[Peanut]

Can anyone tell me how this is possible? I took REG in February and scored a 59, terrible and embarassing I know. I quit my job to study full time. I studied for REG for another month and retook in April. I am using the Becker software. I took about 10 “Progress Tests” with Becker scoring between the 80s and 90s. Going through each questions right answers or why each question was wrong. Took both Becker Simulated exams and scored 70 on both (which I heard is really high because it’s “harder” than the actual exam.) I just checked my score and got a 60. 1 point higher! Please tell me how this is physically possible?! I want to give up, like seriously give up, how am I NOT even close?? High 60s even?? What am I doing wrong??

 

 

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[Anonymous]

I have heard many horror stories from people that claimed they failed REG and were using Becker. I'm not trying to put their review course down, but for some reason, too many people that used Becker have complained that they've failed after studying like crazy. You may want to consider buying the Yaeger Cram. A lot of people pass REG when using Yaeger. You might want to give it a shot. It's up to you. It's just a suggestion.

[mnCPAwannabe]

@ CPAMan

I don't think the quality of Becker is the problem. More likely it doesn't compliment Peanut's learning habits correctly or she has been through it so much she is memorizing answers at this point. I'm not saying you aren't doing a good job Peanut, but these review courses some work for one person and is a disaster for the next. I happen to learn extremely well on Becker, but a friend of mine could not use it for the life of them – they switched to Wiley and had great success.

Keep at it and find what works for you!

FAR: 84
AUD: 95
REG: 78
BEC: 88
ETHICS: 100

[Anonymous]

@CPA_Rookie- I agree with you there.

@Peanut- I personally believe that this “keep doing questions” method doesn't always work because if you do TOO many question, you'll end up memorizing the answers rather than fully understanding it. I think the best way is to go over the material then do questions. Then go over the material again and do another set of question. Go back and forth. So, when you get a question wrong, you'll be like, “Yes!! I remember going over that. How did I not realize that?” And that is where you learn from your mistakes. Just doing questions over and over could end up doing you more harm than good. Yes, it is important to do a lot of questions, but at the same time, it's important to go back and review the material. My advice is to invest in a notebook and take notes. Like I said, buy the Yaeger Cram, take your time watching the videos, and jot down everything that's important.

Good luck!

[NoScores2Display4thisSection]

I agree with what other posters have said about making sure you not JUST pounding tons of multiple choice questions but that you really understand the concepts, especially because on the exam the questions are almost NEVER going to be exactly the same. They might be the same types of questions just worded a little differently and the numbers changed.

BUT the reason doing tons of MCs is THIS -> there are only so many ways examiners can MC you on a major topic. So the reason pounding MCs is great is that if you've practiced tons of multiple choice questions and understand what the examiners are trying to trick you on with each one, you'll basically be prepared for anything because there's only X number of ways the examiners can test you.

One thing you could try so you make sure you're not just learning answers because you've seen the answer frequently is to do lots of reviews of older chapter topics as you move through the material. You could do some MCs for one chapter, then do the next chapter or two the next week, and then go back and the end of the 2nd week and re-do the MCs for the 1st week or 1st chapter. Because if you make sure to do a cumulative review as you go along, then chances are you'll know the MC answers NOT just because you've done them BEFORE, but because you REALLY understand the material and how to approach any question on the concept

Sometimes it might help to take a step back from studying and see how what you're currently studying fits in the AICPA specified content (CSO) for that section of the exam. You can review what the major topics in the CSO and think about what your strengths/weaknesses are with those. This way you can glance and get an overview of all the info and major topics you MUST KNOW to pass without getting focused too much into the details and misc topics that are just lightly tested and may or may not even show up on your exam

Good luck studying. Stick with it!

done

[NDCPA123]

I just passed this section after doing only 2010 Becker and let's just say if I didn't have an MST and didn't currently work as a tax accountant, I don't see how I could've possibly passed with just Becker. It's god-awful for the new format. Unless they change their materials, I'm seriously going to stop recommending it to my colleagues and friends still in college. Then again, they refused to honor my upgrade to the new 2011 materials from 2010 and I refused to pay them another dime, so 2011 might be better.

My recommendation would be to get another set of MCQs to work on in addition to Becker. I wish I had known that there were other databases of questions available on the cheap. It definitely would've helped.

One thing I did to study during busy season was to get caught up in work after reading a section and then stopping work for 5 minutes completely and doing a few MCQs. When your mind is completely zoned into Becker, it's easy to just memorize the questions even if you think you understand it all. Mixing up work and MCQs really did wonders by letting me know what I was retaining.

Good luck in the future!

AUD - 80
REG - 77
FAR - 78
BEC - 84

[Anonymous]

It's usual for me. 770& 750 for pre-gmat test, but actually only 670 after one month's study.Sucks! Need retest. My friend only took 3 days to hit 750. She is genius. So I never believe how well I did in the simulation equals what I would get from the real test. More practice and more patience for your study. At least before I attended the exam, I have completed thousands of MCs.

[Author]

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