[Anonymous]

51 on REG – ouch….

I felt like I bombed that test and now I can confirm my feelings.

Unfortunately, with that score, I don’t even know where to begin on restudying. I used NINJA solely on this so part of me wants to try something else. I hit 2000+ MCQ but maybe I just need to go back in hit it some more? I know I really dropped the ball on the SIMs so maybe I need to hit those hard as well?

Anyways…definitely bummed our right knowing I wasted so much time over the last few months for a 51…

Oh well…try try again I suppose…

[Spartans92]

Sorry to hear. I failed Audit too. Turn our fear of another fail into our motivation to study! Good Luck

BEC- PASS

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear the Spartans. Yeah – definitely discouraging and going through all the mixed emotions of whether to continue or not. Ultimately I will try again but for tonight, I will have a nice stiff drink to drown my sorrows. Tomorrow, we'll begin the journey again.

[Spartans92]

Eschierm, are you planning to jump right back into reg or moving on? im studying for FAR right now and not sure if I should stop and redo audit.

BEC- PASS

[Anonymous]

I feel like REG is my Everest as I completely loath taxes and law. I feel that if I can pass that AUD and FAR should be entirely feasible.

So I will jump right back into REG. I just need to reevaluate my study method and try to determine a better way to approach the material.

[sev705]

In the same boat at 53 on reg. I know why though. I had scheduled in advance, but the date popped up on me and I only made it halfway through my gleim book and didn't do any of the practice sims. The short time frame and my terrible study skills combined do not equal a passing grade.

Honestly, I'm glad I didn't barely fail and this is kind of a wake up call. Now to find time to study during busy season.

FAR: 75
Reg: 53, retake 4/31
Aud: 5/30
BEC: 7/1

[holly725]

@Spartans definitely continue with FAR before going back to AUD. When I've retaken in the past, I found it good to get my mind off of it for a little while. AUD and FAR are closely related so you won't really lose a lot by sticking with FAR. Good luck!

FAR: 70, 77
REG: 80
BEC: 85
AUD: 70, 68, 72, retake 4/2016

[Anonymous]

I agree with Holly. Spartan keep drilling FAR since you've already been working on it. You'll be amazed to see more SIM problems that are FAR-based on your AUD test again.

And for those of you who struggled with REG just like me, you can do it!
I took REG SIX TIMES: 58, 72, 69, 66, 70, then 76.

Now I feel like I am a REG Guru and can teach everyone tax and business law, haha!

[Jdn9201]

I am sorry to hear y'all failed REG. I've heard from other people that you need to approach a retake like you've never seen the material before. Also, when you are going over MCQ's – make sure you read every explanation. You need to understand why a question was right or wrong, not just what the answer is. For non-tax people, I also think it's good to get the forms and schedules from the IRS and map out where everything is reported. Tax is hard to understand but I think it's easier once you have a picture of how everything ties together. Get more familiar with the IRC too. I already was when I took REG because I work in Tax, but look up the relevant IRC to everything you are studying. That way, if you see it on a SIM you will have more of an idea of where it's located in the AL. Don't spend too much time doing SIMs while you study – all a SIM is, is either several MCQ's strung together about one topic, or inter-related MCQ's about a similar concept. Good luck – try not to let it hurt your confidence.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Spartans92]

@Holly and AmorD, I assume you guys have taken FAR. How do you guys study for FAR I feel like this is impossible. I am using becker and the questions for the MCQ I keep getting wrong and the explanation they give is not helpful. But Ill try using ninja as well later after i get through becker. I feel like Im gonna fail FAR too. I am starting to doubt whether accounting is for me but part of me don't want to accept the defeat and prove I can do it.

BEC- PASS

[Anonymous]

I compartmentalized my notes into two, concepts and computational/formula.
Under concepts, I broke them down into several worksheets in excel: FAR by Number, Dates, FAR by Topic (all-need-to-know nugget info)
Under computational notes, I compiled them topic by topic, wrote sub-file of JEs, and printed actual MCQ samples per topic to refresh me of the underlying concepts of each computation.

Mastering AL IS A MUST to FAR, AUD, and REG. Some people get two ALs for research.
Each AL actual score is 6.7 for REG and 5.7 for both FAR and AUD.
Master the contents and sub-folders literally! Write an outline.
I figured it out only recently. During my several attempts in the past, I was only typing the keywords in the search box like I was googling or something. That's a bad practice for AL research.

The times I scored 72, 72, 73, 70, and 69 in the past, that's when I missed the AL researches. It was costing my life big time.

[Anonymous]

@AmorD where are you getting this information?

“Each AL actual score is 6.7 for REG and 5.7 for both FAR and AUD.”

If you are simply dividing 40 points from REG sims by 6 total to get 6.7 you are making 2 erroneous assumptions.

Assumption 1 : that when the examiners say the test is 60% MCQ and 40% SIMS that does NOT mean its 60 points 40 points. This is not a percentage scored test. The AICPA website stresses that over and over again.

Assumption 2: You are assuming all Sims within the 40% are graded equally. That again is a misconception. I can get an easy SIM and you can get a hard one. And they are not all created equally.

The fact is, NO ONE knows how research SIMS are graded.

We all would like to get a simpler picture of the CPA exam grading in our mind. We all would like to extrapolate our score. WE all have taken 60 possible multiple choice points and divided them by 72 questions -12 pretest to assume that each one is worth 1 point. That is a waste of time.

Again, I repeat, that is an exercise in FUTILITY and I urge everyone on these forums not to partake in this, because you are only going to drive yourself mad. Here is a guide on how the exam is scored. This is the only clue we have in as to how the AICPA grades these exams. But their methodology is notoriously convoluted, and CANNOT, i repeat CANNOT, be replicated by frustrated candidates.

https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/psychometricsandscoring/scoringinformation/downloadabledocuments/how_the_cpa_exam_is_scored.pdf

[Nets44]

Hey eschierm,

Sorry about the test man. I used the 10 point combo for AUD and it worked out. I have REG next. Just curious, did you hit the review phase and what was your trending score?

BEC: 72, 75
FAR: 74, 84
AUD: 82
REG: 71, 77!!!

[Anonymous]

OP, with a low score like that, there is definitely some concepts in TAX that you are not understanding. I urge you to forego studying bizlaw (its only 17-21% of the exam according to the CSO's.) Instead, you should devote most of your retake studying to mastering the tax concepts and where everything goes. Get a basic understanding of the tax return for entities AND individuals. Search these forum for REG tips. There are fabulous threads that have fallen from the front page. That little search box in the top right is a godsend.

Also, do NOT memorize the phaseouts. That is a waste of time, and you will not encounter any problems on the exam that require that knowledge. Just know the general ballpark of the IRA phaseouts. i.e. Deductibility when one spouse covered by retirement plan, both covered, or neither covered.

Tax is not memorization. It would be hard to get a passing grade with brute force alone.

[Anonymous]

OP, also get GLEIM SIM's. Those are notoriously difficult (I think they're only $100 or so.) If you can do those. You can really understand tax. Matter of fact, I guarantee that if you practice the GLEIM SIM's you will pass your retake.

[Anonymous]

@eesti, thank you for link. I've seen it in the past.

However, I am just sharing my personal experience.
I call it my personal myth.

[Author]

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