[mafalo1989]

I am using Becker and failing miserably at these exams so far.I’ve taken FAr and recieved a 55 after studying for 4 months. Auditing I received a 63. I walked in both times feeling totally unprepared, especially for FAR. The SIMS on both killed me, I got every extremely long DRS you could think of. I had 4 on each exam, it was miserable. I walked out of that one close to tears. I at least felt decent on AUD and I got in the 70 range on the Becker practice exams. Obviously what I’m doing isn’t working. If it’s going to be 4 extremely long DRS on each exam I might as well give up now becauae I’m not even close to smart enough to remember all the small details that go along with those. I am set to sit for REG on 11/10 and I feel like I’m zooming through the material, I’m almost 2 weeks ahead of my study schedule so I don’t feel like Becker is doing enough to prepare me. It was the same for AUD, I got through the study material in less than a month and had time to review. I am studying full time, my boss has given me time during work hours to do so and I feel like I’m just wasting my time and company time.

I don’t know if I should give up or what to do

[Anonymous]

Hang in there. FAR and audit are, in my opinion, the two toughest. If you're way ahead of the study schedule, I would slow down and give every thing any extra look. Do more questions for each section, or at least the ones you're less comfortable with. It may be helpful to do the extra work while you're on the section, rather than in the review phase. Good luck.

[cmcook]

Yes, hang in there. Also, I have learned from reading other posts that studying for too long a time period is counterproductive. If you can concentrate into 6-8 week segments (vs. 4 months) I hear you'll have way more success. I've never studied for a section longer than 2 months, so I don't know personally, but it makes sense to me. Also, if you're over Becker, and you want a program that over prepares you to the point of delirium, I'd recommend Gleim. They worked for 3 out of 4 for me.

[mafalo1989]

Well, I've got about $2k in savings that I have to pay for additional study materials and whatever it costs me to retake the exams. So there's that problem. I'm also super underpaid and likely won't have the chance to save much more up because of rent, food, bills, the dreaded student loan payments every month, health insurance….. being an adult was the stupidest thing I've ever done, it's right up there with convincing myself I was smart enough to take the exams.

I agree with the studying too long thing, I looked at FAR and said “Damn, that's a lot of stuff”, stressed out about it and tried to move slowly through the material and STILL did not have enough time to go over everything.I should have given myself 2 months max to get through it all. That's my approach for REG, I've been studying since 9/4 and I take it 11/10 so a little over 2 months. I work in tax so maybe that's why the first 2 Becker modules went so fast, I don't need to spend time reviewing all the lines because I basically now them already and I honestly don't think there will be a question like “On the 1040, what line do wages from an employer appear on” so I've skipped that stuff and tried to focus on the harder material but I'm not on module 3 and looking at AMT and all that stuff and I'm still getting through it super fast, idk if I'm memorizing the questions and don't realize I'm memorizing the MCQ's and answers. I'm not sure what to do. I'm just tired of going in to the exams thinking I've prepared so well and then sitting at the table in a panic because I know nothing.

I honestly thought that I was really well prepared for AUD, I felt like the MCQ's went well, I had to guess on some but I felt like I made good guesses. I felt like I handled the SIMS well, they were hard and I did get stuck with 4 DRS and all of my other ones, except for 2 research, had like 2 or 3 additional pages of information to look at. I still don't feel like Becker prepared me well, my SIMS were TREMENDOUSLY more difficult than anything I saw on Becker. I don't remember seeing a single DRS for AUD and I get 4 on the exam. It's obnoxious.

Maybe I'll get the Ninja notes and MCQs. I need something else because Becker isn't cutting it and I don't want to be one of those people who take and retake exams, especially since my job is on the line and I won't be making over $33k a year here unless I pass these and pass them fast.

[mafalo1989]

Like honestly, is there even a point to continuing. A freaking 55. I worked my butt off for a 55. People keep saying it's worth it but the stress, anxiety, constant feeling of failure, lack of sleep, and freaking weight gain I've received from it sure make it seem like it's just a pain in the butt that will never pay itself off. Dang.

[cmcook]

I killed myself – KILLED MYSELF – for a 64 on REG. I don't work. At the time, I was taking double grad classes and I have a family, but STILL. I know the pain of putting in the time and not getting the result expected. Demoralizing to say the least.

I realize, in part, it was the exam prep material. Some people are Becker people, some are Gleim, etc. etc. I also understand the budget issue. I recently borrowed an old book from someone that I'm looking at now. Is there anyone you know who has a book to lend? I know it's old school, but it just might be the ticket.

I think it is worth it. You didn't come this far to only come this far. This seems like the worst/biggest failure now, but when you pass this, this will seem like a speed bump along the way. It's easy to lose perspective – especially the first few days of getting shocked by a low score. Give yourself a couple of days to feel all the feels. Then, time to move on.

[Mike J]

Granted, I passed before the major exam changes took effect.

Which subjects would you say give you the most consistent aggrivation?

I would take a day or two to just research those–internet article, YouTube video, old college textbook–and relearn it on your own.

Then, add the new notes to whatever materials you have. Then, restart studying the CPA review materials.

You may just need a different POV of the same material.

Sometimes, taking a step back helps.

[M123]

Non rant version: videos and then MCQ until eyes bleed. Select one exam for next window. Take what's yours.

***
Everyone is different but I find that some of the people here receiving the top scores focused a lot on MCQ.

Becker is a bit like a cult. They have their process which entails lectures, book, MCQ, sims, skills practice and mock exams. If you do everything their way – it should be effective – but also very time consuming.

My suggestion is to take the next test window to do one exam. Pick one you know you think you have a better aptitude for.

I used Becker, but I learned to just watch all the videos then move directly to MCQ. I used Ninja MCQ. I also used Ninja Notes on my last 3 exams (great baseline knowledge so that everything isn't overwhelming) and then audio for my last two. The key is practice MCQ. I dislike almost every second of the videos but I needed that for FAR and AUD. But then MCQ.

Both Becker and Ninja show you your progress along the way. You should not be surprised by an exam – it should be the product of countless MCQ sessions (“progress tests”) and sims. As I always say – you have to see the spike in your learning curve (again, both sites show this). If you don't – you're missing something. Keep seeking those root causes.

This axiom has a lot of truth: “whether you think you can or you can't, you're right”. Think positive thoughts.

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

Staying on budget has always been a priority for most students, especially with families. You already have Becker. Your materials are still fairly new. If you already adapted to the lectures teaching, keep going.

However, based on what others experienced, and lately my own, it sounds like you need a supplementary material. Based on my experienced writing FAR 2017 Q1 and Q3, from 50%->80% MCQs calculation, FAR can be an impossibility to pass. I never passed FAR, the highest score I had was 63%. I took it multiple times. I keep on wondering ‘why'? It's my ‘Math', I am too slow in the number crunching area. Even my husband has been telling me that over and over again.

I haven't tried other CPA review materials before, besides pre-2015 Becker, and pre-2015 Wiley materials. But hearing good reviews of Ninja's products, I decided to purchase the one with the textbook, videos for supplementary reading and updates. This time, I am actually going to spend more time on it.

The most important part of Ninja products is the MCQs/SIMs app. Most candidates scored higher by practicing it, and of course, solid understanding of their main materials.

It's right on budget for most candidates, like myself: Here's the link: https://www.another71.com/ninja-cpa-review/

Good luck.

[Author]

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