[Scared-cpa]

Hey, everyone. I just found out I failed AUD with a 68. Booo. Anyway, I passed FAR back in January and my 18-month window began 01/31. I’ve got two options going forward because, although I know I have time left, I’m still anxious that if I fail other sections, I may run into a time crunch. Plus I will be finished with my MBA in July and will begin working in August so I’m scared about going through these milestones while studying. Here are my two options:

Option 1:
Q2 – retake AUD at the beginning and take REG at the end of the quarter
Q3 – take BEC
Q4 – begin retakes of any sections I may have failed. This will give me until 07/31/18 to retake and pass any failed sections.

Option 2:
Q2 – retake AUD
Q3 – take REG
Q4 – take BEC
2018 – use quarters for any retakes

Which option sounds the best? They both have pros and cons. The pros for Option 1 is that I have an extra quarter (Q4) to start any retakes I may have. The con is that I am crunching AUD and REG into one quarter and I’m afraid that won’t give me enough time for REG since that’s what I did in Q1 with FAR and AUD and I feel like I didn’t have enough time to prepare for AUD.

The pros for Option 2 is that I give myself more time to study for each section so I will not feel as rushed and since I will have more time to study, I will increase my chance of passing the first time. The con is that I will be using the extra quarter from Option 1 (Q4) to take a section instead of having it for retakes. This makes me feel like I will be in a panic for retakes because I will have to start studying all over again because by the beginning of 2018, I will have forgotten what the material from Q2 and Q3 in 2017.

ALSO, as a side note, should I start all over for my AUD retake, meaning I start from scratch or should I just use Ninja MCQs to do all the questions until I am trending 85? The latter is what I did for my FAR retake (67 to 82) but where the exam content has some minor changes now, I don’t know if that would be best. If I use Option 2, I will have the extra time to go back through all the material but if I utilize Option 1, I won’t have that choice and will only be able to use Ninja since I will also have to fit in REG.

By now, taking three exams and passing one, I feel like I have established what works best for me. I need to get through all the study material and then take AT LEAST 2 full weeks of final review through Ninja MCQ. I know this sounds like a lot of time for most people but it is how I work best because it seems like I ‘get’ the material during the final review but one week is not long enough for me to understand the material enough for a pass.

So I’m leaning more toward Option 2 because the extra time makes me feel like my chances of passing the first time is greater but the lack of extra time for retakes gives me anxiety. Plus I have no idea what type of field I will be going into once I graduate (tax, auditing, etc.) so I don’t know if I will have a busy season at the beginning of 2018 which would take time away from studying for retakes. I just don’t know what the best option is.

I’m using Wiley CPAexcel and Ninja MCQ for final review. I’m not interested in using anything else but in Q3 and 4, I will probably buy Ninja audio since I will be commuting to work.

[Jj]

I'm in almost the exact same situation you are in right now, except I am 2 exams down and they expire DEC 2017. I'm trying to decide if I should take REG and retake FAR in q2 or FAR in q2 and REG in q3. I'm trying to get an extension because its BS that we lose an entire test window, so I feel like if I take them both in q2 the extension is more justified.

I just got a 68 in FAR, how did you bring up your score?- I also failed AUD on my first attempt, I just rewatched the lectures and hammered ninja MCQ and passed.

[waffle_house]

If you are familiar with Aud I would say option 1 since Reg really isn't that hard to study for as the others (IMO).

Taking two exams in one window requires discipline and a good study schedule. Remember to always trust your studying.

The most important key for my success was reading the book and actually understanding the “why”. Reading the AUD book was critical.

[Scared-cpa]

Beantown, I'd say your situation is more critical than mine since you're dealing with a possible expiration of an exam because of the exam changes. I'm lucky that I have until halfway through Q3 2018 to pass the rest of these exams. I got my FAR score of 67 back sometime in late November. But I was dealing with finals and several research papers that were due so I took off an entire month exactly from when I sat for the exam (Nov 14) until when I began restudying (Dec 13). During that time, I literally only completed Ninja MCQs. I shot for 100 questions a day and I read the explanations, read the definitions, and looked at references. I wrote down wrong questions and had over 200 pages of questions I got wrong, no joke. I would read over those from time to time. I also did about 4 sims a day for the last two weeks. So I worked Ninja for a full month until I sat on Jan 20th for my exam. I was averaging 70 and trending 86ish. I was 200 questions shy of hitting the review stage. I could tell that I had a much better grasp of the material and saw how everything went together during my retake study. My first time through FAR, I used Wiley test bank and absolutely hated it. I still hate it and do not plan on using it ever again. The questions are just odd. I can't explain it better than that, they're just so weird.

Waffle, the only way I'm familiar with auditing is through the studying I did for this exam. Never had an auditing class in school as it got canceled. So I have no prior knowledge of the material although I don't know if going back through will make me understand it better. During the studying process, I read the book and watched the videos. I also typed out notes on my computer. I got through all of this in four weeks which left me four days for a final review which was deifnitely not enough. I'm just afraid I will do that same thing with REG. This may sound stupid but what exactly does REG consist of? Just taxes? I had an income tax class a couple semesters ago as an undergrad and I did okay in the class. I've never been one to like class so I just did what I had to do to get by since I have no interest in being in that field. So I think Ninja MCQ by itself may be enough to get me an AUD pass, but I hate to risk it. Even more, I hate to risk not having enough time to do REG.

[waffle_house]

1st half Reg is individual taxes and corporate taxes with estate and other stuff (not hard at all). The other half is ethics and Blaw (a real bitch but only worth 20% of the exam). You'll have a harder time with Blaw than with taxes. Reg isn't subjective like AUD so there isn't anything tricky to confuse you.

[Jj]

I'm sorry I misread your post, I thought your exams were expiring 1/31/18

[Scared-cpa]

How much calculations are in REG? I really enjoyed AUD since there was no calculation involved. A nice break after FAR. I literally cried with joy when I skimmed through auditing for the first time and saw no numbers!

[waffle_house]

@scared_cpa

A lot of calculation but nothing sophisticated, hell there won't be any journal entries to make lol

[Dwill2nd]

It depends,

How much time did it take you to go through the AUD material once (Estimated in hours)? How much for FAR? How many hours do you typically have available to study per week where you will achieve effective studying.

Once you have an idea about this information you can calculate or back into which option might be best for you.

I would also plan to go back through the AUD material in Full. Don't take any shortcuts or chances. Going back through the material should help learn/understand concepts you missed on the first time through.

Bec, 6/8/2016 - 84!
Far, 7/12/2016
Reg,
Aud,

[Scared-cpa]

Waffle, journal entries were the worst for me starting out haha. I'm still high from my FAR pass, though!

Dwill2nd…It took me about 100 hours to get through the material once. FAR, I honestly don't know. I think about 150 hours to get through the material and then I spent about 90 hours on Ninja MCQ for my retake. It took me 3 months to get through the FAR material, though. It was my first exam plus I was starting grad school and there was a big learning curve for me. Honestly, I have 2 or 3 hours that I can get in quality studying each day just because I'm taking four grad classes right now. But I usually do more than that and let my grades in school suffer a little. It is hard to balance both which is another reason I was leaning toward Option 2 because I feel like it would give me more time to give proper attention to both school and studying. Do you have any suggestions or tips on fully understanding the material? I understand what Wiley teaches when I go through it, but I struggle to put it all together and then remember everything by the time I hit final review.

[oldercandidate21]

My approach has was always to schedule your test so that you get the maximum attempts at the remaining three before your first pass expires.

Ex: I failed REG in Q2 2017 and wanted a rematch in Q3. So while it was difficult to not schedule a retake for a test I had already studied for (REG), I switched to AUD instead. This gave me time for 4 total attempts at both REG and AUD before I lost FAR. If I went back to REG then it would have only left me 3 total attempts at AUD.

With that being said, if it doesn’t result in losing a possible attempt at a section, I’m a firm believer in taking a section back-to-back if you need a retake. Knock it out while it’s still fresh in your mind.

FAR - 75 November 2015
REG - 69 April 2016 (WTH? Test I got isn't what I studied for)
BEC - 81 June 2016
AUD - TBD

[Dwill2nd]

Based on that I would also recommend your option #2. You don't want to rush yourself and not have enough time should something come up to truly be prepared. If a big project comes up with your grad class you don't want that to put in a bad situation for both exams.

As far as really understanding the material I think this CPA information just clicks differently for different people. I myself believe in Quality over Quantity. I take my time going through the material. If I don;t understand I take that extra time to make sense of it. Then during homework I will make sure I understand why I got every question right or wrong. At this point I should have a good grasp on the chapter. I will usually recap topics and explain it out loud so that I know I understand. There's other tools that I might use to supplement but in general this is how I understand the material. Also i usually try to apply most things to my own made up examples. If I am doing governmental accounting I think about a governmental unit that I am aware of and apply what I am learning.

But others strategies might be more useful. I know a lot of people pound MCQ's and I know a lot of people has raised their scores using Ninja to fully supplement.

Bec, 6/8/2016 - 84!
Far, 7/12/2016
Reg,
Aud,

[Scared-cpa]

OlderCandidate, I will be going through the exams one by one from now on just because I won't get scores back for so long it wouldn't make sense to wait. I just want to go ahead and get auditing out of the way since it is still decently fresh.

Thank you for your opinion. I'm currently using my spring break to complete two research assignments. Not fun but that's how it is, I suppose! And thank you for your opinion on which option you think I should take. I think I will stick with option 2. I'm hoping by having more time I won't feel as rushed and overwhelmed, so I can absorb the material better. Do you have an opinion on how long I should take for each section? I want to work at my own pace but I also don't want t stretch it out too long to where I can't remember what I learned at the beginning. I was thinking 5 weeks to study and 3 for review for each section. Thoughts? Should I take this long with my AUD retake? Also, do you think I should start from scratch with auditing since I will be taking only auditing this quarter 2?

Another thing, after I take auditing, do you guys think I should take REG or BEC? I know I have REG listed but REG and BEC are interchangeable…I don't have a specific order for which one I want to take first. I will say, however, that during my Q3 studies, I will be taking two summer classes which are fast paced so the one that requires the least amount of time may be best?

[Scared-cpa]

Also, do you guys think I should not get a job after I graduate until I pass these exams or do you think I should start working in August like originally intended?

[Dwill2nd]

If you can get a good job do not pass it up! Once you have a good job offer take it. It is possible to work and pass portions of the CPA exam.

Bec, 6/8/2016 - 84!
Far, 7/12/2016
Reg,
Aud,

[Scared-cpa]

I know people work full-time, have a family, and study for this exam. And I don't know how y'all do it! Maybe it's just because I've never worked before so I haven't had to allocate my time in such a way before, but it seems like this exam needs 75% of my waking day, every day to be successful. The thing with getting a good job…I plan on finding a job locally for a year or so until I actually get licensed (hopefully) then move to a larger city. I don't know how much harder this will be for me to find a good job, but I don't want to have my employer think I'm going to be there long-term when I'm not.

[Author]

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