[waffle_house]

I guess this is a rant but hear me out.

So far after the score release people are asking what they should do differently so that they can pass the exam next time. So here it is….

Read the damn book people. I started passing all my exams once I put my laziness aside and started reading the book and understanding the flow of information.

The biggest jump in score I had was a 68 to an 80 in AUD just from reading the book, writing a few notes and doing the questions at the end of the chapter and then every other day I would go back to previous chapters and re-read my notes again and do the same questions over (studied 5 weeks). That is it that is all you need to do to pass.

It took me 2 years to pass all 4 exams because the first year I did not know how to study. I had Ninja for FAR, AUD, and REG and never used them because they were (most of the time) the same questions in Becker.

I know people have different methods of learning but there should be a sticky on these forums to outline the basic way to study for this exam. I just hate to see people suffer because they are lost as I once was in the beginning.

[Anonymous]

I agree-MCQ is great, and I find Ninja MCQ a great addition in the review phase-I basically do all of their questions, which gives me a good idea what I am weak on, as well as ability to review all other areas. But yes, when I studied for BEC, I must have read that book 3 times over…. Doing the same now for AUD….

[Jsn3004]

I just made a post asking for advice. I passed FAR and BEC in two consecutive quarters but i'm embarrassed with how long it took. Clearly something is wrong with my studying. It took me three months to study for BEC and much longer for FAR so I can't imagine passing Audit in two months. It seems so simple just to read the book, write some notes, and do the questions, but for some reason I struggle with it. Maybe I just overdo it, maybe I write way too many notes, maybe it's because I don't go back and review prior lessons until I finish the book and when I start my Ninja MCQs.

I know the obvious answer is yes, but since everyone is different, do you think it's better just to skip the lectures unless you are really struggling with the text? I'm going to start studying Audit tomorrow and I'm trying to decide what I should do for more efficient studying because i'm clearly doing something wrong.

[RE2PECT]

I think you should read the book a minimum of two times, but like you said, everyone has different learning styles. Mcq's are great for learning how to solve complex problems and get used to the tricky language that's used, but the book gives you the foundation for all the material. I always try and read the book one last time leading up to an exam so I touch on everything that I may have missed by doing only mcq's.

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[waffle_house]

@re2pect

Yes sir, the book is the foundation. It guided me and was a great reference to the MCQ because I knew where to find it and re-read hard parts again. I know I'm not the only one who does this but shit if this helps at least one person I would be happy.

[Dwill2nd]

There can not be a single guide for how to study because there is not a one size fit all. Different people learn and retain information in different ways. Before I started taking the exam I was able to search the board and gather different peoples views and information. The suggestions are here on the forum if you are willing to take a little time and look for it.

Even just saying read the book might not be the best advice for some. Some like myself can read and pick up material very quickly. But I also know some people who can read through information and not understand it so it becomes mostly a waste of time. It's not until they actually learn that the reading makes sense.

Maybe there can be a global thread on “How I passed the CPA Exam” or whatever specific section where the only comments are strategies that worked for that person to pass with minimal other commentary.

Bec, 6/8/2016 - 84!
Far, 7/12/2016
Reg,
Aud,

[waffle_house]

@jsn3004

If you really believe you are taking up too much time watching lectures and writing notes then yes I would skip the lectures (didn't watch them for AUD or BEC). Read the chapter and only write what you don't know or really hard subjects, sometimes drawing a flow chart helps remember. Remember you have to go back to your notes and re-read them and do the MCQs again (I would do 30 cumulative MCQ for the chapters I've completed everyday for 5 weeks to keep my memory fresh). During my review week I would try to do all MCQ and SIMs again or at least most of them.

[NeedsA75]

I agree, read the book cover to cover at least twice. Once I did that my scores sky rocketed. I didn't do this for FAR and barely passed. Failed REG once with a 74 then decided to buckle down and really read the material thoroughly.

My scores jumped tremendously and I went 3/3 on my last 3 exams scoring relatively high. Becker book rules IMO. Really highlights the relevant material that has a good chance of getting tested..

[waffle_house]

@dwill2nd

I believe there can be a basic guide even if everyone has different learning methods. I agree not everyone can pick up the book and understand it the first time but if you read it a second time I believe it'll give you a great base and point of reference when doing MCQs or notes. I'm not talking about the outliers on this forum who pass this exam in 4 months only doing MCQs (they give the worst advice) but average folk like myself who started shitty in the beginning.

[waffle_house]

@NeedsA75

I agree with you completely and helped me pass 3 exams in 6 months.

Yes the Becker book does kick ass.

[CPYay]

Great post. Agreed. I found that following along in the book while watching the videos was a great introduction to the top layer of the book's material. I then went into MCQ and later on assigned myself 10-15 pages of reading per night while I took notes. This solidified the material, filled in the gaps, and gave me a lot of AHA moments.

[NeedsA75]

If I only read the book once I'd fail. I filled in so many gaps and connected so many dots when I reread the text a second and third time..

[oldercandidate21]

My approach has been this (using strictly Roger):

1. Watch the lecture, and take rough notes while watching the lecture.
2. Read the chapter.
3. Use my notes and the book to answer the book MCQ.
4. Add to my notes anything that came up in the MCQ that was not covered in the lecture.
5. Type my notes in my own words.
6. Move on to the next chapter.

I would repeat this approach for each chapter until I got thru all of the material. At this point I had notes in my own words that covered the book from front to back. I found my typed notes much more manageable to review than trying to re-read that massive text book again.

Then I would spend a few days reviewing my notes and committing to memory everything that I covered. Once I was comfortable with the material I would attempt all of the MCQ and Simulations in the book without aid of my notes. This would let me know if I was retaining the information… then the last step was to go crazy on software MCQs. While doing this I would take notes on anything I did not see during my lecture/book studies.

FAR - 75 November 2015
REG - 69 April 2016 (WTH? Test I got isn't what I studied for)
BEC - 81 June 2016
AUD - TBD

[waffle_house]

@CPYay

Reading AUD and FAR again gave me a lot of AHA moments too and my confidence shot up once I knew I understood the material.

[cpaMD86]

I personally did not read the book. I hardly even opened it, but I did tend to follow it while listening to the lectures. My routine consisted of watching the video lectures while taking notes, doing tons of MCQs, Ninja Notes/Audio, and more MCQ. The only notes I consistently reviewed were the Ninja notes. I also took notes while doing MCQs, but I did not review them. I did them more for the cognitive writing practice.

This only goes to show you that everyone is different. Do what works for you…keep tinkering with it until you find your optimal learning process.

FAR: 9/3

[NeedsA75]

Everyone is different but if you keep failing and are not reading the text at least twice…..well, I think I know what I would recommend trying..

[Author]

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