[Abby]

Hello everyone,

I am just looking for motivation and encouragement as I have been studying/or at least attempting to since I graduated with my 150 hours in August 2017. I took 9 masters classes in a summer session just to graduate and be able to start studying for the exam. Since then, I planned a wedding and got married June 2018. I have been having a hard time studying as I get too bogged down in the details and feel like I have to master every concept before I can move on to the next module in Becker. I paid full price for Becker with the 0% interest and now it is expiring this month. I did complete the Becker Promise for BEC, REG, and AUD so I can repeat all three for only $200 each. Right now I am studying for REG and have the test scheduled for February 28th. I have gotten through the first two chapters. I just don’t know how I am going to keep on track with busy season and the hours already picking up at work. Can anyone give me tips for how to finally pass this thing? Like how and when to study?

My work gave me a raise November 2018 and told me that it was “a CPA salary” and that they expect me to get it done. But I haven’t even sat for a section since last September. I am starting to get anxiety and wonder if this journey is even right for me. I want to get this done so I can progress my career and start having a family. Please help!

[Tommy]

Been there! All 4 expired for me (Becker) before i came back and focused on one at a time. I started with Reg because im a tax guy. But if i had to do it again I'd start with FAR then move to Audit. How much is your “CPA Salary”? I only ask because some employers will tell you anything! But either way, If you're good enough to keep getting a raise you're good enough to pass these exams! Keep going!

[Recked]

Have you considered that maybe Becker is not the right fit for you?
You're obviously not stupid if you got 150 credit hours and took 9 graduate level classes over one summer.
I'd encourage you to utilize the samples of other review courses to see if maybe your learning style matches a different course better.
I'm also curious what your grades looked like on the exams you failed and how many MCQs you did for each section.
If you are just working through the Becker material you're not getting enough exposure and practice with the MCQs.

[Steven K]

@Abby I totally agree with @Recked.
In early 2018, I studied for and took FAR twice, Reg once, and AUD once using Becker only. I failed every one with either or 70. Now I didn't switch Becker however what I did was switch my study strategy and also added NINJA. I use NINJA solely to drill MCQ's. I passed FAR and AUD within a month of each other and am taking REG in 4 days. I am currently doing a MAcc program so while it's slightly different that taking the exam while working full time, it's quite similar due to the amount of schoolwork I have. Keep pushing yourself and don't give up! It takes a commitment to pass these exams and unfortunately you just have to make a plan and stick with it if you want to pass.

[Recked]

During my research phase of review courses and the like I talked to anyone and everyone I could find about their experience.
Once person I talked to told me the tale of how he had to sit nearly 20 times to finally pass all the exams. He kept passing everything except for FAR and then they would all expire, rinse and repeat. He ended up taking a sabbatical from work, moved into his grandmothers house in upstate NY, and just pounded MCQs. He did about 4000 MCQs for FAR and that was what finally got him over the hump and able to pass and move on with life.
I really took the lessons he learned the hard to heart and was sure to focus my energy on practice practice practice. All the book knowledge in the world does you no good if you don't know how to apply it in an efficient and effective manner. Learning it from the book/lecture in one thing, but the real learning comes from applying it to the questions.
You'll get through this. Keep pushing.

[RyonT]

When I first started, I too got bogged down with details. I took too many note, and followed the Wiley study outline to a T. After I realized this study style wasn't working, I started taking advice from a few pages online. One said only do videos, or read the book. Not both. I saw another post (or video) that said not to do mcq until you were completely through the material. It took me about a year and a few more fails, but those little bits of advice got me to a point where I passed all 4 in about 9 months. I agree with what the other people said. You have to find a material you can connect with, and then figure out a study strategy that works best for you. What worked for me was getting through material as quickly as possible(even if I didn't completely understand the topic), and then hitting mcq 1 section at a time.

[turo9992000]

@Abby, what scores did you get?

[turo9992000]

@Abby, what scores did you get?

[Jimmy Dugan]

The answer really is a million MCQ's. I have becker and my system is basically this:

1. watch the lecture and highlight/annotate the e-text for important points. I know people like to take notes but if you get bogged down in the details like you mentioned, you will probably just be writing the entire book down. I personally have found it very time consuming and I rarely go back and read my own notes.

2. Do maybe 10 of the homework questions for each module after the lecture. If you do poorly on the homework, watch the lecture or ready the material again and do a few more questions until you are satisfied you understand the concepts.

3. Make a plan for reviewing what you have learned every few days.

4. This is the most important. Get a test bank like Ninja and knock out 200-300 MCQ. Use the analysis tools to figure out your weak areas and go back to the Becker book/lectures and study them until you truly understand. Also go through each session and read the explanation for every single question you get wrong. Find that specific material in the book and study.

5. Watch all of the SIM videos that come with Becker. These are solid gold.

Mainly just spend most of your time doing practice sets and studying items you get wrong. That's what I've found to be the most efficient use of study time.

[Adam]

Beckers is probably the worst study guide to use..they give you waaaay to much info..

Use Roger's hes entertaining and cuts the fat..great nmenomics as well..id supplement his test questions with WIley and or Ninja though as thats his weakness is the questions are somewhat easier in soe areas..

Becker is a scam though, insanely overpriced and youll be studying stuff youll never need..

Im a SR CPA in Chicago..run audits and do ocmplex tax returns..and PRobably 75 percent of the material on the exam I'll never use..(heres looking at you Unicap, Treasury and equity methods, Cost accounting, derivatives..etc)

If you work on non SEC audits which is the majority of the work..youll see none of these..if you work Big 4 on PCaob ones..youll specalize in a particular area.

[JRG24]

@Abby Follow Jimmy Dugan's advice, especially point 4. I failed FAR 4 times before I passed. The difference? I switched my studying method entirely to what Jimmy has outlined here, with the vast majority of my study being pounding MCQs. Since I switched to this method, I am 3 for 3. Hoping to make it 4 for 4 on March 2nd. Remember, your goal isn't to learn everything in the book. Your goal is to pass the test. MCQS are gong to give you the best indicator of if you know enough to pass or not.

[Hank Scorpio]

I have been there as well using Becker. I didn't like Becker and I wasn't motivated. I switched jobs, got motivated, and got Rogers. Motivation and discipline is key. Roger really tries to teach the concepts. I took my time on REG since I'm in audit and not tax. I took about 10 weeks for REG. You are getting a masters, you are smart enough to pass. You just have to set aside the time and find the right software. I supplemented with Ninja a few times with audio and/or MCQ. Stick with it.

FAR - 10/3/16
BEC - 69 - 10/31/16
AUD - November 2016
REG - December 2016

[Abby]

Thanks everyone so much for all your advice!! I think I will stick with Becker just due to the amount of money I spent on it and the amount it would be to invest in Roger. I will try getting through the material faster and not write everything down. I am ready to get back to hard core studying this week!

[Author]

Replies