[the LAST Coffee]

Hi guys, I’m new to this forum and absolutely nervous!

I’ve taken upon myself to do nothing this summer (until end of October) to study and pass CPA exams. After my vacation in June that ends June 26th, I think I may start studying June 27th and take the first exam July 27th and begin studying for second exam to take around August 28-31.

It will obviously be my full time job (4 hours in the morning, lunch and relax time, 4 hours at night, repeat everyday).

I wonder if this is a good strategy or not? I was thinking of taking BEC first, then REG. Then spend all September to study for FAR and dive into AUD last. What do you think?

Lastly, I really wanted to use Rogers but Becker has this financing program where I don’t need to pay anything for 18 months which is a good deal in my opinion. Should I use FastPass or the regular one? There’s so many supplements for Becker that I get confused whether I may need them or not.

If it’s any helpful, I just graduated with 150 credits so I am fresh and ready to study!

Give me advice please!

FAR 84 (AUG '15)
BEC 83 (AUG '15)
AUD 79 (OCT '15)
REG 71, 78! (NOV '15, FEB '16)

[Anonymous]

Hey!! I also work full-time and I'm taking the summer off from school (MAcc program). I graduated in 2012 with a Finance degree and took a couple accounting classes online before enrolling into a MAcc program so that I could take the CPA.

I just took BEC this weekend and will come back to let you know how it went and provide you with more details on my study plan if I passed.

But I'm right there with you! I really want to finish up the CPA before the end the year and I've been on Becker's payment plan since last July and it expires in January. They offered me a discount after applying for a Becker scholarship and not receiving it.

I watched all of the Becker lectures and completed most of the hw (that's the only reason I'm not 100% if I passed because I didn't really finish studying) …. but I just felt like the lectures were so jam packed with “underline this” and “highlight that” – I didn't feel like I was learning from the lectures. You really have to already be familiar with the topics from school and just read the text and do ALL of the practice problems to get the best out of Becker. The lectures aren't really my peace of cake. It's an overpriced product BUT if you follow all the steps there's a high chance you'll pass. I'm only saying this just based off of my friends' experiences.

I supplemented my studying with Roger CPA's Crash Course and it was pretty helpful in filling some of the gaps, I had a few “ohhhhhh okay” moments and I like how he writes on the board to show how he solved problems and also provides some good mnemonics. I was able to use his techniques to figure out how I should attack each problem. I'm not 100% sure if I'll use him again only because I couldn't stand his ‘lip smacking' tendencies – my roommate got sick of him too! If I got an awesome score then I may just suck it up and use him for my final review I take FAR in July.

My plan is pretty much BEC – May; FAR – July; AUD – Aug; REG – Oct. I'm not too focused on how many hours I'll study each day but after studying BEC, I've learned that I really need a decent amount of sleep and I can only study for up to 4 hours at a time. Just make sure you have a ‘break' day in there because your brain will explode.

I'll be back next week to keep you posted on my score and good luck!

[golfball7773]

Okay…. If I had your situation – please take FAR first. If you fail then you can take it in October again. FAR as so much material.

Sample Schedule:

FAR – First or 2nd week of July

AUD – end of month in August since FAR material really helps in AUD

REG – Oct 1

BEC – Oct 31 (based on your timeline)

If I was in your shoes and based on reading/learning from advice since 2011, I would do it that way if I had to start all over and have no job 🙂 Let me know you questions because you are posting because you want extra advice 🙂 and a lot of others on this forum (mla, skynet, mamabear, trish, martin, zumo, etc) will have better advice for you!

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[makiu]

@golfball7773

I agree 100%. I left FAR for last and lost credit for Regulation since BEC took me 3 windows to pass. Now I have, 2 downs and 2 more to go. Taking FAR re-match sometimes before July 20. If I had a chance to start all over again I will definitely start with FAR. I took regulation first since I was studying for the Master in Taxation and also for Enrolled Agent certification, so tax subjects areas was very straightforward for me. Please listen to our advice. I started out this journey back in August 2013…and my life has been a multiple choice and a SIM ever since them.

Feel free to ask any question. Will save you lots of time , money and effort.

[golfball7773]

1000000000 percent agree with makiu! I lost so much time and money. Plus getting married didn't help the stress. We argued about me being gone all the time and if I would just kept my promise and passed them before marriage….. I had 26 months between starting dating and marriage…..

instead I played Call of Duty and pretended to study and take the exams…

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[love2dream]

I'm new here as well (been reading some threads since April though and finally decided to join in) and just started taking exams this year! I was so nervous the morning of my first exam and that will get the best of you. I'm a recent MAcc graduate and made a goal after that first exam to pass two parts before my full-time start date later this summer. I recommend finding out as much about the exam as possible by asking around and doing your own research.

I set a realistic goal to give myself leeway to not be so perfect so as to not stress myself out. Maybe it was a one-time thing, but I was calm throughout my second exam even though a fellow test-taker was huffing and grunting behind me. This time, I knew that pass or fail, I studied hard and it's not the end of the world if I don't come out on the high side of 75. We can't control what comes up on these exams and that's why they are so challenging. Take a breath and remember that we can't work through and solve every single problem, we just have to give ourselves the chance to perform our best. Best of luck to you and may we all come out with wins!

AUD - passed (April 2015)
REG - passed (May 2015)
BEC - passed (July 2015)
FAR - passed (January 2016)

[the LAST Coffee]

Seems like I need to change my strategy thanks to everyone's advice!

I'll definitely take FAR first in July, then AUD end of August.

Still haven't decided whether Becker FastPass is the thing I need or the regular one. Someone with experience could help me here please.

I should supplement the Becker study with some Ninja MCQs stuff as well, it's only $47 per section, $188 total. I don't understand why buying complete MCQ package cost $497…

FAR 84 (AUG '15)
BEC 83 (AUG '15)
AUD 79 (OCT '15)
REG 71, 78! (NOV '15, FEB '16)

[ruggercpa2b]

The $47 for each section is only for 3 months access. The total package might be for a year which is pretty low. Complete package if Jeff charged full price would be $752 for the year. I would suggest buying one section at a time and if you finish on tack you would only end up spending $188 within a year. Which would be $47 per quarter.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[golfball7773]

also use coupon code HIYA to save 15 percent

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Anonymous]

I'd skip fastpass and go with self study for Becker. I know a few people who tried fastpass and we unsuccessful. They spent five days a week in classes that, I think, lasted maybe 4-5 hours and then were expected to self study in the evenings and weekends. And I believe you cover one section per day, which is by no means enough time to absorb and understand the information.

I used self study for Becker and supplemented with Ninja MCQ. During the summer when I wasn't working and studying was my full time job I studied 6-7 hours a day every day including weekends. I could tailor Becker's program using self study to fit my study habits and it worked out pretty well. You just have to make sure you hold yourself accountable to the study schedule you make.

[Author]

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