[letsfixthis]

Took REG today, just BRUTAL. First testlet was tough, but manageable. Second one, WTF!!!! I must have flagged about half of the 24, ended up having to just flat-out guess on maybe 5 or 6 of them. I seriously have no idea where in sam h#ll they pulled some of those questions from, because they weren’t anywhere in Becker or Wiley (I went back and looked). Third testlet was also hard, though clearly not as bad as the second one (so that’s not a good sign). Had to guess on a bunch of those too. I also made some dumb mistakes on the few in that testlet that weren’t impossible, making things even more difficult for myself. The testlets today also managed to ask THREE different questions about the exact same obscure (and I stress OBSCURE) topic in two different testlets, which I think is insane considering the breadth of other material they could test us on and on how little this topic was covered in Becker. Is that not completely illogical?

And the SIMS. O-M-G. Seriously, I don’t understand where they come up with this stuff. Two of them weren’t bad, one was tough (but fair), whereas the rest were completely obscure and specific. It wasn’t even possible to prepare for SIMS like these because THEY WEREN’T ANYWHERE IN THE STUDY MATERIALS. I’ll say no more, but I’m really ticked about that, are they serious? Finally, the research question was about two paragraphs long (LOL), but I did manage to get it after ten minutes of searching for it.

This was just an absolutely, positively, ridiculously hard test today. Based on my multiple choice performance (particularly in the second and third testlets) and based on my botching of at least two (and possibly a third) of the SIMS, I’m pessimistic about doing enough to get a 75 or higher. I don’t mean to whine, but I’m a little annoyed because like most of the rest of you, I studied my tail off for this over a span of two months, easily putting in close to 200 hours between Becker and Wiley. I know they can’t test us on everything, but I just can’t believe they’d ask multiple questions on the EXACT same obscure topic while not even touching several other supposed “heavily” tested areas. Seems like an excessive triple whammy “gotcha” penalty for not knowing such a minor detail about something so insignificant (I wish I could be more specific, it would make so much more sense if I could but I’m not allowed to disclose it). Rant over! I hope everyone else who took an exam today had a better experience than I did.

BEC: 87 (7/13/11)
FAR: 86 (8/31/11)
AUD: 99 (10/6/11)
REG: 88 (11/30/11)
Ethics: 100
(Illinois)

Used Becker for all four parts. Supplemented it with Wiley Test Bank for FAR and REG (HIGHLY recommended) and NINJA notes.

[KasiaS]

@letsfixthis, I'm going to use your own words against you. You told me earlier this week that you were 99% sure you had failed AUD and look at your score! Given that you're feeling about as bad as I've been about reg, it must mean you killed it on this exam as well.

Tell you what, I'll take the happy-go-lucky, rosy, optimistic, make you wanna puke outlook on us having passing scores waiting on us if you join me 🙂 Illinois has to be good for something other than high sales taxes and corrupt government blokes.

FAR 88 (07/15/11)
BEC 83 (08/31/11)
AUD 81 (10/15/11)
REG 83 (11/26/11)

Used NIU Correspondence CPA Review

[yankeeaccountant]

you two guys are killing me……..I got a Lou Malnati's catalog in the mail yesterday. I miss Chicago!!!! Probably going to order some pizzas for Christmas Eve—besides a passing score in Audit, a pizza from back home is next on the list. Just can't get good pizza in south. (sorry to offend the southerners :p )

back to accounting…..@letsfixthis– rant all you want. that is what the forum is all about. @kasias and @letfixthis–betting you both passed REG!!!! I love the rosy, happy go lucky vibe. I need some!!!

[letsfixthis]

Haha, I'll try Kasia. Thing with AUD was that my experience with that exam was similar to your REG exam – the testlets never got harder, so I was worried I was doing something wrong. Today was just a completely different experience for me, it was as though they were looking for the most hidden details of the text to ask about throughout the testlets, over and over again. Very, very frustrating.

I'll definitely try to join you in that maybe we both are done with these tests forever. I'm a lot more optimistic about you than I am about me though :). Out of curiosity, are you in Chicago too?

BEC: 87 (7/13/11)
FAR: 86 (8/31/11)
AUD: 99 (10/6/11)
REG: 88 (11/30/11)
Ethics: 100
(Illinois)

Used Becker for all four parts. Supplemented it with Wiley Test Bank for FAR and REG (HIGHLY recommended) and NINJA notes.

[KasiaS]

In that case, I'll be optimistic about you and you can be optimistic for me. I think that's fair. And yes, I am in Chicago.

@yankee, I swear you're my cyber CPA soulmate. And you're totally right about the pizza. You should come visit so we can all enjoy a good pizza, a drink, and exchange CPA war stories. 🙂 we can throw in Office Space for good measure.

FAR 88 (07/15/11)
BEC 83 (08/31/11)
AUD 81 (10/15/11)
REG 83 (11/26/11)

Used NIU Correspondence CPA Review

[Anonymous]

man sorry to be such an ass but i'm getting sick of people hella complaining about how hard the test was just to rub it in our faces with a 75.

[letsfixthis]

@CannotPassAgain:

Would you prefer it if people brag about how easy the tests are for them and then rub their passing scores in your face instead?

It was a very hard test for me and I felt like talking about the experience. If I somehow manage to get a passing score, so be it.

BEC: 87 (7/13/11)
FAR: 86 (8/31/11)
AUD: 99 (10/6/11)
REG: 88 (11/30/11)
Ethics: 100
(Illinois)

Used Becker for all four parts. Supplemented it with Wiley Test Bank for FAR and REG (HIGHLY recommended) and NINJA notes.

[Anonymous]

letsfixthis, thank you for sharing your experience! It really helped me comprehend the level of difficulty of REG. I've barely started studying for it.

[KasiaS]

@cannotpassagain, this is an open forum for us to share our experiences as well as advice. To add, this is where a lot of people get their strongest support. We all know that it's nearly impossible to know how you did, and we're all entitiled to the feelings we have after taking each exam. No one here intentionally “rubs” scores in anyones faces – we're just sharing the good news with the people who care about how we do. If you're not one of them, perhaps you should skip those threads.

FAR 88 (07/15/11)
BEC 83 (08/31/11)
AUD 81 (10/15/11)
REG 83 (11/26/11)

Used NIU Correspondence CPA Review

[Veronica75]

CannotPassAgain – I kind of know what you mean. I don't think it's intentional, but when you've taken the exams so many times, you can't help but take a swig of some haterade against the stellar people who are passing the first try with excellent scores. I'll admit, I'm jealous.

Start a thread for “people who've taken this exam way too many times.” I totally fit in that category. 🙂 There really seems to be two groups – people who pass them all, or people who struggle and struggle. It seems like we have sprinters and marathoners, no one in between! HA!

Good luck y'all.

FAR - 79 (2x)
AUD - 81 (expired), 77!
REG - 74! omg (3x) 87!!!!!!! I'm done! OMG!
BEC - 81 (4x)

[Anonymous]

@veronica you totally read my mind!

@letsfixthis no, i'd prefer people to tell me how easy they think the tests were and then fail!

[julia_z]

This thread made me even more paranoid about REG.

@letsfixthis: let us know how you did and good luck! and how on earth did you get 99 on AUD? 🙂

BEC - 78
AUD - 78
FAR - 86
REG - 02/29/2012
NY Candidate

[lmcclint]

I took REG on November 30, 2011 and the test was hard. My SIMS was like OMG. However, I am just praying for a 75 becasue a 75 will make me a CPA. My overall experience has been fairly well but people must understand how many hours we put in to pass. Over the pass year, I only had about 4 hours of sleep each night. I was up through the early morning hours studying. Using flashcards on breaks, lunch and even sometimes in the car! I know I had it bad.

FAR- 83

AUD – 80

BEC – 69, 82

REG-11/30/11 (HOPEFULLY)

NC Candidate

[reyortdor]

I had a similar feeling walking out of REG. And I'm NOT trying to rub this in. I just thought I'd give some hope to letsfixthis.

REG: 90, 8/27/11
AUD: 91, 11/30/11
BEC: 92, 10/6/12
FAR: 91,11/3/12 DONE!!! PTL!!!

[kandisjoy]

I was 99% sure that I failed REG. I am not one of those people who always does well – I have struggled more than most people do to pass this exam. I was on my third attempt at REG, and my FAR expired two weeks after I found out my score.

I had to guess between two answers on a TON of questions. Also, it felt like 50% of my exam was in detail on just one subject that I wasn't an expert in. I had to use the research tab to find the answers to half of my SIM questions and I still felt unsure that I was correct. I was so sure that I had failed, I already had sent my application fee to sit for it again, and I had bought the Wiley REG test bank. And look, I passed with my highest score of all. Don't fret – I think that you probably passed.

That being said, I'm still pretty sure that they mixed my score with someone else's and I'm going to find out in a year when they strip me of my CPA license. lol 🙂

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

CA Licensed 11/2011

[happy75]

@letsfixthis

Thanks for sharing your experience.

My recent BEC exam experience was just like yours.

I didn't think it was fair to be tested on a small (obscure) topic (that had nothing to do with being a qualified CPA) in such depth while other important topics that really mattered (which I had prepared well for) were barely touched.

None of those weird questions were covered in any of my study materials (Wiley / Gleim), and I doubt they were pretest questions (by looking at my score report).

I have to retake REG in 2012 b/c I lost my previous credit.

All new exams seem so much harder now. And only 3 hours for REG (and BEC)…..??

I'm doomed. =(

I hope REG gets curved better than BEC at least. Good luck!

[Author]

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