[jeff]

Welcome to the Q2 2017 CPA Exam Study Group for BEC. 🙂

[Joe]

Don't get me wrong, I think the MCQ for Becker were great at teaching the details and I learned allot, but I just don't feel they matched the exam and not covering the conceptual level and broader questions of the exam.

[dave]

Hi just wondering for those who have taken the new exam already. Is economics a big part of the exam? I've heard that IT is tested more heavily than economics. Becker says that eco is 15-20% of the test, but I just wanted to confirm this rumor.

Thanks!

[yehia]

You are right , i feel the same on exam , but i guess it is not Becker fault its just a new system with advanced difficulty in the way of exam , no material have a proper reflection for the new examination way , i just came out of exam few days back , i did my best in studying and practicing but i believe that i will not pass.

[A1lessio]

I'm sure they are taking all of this into consideration. They are making us wait 2.5 + months for results. There must be some kind of curve. If you look at pass rates from 2001 they always hover around the same percentage and the test was always changing.

I also finished the Becker book yesterday and started my 2 week review today. I noticed the Becker book is not as detailed as before. There is no IT appendix showing all the components and parts of hardware, software, network, etc. It's definitely more big picture.

The next two weeks, I plan to spend about 2 days per chapter. Re-read the chapter, redo all mcq and do the sims and skills practice. On the weekends I will tackle the harder topics like financial mgmt and cost acct.

AUD (08/02/2016)

[Holly]

I agree that the prior books seemed to be more detailed. I like the skills practice but I would change that the lectures within wouldn't count toward completion percentage. Sometimes I can go in and answer without having to watch, but it would drive me crazy that it said I wasn't up to date on studying.

Oh well…

My test is Friday and I just hope I don't have to look at this stuff anymore; especially since we won't be getting our scores for so long.

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[JJ2992]

I agree about the exam. I took it yesterday and used mostly Becker and Ninja MC as a supplement. I went through all of Becker's MC questions and did the Sims also. I didn't feel like it prepared me enough. It's discouraging after studying for this for two months, and I'm not sure what to do differently now.

Not trying to freak out the people that didn't take the exam yet, but definitely review as much as you can.

[Holly]

Well y'all are freaking me out 🙂

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

I was already in a panic and in Hail Mary mode before today, now idk what the heck to do. I'm reviewing my notes now until Thursday then blasting MCQs until the 30th. Sounds like that might not be enough :/

[nkwhitaker]

Those who have taken the exam, would you say the questions were more complex or just vague?

[Holly]

When I was studying for FAR everyone was freaking me out with their having taken it four times, studying all hours of the day, saying the test was all IFRS, gov't, NFP. Well, I was getting shaken by it and just knew I was going to fail and there was no way someone passed because they knew their stuff, but because of pure luck. I wasn't confident when I walked about of the test, but I knew what I had gotten right and what I would work on if I needed to retest. I ended up passing because of a little luck, but mostly because I knew my stuff.

This is the new version – we're all a little freaked out, they don't know how to grade it yet. The topics haven't changed just the way we're asked to apply what we know. Multiple choice is a whole lot easier than skills and extra simulations. I think we're the luck ones taking BEC right now.

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[A1lessio]

guys if you have time check out cpareviewforfree.com. Log in with FB or gmail. THe questions are pretty good. I used the site for Audit and Reg. I'm doing all the chp 1 related questions and learning a lot that Becker doesn't even touch on.

AUD (08/02/2016)

[Joe]

Hi Everyone,
Unfortunately there is very little I can share about the BEC exam I took yesterday with the group since the AICPA makes you sign a confidentiality agreement, BEC was my first exam I took for the CPA so I don't have anything to compare it with the old exam format. What I will say however is that Becker was way too much “in the weeds of things” I spent 3 months fretting about the MCQs to the point were I worked the hardest ones eight to nine time in order to fully understand them. In three months I can probably tell you what every page of that damn BEC book contains by just glancing at the page! Now, don't get me wrong! understanding those MCQs are great from a knowledge prospective but I now realized that obsessing about them was useless. I am not mad about the experience I had yesterday, I actually am very happy I took the exam because I feel that I learned allot from it and I did my best, so I am ok if I did not pass it. Someone in the group stated if the questions were vague, in many respects when you compare these with Becker's MCQ and how detailed those questions are, yes! I would say they were vague, but easier???? Absolutely not! I had a feeling working with Becker that they were going way way too detailed with their questions, I appreciate that they are giving candidates all the details of the topic however, you cannot expect a candidate to answer an MCQ in BEC within 1 minute and Becker gives you a MCQ that take 5 minutes to solve with ten different calculations… This is where the issue is, the MCQ in Becker in my opinion where not representative of the Exam, they are great to know and understand but not indicative of the exam. Let me give you an analogy to help clarify this… Think about having to go to a dentist for a root canal, you can have one great dentist just tell you broadly what he is going to do in order to complete the root canal correctly, or you can have an equally great dentist telling you everything they are going to use for that root canal including the materials they are going to use for the process! Too much detail is too much sometimes! it is great to have that knowledge but for the purpose of getting the root canal you really don't need the level of details. That's how I feel about Becker vs. the actual exam.

Unfortunately Becker is filled with those scenarios in the MCQs where you need 5 different crazy calculations to get your answer. Again, granted these are great to understand and can very much be helpful in TBS and more time consuming problems, but from what I saw yesterday, stressing about getting all your MCQs in Becker done perfectly, and aiming to score 95% on your MCQs might have worked in the old exam but not in the new format!

For REG which I am planning on taking by July I am changing things, I will use Roger because I like his learning style and Wiley as a supplemental test bank, but my emphasis is going to be more on the broad concepts rather than hammering and drilling the MCQs to a very detailed level. Sure you do want to take MCQs but make sure you understand the broad concepts behind it.

One more thing, for those of you that are about to take the exam…. there is absolutely no point to stress yourself out over this test, sure you are going to be anxious and nervous, I know I was and it is completely normal, but simply go there and do the best you can. Read your questions a few times and try to select the answer that you feel is most relevant and make common sense to you, just do the absolute best you can! If you do that, you will be ok and even feel fine if you don't pass.

[JMG]

I am scheduled to retake BEC a week from this Friday and I'm feeling pretty good about it at the moment. I had to power through the Ninja MCQs since they expired two weeks shy of my exam. Now I'm focusing on reviewing all the Becker chapters and compiling a list of the formulas. Leading up to the exam I will practice Becker sims and cram as much IT as I can. Like Holly said, positive thoughts. We got this.

[me71too]

I took BEC today. This was my 2nd time. The 1st time I got 71 but studied like 10 days. This time I invested much more time but I am not sure what to think.
I used Gleim to study. I was familiar with a some of the mcq questions but some of the questions I was very unsure or not familiar with the terms.
I don't want to disclose anything but the writing part seemed to me more abstract than in the 1st test I took.
Good luck to everybody!

[Grasshopper]

Hi Guys!

Definitely don't freak out. To be honest, without divulging any information from the exam, I don't think its as bad as we are picturing it in our minds. I have sat before the change and I sat after the change on May 2nd. Yes, I think the MCQ are less detailed then the software we are using to prepare for it, but that doesn't make them less hard. I like the detail in the practice questions because then it ties in several different areas that could be tested. I think if you review the material and understand the concepts and do a lot of practice MCQs you will do fine! Just don't let it freak you out. Yes, there will be material that wasn't covered in our review courses, as we have all established that. Just read it carefully, use you're best judgement and keep going. I think most of the sims would have been a lot easier if I hadn't freaked out. Just take deep breathes, read it carefully and break it down into pieces. yes, there is one sim that all I can do is hope is a pretest question. But, I think if you have time, you take deep breathes, the others were do able. I think BEC is pass-able. Did I pass? Who knows, maybe, maybe not. But, I don't think it has turned into this unpass-able monster that we have created in our minds with the changes. Study hard, breath and good luck!!

[Author]

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