year due to an exam-window closing, I watched 80% of the Roger videos, followed along in the book and took about 50 pages of notes, did about 200 MCQs and did zero SIMs and just barely passed.

[Jimmy Dugan]

@LittleTimmy That's impressive as hell man

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