[Anonymous]

First off, I’m super excited for everyone who found out they passed their exams today, especially those who are done and can enjoy the holidays and New Year stress-free. Congrats to all!

I know there are a lot of posts going around today about finding out they passed / failed. I could use some advice for REG.

The first time, I used only Becker. I was really burned out and was stressed about my FAR score since I had to wait 3 months for that, so I definitely didn’t deserve to pass there. But then I studied in Q4, and I knew I was understanding the material better than before. I even jumped on the Ninja bandwagon and got the Scout package since I wanted the notes and MCQ. But I still came up short with a 70.

My question is… what now? I will lose Becker access sometime in January, not sure if it is worth it to me to repurchase it, even if for one part. I don’t mind spending $47 for the Ninja MCQ renewal. But should I look into a different course too? Focus solely on Ninja? I’m a little lost and I’m not sure what else to do to bring my score up more.

Thanks guys!

[CPADream]

@curlygirl1213 Here is my little experience of 4 tries of REG. Hope it helps you.

study with Becker on the lecture, apply for Wiley 14 days trial before the exam and practice like crazy.
If you still remember the sims you did after the new set of exam, write it down and find out the answer. My last exam had at least 50% of sims came from the previous attempts.

This may sound non-sense, but schedule your exam on “Wednesday”. I passed 3/4 exam on Wednesday, 1 on Tuesday. and all fails were on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Hi CPADream! Thank you for the advice! I've heard differing things about Wiley. Did you feel it was comparable to the exam?

I don't know if I can take exams in the middle of the week since I have work, but I guess if all the weekend slots fill up I won't have a choice!

[CPADream]

@curlygirl1213 in my opinion, Becker did much better in term of lecture for REG. However, their practice is not enough to prepare you for the tricky questions from the exam. Wiley is much better in term of Sims and MCQs. I did see more Wiley questions asked in my exam. Also, I would recommend you take note from the “specific” questions people asked in Q4 2017 REG section. For example, the estate question I asked or the NOL question asked by someone I forgot the name. People don't ask random question for no reason. Lastly, make sure you fully understand the basis and DRs question on the AICPA practice exam. You can find the solution through Youtube that explained by RogerCPA. Good Luck in Q1 2018.

[Stilgoin]

What were you trending on NINJA MCQs?

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[jenpen]

I used Ninja solely for 2 tries on REG and passed both times. It's the only test I've had that kind of luck with (see my signature for proof!). Ninja works very well for me.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Anonymous]

@CPADream – Okay, I will look into the Wiley free trial, and hopefully I can use that as another test bank to get some practice with.

@Stilgoin – I was trending 88% on Ninja, after completing all of Becker. I think that's why I'm super disheartened, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of things.

@Jennifer – Do you think I should just use REG then? I am worried I will start memorizing the questions since I just spent 1.5 months going through it. I don't doubt it's abilities, but I ran into the problem with Becker of memorizing problems and I'm worried the same could happen with Ninja.

Thank you all for your feedback!

[andjela]

I finally passed REG on my third try. I used only Ninja notes + MCQs. I feel like pounding MCQs is the most efficient way of learning for people who are not taking a section for the first time.

[Anonymous]

@andjela – Thank you for the response! Is there a specific way to use the Ninja MCQ that works? Should I do it section by section? Or just do sets of all the topics?

[Anonymous]

I think Becker is the way to go! I passed all exams in one shot only with Becker.

I did use 100% of the Becker material. I watched all lectures, did all of the skills practice and all MCQs and SIMs. In addition, I completed their 2 mock exams.

Becker really prepares you if you utilize their course to the full extent. Also I take down notes while watching the lecture. I probably have 50+ worth of handwritten notes.

Good luck you can do it!

[emichelle2321]

@biancamilleee – I used Becker exclusively as well and passed all four on the first try. If you go through the program and do what they tell you to do, you will have enough materials to pass, its just up to you to put in the sufficient time and effort. I ended up buying Ninja MCQ for REG because I was terrified for this exam and ended up not even using it because I ran out of time actually.

I have probably 5 notebooks of handwritten notes from all 4 sections. Writing things down (especially in your own words) was key for me when I needed to remember and drill a formula into my head.

[Anonymous]

How were you guys using Becker? Just hammer the MCQs? I tried doing the progress tests but then I run into the problem of getting a bunch of repeat questions. I do like Becker, but now that I'm going into my third time with REG I am concerned about burnout and not actually learning anything new. I will definitely try to write down things more to make sure things stick in my mind, and Becker brought back the outlines which I will print out. Plus I have the Ninja Notes for an added reading, so I think adding reading / note taking to my MCQ regime will be beneficial.

[kikee_07]

I HATED REG. I had to take it twice and had put in more effort than the others. It was probably my weakest area among the 4 as it involves a lot of memorization which i don't like, and deals with a lot of tax(burden).

Here's my short advice:
1.WRITE YOUR NOTES (Applies to all sections) but very important for this section. Utilize those post-its lying around, or those whiteboards for your mnemonics. Same as emichelle2321 noted above, i also used those large notebooks. At least one for each cpa section. One per exam attempt. So for REG – i used up a total of 2 large notebooks, and some scratch papers for solutions and different colored post-its that i posted on my study areas and wherever i stay long.
2. STUDY WHENEVER you have time – and you SHOULD MAKE TIME. But don't forget to have time to relax your mind, otherwise you will burn out and your study hours will be ineffective.
3. PRAY.

Materials i used:
ROGER – main review course (I used his Audio course too), also did most of the MCQs
1st attempt – Watched ROGER lectures & read textbook & wrote notes, answered MCQs and then supplemented with Ninja MCQ
2nd attempt – Read textbook & re-wrote notes,answered MCQs and then supplemented with Wiley testbank, then added Ninja again (I kindda went crazy)
I also printed&reviewed the REG AICPA released CPA questions from Ninja, Roger, Wiley and Becker

Since i basically used up 3 different testbanks(ROGER,WILEY,NINJA) here are my own comparison notes based on what i can remember:
Roger – their SIMS just are not cutting it. Not very user friendly. Some MCQs are not challenging enough, or i don't like their interface. Sometimes slow
Wiley – Great explanations of answers(helps with better understanding why the other answers are incorrect. Sims/TBS were easier to use. But i felt like i needed more MCQs to practice than what wiley could offer.
Ninja – lot of MCQs! Easier to use. Altho i didn't like how the MCQ explanation/solution only shows for the answer you selected. It doesn't give you an option to view why the other answers are wrong. But awesome links to the related articles. I also like their dashboard and their summary report.

[Anonymous]

@kikee_07 – Thank you for the detailed explanation! I am telling myself that this time I definitely have to take more notes, as painful as it is. I would write pages of notes for BEC and FAR for calculations, but I haven't been as dedicated to REG because I felt a lot of it was memorization. I am also going to bring a set of Ninja Notes to leave at my desk at work so I can review them when I have time there and maybe run through some MCQs if possible. I've scheduled my exam for January, so I have about a month to review everything, I just need to get over the hump!

[Author]

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