[jgmart04]

So, I have been studying for 90+ hours so far for REG. (Exam is on 11/17/14) I am using Wiley with the full test bank, lectures as classroom material, and full text. However, I have not taken any notes. I feel that this is not a good thing. I started out taking notes and it turned out that I was just copying full pages of text (which for review purposes is not good for me) How do you all take notes for REG? I do note cards provided by Wiley and really try to be sure I conceptually understand why answers are what they are. Not just memorize the answer. I’m having trouble with the Ninja MCQ and am hovering around a 65% on the Business Law and Individual Taxation portions.

Any note taking advice or study techniques those that have taken and passed. Even those that took it multiple times. I like to think of the Thomas Edison quote “I didn’t fail, I just found a way it didn’t work”.

Thanks everyone

[nicole2035]

i type them first. a lot of people are against typing but when first reading the book you're gonna misunderstand a lot of stuff and need to elaborate. Writing is going to waste a lot of time and burn you out quick on studying. You read, apply the knowledge, then re-learn it again based off application.

So i think it's better to write what you know and revise them as you start applying. at the end re-write the notes if you want, or weak areas.

during final review, at that point anything you don't know i'd just write in a notebook, it's easier to hammer it in your brain with limited time

[Anonymous]

I've done a lot of things and right now I'm doing all my notes on physical flashcards. It sort of forces me to either pick stuff that are ripe for flashcards (e.g. what are the 4 elements of X? That's just screaming multiple choice question there), or condense stuff so that the fit in a flashcard instead of re-writing the entire page.

It also helps when you review too. You probably won't touch 90% of the flashcards because if you had the time to do them all, you'll probably be doing multiple choice anyway (and with better results). But it really helped having all the flashcards for the individual credits and the AMT stuff during my last few days up to the exam. It's surprising how much you can retain in the short term with flashcards.

[y_u_no_pass]

Yeah I just do flash cards and limit to maybe 3 per cpa excel sized lesson. Many lessons will have 0. Mostly flashcards are needed for the particular random things you need to memorize. Like order of basis reduction for s-corps.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Anonymous]

In addition to flashcards, I also skim through a chapter I already did during the last week towards my exam, with the Becker outline. I highlight and add notes to it and it helps reinforce the big picture and also the little things you found important. Ideally you would also use that skimming and outlining to pull out the flashcards you think are relevant.

[Kimboroni]

Something I did for a couple of my tests was to save note taking for later in my studies. Once I had already memorized a lot of the material through practice and incessant Ninja Audio listening, I went through and took notes on the things I was still having trouble remembering. It was very helpful and pretty efficient.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Evwy_Mom]

I didn't start taking notes until I had been through all lectures, done all multiple choice questions, and was going back through and doing flagged/incorrect questions. That way, I didn't waste time writing out things I already understood, but the writing did help me dig deeper into the issues I didn't understand.

AUD = 85
FAR = 79
BEC = 79
REG = 65, 72, 75!

I AM DONE!!

[jgmart04]

I think writing down the material that I have stuggled with will help a lot. When did most of you finish the lectures and MCQ in the material? I am about 65% through my material with 31 days left. I want to spend the remaining time going over the Ninja MCQ and really hitting the stuff I stuggle with. I guess you can call it my final review. Those of you that used Wiley, did you strictly stick to the schedule or did you finish before the recommended assignement dates? My schedule has me finishing just 5 days before the exam, seems kinda late to me. My goal is to be done going through new material 2 weeks before and save those last 2 weeks for review of stuff I struggle with. What do you all think? I don't know many people studying for the exams, so you guys are a huge help.

Thanks!

[Author]

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