[Anonymous]

Okay I am not studying right. I got a 60 on FAR, 47 on REG, and 59 on AUD. For FAR and REG, I could see how things kinda played in how I failed (studied too long for FAR and worked a lot of overtime during the period I studied for REG). But for AUD, there were absolutely no reason whatsoever for my lackluster score.

Here’s how I studied for each of those exams:

FAR: studied for 3 months (way too long). Watched CPAexcel the lectures and did the MCQ for each lesson. Did 90 Wiley Test Bank MCQ per day for the final week before the exam.

REG: studied for 7 weeks. Watched CPAexcel the lectures and did the MCQ for each lesson. Did 90 Wiley Test Bank MCQ per day for the final week before the exam.

AUD: studied for studied for 6 weeks. Watched CPAexcel lectures and did the MCQ for each lesson. Wrote NINJA notes 2x during the 2 weeks before the exam. Did 90 Wiley Test Bank MCQ per day for the final week of the exam.

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So given my scores, I must be doing something wrong. Any advice or suggestions? (both for retaking these sections as well as for BEC coming up on October 5, 2013).

[Anonymous]

@Determined – Back in April, I took 4 weeks, read through the entire Bisk book and took notes for BEC. I failed with a 60. I didn't do any MCQs for this studying, didn't know exactly how important it was. I then did the same thing for AUD, but did all of the MCQs questions in the book. I failed with a 62. Then I got the Gleim system, instead of just doing the book and their questions, I needed an online system for my questions to give me the answers right there when I got the question right or wrong and why instead of flipping pages. Reading the book got me points, but not enough because I didn't practice anything. I used Gleim to retake BEC, this time I still failed with a 72 and I know it was because my week of final review, I was sick and couldn't stand staring at a computer screen and my job was hitting a wall and I had no energy to do anything once I got home from work. I am currently studying for AUD again. I am still using Gleim for AUD, but I feel like I'm retaining the information much better. I'm doing on average 100 questions a DAY, not just during my review week. During my review week, I plan to average about 300 questions a day. While you may need to read more, or take more notes, it seems like you need to do more and more questions. When you get a question wrong or guess and get the right answer, write down a fact nugget about this question. When doing questions, anything you do not understand, write down the fact nugget. Review your fact nuggets regularly. This is what is helping me redo AUD this time around. I won't be able to tell you until November if it's really working or not.

[Anonymous]

@Determined – Back in April, I took 4 weeks, read through the entire Bisk book and took notes for BEC. I failed with a 60. I didn't do any MCQs for this studying, didn't know exactly how important it was. I then did the same thing for AUD, but did all of the MCQs questions in the book. I failed with a 62. Then I got the Gleim system, instead of just doing the book and their questions, I needed an online system for my questions to give me the answers right there when I got the question right or wrong and why instead of flipping pages. Reading the book got me points, but not enough because I didn't practice anything. I used Gleim to retake BEC, this time I still failed with a 72 and I know it was because my week of final review, I was sick and couldn't stand staring at a computer screen and my job was hitting a wall and I had no energy to do anything once I got home from work. I am currently studying for AUD again. I am still using Gleim for AUD, but I feel like I'm retaining the information much better. I'm doing on average 100 questions a DAY, not just during my review week. During my review week, I plan to average about 300 questions a day. While you may need to read more, or take more notes, it seems like you need to do more and more questions. When you get a question wrong or guess and get the right answer, write down a fact nugget about this question. When doing questions, anything you do not understand, write down the fact nugget. Review your fact nuggets regularly. This is what is helping me redo AUD this time around. I won't be able to tell you until November if it's really working or not.

[futureCPA12]

@determined The number of weeks studied doesn't tell me anything. You could study for 6 weeks but only put in 2 hours a day and its not enough. I, personally, studied 6 weeks for FAR, about 6 hours a day, so that converts to around 250 hrs. For REG, 5 weeks, 6 hours a day, so about 200 hrs. You really have to be honest with yourself. If you put in the right amount of time and effort, these exams are passable. I also use Becker, so maybe thats an option.

[futureCPA12]

@determined The number of weeks studied doesn't tell me anything. You could study for 6 weeks but only put in 2 hours a day and its not enough. I, personally, studied 6 weeks for FAR, about 6 hours a day, so that converts to around 250 hrs. For REG, 5 weeks, 6 hours a day, so about 200 hrs. You really have to be honest with yourself. If you put in the right amount of time and effort, these exams are passable. I also use Becker, so maybe thats an option.

[Anonymous]

@futureCPA12

Holy moly wow 6 hours, I wish I could do that. I think (and I'm not exactly sure) I study around 2 hours per weekday and around 6 hours per Saturday and Sunday so around 20 hours total per week. Also, I think that using the computer to study, I can also be easily distracted (I use CPAexcel and Wiley Test Bank, both of which are computer-based), and I'm thinking of adding reading the textbook for each lesson as well and writing NINJA notes each weekend before the exam day (I work full-time so my available time to study during weekdays is limited).

[Anonymous]

@futureCPA12

Holy moly wow 6 hours, I wish I could do that. I think (and I'm not exactly sure) I study around 2 hours per weekday and around 6 hours per Saturday and Sunday so around 20 hours total per week. Also, I think that using the computer to study, I can also be easily distracted (I use CPAexcel and Wiley Test Bank, both of which are computer-based), and I'm thinking of adding reading the textbook for each lesson as well and writing NINJA notes each weekend before the exam day (I work full-time so my available time to study during weekdays is limited).

[futureCPA12]

Having gone to the live review sessions for Becker, I can tell you that my instructors have advised to study roughly 250-300 hours to ensure a pass on FAR and roughly 150-200 hours to study on REG for a pass. I bet AUD and BEC are 100 hours to 150 hours considering it is less material. I'm sure you work during the week which is why you don't have as much time to study. I make this my full time job since I don't begin working until Nov. 11.

[futureCPA12]

Having gone to the live review sessions for Becker, I can tell you that my instructors have advised to study roughly 250-300 hours to ensure a pass on FAR and roughly 150-200 hours to study on REG for a pass. I bet AUD and BEC are 100 hours to 150 hours considering it is less material. I'm sure you work during the week which is why you don't have as much time to study. I make this my full time job since I don't begin working until Nov. 11.

[Author]

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