[Track55]

NINJA Question –

I have REG in 2 weeks. I have done 63% of the MCQ and am at 84% trending. I won’t hit the review phase in 2 weeks.

I can do either the Ninja SIM’s or the Gleim SIM’s. I was thinking of doing MCQ’s the rest of April and switch to SIM’s in May for the last 10 days. Is this the correct strategy? I was rated as Weak on SIM’s on the last 2 exams I took and missed both by a point. Thanks in advance for the advice.

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[matt]

I've always phased in SIMS about 3-4 weeks before the exam. I've never stopped doing MCQs though. I would re-write my NINJA notes twice and then replace that time with SIMS.

FAR: 89
BEC: 88
REG: 81
AUD: 76

CPAexcel, NINJA 10 point combo, & NINJA MCQ

"Pain is temporary, it may last for a minute, or an hour, or a day, or even a year...but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit however, it will last forever."

[Missy]

I wouldn't switch entirely. Practice a sim here and there but the MCQ are more beneficial.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Kettlepot]

My daily routine is 200 MCQs and 5 sims. I don't think it would be beneficial to ever drop MCQs entirely and go to just SIMS. maybe 100mcq / 10sims a day, but fewer than that is crazy!

Far: 49
BEC: 79 (Expired)
AUD: 51, 67, 64
REG: 59, 64, 59, 69

[jschrei2]

I never did one practice SIM and honestly I don't think it hurt me any. Would it have been helpful? Maybe, Maybe not. All I know is I passed REG and hopefully won't have to worry about it again.

FAR- 88
REG- 88
AUD- 93
BEC-86

[manny1010]

I need some clarification if you guys don't mind. What is the differences between SIMS and MCQ?

Thanks in advance.

AUD
REG
FAR
BEC

[Last Chance CPA]

I echo everyone else. Sprinkle in the SIMs. I actually enjoyed doing the SIMs when I got sick of MCQs.

@Manny – Looks like you are new to the CPA exam. 60% MCQ 40% SIMs. SIMs are very important to the CPA and probably why I failed so many times. FAR, REG, AUD all have 6-7 SIMs. BEC has a writing portion in lieu of SIMs (hence why I passed BEC on the first try). Study those SIMs! For FAR, I actually did journal entries, which helped immensely.

FAR - 76
AUD - 75
BEC - 75
REG - 76

Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...

[manny1010]

@LastChanceCPA, yes, I am very new to the CPA exam world. I'm trying to understand the lingo as well. Any tips?

AUD
REG
FAR
BEC

[Last Chance CPA]

@manny1010 – I think Becker has a breakdown structure of the CPA exam. You can probably just Google CPA exam structure/breakdown. SIMs are now worth 40%, and I firmly believe I have had multiple failures because of these dreaded SIMs. Make sure you focus on them. Pretty much all review courses offer SIMs practice.

Otherwise, spend 5-8 weeks per section, depending on the difficulty each section brings to you, as well as base it on what else is going on in your life. It has been a very challenging exam for me, mostly because I am older, took the classes many years ago, and I am not an accountant by trade. Hopefully, you have better luck 🙂

FAR - 76
AUD - 75
BEC - 75
REG - 76

Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...

[Kimboroni]

Here are a few must-reads for CPA exam candidates:

https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ExaminationContent/ContentAndSkills/DownloadableDocuments/CSOs-SSOs-Effective-Jan-2015.pdf

https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/PsychometricsandScoring/ScoringInformation/DownloadableDocuments/How_the_CPA_Exam_is_Scored.pdf

https://nasba.org/files/2011/09/CandidateBulletin_032515.pdf

You can also take sample exam questions and do the exam tutorial here:

https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/forcandidates/tutorialandsampletest/pages/exam_tutorial_parallel.aspx

You really have to educate yourself and know what you're getting into on this thing. Then you can have a master plan!

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I'm 2 weeks out from REG and just started doing SIMs yesterday. Remember SIMs are NOT new material. They are the same material presented in a different way. I'm doing 107 mcq and 5 SIMs per day. Which is just enough time to get me through the whole Becker course.

[Author]

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