[Anonymous]

Hey all,

So I’m in my last semester of undergrad, will be graduated by May 2. I will be doing a Big 4 audit internship this summer in a major metro (far away from where I live and go to school). I am strongly considering trying to lighten my load for next year by trying to knock one section in May, before my internship. I figured I’d do some light studying in April while I’m still in school, then basically study full time in May for a couple of weeks and then take the exam the end of May.

Now comes the question part. Which exam should I take under these circumstances? I know BEC is considered the “easiest” by many, but I was thinking of doing REG. Reason being, I was enrolled in grad business law last semester, and am currently enrolled in grad tax. I figure the material for REG will never be fresher in my mind than it will be at this time, especially because my law professor made it her priority to “teach with the CPA in mind” first and foremost (she used to be a writer for the exam). I’m also enrolled in regular undergrad audit, but to be frank, my professor isn’t that great, so I’m not learning in the way that I know is needed to pass that section, so its no real advantage.

What does everyone think of this idea for REG? Any other sections that you’d recommend instead? Am I crazy for trying to take a section in May at all? The alternative would be study May and half of June hardcore, and then more lightly for the second half of June (when my internship starts) and take the section the first month of July, but for obvious reasons of overlapping with my internship, I’m less fond of that idea.

BONUS QUESTION: Obviously because I don’t have an offer for Full Time yet, my firm is not paying for Becker yet, and I’m certainly not paying out of pocket for that. Any great recommendations for a very cheap CPA review course for just one section? Would Wiley book+test bank+maybe some Ninja notes/flashcards be enough?

Thanks in advance!

[Kimboroni]

That sounds similar to what I just did for audit– I took intro to audit in summer and advanced audit for fall, and my prof recommended that we sit for audit while the info was fresh. So I got cheap materials (Wiley review books and Wiley test bank, and a few of the free Ninja materials, and I watched a few free videos from other courses on YouTube) so that I could keep fresh and fill in a couple of small gaps. I passed with room to spare in early Jan. So that approach worked for me.

My timeline, in case it is helpful:

-My fall term ended just before Thanksgiving, and I sort of started studying then by going back over my textbook.

-I bought WTB on 12/20 or thereabouts.

-I received the Wiley review books 12/26– that was when I really started studying.

-My test was 1/9.

So I can't promise that it will work for you, too, but you're not completely crazy for trying it!

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Kimboroni]

That sounds similar to what I just did for audit– I took intro to audit in summer and advanced audit for fall, and my prof recommended that we sit for audit while the info was fresh. So I got cheap materials (Wiley review books and Wiley test bank, and a few of the free Ninja materials, and I watched a few free videos from other courses on YouTube) so that I could keep fresh and fill in a couple of small gaps. I passed with room to spare in early Jan. So that approach worked for me.

My timeline, in case it is helpful:

-My fall term ended just before Thanksgiving, and I sort of started studying then by going back over my textbook.

-I bought WTB on 12/20 or thereabouts.

-I received the Wiley review books 12/26– that was when I really started studying.

-My test was 1/9.

So I can't promise that it will work for you, too, but you're not completely crazy for trying it!

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

@Kimboroni – thank you for your reply. I've heard from two other students that its doable (they did something similar to what you did and what I hope to do), so I think I'm gonna go for it. I just know REG is right up there with FAR in terms of difficulty (but then again, the whole damn thing is hard, aint it?), so I was worried about that, but again, it'll never be fresher than right now, so its kinda a matter of studying with Becker vs. studying with only Wiley and hoping I retained and learned a lot from these past two semesters.

[Anonymous]

@Kimboroni – thank you for your reply. I've heard from two other students that its doable (they did something similar to what you did and what I hope to do), so I think I'm gonna go for it. I just know REG is right up there with FAR in terms of difficulty (but then again, the whole damn thing is hard, aint it?), so I was worried about that, but again, it'll never be fresher than right now, so its kinda a matter of studying with Becker vs. studying with only Wiley and hoping I retained and learned a lot from these past two semesters.

[Anonymous]

Regardless of what you do, you deserve an award for best username on this site.

You'll crush the section. That is unless you decide to become a city planner…

[Anonymous]

Regardless of what you do, you deserve an award for best username on this site.

You'll crush the section. That is unless you decide to become a city planner…

[Kimboroni]

The Wiley materials aren't perfect, but I thought they were really helpful. There are tons of specific exam tips. I went ahead and bought those for all 4 sections– $237 I think it was for the WTB from Another71, and about $100 for a 2 volume 2013-2014 Wiley book set from Amazon.

The biggest thing is to make the decision and then follow through. Just do it, as they say.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Kimboroni]

The Wiley materials aren't perfect, but I thought they were really helpful. There are tons of specific exam tips. I went ahead and bought those for all 4 sections– $237 I think it was for the WTB from Another71, and about $100 for a 2 volume 2013-2014 Wiley book set from Amazon.

The biggest thing is to make the decision and then follow through. Just do it, as they say.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

@Bobcat87 – Appreciate the love for the username! Im actually leaning more towards “importer/exporter” 😉

[Anonymous]

@Bobcat87 – Appreciate the love for the username! Im actually leaning more towards “importer/exporter” 😉

[Kimboroni]

I had to look that up. Nice 😛

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Kimboroni]

I had to look that up. Nice 😛

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[smeech8000]

If you're a full-time student (i.e. not working full-time or married with children) then I believe you can prepare for any section by May (although I would recommend you steer clear of FAR due to the sheer content of material). I would caution against “light studying” as you say, though. You should layout a study plan that you are able to adhere to with consideration for your college coursework. Studying full time for a couple weeks is probably not going to cut it if you've just been browsing the material during the light study portion.

In order to be prepared for any of the sections you need to be proficient in ANY area that may be tested since, as most here that have tested will agree, any portion you have weakness will inevitably show up repeatedly in the MCQ's or if you're really unlucky *gasp* in a sim.

The fact that you're fresh with BOTH components of REG is pretty strong in favor of taking that first, so I'll agree that is a great place to start. If you were just finishing up grad Tax (i.e. no Law) I'd say skip REG and go AUD as that is the shortest section in terms of content. BEC is short also, but the varied nature of the topics and randomness of exam experiences make it a wildcard for any candidate.

B 92
A 99
R 90
F 92

Becker Self-Study

OH CPA since 2/18/14

[smeech8000]

If you're a full-time student (i.e. not working full-time or married with children) then I believe you can prepare for any section by May (although I would recommend you steer clear of FAR due to the sheer content of material). I would caution against “light studying” as you say, though. You should layout a study plan that you are able to adhere to with consideration for your college coursework. Studying full time for a couple weeks is probably not going to cut it if you've just been browsing the material during the light study portion.

In order to be prepared for any of the sections you need to be proficient in ANY area that may be tested since, as most here that have tested will agree, any portion you have weakness will inevitably show up repeatedly in the MCQ's or if you're really unlucky *gasp* in a sim.

The fact that you're fresh with BOTH components of REG is pretty strong in favor of taking that first, so I'll agree that is a great place to start. If you were just finishing up grad Tax (i.e. no Law) I'd say skip REG and go AUD as that is the shortest section in terms of content. BEC is short also, but the varied nature of the topics and randomness of exam experiences make it a wildcard for any candidate.

B 92
A 99
R 90
F 92

Becker Self-Study

OH CPA since 2/18/14

[Anonymous]

@smeech8000 – The thing is, the mid-to-end of April will obviously be finals for me, so a lot of “hardcore” study time will go to those. So my most vigorous studying would May, whereas April wouldn't be able to be as committed. That said, I can always try to allocate, say, weekends for CPA studying and during the week for regular coursework. Yes, I am a full time student, but I also am involved with ECs and work 25 hrs a week so time isn't exactly abundant, at least not until May.

I noticed your scores are incredible (congrats on those, btw), so you obviously know your stuff, but it also may lead me to believe that maybe you studied more than the average test taker (not to take anything away from any natural ability you have), which makes me think perhaps I could in fact be ok with just “lighter” studying in April and full out in May.

[Author]

Replies