[ksullz94]

Okay guys, here are some bullet points to summarize my journey before I get into it

– I took my tests in order of FAR, AUD, BEC, REG
– Had to take AUD twice
– FAR = 78 AUD = 72, 78 BEC = 83 REG = 77
– Started working at a big public accounting firm, it was EXTREMELY difficult to study during busy season
– Studied for FAR for 2 months (while working 40 hour weeks)
– Studied for AUD for a month, then another month after I failed (while working 50 hour weeks)
– Studied for BEC in 3 weeks (while working 70 hour weeks)
– Studied for REG in 3 weeks (while working 70 hour weeks)

I used Becker for FAR, and was extremely overwhelmed when I started studying; there was a lot of information, questions, and just a huge time commitment. Honestly, what got me through was the fact that I had already paid for the test and picked a date. I studied VERY hard for this test. Thought I completely bombed it, wound up passing. Since I heard that FAR was the hardest test, I got very cocky.

Studied (not my hardest) for audit, and got a fun grade of 72. This absolutely killed me. The twist was that when I took this test, I could’ve sworn I passed I thought it was so easy! From that point on I theorized that you kind of hope for a hard test, so there is a bigger “curve”. I will get to this later.

I then studied for BEC, and felt great about it!! It was my highest grade and I passed!

Then REG.. it was the hardest test for me to study for, because it was so dense. SO many little things to remember. I also made the mistake of skipping chapters 3 and 4 in my first go through and doing them last. I did not feel confident on chapters 3 and 4 (corps, estates, etc.) Also I was so swamped in busy season I kinda gave up at the end. I took the test. Surprisingly, I thought I did pretty well on multiple choice. THEN SIMULATIONS HTI. Guys, I kid you not, of the six questions, I definitely got the research, I got 50% on two others for sure… the last 3 questions… i COMPLETELY guessed on them… I’m legit talking random numbers… I put some zeros in for fun too!

^^^^ this is why there HAS to be a curve.. maybe they were hard questions or maybe I just didnt know the topics, but if I could get a 77 leaving 3 sims blank, there has to be some sort of curve, in my opinion.

^that was my journey. It was a very difficult time but I am glad I am through it. I constantly thought about giving up but I am glad I did not.

I studied a variety of different ways, but one thing I did for sure after I failed Audit for the first time was doing ALL THE NINJA MCQ. Seriously, if you haven’t done this, do it. If you want to pass, doing the mcq will make you pass. I did it for (second time taking it) AUD, BEC, and REG and I honestly think it was the difference. It’s so cheap, you can’t NOT do it.

For everyone re-taking a section, NINJA MCQ will be the difference, I’m telling you!

This test is definitely about knowledge and memorization, sure. But it is also LARGELY test taking abilities, and you can hone in on these skills only through practice. I know you’ve read “PRACTICE MCQ” a million times before online but like, thats literally what you have to do!

Watch lectures, do the homework, you guys can do it!

I am by no means an expert on the material, I just know it CAN be done, so now is the time to GET motivated and kill these tests!!!!

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

One question I do have for you is how long did it take for you to complete all the MCQs? I'm studying for FAR and will have about 3 and half weeks for re-writing notes, reviewing my weak areas and pounding MCQs. I”m not sure how many MCQs are in the Ninja bank but do you think it would be reasonable to get through them all in about 2 and a half weeks?

[ksullz94]

@TurboSandwich when I did ninja MCQ for the first time, I did it after I had studied all the material, so I did like 200-300 questions a day; I think they prob average to like 1,200 to 1,500 for each test. So I finished them all in five days

For BEC and REG I did all the questions as fast as I could for each topic as I was studying them; so if I did R1, I would do the Becker lecture, MCQ, sims, and try to finish all the NINJA MCQ (for that section) in like 3 days.

You could pound out all the NINJA MCQ and retain it in just one week if thats all you're doing. I think they serve as the best kind of final review you can do. Keep doing “new questions” until you see them all, then have them pick the questions you're weakest at.

ALSO a fun note, when I failed AUD, my score report said I was weaker in Professional Responsibilities compared to everyone else. After doing all the NINJA MCQ, the breakdown said I was an 80% on every topic except.. you guessed it, Professional Responsibilities. So then I practiced ONLY those questions, and that got me to pass.

If you do all the questions, it will tell you what you're good at and bad at. You can do it!!!!

[ChicagoJess]

Awesome! This is exactly the kind of post I was looking for. It gives me hope 🙂
I have a question for you – how many hours a day were you studying when you were putting in 70 hours a week at work? What did a typical day look like for you?
I'm at a point where I'm trying to get in 1.5 hours of studying in the mornings and then at least 3.5 hours after my evening workout at OTF. I can probably manage to squeeze another hour of studying and if I cut my sleeping hours to 5 1/2–6 per night. LOL

REG - (05/07/2016)
BEC - (05/21/2016)
AUD - 49
FAR - 50, retaking 04/02/16

[ksullz94]

@Chicagojess

For those hard 70 hour weeks, I was lucky to have an hour commute (on the train) each way, so I would study a lot then. I could never really wake up early to study cause I would often go to the gym instead. I would bring lunch from home so while everyone went out to eat, I ate at my desk and did 50 NINJA MCQ questions.

Honestly, for these tests, you get out what you put in.

If you want to pass these tests, stay up an extra 1-2 hours per day to study

It's going to be miserable, but you have to be determined enough to make yourself study in all of your free time. Whenever I drove anywhere, I had Tim's soothing (lol) voice playing over my car speakers.

YOU CAN DO IT!

I had a lot of really late nights studying, and they were hard, but being done is a feeling like no other.

You CAN DO IT!

[ThomasHallberg]

Love it, congrats!

[Author]

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