[Scared-cpa]

Hi, guys.

So I have been working through Ninja MCQs since the beginning of July as my final review (I like a really long final review) and I’ve seen all of the questions in several areas, but I’m specifically worried about federal taxation of individuals. I’m averaging 58 and trending 55! Here are all my stats so far:

Category / Avg. / Trending
Ethics, Professional Responsibilities / 76 / 100
BLaw / 63 / 66
Federal Tax Process / 69 / 89
Federal Tax Property Transactions / 68 / 91
Federal Tax Individuals / 58 / 55
Federal Tax Entities / 66 / 67

Overall average is 67 and trending 78%.

These numbers are horrible and I’m really beginning to freak out. I’m super stressed, my neck and shoulders are sore from it, which doesn’t help when I’m trying to focus and learn. I have 670 questions that I haven’t seen yet, all of these are part of BLaw and Federal Taxation of Entities.

Does anyone have any advice? I’m planning to sit at either the end of July or beginning of August.

[Needs Advice]

Finish the 670 not seen questions. Then go back and choose to redo the ones “missed last time seen” until you get to a 100% overall. Then reset the MCQs and start over. On your second go around, try to turn missed questions into flash cards. Not word for word flash cards, but the concepts of the question. I thought this helped me be prepared.

BEC: 7/31/16 (Awaiting Results)
AUD: 9/8/16
REG: 10/22/16
FAR: 12/3/16

[Anonymous]

The above poster's strategy sounds great! I would also add that for the ones you scored low on I would go back to the sections of your Wiley book and re-read…I found in my own studies that Ninja was a great diagnostic tool in review to see where the weak points are… Good luck!

[Scared-cpa]

Thanks guys! That sounds like a good strategy and I will have to do that! I take notes over important concepts so I will just go into more detail.

One question, though. What should I do about the taxation of individuals part? Should I just do the missed last time seen questions and take notes over them like I will when I get done with the 670 left over Blaw and taxation of entities?

Also, do you think I should only do the 670 left until I finish them all or should I do half per day of the ones I haven't seen yet and half ones missed over other sections. Because the 670 are only over 2 sections, I'm afraid if I don't do any over the other sections I will forget a lot of important concepts.

[Needs Advice]

What ever feels more comfortable for your learning style honestly is you best course of action. For me I found that bouncing around to different categories caused me to forget more often. Rather, I would tend to focus on one section at a time to hone my knowledge through repetition of those specific concepts. Going from individual to b-law to ethics can really throw you for a loop at times. Time permitting, I would at least see the other questions first then when you go back for a second go around, you will be familiar with the concepts. Memorization is really difficult for this stuff, you really need to engross yourself with the information so that you can react to a scenario rather then regurgitate a memorized response.

BEC: 7/31/16 (Awaiting Results)
AUD: 9/8/16
REG: 10/22/16
FAR: 12/3/16

[CPA so close, so far away]

Do you have flashcards? You need to learn the material and have a concrete foundation to apply the knowledge in the MCQs. To be honest with you, I would not just be cranking out MCQs if your getting that low of scores. While the Ninja questions can be tricky on some questions, most of them seem to be basic and just testing if you know the rules. If I were you, I would print out a 1040, learn each main section to get the flow of the form, then learn each line and know each limitation/exception, etc.. This should help you a lot.

The sad reality with this exam is that if you cannot answer the questions on the multiple choice, the SIMS will be unmanageable and extremely overwhelming, as they will take a topic from a multiple choice and aim a 1000X microscope at it.

I don't want my post to sound dreary or freak you out! I had much of the same problems, and learning the forms solidified my knowledge on the entire topic, rather than getting small answers correctly.

[Ryan – Just Another Dollar]

@summer I don't think your scores are as bad as you think they are. I'm pretty sure my trending scores the first time through REG were in the 60s. I mixed in sessions of “Questions not seen” and “All Questions” as I continued my review. This ensures you're maintaining the knowledge from the questions you already went through. Keep up the intensity and make sure to get through all of the questions at least once, and remember the scores on your MCQ don't matter, the exam is the only thing that counts. Don't get in your head! Good luck with the rest of your review 🙂

B - 88 (2/16)
A - 84 (4/16)
R - 73 (6/16), 82(7/16)
F - 67 (1/16), 84(4/16)

Ethics - 93

Roger course & Ninja MCQ - HiYa!

[Scared-cpa]

Thanks everyone for your input! I appreciate everyone's opinion!

Just a little update…I have done about 20 missed last time seen questions for taxation of individuals and now my average is up to 73 and my overall trending is 81. I thought maybe I was just having a bad couple days with tax on individuals and that brought my score down? Idk. I have 89 now answered correctly in tax of individuals so I'm gonna finish those up over the next couple days and hit Blaw next. Do you guys still think I should do the flash cards? Should I still be as concerned or does my overall jump in store help?

[Scared-cpa]

89 *not* answered correctly yet in individual taxation.

Sorry, I'm typing on my phone 🙂

[Author]

Replies