[Zackpasses]

So I missed passing my last exam by 1 point. I have a retake on Saturday and I suddenly feel unprepared. I have at this point read all the material two to three times now depending on the section. I have taken a fair amount of MC. I guess its econ that has me frazzled. I lucked out and had a relatively econ free first go at BEC and still didn’t pass. I am worried that I will get devastated this go round. I have taken Thursday and Friday off from work and hope its enough to bring my Econ skills up a little. I took a ninja econ quiz and it was NOT encouraging. I feel pretty confident on most topics aside from a couple cost accounting topics that I plan to hit as well.

It is to late to reschedule my exam. I NEED to pass. What should I be doing from tonight until Saturday at 2 to ensure my 74 becomes a 75?

FAR - 8/16/15 - 82
AUD -10/26/15 - 87
REG -01/28/16 - 80
BEC -02/27/16 - 74 (very sad), 4/16/16 - 77

[taxgeek83]

Define “fair amount” of MCQs. I'd start hitting those, especially in your trouble spots (i.e. Econ). Good luck! 🙂

[Zackpasses]

hey taxgeek83 thanks – about the same amount as I have for the prior sections (with the exception being FAR – which was my first exam and I studied almost to much for) – 40-50% of the questions available – focusing on the areas I am finding the most challenging. I plan to do all the CPAexcel MC for Econ and some ninja econ questions as well.

FAR - 8/16/15 - 82
AUD -10/26/15 - 87
REG -01/28/16 - 80
BEC -02/27/16 - 74 (very sad), 4/16/16 - 77

[taxgeek83]

My recommendation is to get through as many MCQs as you can before exam day. Everyone learns differently, but the general consensus is that the more MCQs you run, the better the concepts stick. I ran a few hundred a day leading up to exam day, topic by topic, and found myself noticing patterns in the questions and answers that reinforced the concepts for me. Might just be me though!

I've heard that the Ninja MCQs are brutal, but effective. Folks have said that they really prepared them for exam day. If you've already run through the most of the CPA Excel MCQs between your first take and your run up to this one, I'd focus on your Ninja ones since they'll be new. You can always switch back and forth though.

[Pete]

Turn that “frown into a crown” as Cromeo says. Basically, just going in optimistically, will help. At this point, I would focus 80% of your time focusing on areas, where you had alot of difficulty and mix it up, by occasionally studying a topic you are strong in. Focus more on the areas, where you scored less than a 70 on the HW.

Pounding multiple choice can be a dangerous move, since you will likely memorize the answers and go in with too much confidence. Sure, if you keep getting it wrong, look at why that choice was wrong, but try not to look at the correct answer. Then try it again, take notes on why you got things wrong. When you do the progress test, don't examine the correct answers, instead focus on the weak areas and retake.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[ragepsn29]

Econ is actually not too bad for BEC. The exam do not put complicated Econ questions. You need to understand really well the basic concept of supply and demand chart and maybe also business cycle. But really, Econ is all about supply and demand. If you understand supply and demand, you should be okay.

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

[Zackpasses]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

@ragepsn29 i have the basic econ concepts like supply and demand down pretty well. but i get a little iffy on a lot of the more complex econ stuff. i'm hoping the worst i encounter is supply and demand. i had very little on my first exam, so i just expect that i can't luck out two times in a row.

FAR - 8/16/15 - 82
AUD -10/26/15 - 87
REG -01/28/16 - 80
BEC -02/27/16 - 74 (very sad), 4/16/16 - 77

[CPA788]

@Zacckpasses – I am a comrade in the 74 BEC club. The feeling right before the retake is the worst. I'm like that right now for my FAR retake I have next week. I'm glad I read this thread as I need the encouragement/suggestions too.

If you got a 74 last go 'round you'll knock it home this time. I always liked to make sure I was familiar with the “easy” IT definitions so I didn't miss the easy points on those. Good luck!

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[ragepsn29]

@Zackpasses, What does your score report tell you? Is it only Econ topic that you are weaker at or are there any other topics that you can improve?

I don't know if you have this report below, but this could really help you to focus on topics that have big percentage on the exam. Good luck!

BEC Exam Format

Strategic Planning

10% to 14% of the exam
Includes Market and Risk Analysis, Strategy Development, and Planning Techniques

Information Systems and Communications

15% to 19% of the exam
Topics include basic IT Principles such as OS, File Organization and Security, Disaster Recovery, Business Information System Roles in Transaction Processing and Management Reporting, and IT Function Roles

Financial Management

19% to 23% of the exam
Examples include Financing Options such as Various Capital Cost (Debt versus Equity), Loan Rates (Fixed versus Variable), Derivatives and Loan Covenants, and Financial Modeling such as NPV, EVA, DCF, IRR

Operations Management

12% to 16% of the exam
Examples include cost measurement methods, process and performance management, and project management.

Economic Concepts and Analysis

16% to 20% of the exam
Examples include Deflation, Inflation, Exchange Rates, Interest Rates and Impact of Foreign Currencies on Businesses

Corporate Governance

16% to 20% of the exam
Includes rights, duties, and responsibilities of the company and their employees as well as monitoring the control environment.

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

[Zackpasses]

@CPA788 it seriously is the worst. all i can think about is not passing this go round and having to prolong this exam into July. I don't even know what I will do if that happens.

Good call on the IT section. Knock on wood I have a good handle on that stuff, but its easy to make mistakes there and definitely cannot hurt to review. Good luck on your FAR retake – you are going to have similar results as you did when you retook BEC and be halfway toward conquering this beast of an exam!

Keep me posted during score release. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for ya!

FAR - 8/16/15 - 82
AUD -10/26/15 - 87
REG -01/28/16 - 80
BEC -02/27/16 - 74 (very sad), 4/16/16 - 77

[CPA788]

@Zackpasses – Will do – same for you. I'll be keeping an eye out for your passing score update and celebration of freedom.

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[Author]

Replies