[Ran16]

I’m currently studying for REG with Becker and my exam is schedule for June 10th. I’ve been listening to the lectures while at work. Some of it feels like its sinking in as I listen to it and other times I’m just half listening. My plan was to listen to the lectures and work all Becker questions (so I qualify for the Becker Promise), look at the Becker ebook so I can copy the notes/highlighting into my book, after this I was going to purchase the Ninja MCQ and just constantly work those. My issue is that as I go into the Becker MC I’m getting so many wrong. I apparently don’t know all the important things like cutoffs and income rules. Do you think this will eventually sink into my head as I work the Ninja MC or do I need to adjust my study plan?

Side Question: I read someone on here would write the explanation for all MC questions he got wrong. Do you think this would be beneficial for me?

[monikernc]

i am studying with ninja and i am making progress on REG. you have to commit to the process. not sure why you are surprised when you say you only half listen at times. if you are only committed to the promise you will have to work harder if you really want to get it. watch the lecture. read the book. do the homework. repeat. take notes along the way. you have to let the information in.
you can do this. good luck!

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Jdn9201]

I agree with monikermc – unless you are a tax person, you can't expect to pick up on the material unless you are completely focusing on it. Alot of tax is not intuitive nor logical. One thing that helped me remember the deductions vs adjustments to AGI vs credits is pull up the forms and corresponding schedules from the IRS. I work in corporate tax, but individual tax didn't really click until i pictured it on the form. Use the AL while you are studying – if you are reviewing depreciation, look up the code section. Not only will this help you to learn the concept but it will also come in handy when you do the SIMS.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Zuly]

Roger CPA Review uses mnemonics to remember the adjustments for AGI, deductions, etc. so I wrote those out and put them in a column/table form so it was visually more appealing and easier to memorize. As one poster commented you should also use the tax forms to know exactly where these go. Also, I initially used the book/notes to help me answer the questions and this really helped the information sink in instead of spinning my wheels trying to remember all the details while answering MCQs. Now that I have been practicing for weeks I don't use my notes since I can remember most of the rules, however, for those details/concepts that I can't remember I just use flashcards using the Quizlet app and study those concepts as much as I can. It's been working for me thus far.

FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74

[Anonymous]

I am paying full attention to the lectures/questions and am still struggling. I'm not a tax guy, so this stuff is tough for me! I don't think it would be remotely possible to pass this test only half listening to the lectures – but that's me…

Honestly, who cares about the Becker Promise. Study your butt off and pass on the first try, the Becker promise is bogus anyway. Stay focused on the materials. the lectures are 4 hours and I usually do it over 2 days…again, that's just me…

[Msredbird]

I caveat my response with I haven't passed an exam yet; but I did take AUD today. I know you're talking about REG, but study regimen would be similar. I found taking daily progress tests with Becker's software to be helpful. What I like about it is that you can select which chapters you want to include or exclude from the progress test and how many questions you want to do. These tests helped me focus on my weak spots, b/c it provided a breakout of the test results by the included chapters. My exam was at 11:00 and I even did a 100 question progress test this morning just to get my brain going. Another poster recommended that. I think it worked. I obviously don't know my results, but I feel good about my exam. I failed FAR in Feb and did not use this feature and also didn't finish my exam. Today, I went into the sims with 2.5hrs and ended the exam with 12 minutes left. I hope this helps. Good luck!

AUD 4/23/16 81
FAR 02/23/16 Failed, Retake TBD
REG 6/10/16 70, TBD
BEC TBD

[Anonymous]

Step #1 Print out every multiple choice question, organize them by category in order they are covered in the chapter.
Step #2 Watch Lecture if that works for you or read through the text and note like a sOb
Step #3 Do the multiple choice in order, the concepts all build into each other

Ex.Formation, then Operations: then Distributions and liquidation……it will make 100x more sense since you are not jumping all over the place

[Msredbird]

CPA_BO – good points. I do all the homework for each chapter in sequential order. However, I use progress tests too, in order to keep the earlier information fresh. For example, as I get to chapter 4, I will do progress tests for chapters 1-3. Only when I have complete all the homework for all chapters will I do progress exams for everything.

AUD 4/23/16 81
FAR 02/23/16 Failed, Retake TBD
REG 6/10/16 70, TBD
BEC TBD

[jmc0434]

My exam is next Sunday for REG and I am using both Becker and Ninja Notes/Audio. This will be my second go around for REG which I failed in Q1'16 the first time with only using Becker (I never retained the Becker Promise). I was in the same boat as you and after I sat for the exam I had that sinking feeling that I definitely failed and needed to make note cards next time.

So now, after I re-watched the Becker lectures (which did help me to refresh on the materials); I went through the sections and made my note cards over the materials and then I would rewrite the Ninja Notes (which required a lot of legal pads ha!). After that, I took the multiple choice questions through Becker which I was getting at least 83% correct the first time. I noticed if I took the time to learn the materials by making note cards specifically it helped tremendously with the MCs. If you take the time to go through the materials, take notes, and make note cards that will help you better absorb the materials and in turn give you a higher score on the MC.

I am DEFINITELY not a tax person; actually, I am pretty confident that half my brain shuts down when tax is brought up in normal conversation which is why I have to shoot for a 95 to hopefully get that 75! So my suggestion is:

1. Watch the Becker lectures
2. Make note cards/notes or both
3. Answer MCs

Just remember concur one section at time! You Got This! 🙂

BEC - 79
AUD - 89
REG - 80
FAR - 7/19/16

[Ran16]

Thanks for all your feedback. I wasn't sure if the REG material was the type that would eventually sink in through repetition or if I needed to read through the book. To me is seems that the majority of the questions that involve limitations and cutoffs are ones that require at least a little bit of math. I've found that as I go through questions I'll remember a similar one I got wrong because I did the math wrong. So I try to mimic what the correct answer was and why, then I could complete the correct formula/cutoff for the current question. I have flashcards but will definitely be making more and trying a variety of your suggestions to see which path will help me retain the information the best. Thanks again!

[Author]

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