[abacus]

Okay, so I am stressing and need some advice from my peeps. I sit for REG next Friday and do not work at all between now and then.

I have Yaeger 2011/2012 videos, CPA excel, Wiley 2011 book, test bank and app and the NINJA notes, audio and flashcards.

I realize passing is a long shot, but I want to get an attempt in this quarter so I know what to expect. BEC expires Feb 28 and I start with Big 4 at the beginning of January.

I started by watching the Yaeger videos, but kept getting bored and distracted. Cindy Simpon and Gary Bulmash keep my attention much better. But that is my fault, not Phil’s. No excuses. I got through about 10 hrs of videos (mostly professional ethics/business law). I bought CPA Excel online because I liked the idea of the bite sized lectures. I’ve made it through professional ethics (all green), 1/3 of business law and recently started on tax because I started freaking out that I haven’t covered any tax yet. Now I’m wondering if I should take Jeff’s advice and “ditch the videos” and just pound MCQs and make notes on things that I miss. But I am trying that approach and getting discouraged by my scores and the fact that I haven’t even covered the material yet.

I thought I had a solution. Roger cram is only 11 hours. I could buy the online version and watch the videos today and tomorrow and then pound MCQs Sun-Thur. Unfortunately, even though it is an online cram, they don’t have an online version of the book. Even if I pay outrageous shipping, I would get the books Mon or Tues at the earliest. That doesn’t seem worth it to me and the nice guy on the Roger chat agreed.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I need a plan of attack. And then I need to stick to it and stop changing my mind and getting nothing done.

1. Do non-stop MCQs and Simulations between now and then. If I do that, should I take each module one by one and do the corresponding test bank questions until I get a decent score?

2. Crank through the Yaeger videos between now and Monday and do MCQs Tues-Thur

3. Try to finish CPA Excel

I know I am all over the place and should have prepared better in the weeks and months leading up to the exam. I am fully prepared for the possibility and likelihood of a retake, but with the uncertainty of travel, busy season, etc, I really want to knock it out this window, even if I don’t get much sleep between now and then.

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[Da Bears]

ehhh pay the reschedule fee sign up for January 5th, we can take REG on the same day and start big4 on monday, together :).

Otherwise just pound those MCQs until you want to die. I usually do that as my final review after going through all the lectures. You can probably crank through 250-350 questions a day. Do that until Wednesday, keeping track of which areas you suck at. Then hammer the areas you suck at on Thursday, while also doing a few practice SIMS and looking up recently released AICPA REG questions for years 2010-12(usually available online via google search) That should let you know if you are in the ballpark. You got an exciting week ahead of you!

FAR- 8/14/12 91
AUD- 10/16/12 88
BEC- 11/07/12 92
REG- 01/05/13 86
NIU CPA Review

[abacus]

Thanks! I wish I could reschedule for the 5th! I start on the 2nd and will be out of town for orientation thur, fri sat and then out of town for training the following week. Then out of town the next four weeks on my first client. So if I retake, it will probably be in late Feb. Although I'm not sure which weekends are mandatory. I've heard horror stories about busy season! Are you starting in tax or assurance? Thanks for the advice and good luck to you!!!

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[Da Bears]

I'm in audit. Out of town the first 4 weeks? Are you in a smaller market?

FAR- 8/14/12 91
AUD- 10/16/12 88
BEC- 11/07/12 92
REG- 01/05/13 86
NIU CPA Review

[abacus]

It's probably considered mid-market? Not Chicago, NY, etc but not a small town either. Seems like there will be a lot of local travel (2-3 hrs away within the same state), but we shall see.

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[jenuno01]

Don't reschedule. Ditch the videos. Ditch all business law, except for ethics & CPA liability… and go HAM on tax! No videos, just mcq's and SIMS. I think you can make it by next Friday. Good luck!

Class of 2012

[Da Bears]

Damn that's heavy travel, I guess I got it easy in Chicago haha Now knowing your situation, I would push through MCQs, take the exam, then continue studying after the exam until you know your score. If you pass, yippee, otherwise you know that you should continue pushing through the rest of the month and attempt to sit again 1/1. I doubt you'll have time to prepare and study after you start, especially during busy season.

FAR- 8/14/12 91
AUD- 10/16/12 88
BEC- 11/07/12 92
REG- 01/05/13 86
NIU CPA Review

[UCFCPA]

I definitely second the MCQs. I did between 150 and 200 MC questions a day on the Wiley Test Bank for the week before AUD and BEC, and I think it's much more helpful than the Wiley book for last minute cramming.

REG (8/7/12) 77
FAR (10/4/12) 70 Retake 5/25/13 84!!!!!!!!!
AUD (11/2/12) 78
BEC (11/30/12) 82

[Anonymous]

I think Gary is the worst, he puts me to sleep

[renditt]

Forget the lessons. I would read material / take notes in the morning and then do as many MCs as you can in the afternoon / evening. Forget the SIMs as well. Focus on taxes and on the last day before the exam read through the business law section hoping something sticks.

BEC - 2/25/12 - 90
FAR - 5/18/12 - 87
AUD - 8/4/12 - 94
REG - 11/27/12 - 91 - done!

[acamp]

Don't get discouraged if you're getting your ass kicked by the MCQs, its all exposure. I did a lot of topic specific self made testlets using the Wiley testbank. ie: 30 MCQs on business law; read the Ninja notes on business law and maybe Wiki an area or two.

I would come up with a rigid plan, NOW. Maybe something like: Read the Ninja notes and then take a 30-40MCQ test on each topic. That way you can quantify the number of tests and build some sort of schedule.

I got my lovely 73 on AUD before I started with Big4 last January–I pushed AUD until May to keep it outside of busy season–which was hard because deep down the Type A psychopath in me was dead set on doing Busy Season + CPA Exam LOL

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[abacus]

Thank you all for the advice. I'm officially on board for the non stop MCQ train.

Looks like I should focus on tax exclusively until Wed or Thur and 150-450 is what I should expect to get done each day.

acamp- congrats on being done!!

Da Bears- good luck knocking REG out before you start. I'm sure you'll kill it.

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[Author]

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