[wannabeCPA123]

I’m done with this Exam, but I didn’t study as hard as some people. I just want to let prospective applicants know that you CAN have a life and party on the weekends and still pass this Exam.

Let me use my Becker Completion Stats as a Proxy measure for how much studying that I did for each exam.

FAR Score: 78

Becker Homework Completion– 50%… Skipped F4, F9 and F10

Reg Score: 87 Becker Homework Completion– 96% completed all chapters.

BEC Score: 78 Becker Homework Completion — 50% Skipped chapter B6

AUD Score: 78 Becker Homework Completion — 50% skipped chapter A6

I studied about 10-15 hours a week for only 4 weeks for each exam. I spent most of my time completing progress tests in short 30 question bursts and I also made use of Flashcards.

BEC, and AUD I received a Stronger rating in MCQs and a weaker rating in SIMs, which makes sense because I never practiced sims for those tests. I failed the writing portion of BEC without a Doubt. The simulation in AUD was full of subjects that I didn’t study!

REG was the only Exam that I properly studied for because I was seriously scared by it.

anyways good luck to everyone on the Exam. I am done with this crap.

FAR 78
REG 87
BEC 78
AUD 78
Passed all exams on first try! Good luck to everyone!

[tomq04]

OP isn't a “slacker”, but definitely an above average test taker, and has to be an efficient with his studies.

That being said, it isn't a helpful post to this forum 😀

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[mla1169]

Why isn't this post helpful? How many people come here and say “Ugh, I only did xxx, do I have any chance at all of passing?” Maybe their work schedule got crazy, maybe they had a loss in their family, maybe they just spent too much time at bars. Who knows. I see it at least a dozen times a week here, and all they're looking for is someone to say sure it is POSSIBLE.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Matt]

I have REG in a week and I'm basically just starting to study (yes, I know, I'm probably going to fail it), so I don't have time to read the whole thread right now, but I am glad OP made this thread and this point because I have felt like some people are overstating how much time NEEDS to be put into passing the exam. I did not take OP's approach, as instead of studying casually for 4 weeks, I studied intensively (full-time) for 2.5 weeks to pass AUD (by a healthy margin) and 1 week to pass BEC (albeit just barely). Of course, you can push your luck. I allocated only 2 weeks to FAR and, as I was expecting, I failed (albeit not by a devastating margin––3 points).

My “method” for BEC and FAR was basically spending 90% of my time watching video lectures (occasionally taking notes, but usually just watching), 5% reading text material, and 5% solving problems. For AUD, I basically spent 90% of my time reading and 10% of my time doing a couple dozen MCQ and maybe 1 or 2 sims. For BEC, I did maybe a couple sims and a couple MCQ, although a lot of that time was wasted because it was mostly on something that I ended up not even being tested on.

Anyway, considering I failed FAR after spending 2 weeks on it, I really shouldn't be wasting time on Another71 while I've got REG in a week, so I'm going to shut up and go study now. 🙂

AUD: 88
BEC: 79
REG: 81
FAR: 72 » 74 » 88

Study method: 100% watching videos, including solving problems covered therein; no books, paper, or pencils

[Anonymous]

It's definitely possible. Efficiency is the name of the game, as so many have stated above.

In all honesty, I have read ZERO pages in any Wiley textbook that came with my Yaeger videos. Granted, I've put in more hours than OP in regards to watching video lectures, making flash cards, and doing MCQ's. My schedule consists of about 6 weeks of 10-15 hours a week of studying.

After trying to “wing it” on my first two exams (52 in BEC & 63 in FAR), I figured out what amount of effort is needed to pass. I also figured out what method of studying works best for me to retain the information.

I think anyone here who passes an exam is not a slacker, because it's nearly impossible to walk in completely unprepared and pass.

Kudos to those who can maintain free-time and pass the exams.

[fuzyfro89]

60 hours isn't slacking.

[Zaq]

Quoting MOD, “For every slacker trying to hit a 78 with minimum study, there are 30-40 hitting 72 with minimum study.”

Pretty much this. /endthread

Regardless, props to OP for getting through it.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[Anonymous]

agree w/ InfernoOmni…..with minimum studying you need some luck also. I pulled an 85 on REG and only studied the tax portion, but I wouldn't recommend that to others.

[JamesBJames]

It's really about efficiency. I've got a friend who studied 40-60 hours each for FAR, REG, and BEC, and he's gotten mid 80s on all of them– he's also sort of a genius. so that certainly helps. If you know how to prioritize things very well, you can get by with less studying.

Unfortunately, I'm a very risk adverse guy. I would rather study an extra 50 hours per exam to increase my chances of passing by 5-10%. Relatively, I guess it's not efficient at all, but the downsides of having to pay $200+ and restudy and go through this crap again doesn't sit well with me.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[How many letters do you need]

I do think there is something to the idea that you can study smarter, with less hours and get more out of your prep. The idea of diminishing returns due to exhaustion has a lot to do with it. Multiple short targeted study sessions can help. I don't think they worded it well but the OP has a point that if you take some time and structure your study strategy to your strengths and weaknesses you might be able to get as much quality out of 70 hours as you would with 150 hours on a strategy that fits somebody else better than you.

Some of my strategy for example. ..I study hard during the week at night because I am already in “work mode”. Yes I am tired from work but it's less distracting to me than studying on the weekend. So I am able to squeeze 17 hours or so in each week….then some time with family/friends/girlfriend to remind myself why I'm doing all of this and then squeeze in another 5-10 hours on the weekend. Each exam so far I take a weekend off between studying and review …take my girlfriend somewhere for the weekend. Come back fresh and ready to have a solid two week review. I know I would get no more out of it if I made it 40 hours a week studying non-stop because I would be on autopilot not really retaining anything.

These are all things you should figure out about yourself while planning everything out. There is no award for hours put in…and hours put in do not automatically ensure you pass. Study smarter and have a life…I do.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Anonymous]

Study time is obviously going to vary greatly depending on the person. Some people can get it done with 50 hours, and some need 150 hours. I still think that you need to take some days off though. At least this works for me, otherwise my brain gets too tired out.

[Ineedsomesun]

Well it's Friday and I'm studying for my last part. Planning on taking it at the end of August. 9 days does will not be enough for me to feel comfortable with the material but I figure I'll just retake it in October if I fail.

Not sure if I agree with OP but I do think some folks on here put a little too much pressure on themselves. Some of the test is luck. I remember when I was sitting for FAR and I had 2 days (6hrs total) to go over governmental and Non profit material. Instead of panicking, I just learned in depth as much as I could which was only about 1/3 of the material. I think its better to focus and learn a topic well enough to answer questions then just getting an overview.

Here's a tip that helped me during FAR. I knew I was close to passing or failing. There were 3 to 4 questions that were very similar that I didn't know. What I did, I guessed the same way on all 4. I didn't want to split the difference because I thought I was very close to passing if I got those right but I would fail if I didn't. Anyway, there's no way for me to verify if it actually worked. For all I know, I got all of them wrong and still passed but it's just a test taking strategy that I use.

Good luck to all on the exams

FAR - 78, FEB2014,
REG - 82, MAY2014
BEC - 79, JULY2014
AUD - 68, 86, MAY2015 (ALL DONE!!!)

[Author]

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