[nailcpa]

I can’t believe I failed AUD for the third time….beyond depressed. I thought I had nailed it …i got a 74..I truly cannot believe it because I studied like crazy compared to the first two times and my scores remain the same… I got a 72 and a 73 previously…AM I MISSING SOMETHING?? seriously!! This is so hard for me to comprehend….:( Its like a punch in a face and my gut….it actually hurts a lot 🙁 I really want to see what I did wrong because I just don’t believe it…but then the appeal process sounds like such a work in itself….so I might as well sit for AUD for the fourth time…..seriously guys what am i missing? I felt like i knew most of the answers in this exam…i thought id be getting 80’s because the first two time i knew id done bad in the exam and yet my score this time is comparable to the previous ones…i dont get it……and I’m usually such an under estimator but this is truly heart aching…:( dont even know where or how to start studying for AUD again….after two years…im nowhere…no progress…haven’t passed anything 🙁

AUD- Failed 3 times, 81 5/30/12
REG- X3:(
BEC-X1 🙁
FAR-

Finally passed my first exam after 2+ years of agony! I refuse to give up! Bring it on!

[Anonymous]

OMG, I want to cry when I see your post, I am so sorry about that. What course material did you use?? maybe supplement with something like Ninja notes??

Don't appeal, its not worth it. I thought I did super well the first time that I took audit, I even thought that I got above 85, but a 74 🙁 I then supplement with Ninja and passed this time. Did you purchase Ninja??

[nolifecpa]

agreed. sometimes 4th or 5th time is the charm but there's only 1 way to find out. keep trying and don't give up

i failed 12 exams before my first pass

REG-65,71,74,73,70,74,79
BEC-60's,60's,69,71,76*,78
FAR-67,66,65,79
AUD-54,60's,65,83*,69,80
*expired

DONE

[jamesjohnson11]

I think I have a couple suggestions for you. I am with you. I barely squeezed by with a 76 on audit using becker only.

1) It may be your review program. Some people do better with the learning type atmosphere of Yaeger as opposed to the self study type of becker. If you have becker maybe you should supplement it with roger or completely switch programs to yaeger.

2) You should write down every question you do. Note the answer you chose and why you chose it. When you are done with the questions for that section, go back and look over all the answers and make sure to see why you got it right or wrong and what your thinking was for the answer you chose. I did this for 80 questions in NFP that I wasn't doing well on and it worked wonders. I realized how I was approaching the questions wrong and how I needed to think to get it right. It is time consuming and tedious but I really believe it works.

3) Study. I think a lot of people watch the lectures and then write down their notes and do the questions. I was also guilty of this. But what I realized was I wasn't doing enough hard studying. I wasn't sitting there and going over the rules and notes and just studying and memorizing and trying to remember it all.

4) Questions. I think everyone on here can agree that the more questions you do the better you will be. I believe that if you had a choice between doing more studying and note taking or doing questions, it should be doing questions. Buy the Wiley book and go over the extra thousand questions they give you.

In regards to the audit exam. When I was going through it I realized that on a majority of the questions you can read the question and get the answer without having to look at the choices. So if you need to take a piece of paper and cover the answer choices on your screen do that and try to think logically what the answer is after reading the question. I think the best way to approach audit is to think logically.

Honestly, my advice is to forget about everything. Forget the failing scores, forget the previous tests you took. Start back at zero. Take a few weeks to clear your head and then get back into it and get back into it hard. Go into studying with a chip on your shoulder. Just keep thinking, “how dare you stupid test, you think you can beat me. I got news for you I am smarter and I will beat you.” I know it sounds stupid but go into it thinking you are going to beat the shit out of that test.

R PASS
A PASS
B PASS
F AUGUST

[Anonymous]

I also failed audit for the third time. I totally feel your pain!

[nailcpa]

Thank you for your kind words..it really means a lot because everyone here can empathize more with the situation than anyone else in my real life..

@ nolifecpa…..every time I fail, instantly i think of quitting..but I will keep trying…there are so many people in this website who refuse to give up and that is something for me to learn from..

@ atelery and jamesjohnson11..I used Becker..did all the questions and lectures plus did all the Wiley questions many many times so many times that half way through the question I'd know the answer …I was even doing MCQs in my dream..no kidding!…and this time I knew so much more than before that's why its sooo hard to believe my scores are still comparable and I failed…last two times I hadn't even touched chapter 4 &5..:(

Jamesjohnson11–thanks again, I have done all that you have mentioned except for #2..I have not approached #2 because of how tedious it sounds..plus I have such a small attention span that when I get a question correct I don't want to know why….but I think for the next month I will be approaching it #2 way…I have to! And I definitely have to delete my failures from my mind and start fresh…phew!

Thanks all for your help 🙂

AUD- Failed 3 times, 81 5/30/12
REG- X3:(
BEC-X1 🙁
FAR-

Finally passed my first exam after 2+ years of agony! I refuse to give up! Bring it on!

[yankeeaccountant]

BINGO!!!! Me too. Plus the 74. UGH. I have had a couple of days to digest this, since you just got the news it will take some time to mourn, etc. I agree with JamesJohnson, he made alot of really good points.

For me, since it is my fourth shot, I am changing up the order of how I do things, hoping that does the trick for me. I rewrote notes this last time and I think it really helped me. Audit is soooo tricky. I am going to do this again, but in more detail. I now have a collection of 3 notebooks filled with notes! So, I have some consolidating to do.

I can't offer you a sure thing, but one thing I will tell you, and this is something that troubles me, is you need to develop, nuture, conjure up some confidence in yourself. It may seem hard right now, but part of the process is being tough mentally. No negative talk, keep things postive. I am passing this on, I have heard this countless times on this forum.

I feel for you, don't give up, a win is just around the corner!

I will be on the Audit thread if you need support (I am also going to be on the REG thread too-hahaha)

Take Care,

Nadia

[nailcpa]

Thank you for your kind words yankee…have you passed any parts yet?

AUD- Failed 3 times, 81 5/30/12
REG- X3:(
BEC-X1 🙁
FAR-

Finally passed my first exam after 2+ years of agony! I refuse to give up! Bring it on!

[katiekanton]

I posted this is another thread, but I'm gonna post it here too in case it helps anyone.

Regarding writing down notes on MCQs you missed, I thought I would pass along my habit that I really feel helped me. As I was going through all the MCQs, if there was a question I didn't KNOW the answer to, or a question that I really wanted to pound in, I would take a screenshot of the box that came up with the explanation and correct answer (in other words, if I got it wrong, I'd go back and answer it until I got it right, then take a screenshot of that box with the explanation included). I pasted this picture into a word document. Three can fit on a page. Then I printed this word doc and went over it again and again. I really feel this helped save time by not doing MCQs I had already mastered, and focused time on the ones I needed help with. And for me, having them in a different format (i.e. on paper that can be taken to the grocery store, stuffed in a purse, left in the bathroom, etc.) helped.

To do this:

1. When you've got the window up that you want to take a screenshot of, hold down the ALT button and then press “print screen” on your keyboard (usually on the upper row, over on the right, ALT printscreen should just take a picture of the active window rather than your whole desktop).

2. Open a word doc, set the margins to narrow and press CTRL-V (which is paste).

3. Click on the picture it inserted, and if you want to cut off the excess, under “picture tools – format” at the top of the screen, click on “crop”. Use the two corner handles to drag in the borders to eliminate the excess.

4. If you'd like, add a border by right clicking on the picture, clicking format picture, and under line color choose solid line.

You can add the crop and border tools to the “ribbon” so they're a one click shortcut key. If you want to make the box smaller so you can get more on a page, click off the picture (to deselect the crop tool), then click back on it and use the corner “dots” to enlarge or shrink the picture. Switch between windows quickly by using ALT-TAB (you'll need to know that for the work world so you can switch off a screen when your boss is headed your way without touching your mouse).

All this sounds like it takes forever, but if you add the shortcuts to the ribbon, you can do it in less than 5 seconds per screenshot.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a substitute for doing MCQs over and over. This is a help that enabled me to do MORE MCQs because I wasn't struggling with the same ones over and over a week apart.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[NECain]

I also did what @katiekanton did, but in a different manner. I think that really helped put me on top. I used the Wiley book and supplemented with the Wiley test bank. I'd did all of the questions in the book after I read the chapter then took notes on all the ones I missed and the ones I guessed right.

After going through the book, I customized the Wiley online tests per subject and would do a set of 50 questions. I kept on doing this with each subject until I answered all of the available questions. Then 2 days before the test I took two random sample tests. To be honest, I didn't spend a lot of time on the Sims with Aud. The MCQ's gave me enough info to get through the Sims.

You'll get this thing passed. Keep your head up and best of luck to you!

REG - 79
BEC - 75
AUD - 84
FAR - 75
Done...Thank you Wiley Books, Wiley Test Bank, and the NINJA Notes

[thedudeabides]

@nailcpa – I'm with ya. Third time was not the charm for me either, I just failed my 3rd REG. 74, 71, and 73 in that order. I really thought I had it in the bag this time, I actually felt great taking the exam. Then I got my notice on Friday, and all weekend i just kept saying ‘I don't get it.'

I am going to be switching to new materials, most likely Wiley and/or Ninja. I had been using nothing but Becker up until now. I've passed the other 3 sections, but obviously it's not helping on this one. You seem to be in the same boat, you just need a little boost to get you over the hump. I figure a different perspective is just the ticket. We'll see how it goes. I'm almost to the end… as they might say in poker, I'm ‘pot committed', there's no stopping at this point.

And the most important advice I can give you is not to give up. You'll definitely regret it for the rest of your life if you quit now. The knowledge will come to you and so will the victories, and they'll just be that much more intoxicating when they do.

BEC: 2/12/2011 = 78
FAR: 2/19/2011 = 73, 7/9/2011 = 80
AUD: 4/30/2011 = 76
REG: 4/2/2011 = 74, 8/20/2011 = 71, 11/19/2011 = 73, 2/25/2012 = 89!!!
I am AWESOME!!
OHIO

[See Pee A]

Take each exam as if it's your first and last chance. Only sit for a section when you know you've thrown everything you possibly can into your studying. The CPA exam is tough, but it's not really that difficult if you prepare for it properly. I have a decent memory, so I can get through the materials faster than someone else may, but this stuff isn't rocket science. I for one could spend months on that and get nowhere, but the CPA is not like that. If you spend enough time, you should be able to understand enough material to pass.

You need to ask yourself: did you really study as hard as you could have? or did you go about it slowly or not give it your all on subsequent retakes since you thought you had some experience already? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the prime definition of insanity. As other posters mentioned, reconsider your choice of exam prep course, review and revise your study habits, and find out what you're willing to sacrifice to get through this exam (time with family, friends, etc.). It's not wrong to quit, but at least make sure that if you're going to keep trying that you are going to give it your full effort. Motivation and drive to study harder than you ever have before is just the minimum requirement. It's a grueling process, but if you really pour your heart and soul into your effort, then it will be sure to pay off. Good luck!

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[Author]

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