I took REG again this morning after a 69 in the Q1 window. I studied significantly for Q1 and got a 69, but only spent about 2 weeks studying the Q2 format, primarily focusing on taking practice exams and narrowing down on what I missed. I had a little technical issue during my exam (more on that below), but here are my thoughts on the new format:
It took a lot longer to get through the MCQ's than the Q1 window. Not just because there were more of them, but I felt the time I spent per MCQ was longer. This could have just been me, but they seemed to require more computation than Q1. Content was similar and nothing significant to note in terms of what was thrown at me.
I got through the MCQ's with about 2 hours left for the SIMS which I thought would be plenty of time. I finished with about 20 minutes left so make sure you save yourself some time for the SIMS. I had 3 DRS on my SIMS, all of which took a significant amount of time. Pace yourself, be thorough, follow each component piece by piece and they're not that hard, just a lot of clicking back and forth between the problem and the supporting documents. Before each answer, remember to review the initial information provided at the top of the problem and not just what's in the supporting documents, as there may be important information to include/exclude from the initial problem. Overall the DRS isn't to be feared, I think if you're patient these should be easy points. The other SIMS for me weren't as comprehensive as Q1 and I managed to push through them pretty quickly.
I seriously struggle with the AL. The AL in Wiley is so much more condensed and easier to navigate than on the exam. When searching in Wiley, I can usually find what I am looking for very quickly, but I spent a lot of time clicking around the AL on the exam and felt like I was spinning my wheels. Make sure you're comfortable with this. I haven't used anything but Wiley, so I am not sure how other study materials are setup, but if you can manage to use the entire IRC for the practicing navigating through the AL, I would highly recommend it.
Lastly, I never, ever take breaks during exams because I feel it throws me off but I welcomed and needed the 15 minute break for this one. Partly because the computer crashed and shutdown during the third testlet, really throwing me off (not to worry, they rebooted and everything I had done up to that point was saved) and partly because the SIMS were so different to the MCQ's that I needed a little mental reset.
If it sounds like that was a negative response, its not intended. While it took a lot longer, I felt much better walking out of this one than I did in Q1. Hope this helps.
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