[William_777]

Greetings Candidates,

I am sitting for the Regs section on Nov 14th – the first time I have ever taken any of the tests. I am in the Becker Review Home Review course, and I have a few preparatory questions, if I please can get some help.

1 – There are three twenty-five question testlets and the simulations. Do we get any breaks between the testlets, or do we have to sit through the test non-stop?

2 – I have been laboring the Chapter Theory, and watched them several times through. Now, I’m really focused in on the hwk questions. I cant memorize all the questions per se, of course, but I usually run the hwk questions until I can identify with them enough to know the intention of the question. I usually get it to a point where I pull my abilities up to 90% or greater on all the Becker hwk questions. Is this enough for the test?

3 – Finally, with less than 10 days to go – I haven’t done any simulations at all! I have to get to these in the next day or two. I tend to take things one step at a time, so first the theory lectures, then the multiple choice hwks, and then the sims, so I guess I have been (perhaps stupidly) putting off the sims until I have all the multiple choice brought up to speed. So actually this question #3 is a repeat of question #2. I just need to know if I am ready to go into the sims at this point.

Thanks!

Great website!

wm

[Minimorty]

1. You can take breaks, but only between testlets. You can take as long as you want, but remember that you only have 3 hours to complete the test. Also, I believe there are three testlets of 24, not 25 (unless it recently changed).

2. I'm not sure what you're asking here. Understand the answers to the questions, dont memorize. If you are scoring above 90%, you are good.

3. Yes, you have been stupidly putting off the SIMS. Next time do them for each chapter as you go. Too many people put off the SIMS or dont practice them. They score great on MCQ and the score weaker on SIMS and fail. Just do what you can now and practice as many as you can.

The exams aren't that tough, so dont get overwhelmed. Win the mental battle. Good luck.

[William_777]

re: the sims – how much time should I give them? I've got just over a week, and still lots to do in other areas.

I think Becker recommends 2-3 hours per chapter, and with eight chapters that's like 24 hours worth of work Is that about right?

[Minimorty]

Will – Assuming you are only taking this exam for the rest of the window, you may want to consider moving your test back a week or two unless you think you are ready to go. I would do each of the SIMS once at least. I'm not sure how long that will take you. I would also do the two Becker simulation exams. They are good practice. Whether or not you'll have time to do all this is up to you.

[momto5]

I don't think it is the worst to put off the SIMS until your end review, as long as you make sure to get to them. On my other 3 tests I did the SIMS as I went along; on this one I skipped many of them along the way and am hitting them during my review to keep the info fresher in my mind. The better you know the material, the easier the SIMS are, but I don't agree with those that don't practice them at all as I think it gives a person an idea, at least, about what types of things they may be asked to do.

I have been doing each set of SIMS after I review the homework questions from each chapter. My test is on the 12th and I have 3 more chapters to get through to cover it all the 2nd time. (I don't re-listen to the lectures, just do the questions, SIMS, and review my flashcards). Some people don't like the final exams because they can give you a worse grade than you anticipated, which can freak you out. Just remember that getting 70% or more on them is usually OK and that most people end up scoring 10 points higher on their real exam than they did on the Becker finals. I personally find them helpful in gearing up for the real exam and giving me some new questions and SIMS to look at.

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[William_777]

Thank you for all these helpful responses. I appreciate all the input.

The hard part about the first test is knowing what to do and what not to do. I tend to think Becker gives us so much opportunity to learn – lectures, book, video, flashcards, mc questions, progress tests, review tests, sims – it's hard to know what to focus on. And, yes, they do pull tricks, as mentioned in the “uncurbed” review test.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd watch the lectures once or twice taking handwritten notes to get the theory down, and then delve right into the MC questions. Again, I'd make notes of what I got wrong, and I'd study them just to be able to identify and understand the questions. I'd redo the hwks questions until I got it all up to a 90% or better. And then I'd move onto the sims, and pretty much repeat the process to perfect it as best I can before the test. I havent taken the review test yet to tell what it's like – I plan to take it on Wednesday.

My prof, who was one of the authors of the PassMaster software, said, “There's no way to teach a simulation.” I'm not sure how he meant that – but I guess there are so many possible tasks they could assign, no one would no where to begin. So learn what's presented, understand it, and move on to learn whatever you can.

I've not tested at all yet, and I put the two hard tests first (Regs and Fin), so I've got a lot in front of me. I hope I've covered all my bases. Not knowing what's ahead – it's hard to tell if I have. Hopefully, I'll get it all down by the 14th.

[Author]

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