[wannacpaforever]

CPAMAN I am in the same boat as you have tried REG twice and was not able to get 75. what study material and strategy are you using for your 3rd try. I will appreciate if you can share it.

[Anonymous]

I'm using Prentice Hall's Federal Taxation textbook this time to work some of their extensive problems. That's the only thing I can think of that may possibly prepare me for those nasty Sims.

[wannacpaforever]

Thanks for Response

[RedRage00]

There's no way to study for the SIMS. Don't waste your time with them IMO. I just passed REG and I didn't study SIMS at all. Learn the material by doing non stop MCQs. I did non stop MCQs and read the reasons why answers were right and why they were wrong. The week before my test I did every single question in the Wiley online test bank for every module.

I was the opposite of most here. The SIMS have saved me. I got stronger on SIMS and comparable on MCQs.

Texas CPA
Licensed, March 2012

[katyuser]

I have not studied at all for any of the SIMs and have passed all on my first attempt with scores in the 80s. I will echo Red's advice above – get your concepts clear through the MCQs and you will be able to do enough on the SIMs. And yes, I scored stronger on SIMs on all 3 parts (I took BEC in 2010 so had no writing).

[Anonymous]

@RedRage- I failed REG with a 74 because I bombed my Sims. I did non-stop MCQs and it only helped me with the MC portion of the exam. It didn't do a thing to prepare me for the Sims, which is why I failed.

[mena je twa]

CPAMAN and others on this one…

I did a lot of MCQ's myself. and got a 74 I did Wiley, Gleim and cpareviewforfree. my concepts were clear or else i would have not received stronger on all the MCQ's except for 1…

My issue with regulation SIMS was that i could not understand the call of the question and the wording of the question was too vague. Some of them were outright hard and diffcult to crack under time pressure

I dont know what else to do this time around? I am clueless

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[kandisjoy]

I took three attempts to get REG passed… Here's what I did to finally score Stronger on the sims, rather than Weaker as I had in the past. I increased my REG score from a 68 to an 85.

I used the hell out of the research tab, for EVERY sim. I had at least three sims that were totally bogus to me and I had no clue… but I went to the research tab and looked up terms having to do with the questions and I was able to find the answers. I also saved a lot of time for the sims. I think I spent about an hour and a half on them, using the time to double-check all of my answers. I knew that sims were my weak point so I spent extra time on them.

When it comes to MCQ, I used CPAexcel + Ninja notes + tons of home-made flash cards. But it sounds like you have those down. 🙂

Hope this helps. Good luck on your next retake!

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[mena je twa]

Kandis.

Thanks once again for being patient and replying back to my post…. I just wanted to see how others tackle Simulations, thats why i again asked this same question.

Let me glorify my question a little bit more, even i f i use the research tab as you suggested, will the answers be straight in your face or again you will need to read between the lines to interpret the answer and then how it relates to the question that is asked in the particular simulation that i am struggling in? But , since my knowledge is good, i am scoring stronger in MCQ's and when i see a simple simulation on C-corp, S-Corp, i dont need to find answers…to that? So every time i am able to handle 2 out of 6 simulations with confidence, but then why i keep scoring weaker on simulations. I could understand if i am leaving them totally blank, but with my knowledge i am atleast putting some thing in the cells….so sorry for my rant….Thanks

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[kandisjoy]

@mena je twa – You're welcome! 🙂

As for if the answers will be super obvious or “between the lines”… I'd say it depends. I had a couple where it was really obvious, but I had to search quite a bit for them. I just never gave up. I also had one where I kind of found the answer, but had to make my own assumptions.

I'm not sure exactly how the scoring works.. I'm not sure if they give partial credit for just entering something. I kind of doubt that they do. Sometimes having a little knowledge is more dangerous on an exam than having no knowledge. I'd say if you aren't sure about an answer, spend that extra minute to look it up. Even if it's something that you have knowedge about – there might be some crazy rule that you aren't thinking of.

Does that help?

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[mena je twa]

Thanks, so after reading your reply, research on simulations is not like plucking fruits from a tree. :)_ I will still have to be extra vigilant and make sure i read it correctly. And if i dont get the search i need, that means i will need to spend more time to get a correct response, then interpret a bit and put my 2 & 2 together…OHHHH JEEZZ…….

This also means i will have to leave 1hour and may be 20 mins for simulation . right now i was leaving around 1 hour or so…. Which also means i will need to rush thru the MCQ's..( i just hope, i dont make silly mistakes)….

Also, can i practice simulations with wiley and utilise the search function? Do you know if someone around here gives classes/ advice as to how to research on simulations . I am willing to pay….. ( Desperate Times:)_

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[kandisjoy]

Yep basically, I think you have the jist of it.

I think bare minimum you should be leaving 72 minutes for your sims… Your sims are 40% of your exam. REG is 180 minutes, 180x.4 = 72. Since you usually score weaker on sims, I'd say an hour and a half would be best.

I'm not sure about where to practice… maybe someone else will have an answer to that.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Anonymous]

This is crazy. I know for sure I bombed my AUD Sims and I got an 87. And I know why. It's because they insanely curve those Sims because other candidates do just as bad, if not worse. But with REG, there are people out there that are kicking butt on those Sims thereby making it very competitive to pass that portion of the exam.

And I left about 80 minutes for my Sims last time and still didn't have enough time. And that's because I spent 20 minutes trying to do the Research question. It was extremely vague in what it was asking me to look up. So I was staring at it for a long time. And the other 5 Sims I got were LENGTHY and difficult!

I honestly don't know if I can make this even though I have 4 more attempts before I lose any credits. But I will certainly keep trying until then…

[RedRage00]

I used the research function for a couple of my SIMS as well. I didn't have time to use it for all of them but I did use it for maybe 3. I was lucky in that it took me less than 5 minutes to find my research SIM. I had 1 SIM that I totally guessed on because it was way out there and I assumed it was the pretest. I had some knowledge of how to work the others and I utilized the research function like so many on here have said.

Texas CPA
Licensed, March 2012

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