[No_one]

I am not working, but I have 27 mnths old..Who is home all day long with me. I don’t have any place where I can leave him, he is with me full time. I really want to plan ahead and want to take the exam in first quarter of 2015 if possible. Using Becker exclusively, Any tips, advice…Area to emphasis more?

Thank you guys..This blog is a life saver…

CA Candidate
FAR: You are down...
Aud: Surprised me...Thanks
BEC: 75% work done
REG: It's 80 but I am 100% done 🙂

[univegabw]

I passed on my third try just doing Ninja MCQs non-stop for 30 days.

I think that I spent a total of 100 hours between the 3 attempts studying. Maybe about 50-60 the last time.

I think that MCQs are the way since they are 85% weighted. Don't get lost studying to hard for Cost Accounting either. It is necessary to know it, but I think it is more necessary to know the calculation questions they could ask. You can spend a lot of lost time trying to nail down the specifics to Cost and it will hamper you. Hope this helps.

A- 53, 55
B- Passed!
F- Not Yet Taken
R- 1/17/2015

[Tripp11]

I studied roughly 80 hours for BEC, and I passed it on my first attempt. I took the time off from work and studied non-stop for the exam, but I also managed a 3 year old at the time – with some assistance from my wife.

You'll get a feel for how many solid hours you can get in based on your child's nap/sleep schedule, and I would just try to focus and get as much done during those times as possible.

AUD - 93
BEC - 80
REG - 86
FAR - 83

[Mamabear]

I studied approx. 80 hours for BEC. Some do less, some more. If he is still napping then definitely take advantage of nap time and after he goes to bed. If you have a significant other, make plans to study 1-2 nights a week while your spouse watches your child to get in extra hours. You can do it by 1st quarter. Economics, IT, Cost are all big ones

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Anonymous]

I studied for 50-60 hours for my first attempt. Failed with a 74. Put in another 30 hours and passed with a 79.

[Anonymous]

80 hours for BEC.

I believe BEC is by far the easiest of the four exams, since the written communication is easier than SIMS. It is the most like finance and least like accounting. Plan on 100 hours for AUD, 120-150 hours for REG, and 150-180 hours for FAR.

If you don't have the time for a test, then don't bother signing up because unless you are super smart you won't pass.

[No_one]

Thank you all..Yeah my baby is still napping and I am putting that one and half hour to BEC….trying to study early morning before he gets up…but I don't find my self connected with material with these multiple breaks…but now I have a rough idea that around how many hours of studying is necessary plus what are the major topics for this one…so will try to focus on them..

Once again thanks a lot…keep studying…Happy Holidays…

CA Candidate
FAR: You are down...
Aud: Surprised me...Thanks
BEC: 75% work done
REG: It's 80 but I am 100% done 🙂

[OnMyWay732]

Personal advice…don't look at it like that.

I scheduled my BEC exam the end of January because the timing works for me, but doesn't mean I'm waiting until beginning of Jan until I study. I started end of November. And this doesn't mean I'm dividing 80 hours by 2 months. Just studying all moments I can, whether it is 20 hours a week, or 40. The more the better. No matter how much you study, chances are you will always have a weak spot you can work on.

AUD - July 2014 - 76
REG - August 2014 - 82
FAR - November 2014 - 78
BEC - January 2015 - 81

DONE!!!!

Used Becker online. Who needs a text when you can burn your eyes out staring at the screen for months on end?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you're hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

[marti1nd]

I studied 20 hours for BEC and failed then put in another 80 more to bring me to 100. I think Becker recommends 15 hours per module so that would bring you to 90.

I think 100 hours on a one month prep is a great way to tackle BEC.

BEC: 10/2013 71
AUD: 12/2013 75
BEC: 02/2014 89
REG: 05/2014 86
FAR: 11/2014 81

[Anonymous]

I agree with OnMyWay732, everyone says that BEC is “easy” but I'm not finding it that way. I am only 2/3 of the way through Becker's material and I have already put in more time for BEC than I did for AUD.

Don't underestimate BEC. While there are no SIMs, the concepts can be tricky and there are a ton of calculations and formulas to memorize.

[greg422]

DO NOT listen to anyone who says its the easiest exam. That's an opinion. I found REG and AUD much easier to study for than BEC. Put in the time and you will be fine. I was trending 50's 4 weeks out and kept at the NINJA MC's for the final weeks and was able to pass on 1st try. Is it short? Yes. Is it easy? No, its a CPA exam.

REG - 82
AUD - 97
BEC - 81
FAR - 84
DONE!

[Anonymous]

I have a 5 year old and 3 year old, a wife and work full time in public accounting. Lets just say, it would have been easier doing this when the kids were younger. Soon, your baby won't be taking naps at all.

You just have to drink a lot of coffee and do a few hours everyday. NINJA MCQ was definitely the reason I passed the last time with a 77. I was trending with a 78.

[sweetmoon]

I studied exactly 21 days out of which the last 7 days I spent revising. I scored an 87. I wouldnt change a thing if I were to do it all over again. My advice is to focus on your material based on the weightage of scores. Most of the costing & financial mgmt part is easy once you are thorough with the formulas. Economics took me some time,but once I understood the concept, it was easier. Corp governance is a tricky little monster, you may want to learn your material line by line. It has close to 20% weightage for very little material. IT should be easier if you had studied AUD already as most of it is overlap.

FAR : 71, 83
AUD : 73,88
BEC : 87
REG : sweet 82 and DONE !!

[sweetmoon]

If it helps, I have a 3 year old who doesnt nap anymore. I woke up at 4 am and studied till 7.30am. Then a scanty couple of hours when she goes to preschool and about 3-4 hours in the evening at the library when I leave her with my husband after he is back from work. So I studied somewhere around 8-10 hours a day . Pretty intense, but was well worth the effort when I got my score. 🙂 Good luck to ya !

FAR : 71, 83
AUD : 73,88
BEC : 87
REG : sweet 82 and DONE !!

[ShmeePA]

I studied just multiple choice for roughly 30 days. About 60-70 hours.

BEC-84
FAR-86
AUD-87
REG-79

[How many letters do you need]

BEC study times can be incredibly variable based on your background. I have a solid finance/cost background and did it with about 40 hours but if you are at ground zero with cost and don't currently understand time value concepts you will need much more. Somewhere in the 80-100. The other thing I would suggest is to always leave yourself some extra time at the end if needed because you really don't know how much time you need until it's too late. Focus on mastering the concepts and dial it up in the second half of your time frame if needed

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Author]

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