[thetoddgreen]

So I just got my BEC score (first exam), and it was a 72… Quite a punch to the gut that I shouldn’t be upset about. I slacked on the studying front way too much, and rushed to finish before test day, knowing I would probably not pass. However, when I walked out of the exam I felt abnormally good about it, so I didn’t know what to expect. Well… now we are here. My NTS had BEC and REG on it, but I am not sure what to do next? Should I try to take BEC again before moving onto REG? Or should I just move on to REG, try something new, and come back to BEC after? I understand that it is probably different for everyone, but I would really appreciate some insight from different people so I can try to make an informed decision… I hate feeling low, but at least it was a slap to reality that these exams are no joke.

Thank you in advance to anyone who participates.

[habitual]

BEC was my first exam. I made a 74 and I was really discouraged about it…Well I decided to not move to another test until I passed BEC and I found that it was a lot easier to go back and review the material and things that didn’t click before started clicking. I don’t have the experience of moving to another exam before passing one so I can’t give you any advice in that regard. My vote would be to stick with BEC. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would go for BEC again first. You got a close score considering you felt you didn't study well. When does the NTS expire?

[thetoddgreen]

Thank you for the info @habitualprocrastinator93

If I choose to run with BEC again (and it's god awful bag of unrelated material), would I have to get another NTS since I already took the exam? The NTS is still valid because it's 6 months or whatever, and my REG is on there. I just didn't know if I would use the same NTS to retake BEC while it is valid or if I need to get another, since I have to sign up/pay for the exam again? With that being said, if so… is it okay to have 2 active NTSs at once?

[thetoddgreen]

@cpatroll77

This looks like it may be a trend then. I hate some parts of BEC so much! Other parts are okay I guess. I just remember wanting to bang my head on the keyboard so I didn't stick to a study plan well at all. My NTS is valid until June I believe? I don't see the expiration date on the actual NTS. I remember applying for it in November and not receiving it for 8 weeks or so

[fireblaze240]

BEC is the only exam I've taken where I passed on the first try. One thing I recommend is to avoid the “WC was only 15% of the exam, therefore I should allocate 15% of the exam for the WC.” I have done something similar to that in the other sections and when I did that, I failed multiple times. I'm sure there are a lot of people who do that, and therefore lose on some easy points on the WC, making the acceptable standard for WC really low. I know for my BEC this time I spent 1 hour on it and somehow got Stronger on it and I didn't really know how to answer any of them.

BEC - 78
REG - In Progress..
AUD - In Progress..
FAR - In Progress..

[thetoddgreen]

@fireblaze240 Yeah, I wasn't and still will choose not to spend too much time on WC. If you do good enough on the MCQs then the WC will only be graded for basic stuff that isn't really substantive at all. They are looking for professionalism and basic tact more than anything I believe. Can't really study for it regardless… So I am in agreement with you there. Just trying to figure this NTS stuff out now

[Anonymous]

Go for BEC next. Study for three weeks then do REG. You must have most of the concepts down since you were just a few pints short.

[thetoddgreen]

@cpatroll77 You have a good point. Hopefully not TOO much has changed from 2016-2017 versions. So now, what's the deal with the NTS? If my NTS is still valid (it is, and still has REG on it), how exactly do I go about taking BEC again? I paid before receiving an NTS, and I know I will have to pay again… Does that mean I need to get another NTS for the retake?

Also, if I am a few “pints” short, I guess I will need to pick up a few pints to help me get through studying 😉

[industryCPA]

Yeah if you fail a section you have to get a new NTS for that section even if it doesn't expire yet. Based on when yours expires is how I would make that decision. Definitely don't let that REG NTS go to waste.
Say it expires in early May..take REG then BEC retake. If it is good until end of July, take BEC beginning/mid April and then REG in July…etc

[thetoddgreen]

@industryCPA excellent point! I will try and find the exact expiration date ASAP (can't log into cpacentral and I don't see it on my physical NTS). Let's say it expires at the end of July and I choose to take the BEC again in a few weeks: it is okay to have two separate active NTSs at the same time? (my previous one with REG still on it, and the new one with BEX) I just want to make sure I don't make a mistake. Glad you pointed out I will need a new NTS for BEC regardless.

[krstnam]

I'm in a similar boat, I got a 73 on FAR.

Under normal circumstances I would say move on (which I did once and in that particular case, I think it was a good move – I had taken FAR and scored a 54, I was both discouraged and sick of FAR so moving on to refresh was the best thing for me at the time). Now that I'm so close like you, I'm just going to hammer out these next probably three weeks and try to restudy FTW on FAR.

As for the NTS – you'll need to repay and get a new NTS. You have to wait a couple days after the score release to pay for the retake.

Good luck!

[Author]

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