[Txdan]

First off I’ll give a little background so maybe someone here can relate to my situation. I finished up my requirements to sit between 2-3 years ago. I leisurely studied for FAR during that time and did not pass. Long story made short, I have been enjoying having a social life(not studying), but I am at the point to where I either need to get this thing out of the way or start looking for a non-public job. I was burned out on FAR and I have to admit that it was a kick to my motivation not passing. So I have decided to go after BEC.

I would like to sit for the BEC section sometime in the second week of October. I am using the Roger study material. Until now I have watched the lectures, re-read the section, take hand notes, and then do the homework. What I am finding is taking the hand notes is very time consuming and I am worried about running out of time. BEC isn’t so bad, but for other sections such as FAR I will not have time to take such detailed notes. I would like to get a study plan in order now to use on all sections. I am debating on either only including items like formulas in my notes or just noting the formulas and other areas that need to be memorized in the book. Does anyone have any suggestions on this? Any advice in general for BEC? I am prepared to submerge myself in studying, but I believe I need some ideas to become more efficient. Thanks

[GoodbyeSummer]

I'm not using the same material as you but your study plan is the same as what my ideal plan would be. I've taken 3 sections so far and like you, the note-taking was time-consuming so I left it out. I plan on including it for REG because I feel like it will be more difficult for me. But for the others, what I did instead was take notes while I was doing the hw. Take notes on things you got wrong and things you don't understand so well. I've hand-written them and typed them up. Neither method made much of a difference to me as long as I was thinking about the problem and understanding why the correct answer was correct. Typing was faster too so I stuck with that. I know some people retain information better by hand writing it. But since you won't be taking good notes on each chapter I strongly recommend re-reading each one during your review because you definitely will have forgotten a lot of it by then and all you'll have to reference is your homework notes. Also, for BEC and FAR, I did take the time to write down important formulas just so I could have them all in one place. Hope this helps!

FAR 7/5/12 83
AUD 7/20/12 86
BEC 8/6/12 74; retake 11/20/12 76
REG 11/5/12 74; retake 1/3/13 77! DONE! 🙂

Used Becker Self-Study

[Txdan]

Thanks for the reply. I like your method of taking notes while doing the homework. It's also good to know I am not the only one that forgets things after going through all the study material. I am always worried I will forget something important from the earliest studied part of the material.

[LittleMoe]

I think it all depends on how you learn. I don't learn by reading or watching videos. My brain just tunes it out because I can't discern what info is most important. So, I also take notes while doing the homework. I work through the problems and as I go through them I look up the answers in the book and read over that section. It's like reading through the MCQ makes my brain pay attention because I need the info to answer the question. I take some notes in the process on things that I don't get a good grasp on the first time through. Then I work tons of MCQ's and add any ‘fact nuggets' to my notes as I see what I am getting wrong when working the questions. Finally, with a week (or more, if there is time) left until the exam, I re-write all those notes. I have found so far that this method works much better for me than trying to read through information I won't retain anyway.

Also, you mentioned that you are not planning to take BEC until October. Everyone learns at a different pace but I just want to caution you that some of these tests do depend on short term memory. I think you may be stretching it too thin and might want to compress your study time a little more. It is hard to keep this volume of information in your head for that long. I am taking less that 4 weeks to study for BEC. I just started studying on Monday and I will sit 8/30. Again, you may require more time but just be careful that you don't stretch it out too long. I don't think you will need 2-3 months to prepare for it. But, it depends on your situation and how much study time you can squeeze in every day.

AUD 4/12/12 79
FAR 5/29/12 76
REG 8/2/12 82
BEC 8/30/12 72 Retake 10/18/12 76!!! DONE!!!!
ExamMatrix, Wiley Books, NINJA notes and audio
LICENSED ALABAMA CPA 11/30/12

[Txdan]

Taking too long is a concern of mine. I am about 60% through the material and I do feel like I have forgotten a lot of the short-term memory items. I remember the concepts pretty well, but the hundreds of formulas are what I am worried about. I plan to go through the material one more time at a faster pace with changes to my studying style before I sit. I am planning October so I will have time for this. I typically remember things that I write down, but not with this much information.

[LittleMoe]

The more times you go through the material, the more you tend to grasp. I think you will find that your second pass will go much faster than the first. Don't get too bogged down in the information on the first time through (this goes double for REG and FAR as they have an overwhelming amount of information). Try to get a high level knowledge of everything and use the second pass as a tune up to add in the finer details.

There is no way you will remember every piece of the material. And even if you did, I am sure the test will throw you something a little different. There are so many topics and only a limited number of questions you will get on your actual test. So, just do the best you can when you are studying and hope you have the understanding you need to nail the test you are given.

AUD 4/12/12 79
FAR 5/29/12 76
REG 8/2/12 82
BEC 8/30/12 72 Retake 10/18/12 76!!! DONE!!!!
ExamMatrix, Wiley Books, NINJA notes and audio
LICENSED ALABAMA CPA 11/30/12

[Author]

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