[Anonymous]

Does anyone else have a hard time reviewing notes? I have been writing notes on missed questions and have notes from went I went through my Wiley course but when it comes time to review them, I dread it and never really do it. I am trending at 78 on FAR right now and am feeling decent. Is the mechanics and process of simply writing notes where the benefit is or does the benefit happen when you review the notes?

[CS]

Same here. Since REG is so detail oriented with memorization, I tried notes at the beginning, completely useless for me. I'm testing Friday so I'm jotting notes as I run through MCQs for concepts difficult to retain for myself, but I don't review them, I'm in the boat that I wrote it so that little bit is helping. Of course it's very short term which is why I only write notes a couple of days out. I can't even study NINJA Notes, and I love NINJA MCQs/Audio, I really don't understand it, some kind of mental block or something.

[brainfried75]

I have a hard time reviewing notes. The information doesn't really stick unless I write it in my own words without the jargon and also I have to repeat. I've even gone as far as recording myself reading. But you do need to actually do it. You won't retain the information if you don't keep reading it, writing it and saying it. I found that if I reviewed those areas where my answers were wrong, I did see gradual improvements but it takes time. Glad you're trending above 75%, I hope you will pass. Report back if you do!

[jenpen]

I would think it really depends on your learning style. For me, I never reviewed notes, but I would continue to write things down because that helped me to remember them. I would jot down anything important while I was reading, and anything from questions I got wrong. But that's just me, and YMMV.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Recked]

I ended up doing notes on missed REG questions only. The other sections I would try to take notes on mnemonics and charts, things of that nature.
My hand writing is so bad that its more of a struggle to reread the notes than it was worth.
Notes are just not my learning style.

[Anonymous]

Lol yeah my writing turns to chicken scratch pretty quick. I might fly through my notes but it doesn't sound like I should beat myself up over not constantly reviewing them. From the get go, I knew I was an active learner in everything I do. MCQ's all the way

[Anonymous]

I take extensive notes on all the lectures, and then never look at the notes again. I'll retake notes on weak areas, and also make a “quick notes” on each chapter with the most critical information to cram. The quick notes are way easier to go through later than big walls of text from my notes. It's been working so far.

[turo9992000]

I never learned how to review notes, I just take them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the replies! I think writing notes helps me understand things better when trying to learn for the first time but when I review them it largely seems pointless and 5 minutes later I can't remember what I just read. I've never been big on trying really hard to memorize things by reading them, especially for this exam. There's too much stuff. Some mnemonics are okay, but you are getting yourself into dangerous territory if you think memorization of certain things and mnemonics are gonna get you through this exam. I see a lot of people on this forum going bonkers with trying to memorize stuff. In the end, it's about conceptual understanding and recognition on exam day – when you see a question, do you recognize what they are asking and have you practiced how to go about answering it?

[Anonymous]

Do people find the audio to be helpful? I tried it for REG but kinda gave up. I kept having to rewind and felt like it was too passive and I wasn't gaining much. I suppose if you listen to it several times some stuff might stick? I find the sheer amount of materials (book, videos, flashcards, audio, notes, etc.) to be somewhat overwhelming and feel like people should try to simplify it

[Anonymous]

I have found the audio to be helpful – I listen to it on my 25-minute commute to and from work, for the 3ish weeks leading up to the exam, which means that I listen to it about three times through. Yes, by the final week I would much rather listen to music or a podcast or anything but the audio, but I've found that it helps to keep everything fresh, particularly the earlier topics. I don't necessarily learn anything new from the audio though. I've used it for FAR (passed) and AUD (waiting for score). I haven't used it for REG yet, but I just started studying for REG.

[cpaexhail69]

Sorry to kinda hijack this thread, all.

@Recked – looking at your signature and through your post history a bit, it's obvious you were able to get this knocked out quickly. In one of your previous posts, you mentioned that you had an efficient study method. Could you elaborate a bit more on that?

[Anonymous]

No worries! @Recked straight killed it!

[Author]

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