[CPA-Man]

I take BEC this Saturday, September 5. I got 74’d the first time and according to the diagnostic report, I was weak in cost accounting AND finance while only comparable in corp gov/econ and strong in IT.

But I’m struggling to decide how to prioritize my time. I went into BEC the first time basically skipping the cost accounting and finance lectures (didn’t have time). Now I have a better grasp I THINK of the bigger-picture concepts but I’m still not done with the Becker MCQs. And I’m worried about spending too much time looking at the rest because those cost accounting questions are LONG AF and the finance section apparently makes up the smallest % of the exam. Then, for econ, I breezed through Becker’s conceptual MCQs but Ninja seems to have more complex ones that I’m worried about (which is sad considering I was a micro tutor in college guess I don’t remember s*** lmao). Not worried about corp gov but I AM worried about sims. I always do horribly on them but then practicing them feels like a waste of time to me. It doesn’t seem to help.

So should I just keep pounding cost accounting/finance/econ MCQs? Or should I practice sims? Should I really spend my time answering those 20-paragraph cost MCQs? I don’t remember them being THAT complex on my first exam. Keep in mind I do work full-time and those mofos make sure I work ALL day. I try to study from 5-8 PM (can’t concentrate much later than that) and usually around 4-7:30 or 8 AM.

I don’t wanna take this s*** again, isn’t this supposed to be the “easiest” exam? Help me

[Sam]

My score on BEC will make it seem like it came easier to me than it actually did, so don't be fooled. If I were you, I'd take some time to do SOME sims. At the very least it will continue to round out your approach, i.e. you'll get more comfortable with more exhibits and gleaning relevant information, and then being able to apply it to the problem proposed. I about had a panic attack when I was taking it and opened up a set of sims to see they had between 5 and 8 exhibits each. So the more you see them before-hand, the less overwhelming it'll be come the actual exam.

Be sure to also at least skim topics you were comfortable with the first time around, so you don't lose points with them this time. Use your time well leading up to Saturday but also don't try to cram too much. A good night's sleep and small meal before-hand will save you some points too.

Good luck!

[Author]

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