[rob.abraham]

So I took BEC in Feb 2013 and failed.

FAR in May 2013 and failed.

I’ve decided to take FAR again in mid-July, BEC in Aug., AUD in October and REG in Nov.

What do you all think?

Any studying strategies to offer?

[IwannaBaCPA]

Since your 18 month clock hasn't started, you don't have to finish this year. Is that just a personal goal? I think you certainly have time to do it, but it depends on many things.

As for studying – I would say don't keep doing what you have been doing. I think people make the mistake of approaching the material the same way after failing – maybe even only focusing on the areas they were “weaker” in. But in reality, you need to restudy everything and you need to change your approach at least a little. I strongly suggest following Jeff's NINJA methodology and even getting his NINJA notes/audio. Perhaps check out his 10 point combo as well which offers a different test bank than what you probably are using.

Planning is another big factor. Do you feel like you planned out ample study time and were able to cover all the material including a review? I would focus on one part at a time, plan out a study schedule and try hard to stick to it. Time management is another problem for many people during the exam (especially FAR and REG). This is where planning can help as well. For FAR, for example, I knew I was going to need more time for the Sims, so I planned out 2 hours for those. That left me 40-45 minutes per MC testlet. I really stuck to that by flagging questions I didn't know and moving on to the next to not waste time getting stuck. Then if I didn't have time to revisit them before my 40 minutes were up I just had to guess and move on to the next testlet. I could have easily gotten stuck on a few questions and wasted precious Sim time.

Anyway, that was probably more info than you wanted, but your question was very open – ended! Hope some of this helps. Good luck!

BEC: 79 - April 2011
FAR: 78 - May 2011
AUD: 81 - May 2012
REG: 79 - October 2012
Ethics: Passed - March 2013
I am finally DONE!

[rob.abraham]

Hi, Thank you for your perspective. I just want to finish it this year and never look at it again—just a personal goal.

[Author]

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