Those of you who score in the 90s

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  • #1253071
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    What kind of background in accounting do you have? Do you have family in the accounting/business field? Does the material simply come easy to you? Do you particularly have an excellent memory and have always been a good test taker?

    Curious what kind of people score in the 90s on these exams and what would you attribute your high scores to other than “putting in the time” to study? Many people put in the time to study but still do not pass, so interested in your opinions about yourselves 🙂

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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  • #1253134
    Track55
    Participant

    No accounting experience and no one in family either. The tests didnt come easy. I just did Ninja till I threw up… then I did more.

    There is no magic bullet.

    AUD - 74, 99 !!
    REG - 74, 92
    BEC - 83
    FAR - 73, 86

    Studying for Ethics exam

    California candidate
    Business and Industry

    #1253181
    wombataholic
    Participant

    >>What kind of background in accounting do you have?

    I worked in tv news for 11 years before switching careers so I could be home for dinner at night. My bachelor's is in mass communication. When I sat for the exam, I had been working in the accounting field for a year and a half.

    >>Do you have family in the accounting/business field?

    Nope.

    >>Does the material simply come easy to you?

    Sort of, but I was also really really disciplined when it came to studying.

    >>Do you particularly have an excellent memory and have always been a good test taker?

    I think I have an average memory, not much better or worse than anyone else's. I am a good test taker.

    >>Curious what kind of people score in the 90s on these exams and what would you attribute your high scores to other than “putting in the time” to study?

    “Putting in the time” is a generic term that can mean a lot of things to different people. I knew my learning style before I started studying and made efficient use of my planned study time. When my schedule said I would be studying for 2 hours after work and 4 hours on Saturday morning, I would be studying at those times. I set daily study goals so I would know whether I was on pace to get through my material and know it well enough for the upcoming test date. If I were to fall behind, then I had to carve out more time to study.

    Licensed CPA
    Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

    #1253298
    Tuthegreat
    Participant

    I literally came to work everyday and told myself, “look at those Idiots. if they can pass the exam, so can I.” and my journey of a thousand miles began.

    Now, some the new guys thinks I'm that “idiot.” and so his journey begins.

    #1262452
    CPA2BEE
    Participant

    Don't worry about scoring in the 90s – every point you score over 75 just represents wasted time 😉

    FAR - 80
    AUD - 82
    BEC - 80
    REG - 85

    ETHICS - 90
    EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
    Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

    #1262458
    patelhj1
    Participant

    I am the 1st in my family to get college education and get a professional job. I didn't pass with all 90+ but I still passed the exam. It's simply hard work pays off. There are no shortcuts to this exam!

    BEC 78 08/2015
    REG 71 11/2015, RETAKE 83 01/2016
    FAR 75! 5/2016
    AUD ? 8/2016

    Becker with Nonstop NINJA MCQ
    Google most difficult professional exam

    #1262472
    CPA2BEE
    Participant

    Yeah I'm pretty sure the people who scored 90+ on all of their exams aren't any more of a CPA than the rest of us. Just think 75 and the rest is gravy.

    FAR - 80
    AUD - 82
    BEC - 80
    REG - 85

    ETHICS - 90
    EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
    Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

    #1262886
    jgod
    Participant

    Quickie answer:

    -For AUD, cut whatever time you think you need to spend on practice MCQ's and Sims by at least half and spend that time reading as many standards as possible. (Just make sure you are covering what's in the CSO)
    -Take FAR before AUD.

    I don't think having more of a background in auditing makes that much of a difference. I took 2 auditing classes and never worked in it.

    For REG, I think your background does make a difference. I took 8 tax classes and Business Law and worked in individual income tax. I'll see Nov. 4 if that gets me over 90.

    AUD- 99 (6/8/16)
    REG- TBD
    FAR- TBD
    BEC- TBD

    #1262899
    Lou
    Participant

    I just have an undergraduate degree in business/accounting.

    I concur with @wombataholic, for me, putting in the time is setting a dedicated schedule for studying and stick to it. It's about keeping yourself accountable.

    Also, for my actual study techniques, I write the book out in notes and write down the tidbits from the answers so I can retain them better.

    FAR- taken 8/11/16....now the wait begins
    AUD- scheduled 9/8/16
    BEC- scheduled 10/9/16
    REG-scheduled 12/10/16

    Live a few years like most people won't, to live the rest of your life like most people can't.

    #1262904
    Valar Dohaeris
    Participant

    All my colleagues who earned 90+ just finished school and all admit to “over studying”. I have colleagues who have earned awards for scoring so high on the CPA. One scored a 99 on FAR; another scored 99 on AUD.

    BEC - 85
    AUD - 81
    REG - 84
    FAR - 7/24/16

    #1262931
    jombe
    Participant

    overstudy led by insecurity.

    – b.s. in accounting, swore off accting as soon as i got my diploma
    – 4+ yrs in non-accounting roles after graduation.
    – accting all of sudden seemed the right thing to do
    – studied FAR for 9 months because i just didn't feel prepared
    – realized i overstudied when i got my FAR score
    – spent no more than 3 months per section after FAR,
    but just increased the daily hrs i put in, because yes i am that insecure

    FAR - 94 (10/4/15), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
    AUD - 99 (1/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
    REG - 96 (4/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
    BEC - 91 (7/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ

    581 days of listening to lectures, reading texts & 10,000+ MCQs...

    #1263087
    Cjsr
    Participant

    I scored 92 in AUD. My original educational background was in Mathematics and Physics. I felt it helped me with AUD because AUD has a lot of logic in it – e.g., if you want to test completeness, you don't start at the end. All that practice in math with “p implies q,” “not q implies not p,” etc. This also helped me with REG (scored 83). The IRS code has “except for (p and q), not r,” etc. all over the place.

    As opposed to FAR, which has a lot of things that seem arbitrary to me. Like, why IFRS decided to do this differently from GAAP, but not that.

    BEC. 83. 9 Jan 2016
    REG. 83. 30 Jan 2016
    AUD. 92. 27 May 2016

    Becker FastPass with in-class videos

    #1263096
    sancasuki
    Participant

    I just thought that AUD was a joke compared to the other exams. Sort of annoying but way easier than the other ones. The other exams were much more of a struggle.

    Just have a bachelor's degree in accounting at a run of the mill public university. The prestigious public universities in California don't offer accounting/business as a major. I took one auditing class 3-4 years ago. I have 2 years experience as a staff accountant doing mostly bookkeeping. I suppose that helped with journal entries. So many on this forum seem to freak out over journal entries in FAR. As long as I see a few example entries, I'm fine. I have a crappy memory and am a decent but slow test-taker. My immediate family is more into art, science, and education; no one is in business/accounting. To tell you the truth, I don't really care for business much. Medicine turns me on way more. I also enjoy studying foreign languages and almost became a Japanese major.

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