[The.Underdog]

Hello All,

I have just started to dive into the CPA Exam. I have purchased Wiley CPAexcel and just did the first lecture on the overview of the accounting organization. However I am kind of confused on where to go from here. Wiley CPA suggest taking the lecture, reading the text and then doing the MCQ. Where Ninja says Nails the Lectures take notes and then after you went through it all, start the MCQ. Which path should I take? Which one worked for you?

FAR - 86
AUD - 93
REG - 8/31/16
BEC -84

[ruggercpa2b]

As you start studying you will realize that what may work for some people is not necessarily going to work for you. And as you study for one section and move on to the next you may change up your studying because as you study you figure out what works best for you. One thing that helps is figuring out how you study best based on maybe how you studied in college. What helped you understand the material.

I always thought I was an auditory learner but have since realized that I am far from it. The first time I did the Ninja method of watching all videos and then doing MCQs at the end I could not remember a single thing I gone over the weeks prior. So, I realized that while I worked through the videos taking notes I also had to so set of 30 to 50 questions a day to keep the material fresh in my head. After a few retakes I finally realized that I had to ditch the lectures and just read the books and work questions tirelessly. Which is why my last score was finally a 73. Not a passing score but I do know how I have to study for audit.

Good luck!

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[stacy_scm]

@The.Underdog I am using Becker and I do the videos and text back to back and then do questions at the end of each chapter. Its also good to keep practicing questions of previous sections to keep the information fresh.

You will also find that your approach may vary with each section. What works for FAR may not necessarily work for REG.

[y_u_no_pass]

I used CPA Excel, and I found the method of doing the problems right after the lesson to be pretty effective. For me, it helps to make sure I really understood what I just learned. I also only watched the videos if it was either a very tricky, or very boring topic. Although surprisingly the professors for the boring topics tend to also be pretty boring (read COSO). Doing it this way helps to make sure you learned what you thought you did from the lesson. IF you do very poorly, you should then go back and figure out why. Also I think it is very satisfying to complete a lesson and see it turn green and see the progress you have made.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[The.Underdog]

Great So is reading the study text sufficient or should I go and read the text book as well?

FAR - 86
AUD - 93
REG - 8/31/16
BEC -84

[y_u_no_pass]

The textbook and the study text are the same. Only the study text is more frequently updated. So I used the textbook to study if I was away from a computer.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Anonymous]

I'm using Becker and my process is to watch the lecture for each section and then do the MCQ right afterwards. I'll flag questions to study over for final review. I'll also take notes and create charts to help myself memorize key concepts. Then, I'll start the same process again for each new chapter. Personally, I wouldn't be able to learn by just watching videos and taking notes. I can't learn unless I'm drilling MCQ. My process is long and tedious, but it works for me.

I skip the sims and leave those until a few weeks before the exam date. The way I look at it, is if you master the MCQ, you should be good on sims, since most of the time Simulations are just multiple MCQ presented on a specific topic.

For final review (2-3 weeks before exam date), I will do 24 or 30 question progress tests, to simulate each testlet on the exam, so I am familar with the amount of time needed on test day.

[Author]

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