[Cannell]

Hey folks,

I write this post with full anticipation of seeing replies of condemnation and persecution, but I do also hope for any advice anyone can give.

Here’s the situation:
I take REG on December 10th.
I started studying for REG on Nov 11 (I know I started too late). In my defense, I just started the CPA Journey last month and I was told that REG was going to have a significant change going into 2019 so I figured I would just study my heart out and try to test in this quarter.
I’m about 65% of the way through the Wiley CPA review course. I haven’t touched Taxation of Business Entities.
I took a practice exam and have been doing random MCQ, and haven’t been scoring very well.

It’s a long shot to pass I know, but if you are in my shoes what is the best game plan going into the test on Monday? Continue through the material? Hit MCQ? Hit TBSs? etc?

Thanks for any help.

[Operation_CPA]

Make sure you do Entity Taxation – according to the AICPA released blueprints, this makes up about 28-38% of the exam, which is clearly a big chunk of testable material. Best of luck on the 10th!

[Cannell]

Operation_CPA,

Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated.

[felixsphone]

I wouldn't allocate too much time to business law. Definitely do MCQ on it in huge chunks just so you can see the pattern of the questions but I really recommend knowing taxation inside and out.
I had some hiccups in my REG studies this quarter and I test on 12/10 as well. So far I've just going slow and steady and making sure I catch all the details I missed in acquisition phase of studying. I'm really just debugging the MCQ one section at a time and paying particular attention to what can be tested as a SIM per the blue prints.

If it helps here's what my day looks like:
Morning: 10 MCQ (no feedback) per tax area, slow and steady. 8.5 x 11 and just doodle mind maps legibly so I can see how things all connect.
Lunch: Review incorrect tax questions, revisit along side notes. 20 MCQ tax areas.
Evening: Business Law MCQ's. 20 at a time, one section at a time. I just want to see the material. It is not worth your time to go more than 1 hour in business law this late in the game. If your privy to football analogies, you're down 2 scores, you gotta lock down your defense (tax understanding, everything) and start throwing the ball (MCQ frenzies).

Good luck, take care of yourself – it's going to be a long weekend.

[SuperAccountingGod]

So is no one going to talk about the SIMs? Unless you have experience filling out tax returns, I don't see how just doing MCQ is going to magically translate in knowing how to fill out a tax return if you see one on the exam. Yes I know of the AICPA sample test but that is just a small sample of the endless topics they could throw at you.

[Cannell]

felixsphone,

I like the football analogy. I'd say I'm down by more than two TDs though, lol. I'm going to do you what you said and maybe just run through the videos of taxation and hit the MC. I feel really good about BLaw material, so maybe I can learn some stuff on taxation prior to Monday. We're taking the test the same day? Right on! for your sake I hope you do better than I do, cause I'm not feeling too great on it. I'm hoping to score above 50. I guess we'll see.

SAG,
Good call! I guess I should probably go through those as well… I know those take a lot more time as I have no experience with tax, and I've always struggled in my tax classes. I'll have to figure out how to work the sims into the study. i guess we'll see. Just hoping for a miracle.

Thanks folks!

[felixsphone]

I try and spend less than 1hr each day on SIMS just so I can get idea of how content may be formatted. I would value learning and reviewing through MCQ and just utilizing the research tool.

[SuperAccountingGod]

What Felix said. I wouldn't spend too much time going over SIMS. Def go through the practice sims on the AICPA site tho. And since the exams are now graded 50/50 (MCQ/Sims) your time is best spend going through MCQs since those are your best bet to save your score on exam day.

[cottonkandi]

basis, basis, basis!

[Author]

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