[RoseMarie]

Hi everyone!

I’m hoping someone here can give me some advice because right now I feel like I am drowning. I sit for my first section, FAR, in less than a month (November 5th). I technically started studying in May, or at least thats when I activated my Roger review software that I got through a scholarship from my university (I’m a grad student atm). I only got about 25% of the way through in the first 3 months because my first semester of grad school, during which I was also a graduate assistant, just took a lot more time than I was expecting.
As of now I am 74% of the way through Roger’s videos and have read probably 70% or so of the book. At first i was doing the questions after each chapter but felt like this was not getting me through the concepts fast enough so i switched to just the lecture videos and book but classmates keep telling me this is going to screw me over.
I read the free NINJA framework guide and it sounds great in some ways because i love the idea of getting through the material before MC hell but I’m lost on the whole notes concept. I’m an auditory learner and normally if i try to take notes in a class I have to focus so much on the writing part that I don’t actually take in a single thing I’m writing. I tried taking notes on a few sections this past week but I feel like since I have never been a note person and don’t have any real practice with note taking I basically end up transcribing the textbook which is time consuming and I don’t feel like I’m getting anything out of it.
Also I have got myself in a time crunch now not only with FAR which is November 5th but I also have to take BEC December 4th because that NTS expires on the 6th so I’ll have a super short window to study for that one and my FAR method has gone so poorly I want to make sure I start that one off right even if I can’t salvage FAR at this point.
I am hoping to subscribe to NINJA in Jan when I get my Spring stipend to use for AUD and REG but I already skip meals as it is now so I can’t do it before then so does anyone have advice to get me through FAR and BEC and to hopefully pass?

Thanks,
Rose

FAR - 11/05/18 - 92

BEC - 12/04/18 - 95

AUD - 2/27/19 - 96

REG - 4/17/19 - 93

I’m done!!

 

[Tim]

You just need to put the time in and really commit. I definitely recommend doing problems each chapter and not just reading the whole book at once without internalizing it through practice. But at this point you need to get through the rest of the material in the next 2 weeks and then hammer down the weak areas for the remaining two weeks. It's going to take a lot of hours and a lot of sacrifices if you want to pass. Alternatively you could pay the fee and reschedule for a later date. But obviously studying 6 months per section is not going to work. You need to find more time and/or be more committed to your studying if you want to get through this process.

FAR - 97 (10/12/17)
BEC - 95 (01/15/18)
AUD - 88 (04/06/18)
REG - 89 (11/16/18)

[Pork Flavored Bacon]

Watching videos and reading the book without doing practice problems will not help you much. You can watch the videos and memorize them all but without doing any practice problems, you are cutting yourself short of a major portion of studying.
It also sounds like you're stretching yourself pretty thin with school and its related functions. Tim hit the nail on the head when he said you will need to find the time and the commitment to successfully complete these exams.
Just a side note: If your comment about skipping meals was literal, it really sounds like you're stressed. Hopefully, you will be able to find a good balance between school and these exams.

FAR - 75 | REG - 87 | AUD - 82 | LAW - 81

[tygolfer]

Our scenarios were very similar. I started studying for FAR way too far in advance, and was moving very slow because I was finishing up school at the time. I ended up finishing up the material about 2 weeks before my exam. Because I moved so slow (over about 4 months) I really had to review well that last 2 weeks.
My recommendation is to hammer MCQ. If you can, I would get access to NINJA MCQ a or another test bank. I am an audio/visual learner as well, and taking notes has never really helped me learn much so I basically didn't take any notes at all and I don't think it is necessary if you know how you learn best.

AUD - 92
BEC - 84
FAR - 77
REG - 89

MDS CPA Review and Ninja MCQ for final review 2 weeks prior to each exam

 

[Anonymous]

This is very common. As @Tim said, I think you need to commit to taking the exams 100%. 5-6 months of study time is too much even for FAR. I think the problem is that people try to fit the CPA exam into their schedule, but really you have to set your CPA study schedule in place and plan around it. Lots of people pass the exam while working/going to school full time/having a family, but very few people will pass by only going half-hearted. It's a bad idea to read the lectures and watch the videos without doing practice problems. You'll think you understand the materials, but are going to have a hard time remembering and applying them if you haven't practiced them unless you are really special.
I wouldn't gauge your efforts on percent of the book/videos/material completed. On FAR, I only finished “22%” of Becker, but I did 100% of the MCQ, and understood all of the topics.

[RoseMarie]

Thank you all for the advice!

Pork Flavored Bacon, the comment about skipping meals was because of money issues not stress. I was basically just saying I can't afford Ninja til my Spring stipend because I already can't afford to eat sometimes. Me and my husband are both full time students and scholarships, my TA stipend, and loans only go so far unfortunately.

I have to admit I am a little surprised at all the people who say I should be doing the questions as I go. I stopped doing that because the NINJA framework seems to suggest waiting until after you've gone through all the material once before doing the questions. Since this is a NINJA related forum I assumed that a lot of people here would use/suggest that advice. Guess I really need to rethink what to do now.

FAR - 11/05/18 - 92

BEC - 12/04/18 - 95

AUD - 2/27/19 - 96

REG - 4/17/19 - 93

I’m done!!

 

[Recked]

I would personally suggest watching the videos, and then immediately doing the MCQs.
I don't learn well from reading a book, perhaps you are different, but I just kept zoning out.
The videos will teach you the concepts, and then you learn and reinforce with the MCQs.
Being able to quickly and correctly answer the MCQs is absolutely crucial for the exams, especially FAR. You need to get through the MCQs as fast as possible to leave as much time as possible for the new SIMs with loads of reference materials you need to sift through.
I have found the best way to get through MCQs fast is through practice and repetition.
If you just focus on reading, and not doing, you'll need to play catch up before you sit for your exams to make sure you can handle the MCQs properly.
Everyone has their own learning styles. If you can retain the information in the study manner you are using, then more power to you. As you work through the exams you'll figure out what works best, and adapt your study plans to suite your needs. It happens to everyone. Just look at my hours on FAR, vs the hours on the other exams. Adapt.

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[Recked]

I just reread your post. about 75% of the way through the videos means you only have about 25% or ~10 hours left and you are sitting early November.
That gives you almost a full month of study. Current recommendations. 20-25 hours a week for the next month. Finish off the additional 10 hours of videos in the next 3-4 days, and then focus on doing at least 100 MCQs each day, or as many as you can do in about 2-3 hours a day. More on the weekends.
If you have 20 days after the videos are finished, there is no reason you can't do 2000 MCQs by the time your test rolls around.
You should be in good shape, you have enough time.
Focus and make it happen, good luck!!
I found that after 100 FAR MCQs my brain was pretty much toasted, so I'd try to review some of the mnemonics /charts/bolded words in the book.

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[SuperAccountingGod]

Well keep in mind it also depends on how YOU learn. Do you learn better by reading then doing MCQ, or only doing MCQ? Personally for me, I won't learn by just doing a bunch of MCQs without first exposing and familiarizing myself with the concepts. Otherwise I'll just sit there getting low scores on the MCQs and that's not fun. I need to really understand the concepts to succeed and just doing MCQs isn't going to help me if I don't at least have an idea of how to start something.

AUD - NINJA in training

BEC - NINJA IN TRAINING

FAR - 74

REG - NINJA IN TRAINING

[Nate]

What good is studying Ninja material if you're famished from not eating? I passed four in a row with Roger with decent scores, you don't need Ninja to pass at all, there's no magic material that will make this easier for you, like other posters said, you need to commit fully to passing the exams or else you will fail. Tell your husband goodbye as you spend all of your free time studying now because that's what I had to tell my wife when I studied for the exams (especially since I work full time). What little money you have is not at all worth on Ninja material when you already have Roger, especially if you don't have money to eat. Just study hard and take only necessary breaks to make sure your mind is able to re-focus and you aren't filled with stress.

AUD: 54 (10/31/15); 83 (12/02/17)
BEC: 70 (01/31/16); 90 (07/02/17)
FAR: 73 (10/03/15); 88 (02/17/18)
REG: 83 (06/09/18)
AICPA Ethics: 91 (06/28/18)
Licensed: 08/16/18

[Author]

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