[CPA = Continuous Pain & Agony]

Ok, so I passed BEC and FAR on my first attempt in October and November. I also took AUD on Jan 3 and feel fairly confident about it. BUT, I just finished the lecture, MCQ’s, and simulations for REG 1 with Becker self-study…HOLY CRAP! I forgot how much I truly hate tax. I don’t know if Becker has beefed up their material with the 2012 edition or if this stuff is just truly this challenging.

I had some confidence after passing the first two exams and after taking the third last week, but every bit of that confidence has gone completely down the tubes. The length of the simulation questions in R1 is absolutely insane!

Please tell me it gets easier as you progress through the Becker material for REG???!!!!

B - 80 (10/06/11)
A - 84 (01/03/12)
R - 81 (02/16/12)
F - 82 (11/23/11)

Thank you Jesus!

Used Becker Self-Study

[gr8dane]

I'm in the same boat as you with Reg. I nailed my first 2 exams and felt pretty confident going in to reg, that feeling has deflated significantly since studying. I put off the exam until after the holidays and procrastinated. Once I finally started, the tax chapters knocked the wind out of me, especially R3. I feel like business law will be a better topic for me but I havent gotten there yet. I am taking the exam on 2/27 and just hoping not to get 40 paragraph long tax questions.

BEC - 78
AUD - 91
REG - 80
FAR - Nov 26th 75 I'M DONE!!!

[FML-CPA]

I feel the exact same. Reg is my first section and I will be taking it feb 23. I have been studying since end of November around 10-15 hours a week. I'm now going hardcore try to get 20-25 in. I was a finance major and the tax class I took was online and only 5 weeks which is maybe why it took me so long to absorb the material. I am using the 2011 becker and 2011 wiley books and 2012 wiley online test bank and 2011 becker pass master for questions. I went through the all of the becker lectures and book to start and now I have just been doing mainly mcqs and then re-reading areas I am having problems with in either the becker or wiley books. Gr8dane- would you be willing to lay out your study plan for the next 4 weeks or provide me with some detail on how you are approaching preparing for judgement day. I am focusing on ind. and corp tax until I feel fairly confident and I make sure to just go over the outlined set of notes I have for R5-7 to keep the general info fresh in my head. I am just struggling big time to retain everything and am worried that the moment I sit for the exam I will second guess myself on whether to use a FMV or Adj. basis for something ahha. Many thanks.

[jomarie]

I can't believe you're just starting REG and you're sitting for it in 2 weeks!!!

Started sitting in May 2002, on and off. But since 2008 I've been nonstop and my scores are....
AUD - 39, 48, 56, 65, 68, 73, 76!!! (Finally passed in Oct 2011!!!) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
REG - 75 (Lost Credit) 72, 68, 73, 75 (Passed again in Aug 2011) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
FAR - 65, 68, 75 (Lost Credit) 68, 73, 73, 80 (Passed again in May 2012) Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
BEC - 65, 68, 71, 72, 72, 71, 76 (Lost Credit)- 70, 76!!!! I AM DONE!!! - Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
After 10 long years of studying, I AM DONE!!!! Finally a Licensed CPA in the State of New York!!

[gr8dane]

I am using Becker for Studying and a I study as follows:

1) Review Lecture

2) do homework for that lecture

3) take hand written notes for that lecture

I do these 3 steps until I am done with the chapter then I take the quiz with the maximum # of questions on the aggregate material in the chapter. I also log my homework and quiz scores in a spreadsheet I have made to track my progress and see where I need to devote more time.

I do all of this until about the last week and a half, I retake all of the quizzes, anything scored below and 85 is where I focus the majority of my time before the day of the test. Hope this helps, good luck!

BEC - 78
AUD - 91
REG - 80
FAR - Nov 26th 75 I'M DONE!!!

[FML-CPA]

Thanks for the advice. Any chance you would be willing to send me the spreadsheet template that you made. I know I could quickly make one, but using an experienced persons system would be very beneficial. If you dont' mind, my email is jklein2588@gmail.com

[mds86]

The best thing I could have every realized for REG was what I read on Becker's chapter notes in the first section (I think). It says that basically only half of the Becker's REG sections (I THINK the first 3-4), make up nearly 80% of the exam content. Thus, I focused on the 80% of the exam in the few becker sections and made sure that I KNEW those sections before even plowing through the voluminous sections that make up only 20% of the test. Structure your studying around the AICPA CSOs.

AUD - 64, 75
BEC - 67, 75
REG - 33, 58, 76
FAR - 41, 73, 84
DONE.

Tip: If you don't feel like you're studying hard, you'll probably fail. Study harder.

[Author]

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