[TaxGod]

This post is not for the people who study by the book. I was just wanting to hear everyone’s styles of studying that worked for them, and is different from the norm. Here is mine:

My friend who recently passed the CPA exam taught me a bit of an unorthodox study method that I tried out for FAR, and it worked. Basically, for the first week you go ahead and watch all the lectures and get them out of the way. The remainder of studying comes from MCQs since that is where most of my learning comes from. For audit I did the common study method since it was my first exam (watch every lecture and do the homework and nail it down before moving on). Clearly i got a better understanding of audit, but it required more study hours.

I thought I would share my slightly different study method since i felt it has helped me, and was wondering if anyone else has some unorthodox study methods they feel works?

AUD: 02/28/15 - 89
FAR: 05/29/15 - 80
BEC: 08/03/15 - 81
REG: 08/27/15 - 76

[jenpen]

I am trying something different this time around, but I don't know how successful it will be. I watched the videos when I studied for AUD, but I felt like I didn't get as much out of them as I could (and didn't pass the test). So this time for REG I am currently reading book, taking some notes, and answering questions. Plus once I get a little deeper into this and it isn't so over my head, I will incorporate the NINJA audio and listen to it constantly.

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

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[jenpen]

I am trying something different this time around, but I don't know how successful it will be. I watched the videos when I studied for AUD, but I felt like I didn't get as much out of them as I could (and didn't pass the test). So this time for REG I am currently reading book, taking some notes, and answering questions. Plus once I get a little deeper into this and it isn't so over my head, I will incorporate the NINJA audio and listen to it constantly.

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

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Anonymous]

I found it very effective with my BEC studying to literally talk through the chapters as my final review. So in the last week of studying, I basically walked around an empty room at home and talked through the material, almost as if I was teaching it to someone else. I am studying with Gleim, and I really just read through the outline of each of the chapters but made it a little more conversational and explained concepts that were more difficult. I felt like an idiot doing it, but it really made the concepts stick in my mind when it really counted.

[TaxGod]

@bg222 I am currently studying BEC. How exactly did you teach it out load? Like did you just ramble everything you knew by memory?

AUD: 02/28/15 - 89
FAR: 05/29/15 - 80
BEC: 08/03/15 - 81
REG: 08/27/15 - 76

[Anonymous]

@TaxGod, I just went through the chapters of the book section by section and put the concepts into my own words. Sometimes I would just read the notes out of the book directly, but sometimes I would go on a tangent and like make up an example of something with a fake company, etc. Like I said, I totally felt like an idiot talking out loud to myself, but it seriously helped. I think it is super effective if you are an auditory learner. I could spend hours reading through the book silently but I wouldn't comprehend very much of it. But when I talk through the chapters out loud it's like it holds my attention way better and makes me pay attention to what I'm explaining. I'm trying it again for REG now, and it's been a great way to make sure I'm retaining all the details and specifics and exceptions and rules.

[Tuffy11111]

@TaxGod This is something I also like to practice. Yes, that's basically what you do. Someone in college told me that the best way to memorize a term was to be able to explain/write an entire paragraph about that single term so that you could show that you knew it and everything relating to it.

BEC - 83 7/25
REG - 76 5/2/15
AUD - Hopefully before MY Audit...7/5?
FAR - 83 5/2/16

[Kayla123]

When I study, The first week I do all the lectures and the multiple choice questions given by Becker. The second week, I go through and read each chapter on my own while taking very detailed notes- I find that writing it down helps me remember the concepts. After reading the chapter, I do the simulations from Becker. Then, during the last week or 2 depending on how much time I have, I do a mix of progress tests, final exams and re-reading the book. I try to do at least 20 progress tests (at least 3-4 per day) and I have probably re-read the entire BEC book 6-8 times by now, but it helps me remember the details!

AUD- 99
FAR- 93
BEC- 90
REG- 94

[June2016]

I started to study only 4 pages at a time and then repeating the process. This has made studying more efficient, faster and keeps my attention longer. I read 4 pages in the book, watch the video associated with those pages, take some quick notes, and repeat until I reach the MC. It has helped a lot, when I was trying to read a full chapter or watch a full lecture I kept spacing out, this helps the studying flow better.

[Anonymous]

I write down all the pass keys in Becker a couple of days before the exam. I don't know how efficient it is but I am always amazed at what I have forgotten since I started studying.

[jeff]

Sounds strangely like the NINJA Method 🙂

1. Nail the Content/Videos (first)

2. Intense Notes (while you watch the videos)

3. Non-Stop MCQ (then do the MCQ)

4. Just Re-Write your Notes (then re-write your video/MCQ notes)

5. All Comes together (review)

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-study-plan/

[UM1868]

Jeff, this is an unorthodox method thread. Sounds nothing like the very orthodox Ninja Study Method!

But seriously, when I study, I tend not to even watch videos. I believe it takes up to much time and I get bored 20 minutes in. I either read the slideshows in Wiley that sum up the videos (REG) or read the Ninja Book (FAR). Both are simplified topics. I get my specific information from 3000 MCQs between Wiley Testbank and Ninja MCQ.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[Anonymous]

My method is to try not to overstudy. Didn't work so well with REG and BEC, so I had to adjust. I used Becker. This is what I did for FAR:

1) Watched all the videos for chapter 1

2) Worked through 50-75% of the MCQ's (got too bored to do all of them) for chapter 1.

3) Completed steps 1-2 for all chapters

4) During my review, I reviewed one chapter per day by reading the chapter and working around 30 MCQ's per chapter and read through the SIMS

For BEC & REG I followed the same guidelines, but I did not do a review at all. That's probably why I failed them the first time around.

[jeff]

Hmmm…and all this time I thought I was special 🙂

[Jaane]

Oh Jeff,

You're special for bringing us all together!

(:P)

[Anonymous]

Using Becker, I followed this formula for every single section and passed first try. Not saying it's going to work for you, but I definitely would do it the same way if I had to re-do the CPA exam nightmare again:

Step 1: Watch Chapter lecture – take light notes. Sorry Gearty, no Highlighter for me.

Step 2: Do Chapter HW (Skip optional becker questions) – Save any difficult questions as PDF and mark for further review

Step 3: After watching all lectures and HW, start doing 24-30 question progress tests. Do Ch1-6 progress tests for BEC and AUD. I split REG into R1-4 and R5-8 progress tests. FAR – I skipped progress tests and just crammed MC that I saved from HW. There are too many topics in FAR to efficiently master MC using progress tests. It's better to concentrate on your weak areas and do MC on 1-2 chapters a day.

That's pretty much it. Trouble areas, I would YouTube or Google it. Also, Final review in Becker helps too, but I usually skip the sims.

It also depends what kind of learner you are. I learn by positive reinforcement, so just going into the HW without the slightest idea of what I'm doing would be a recipe for disaster, that's why I watch the video. Although I won't learn *everything* from the video, I will pick-up tips here and there and I will put them into use with the HW.

I never just guess on the MC, I put my best foot forward on every question and search for the answers, even if it takes me 5-10 minutes. (Btw, I love Becker's “Search within text” feature in the HW) I love to see my “Correct MC %” over 70% as it helps me reinforce the idea that I'm actually learning/building towards a PASS come exam day. The biggest drawback to my method, is that it takes A LOT of time. You're not going to do FAR in a month using my method. I took 1 exam for each testing window. But in the end, slow and steady won me the race.

[Author]

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