[kimberlyaguilar91]

Hi everyone,

Need a little bit of motivation, this is my second time taking FAR (first time being in Nov. 2019). First time I failed horribly with a 41 just using Roger CPA, this time around I am just using Ninja for MCQ and only used Roger for the book. But I feel like I might be in the same boat again, I decided to study for about 10 weeks started March 1st, exam May 8th. I am on week 7 and doing MCQ but my only concern is that I am not doing as many MCQ as I should be, and if I do take the time to go over each one I get wrong I retain the information better but I am not able to take as many MCQs. I am also listening to Ninja Audio as much as I can every day and I am on my 5th time reading Ninja Notes, I just feel like I am running out of time. And I feel like I am not retaining enough information, my trending score right now is at a 36%. I was thinking of looking at Roger Cram Course since I have unlimited access and going through that while doing questions on the topics on both Roger CPA and Ninja CPA.

If anybody has any suggestions or tips I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you in advance!

[monikernc]

New material won’t necessarily make a difference. What you need comes from within. Get rid of your doubt. Review Jeff’s pass in 2 weeks plan and really dig in to mcq’s and sims. After 8 weeks of studying there really is no question you will be asked that you don’t know. You have already seen it all! Now you need to strengthen your weak areas by working those problems and keep your strong areas strong by reading everything that comes up with the answer on mcq’s. Know why the right answer is correct and the others are wrong. Positive self-talk matters. Keep reminding yourself you are studying to pass. Give up distractions till exam is over, sleep well, eat well and stay hydrated. Listen to audio as a break from the mcq’s. You can do this. It is what you want and you will succeed. It is possible. Now go do it!

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[CPAHOPE]

Its too early to lose motivation, you will be fine. There are people who scored lower than you the first time and still end up passing the whole thing. Make the right adjustment, stay motivated and be very focused through out this whole CPA journey.
This is my personal opinion but i think its better to really understand the concepts and do fewer multiple choices vs doing tons of multiple choice questions and not grasping the concepts fully. Some will disagree with me but you have to make that decision on your own. Good luck.

[RobOh]

I would agree with @cpahope. Understand not only why the answer is correct, but also why the other answers are incorrect. I'm also a big believer in having a daily plan, weekly plan and an overall plan which may need to be tweaked when life gets in the way. Stay disciplined and focused. Success is a result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.

[AGI]

My recommendation is …. 3 weeks is a lot.

I don't know how many MCQ you planned to do. I usually do 2 sets of MCQ per day. Somewhere between 200-300 questions. What really matters is not how many you do (although seeing them will increase your familiarity), but rather learn from your mistakes.

My schedule:
Morning – 1 set
Evening – 1 set
Afternoon – 1 set (if I feel like it)

For those questions that I got wrong repetitively, I study them throughout the day. I am a big printer paper person. And I literally print them so I can SEE them every moment. Yes, put it in the toilet, bathtub, put it on top of the phone, the kitchen…whenever you got time “waiting”, you read them and do them. If you snacks a lot, next to the cookie jar and coffee machine it will be. You need to create yourself opportunities to study. *** Do not read when you are driving or performing dangerous activities.

New York - NYC
Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

[iwantthiscpa]

I got good when i started doing a LOT (A LOTTT) of multiple choice questions (and simulations, too. but i get tired of those quickly). i do them 15-20 at a time and take a break in between sessions. but when i got these wrong, it would motivate me to look back at the chapter to see why its wrong. it was better for me than to just go through the book/lectures. we all learn differently, but the MC questions is what helped me retain the info. i would do them one chapter at a time. i was working full time when i was studying so i gave myself like 3 months to study for each exam. i would make a calendar so i could schedule which chapters i would learn each week. so whichever chapter i was on that week, i would do questions for only that/those chapter(s).

[kimberlyaguilar91]

I usually do about 100 questions a day, I do about 20-30 question testlets a day. But you are definitely right, I am zoning in on what sections I need improvement on and working on those and also going back and reading why I got it wrong and looking at it in the book. I work full time, so I think that is what I am struggling with. I put in my two weeks notice at my current job, and start my new job on the 26th. I took a full week between jobs so next week I will just be focusing on studying.

[kimberlyaguilar91]

@iwantthiscpa I will definitely start doing what you are doing. Thank you for the help and insight!

[kimberlyaguilar91]

Thank you to everyone for the motivation and inspiring words it definitely helped get motivated again! I think what happened was that I was scoring bad and it just brought me down. I am doing the MCQ on Ninja and every time I get one wrong, I read the answer and try to understand why it's wrong. And if I still can't understand it I go look in the book. I know this test is tough, but I am determined to study and pass this time. I know I just need to put in the work.

[CPA1219]

I'm not sure if you'll find this helpful, but I'll share my recipe for success. I took and passed all four sections over the course of a summer using the following approach for each section:

1. Using Becker, I went through ALL lectures, highlighted and marked EVERYTHING they said, answered ALL questions, and took ALL practice exams.

2. Repeat step 1, re-watch ALL lectures, re-answer ALL questions, and re-take ALL practice exams again.

3. Purchased Gliem test bank for newly worded questions. Spend 2 hours skimming and reviewing all highlighted/marked/underlined material in the book, cover to cover. Spend 2 hours taking Gliem practice tests. Repeat.

4. Go to the test center once I was consistently scoring 80%+ on Gleim practice questions.

5. Decompress for two days and begin again.

A caveat to this is that it was over a summer a number of years back, and I spent about 10 hours per day, 6 days per week, finishing it between graduation and my first day with the firm. I treated it like a full time job. Spending a few hours each day here and there isn't sufficient. Spending too much time can be as detrimental as spending too little time. You'll eventually forget previously covered material if you move too slow. The exam is a mental marathon and an exercise in discipline. Work effort and proper planning is key.

People I worked with at Big4 that said they chose to put it off are the ones who had the most difficulty passing. All of them regretted their choice.

[Author]

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