[MIA4MYCPA]

Okay I love reading the posts on this website especially debriefs from people after they take a test. So I thought I would contribute and share my experience today….. It sucked!!! I have put in over 100 hours of studying and I know a lot of the material inside and out.I completed the Becker review, Wiley MCQ’s, and studied the NINJA notes. But after the first 15 questions of testlet 1 I was pretty sure I studied for the wrong exam!

Testlet one – HARD!! I know they say that it starts with a medium testlet but I really beg to differ. Lots of calculations and some crazy theory that I am pretty sure they just pulled out of the air!

Testlet two – Medium, still a lot of calculations but I felt semi comforatble with the material.

Testlet three – HAHAHAHAHA! this testlet was basically asking me if I even cracked a book before coming in to take the exam. At this point I pretty much knew I had failed. ( yes I know I won’t know until I get my score but seriously I would be happy w/ a 60 after the test I took). I also thought about exiting at this point but decided that doing the WC would provide good practice for round 2.

WC – 2 of the 3 were pretty manageable, but the third I was unsure about so I typed some BS and had to hurry to get my closing in before the test ended, which it did as soon as I typed the last letter.

Overall – BRUTAL!! I was expecting it to be hard b/c as I’ve said I lurk around this board and read the feedback.

I am in the middle of a crazy tax season and working 60 hours a week, so my plan is to continue lightly studying (about 10 hours a week) until April and then studying hard for a few weeks before my second attempt.

AUD - Oct 2011 - 79
BEC - Feb 2012 - 84 (seriously thought I failed this one)
REG - May 2012 - 84 (hmmm.....do they actually grade the SIMS???)
FAR - Aug 2012 - 80

I must be dreaming.... am I really done!!!

[Anonymous]

If Albert Einstein failed an exam, I don't see why why can't fail. I'm pretty sure there will be people saying “you did not know the material” as if they had been sitting there with you, but I know how you feel cuz it happened to me on Monday. Learn from your mistakes, take a few days off from studying, and then study study study every single detail…I wish you the best and I will see in CPALand some day!!! 🙂 🙂

[GVirgiL]

when you said the wiley's MCQ questions…were u referring to 2012 online test bank ? i used that and jeffs study ninja, just as an outline… i took that and used my becker book as well as ” google” to covery everything jeff had outlined… also i attempted almost every question in the bank. i would have done all but i didnt have time. for the last month and go study from every sat amd sun 10 am -7pm … doing the online test bank really helped me understand the material…

anywho, good luck with that 60 hour work week.during tax season, mines is kept at 40 and i couldnt imagine adding 20 to that.!

[steviepz]

Hi MIA4MYCPA. I also took BEC today and had the same experience. I was scoring high on all the practice questions and felt very comfortable with the majority of the material. I think I laughed out loud on some of the questions…such random nonsense. I was asked more than a few questions on subjects that were covered in a small paragraph in the book. I'm hoping for a major surprise, but I'm going to begin studying again tomorrow. I feel your pain…

[Whyme]

Has anyone had a good experience this month with BEC? What's the deal? I took it a few days ago, and some of the questions were pulled from the sky. Is there something we are missing here?? What is the disconnect?

AUD- 71, 73, 87 Done!!!!!
BEC- 75
FAR- 72, 77
REG- 77

[MIA4MYCPA]

@ CPATerminator – thanks for the words of encouragement. I left the exam pretty much knowing I failed but also knowing that most people don”t appreciate the things that come easy in life. Yes it sucks to fail, but if anyone could take this test and past it wouldn't be worth as much. I didn't shed tears or have an anxiety attack afterward, just a good stiff drink because I denied myself all month and felt I deserved it after having my *** handed to me. I am absolutely taking a break until Monday ( I have to work all weekend to make up the hours I took off to take the exam) but then I am hopping right back on the saddle, I didn't start this journey to fail!

@ GVirgiL I think it is Wiley 2011, I purchased the app for my Ipod some time in mid January.

@ steviepz I know what you mean!! I really feel like I could have studied the whole month of March and took the test in April and failed. It was not a matter of me not grasping the concepts or not being able to interpret the problems. I just happened to get an exam full of concepts that weren't emphasized in my review and I wouldn't have spent a ton of time trying to memorize. I seriously was working variance and inventory method problems in my sleep. One night my 18 month woke up crying and my first thought was, No No wait a minute, I almost have the answer! give me 2 more minutes! HAHAHAHA!

AUD - Oct 2011 - 79
BEC - Feb 2012 - 84 (seriously thought I failed this one)
REG - May 2012 - 84 (hmmm.....do they actually grade the SIMS???)
FAR - Aug 2012 - 80

I must be dreaming.... am I really done!!!

[Anonymous]

I too had the same experience…but probably worse. So, now what do I/we do? Half the questions were not covered in my Becker materials. What review course do I go to next. This was my 2nd time in a row taking BEC. Last score was a 74. This WILL be lower for sure. Any suggestions on a review course other than Becker for BEC will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I had the same experience as the majority here. I took the test on the 26th and thought it was a trick. I knew all the hard material from Becker inside and out and focused on what I thought were the “key” items. I read earlier where someone suggested using Yaeger on BEC. Any suggestions? This was my first test and my plan was to walk away knowing how I need to study, but I really don't think there was anything else I could have done given the questions asked.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad others had the same experience (not that I am wishing failing on anyone in here!!!!!), I am sick of seeing people say that BEC was a piece of cake. I also felt like I knew Becker inside and out, if only that's what showed up on the test!! I couldn't even begin to guess what score I got, but I think I marked too many I had to guess on to have passed. I hope we all passed!! What's the deal with this curve people are talking about? I thought this wasn't curved.

@MIA I have dreams about doing variances too!! I moved on to FAR, now I'm doing simulations in my sleep.

[gns121584]

I agree. I felt the SIMS were fair topics, but I have no idea what to think about multiple choice. I felt like the stuff from my review course I really knew, but there were some off the wall questions I wasn't sure of at all. For REG and BEC I felt like the topics I thought would be heavily tested weren't as heavily tested. On AUD I felt the topics were more of what I thought, as far as percentage make up of the exam. I am anxiously awaiting the results!! Good luck to everyone!!

AUD - PASSED - 84 -(11/21/11)
REG - PASSED - 83 -(1/17/12)
BEC - PASSED - 86 -(2/28/12)
FAR - PASSED - 84 -(5/14/12)
I AM DONE!!!!

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat, have used Becker 2011 since the day it was released, passed the other 3 on first try but BEC was absurd.

[MIA4MYCPA]

It makes me feel better that I am not the only one that walked out like WTF! Although I hope each and everyone of us pass it! Some people don't understand that not all tests are created equal so they assume that you must not have studied hard enough or understood the material well enough. That is totally not the case here, I understood enought material to consistently score 80-90% on Becker and Wiley MCQ's and not b/c I had them all memorzied. I just happened to be unlucky enough to get a test that included about 85% material that wasn't included in my review material. I am not blaming Becker or bitter about the experience because I truly believe that what will be on your BEC exam is a roll of the dice. Some people are lucky enough to get tests with the material that is covered in the review courses and some people are not!

AUD - Oct 2011 - 79
BEC - Feb 2012 - 84 (seriously thought I failed this one)
REG - May 2012 - 84 (hmmm.....do they actually grade the SIMS???)
FAR - Aug 2012 - 80

I must be dreaming.... am I really done!!!

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above, I feel like “luck” of the draw definitely has something to do with it. I will also say I remember people in 2010 saying that REG was a exam if you studied you would pass….fast forward to 2011 people started saying the REG Sims were nearly impossible and that it might be taking over FAR as the hardest exam on the 4 (including Jeff)…or at least comparable. Now it seems like they have upgraded BEC for 2012 based on what I read from all of you above. I truly believe they do this to an exam each year esp. after the masses in the past have said the BEC is the easiest exam out of the 4. I wish all of you the best of luck on score day and in the future.

[Peanut]

Oh Yeah, I felt the EXACT same way as all of you about BEC. I was 99% sure I failed. A lot of my MCQs came from outer space.. They were NOT covered in Becker or Wiley. I had done all of the Becker & Wiley MCQs twice. I didn't have many calculations (which I immediately associated with failure, since the general consensus on this site was people had a lot of calculations) After each testelet I kept telling myself, yep I already failed this, awesome. I scored a 79. So you really NEVER know with these exams. Out of sight, out of mind. Just focus on your next exams coming up. Easier said than done, I know. (Hope this all relates to how terrrrrrrrrible I felt after AUD, doubt it 🙁 )

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[RedStorm45]

I would wait until your scores come out…I took BEC 1/3 and thought for sure I failed. I nailed the W.C. but the MCQs were all over the place. I was guessing on a good 1/3 of them but I ended up passing. Don't forget quite a few of those MCQs are pre-test.

Starting all over.

FAR - 11/27/13
AUD - 1/4/14

[Peanut]

@RedStorm45, couldn't agree more. I told myself “if I pass this, then I am a really good guesser!” I also sat on 1/3

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[Author]

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