[Scared-cpa]

Everyone I have talked to says this is doable, so I went ahead and schedule BEC for September 8th. I sit for REG August 2nd, so I will begin studying for BEC on the 4th. How do y’all suggest I get through all the material so quickly? I will be using Wiley CPAexcel for the actual study part and Ninja MCQs for final review. I would like to get through Wiley in 2 weeks and leave 3 weeks of final review with Ninja if at all possible. I’m just really scared that I won’t have enough time to be prepared enough to pass.

So to those who studied and passed BEC in such a short period of time, how did you do it and what would you recommend I do? All advice is very much appreciated 🙂

[Anthony]

This was before the changes so things might changed, but I passed it in 18 days. Used CPAexcel and Ninja MCQ only. Spent like a week or so just on CPAexcel and the rest on Ninja.

No life and cram the hell out of it. Went through all of CPAexcel videos except the economics ones because the lecturer was god awful and did all of the questions right after each lesson. After I've with CPAexcel, I pounded Ninja MCQ to death. Put all of the formulas into a flash card and memorized every single one to the point where I recite it blindfolded. Memorized the essay structure also.

[Scared-cpa]

Did you read every assignment study guide in CPAexcel or just watch the videos or both? I've found Wiley CPAexcel tends to get a lot more detailed than they have to be for the actual exam so I'd like to keep the study process as lean and streamlined as possible without forgoing any important information. Also, how did you get through all the CPAexcel material in one week? I made a study plan for it in two weeks and the number of assignments looks near impossible in that timeline so one week is crazy impressive. I hope I can be as successful

[Anthony]

Only touch the study text for economics and a few times when I need to clarify something. I studied like 7-8 hrs a day and on weekends a bit longer. Didn't take a single day to take a break because I knew I was in a time crunch. Jumped from one lesson to next even if I didn't fully understand the topic because I knew that I will have to revisit them during my final review. Yeah it was hellish and maybe little bit overdone, but I passed before the changes happened. So it was worth the suffering in the end.

[Scared-cpa]

Did you take any notes other than writing down the formulas? I thought maybe taking notes would be useless because it is such a short period of time that it will get drilled into your head by focusing on it so much as opposed to a more lengthy study time like for most sections.

[Anonymous]

I studied for BEC over the span of 5.5 weeks. This is over the Christmas / New Year holidays and also doing year-end in corporate finance, so that was fun.

Similar to Anthony, this is before the exam changes, but I don't think the addition of SIMs would make me (personally) study any differently.

Basically, I crammed through the lectures, did the MCQs for those chapters, and then repeat. As I did more and more MCQs, that is where my notes came from. I made several study sheets of formulas, cost accounting procedures, and supply & demand graphs to help enforce the concepts and the big picture of everything.

I think I did my run through of all the chapters over the course of two weeks, since I had the week of Christmas to study instead of work, and then I reviewed from New Year until January 16. My review was basically do MCQs until I cried and then do some more.

I studied with Becker, so I'm not sure about CPAExcel, but my recommendation would be to basically wear out your MCQ test banks because BEC is so random that the only way to nail the concepts is doing the problems.

[Scared-cpa]

Did you also practice sims or only MCQs? I know this is a toss up as to whether people study sims or not. Also, did you practice any written responses or just the format of how to write them?

[Anthony]

I didn't go too hard on the notes, but I took notes only on things I got wrong on the MCQ and a few things I need to full gasp down like COSO. Only MCQ, don't waste you time practicing on the writing portion of the exam it's a waste of time especially English if your first language. Just know and memorize how to format the memos.

Considering that there are now TBS on BEC. I would probably look for them for a bit, especially the AICPA practice exam ones.

[Anonymous]

I never practiced the WC, they are generally memo style, so if you know how to send a professional email then you should be fine. I think it is more important to know the concepts enough to write a paragraph or two about them. Be sure to use some buzzwords or leverage the prompt and you should be set.

[Scared-cpa]

Awesome. Thanks guys for all the tips! So as far as actually getting through the initial study material, do you all suggest any certain areas that I hone in on more than others? How did you get through the material so fast yet still maintain a strong understanding of all the topics?

[panic]

Hey @summer congrats on passing? I too am trying to take BEC in Q4, along with retaking FAR. I was wondering how you condensed BEC? I am using Becker. Watching lectures vids, MC per section, then reviewing (more MC overall & SIMs, I guess) seems like it'll take really long. Can you please give me tips on how to study effectively for it, to pass in 4-5 weeks! Also, what is WC and the template people keep speaking about? Thanks for your help

[Author]

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