@preksha I only wanted to pass each section of the CPA exam. I swore I failed AUD and REG, and I was completely blown away by my scores. That being said, my preparation strategy is laid out below.
1. If you can take 2-3 months off work, that would be ideal. I studied for FAR for 15 days (12-14 hours a day), AUD for 8 days (12-14 hours a day), REG for 30 days (4-5 hours a day), and BEC for 10 days (3-6 hours a day).
2. Get something to punch. When I was going through FAR on Becker, I only scored in the 60s and low 70s for the MCQs. When you miss five questions in a row, you will want to take a break. Punch something instead. I punched a hole in one of my chairs and broke my ironing board. After I took 20 seconds to punch something and yell, I went back to doing more of the questions.
3. Only spend 30 seconds on each MCQ when going through your study program. This will allow you to complete both MCQ sections on the CPA within one hour. You will have three hours for the simulations. Familiarize yourself with the guidance so you can use that to help with the simulations.
4. Smoke 2 packs of Newports a day. Get some diet Monster energy drinks. Cook some amazing steaks from Sam's once a week. If you don't smoke cigarettes, find some healthier way to relieve your stress and keep you going.
5. Read each chapter for Becker twice. I watched every video for FAR and AUD, but I didn't watch any for REG and BEC. I don't think the Becker videos were valuable.
6. GET THE BECKER FLASHCARDS. GET THE BECKER FLASHCARDS. I believe the flash cards made me score in the 90s for each exam.
7. Tell your friends that you will barely contact them over the next few months. I stayed in my apartment and barely talked to anyone when I took FAR and AUD (May of last year). When I took REG, I socialized too much and did not prepare as much (I lost some motivation because I swore I failed AUD). Dedicate your life to this exam.
8. Do not give up. You will most likely feel like you failed after each exam. I felt like I did not pass BEC (I'm dead serious about that). Keep your head up and keep pounding away.
I did not take any notes. Go through the Becker book twice. Go through each practice simulation twice. Make sure to use the supplemental CPA questions. I got a 75 and a 78 on my two practice FAR exams, so do not feel stressed if you do not score well on those.
Do not focus on one strategy. Do MCQ's, reading and reviewing, and sims. Having a broader strategy is safer if you can take some time off for the exam.
Condensing the study timeframe helped me retain more information. I don't remember anything from AUD. If you take a few months to study for it, it will be difficult to retain most of the information.
Feel free to ask me for any other advice.
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