BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Score: 74!
AUD Mulligan: 0 hours/Applied for new NTS
REG: 35 hours/Rescheduled
Total Hours Sacrificed: 408
I'm still frustrated about failing Audit. That 74 is hard to just get over...
To make matters worse, my REG NTS expires 11-17. I had hoped to push REG off until 11-30 so that I could squeeze in Audit in a few weeks, but my experience is telling me that that will likely lead to failing both. So I am forced to change my plans yet again and go back to the REG material. I will move my REG exam to the middle of November and I will take Audit as early in January as possible before things really get crazy at work. This is not even close to my original plan, but life happens. When I started this blog I figured I would be wrapping it up about right now...oh well. The journey continues...
September 23, 2011
September 18, 2011
I'm finally back! (and AUD scores are in...)
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Score: 74!
AUD Mulligan: 0 hours/Applied for new NTS
REG: 35 hours/Scheduled 10-1
Total Hours Sacrificed: 408
Wow! Time certainly flew by! I had a lot going on and took a longer than anticipated break from studying. I moved to a new house and have been spending time getting things in order for my new job that I start in 2 weeks!! I am excited and anxious to get that going...
On a different note, Audit scores were posted on Friday night and I was pretty shocked when I checked mine and saw a 74! That stung pretty bad...I have had a couple days to process that in my head now, but it still stings. I think 74 is probably the worst score to get, especially since I felt pretty good about my exam. If there ever was a time when 'almost' should count, a 74 on the CPA Exam should be it! I am confused as to where I went so wrong, but I am going to make sure that I make this next time the last!
I have accepted that I cannot possibly meet my goal of completing this exam before I start at KPMG, so my new goal is to pass all 4 parts within my first year of working there so that I can earn the bonus they offer. I have decided it is best to re-take AUD early in October and push REG off until November. I still can't get into a good rhythm with REG, so perhaps tackling AUD a second time will help me learn how to better prepare for REG too!
I do have to say that if I had to pick a part to re-take, AUD would be it. The information is so important to know and learn, I could really benefit from going back through it all and gaining an even better understanding of the rules. After all, auditing is what I am going to be doing for a career!! On the other hand, that fact makes me feel even worse for failing it...
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Score: 74!
AUD Mulligan: 0 hours/Applied for new NTS
REG: 35 hours/Scheduled 10-1
Total Hours Sacrificed: 408
Wow! Time certainly flew by! I had a lot going on and took a longer than anticipated break from studying. I moved to a new house and have been spending time getting things in order for my new job that I start in 2 weeks!! I am excited and anxious to get that going...
On a different note, Audit scores were posted on Friday night and I was pretty shocked when I checked mine and saw a 74! That stung pretty bad...I have had a couple days to process that in my head now, but it still stings. I think 74 is probably the worst score to get, especially since I felt pretty good about my exam. If there ever was a time when 'almost' should count, a 74 on the CPA Exam should be it! I am confused as to where I went so wrong, but I am going to make sure that I make this next time the last!
I have accepted that I cannot possibly meet my goal of completing this exam before I start at KPMG, so my new goal is to pass all 4 parts within my first year of working there so that I can earn the bonus they offer. I have decided it is best to re-take AUD early in October and push REG off until November. I still can't get into a good rhythm with REG, so perhaps tackling AUD a second time will help me learn how to better prepare for REG too!
I do have to say that if I had to pick a part to re-take, AUD would be it. The information is so important to know and learn, I could really benefit from going back through it all and gaining an even better understanding of the rules. After all, auditing is what I am going to be doing for a career!! On the other hand, that fact makes me feel even worse for failing it...
August 19, 2011
REG, you win!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 25 hours/Scheduled 10-1
Total Hours Sacrificed: 398
Ok, so I admit defeat. I just can't focus right now on anything it seems. A lot is going on in my life and studying is really not happening. I am currently in the process of moving, quitting my current job (3 work days left) among other things. I just can't focus on anything because I am getting too stressed about everything!
As a result, I made a tough decision to move my REG exam to October 1st. I wanted to know my score BEFORE I started at KPMG, but I don't want that score to be a failing one, so I have decided it would be better to move it. I will still have taken it before I start working on October 3rd, so technically it is still possible to reach my goal of passing all 4 parts before work begins. I will just have to wait for my score which is supposed to be released much faster in the last quarter...
I did somehow manage to finish all lectures except R-7. I am not sure I absorbed very much from them, but at least I wrote the notes down. I will still study a little for the rest of the month and then will study aggressively during September. I feel some relief, but have to be careful I don't slack off knowing I have more time now...
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, vote on my polls and leave your comments. I appreciate it!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 25 hours/Scheduled 10-1
Total Hours Sacrificed: 398
Ok, so I admit defeat. I just can't focus right now on anything it seems. A lot is going on in my life and studying is really not happening. I am currently in the process of moving, quitting my current job (3 work days left) among other things. I just can't focus on anything because I am getting too stressed about everything!
As a result, I made a tough decision to move my REG exam to October 1st. I wanted to know my score BEFORE I started at KPMG, but I don't want that score to be a failing one, so I have decided it would be better to move it. I will still have taken it before I start working on October 3rd, so technically it is still possible to reach my goal of passing all 4 parts before work begins. I will just have to wait for my score which is supposed to be released much faster in the last quarter...
I did somehow manage to finish all lectures except R-7. I am not sure I absorbed very much from them, but at least I wrote the notes down. I will still study a little for the rest of the month and then will study aggressively during September. I feel some relief, but have to be careful I don't slack off knowing I have more time now...
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, vote on my polls and leave your comments. I appreciate it!
August 14, 2011
Frustrated to say the least...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 18 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 391
So I managed to study a whopping 4 hours since my last post! I really don't know what is wrong with me! I just can't force myself to do this and I am frustrated with my lack of motivation. I'm not sure what my deal is. I mean, like anyone else, I have a lot of personal stuff going on, but that is inevitable. I have been able to manage it all up to this point, so why in the world am I struggling so much when I can literally see the finish line?!
I still have to watch lectures for REG-6 and 7, write notes and do MCQ for ALL sections. I am doubting I actually have the time to do all of that in these remaining couple of weeks. I am a little bit tempted to bump my exam to October 1st, but I just don't want to give myself more of a reason to slack off. I would also be giving up on my goal of passing all 4 parts before I start my career and I REALLY don't want to give up on that. So, I must accept that I have wasted the past week + and really commit to making these final few weeks count.
On another note, my husband's grandmother passed away last week. She was a beautiful lovely lady and I have the fondest memories of her fancy hats, especially on my wedding day. My husband flew home on Friday to attend the funeral. She will truly be missed by so many people.
Ok, back to REG lectures as soon as I post this...
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 18 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 391
So I managed to study a whopping 4 hours since my last post! I really don't know what is wrong with me! I just can't force myself to do this and I am frustrated with my lack of motivation. I'm not sure what my deal is. I mean, like anyone else, I have a lot of personal stuff going on, but that is inevitable. I have been able to manage it all up to this point, so why in the world am I struggling so much when I can literally see the finish line?!
I still have to watch lectures for REG-6 and 7, write notes and do MCQ for ALL sections. I am doubting I actually have the time to do all of that in these remaining couple of weeks. I am a little bit tempted to bump my exam to October 1st, but I just don't want to give myself more of a reason to slack off. I would also be giving up on my goal of passing all 4 parts before I start my career and I REALLY don't want to give up on that. So, I must accept that I have wasted the past week + and really commit to making these final few weeks count.
On another note, my husband's grandmother passed away last week. She was a beautiful lovely lady and I have the fondest memories of her fancy hats, especially on my wedding day. My husband flew home on Friday to attend the funeral. She will truly be missed by so many people.
Ok, back to REG lectures as soon as I post this...
August 4, 2011
Anyone seen my motivation?!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 14 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 387
OMG! I started off so good and then totally lost my motivation! I have only put in 4 hours of lecture since my last post! Seriously, what happened?? Even tonight I am trying to find every excuse to avoid studying. I need to get back on track immediately because I am running out of time!
After I publish this post, I am watching at least 4 hours of lecture this evening. I have to actually sit down and write out my study plan so that I feel more obligated to stick to it. That is what helped me on all the other sections, but I haven't done that yet for REG. I have a long way to go in less than 4 weeks!
If anyone else has any motivation to spare, send some my way!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 14 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 387
OMG! I started off so good and then totally lost my motivation! I have only put in 4 hours of lecture since my last post! Seriously, what happened?? Even tonight I am trying to find every excuse to avoid studying. I need to get back on track immediately because I am running out of time!
After I publish this post, I am watching at least 4 hours of lecture this evening. I have to actually sit down and write out my study plan so that I feel more obligated to stick to it. That is what helped me on all the other sections, but I haven't done that yet for REG. I have a long way to go in less than 4 weeks!
If anyone else has any motivation to spare, send some my way!
July 30, 2011
Boring...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 10 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 383
8 hours of REG lecture and 2 hours of book changes and updates have left me exhausted! I had such a hard time at work today...blah!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 10 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 383
8 hours of REG lecture and 2 hours of book changes and updates have left me exhausted! I had such a hard time at work today...blah!
Just making a quick post to say it feels great to be studying for my final section and I really hope I can pull this off and pass! I have impressed myself by actually diving right into the material rather than spending 2 weeks avoiding it like I have for the other sections...I just don't have the time to spare this time. REG certainly scares me because it seems as though it has now become the toughest section. I enjoyed my Tax and BLAW courses in college though, so I am hoping I can get through this material ok. Lectures are obviously boring, but I am so accustomed to that by now.
I spent 2 hours updating my entire book with all these little changes...dates, values, wording...it was annoying, but I am thankful Becker keeps on top of changes and corrections in their material. I hope anyone else using their material remembers to update both their program and their book.
Ok, movie night with the hubby...I am taking a break for the evening and then back at it tomorrow...
Ok, movie night with the hubby...I am taking a break for the evening and then back at it tomorrow...
July 27, 2011
REG
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 373
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 373
Sitting at my computer getting ready to pop in the lecture CD for REG and just realized how time has flown since I started this journey back in January! Wow! I felt like it was going to take forever to get to this final section, but here I am.
Again I am using Jeff's NINJA study framework for REG. I really like it a lot and feel like it is better than the study plan Becker suggests. If anyone is curious, head over to http://www.another71.com/ and check it out. I believe Jeff has the framework available for free. There are tons of suggestions that are really great! Basically I am going to watch all videos for the entire book. Then I am going to go back through and take notes section by section and do the MCQ as I go. Then I will rewrite my notes for entire chapters and go back through the MCQ. I usually only have enough time to go back through the ones I marked and I wait to do the supplemental questions at that time. I also have Jeff's NINJA notes for REG and will go through those regularly...
I also wanted to share a really great song that I listen to during study breaks. It helps me get my mojo back and is a great motivator...check it out! http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/open-happiness-butch-walker/id309023289?i=309023338
Again I am using Jeff's NINJA study framework for REG. I really like it a lot and feel like it is better than the study plan Becker suggests. If anyone is curious, head over to http://www.another71.com/ and check it out. I believe Jeff has the framework available for free. There are tons of suggestions that are really great! Basically I am going to watch all videos for the entire book. Then I am going to go back through and take notes section by section and do the MCQ as I go. Then I will rewrite my notes for entire chapters and go back through the MCQ. I usually only have enough time to go back through the ones I marked and I wait to do the supplemental questions at that time. I also have Jeff's NINJA notes for REG and will go through those regularly...
I also wanted to share a really great song that I listen to during study breaks. It helps me get my mojo back and is a great motivator...check it out! http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/open-happiness-butch-walker/id309023289?i=309023338
July 26, 2011
AUD IS OVER!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 373
Just finished my exam! I am glad that is over!
I missed work today again because I am still not feeling well. Thankfully I felt well enough to take this exam and I really had no other choice...
Post exam feelings:
I feel a lot better about my exam today than I did about either of the others. I am just not sure if that is a false sense of security since perhaps the reason I feel better is that I have been through this twice already and have 2 passes under my belt. Who knows?!
I think the MCQ went as well as they could given the nature of AUD questions. It seems like I could eliminate 2 answers easily, but deciding between the remaining 2 was challenging on several of the questions. It was a matter of "choose the BEST option" so that caused me a little difficulty. I also had one question repeated 3 times and another question repeated twice within the same testlet! I really hope I answered those correctly! I averaged right around 30 minutes per MCQ Testlet.
SIMS...those things are just plain not fun! I was super lucky to have 2 research ones (I hope they both count!) and I really think I nailed them. I was careful to read them carefully and get right down to what they were looking for. Those didn't take much time. Out of the remaining 5 Sims, I found 2 to be pretty fair, another to be manageable and the other 2 were pretty bad...I had to really guess on those last 2, but I didn't leave anything blank. I feel like one would need to have some solid auditing experience to be able to really nail those. I spent 1.5 hours on the Sims.
So with 1 hour and 7 minutes left on the clock I ended the exam. I could have sat there for that hour staring out the Sims, changing my answers, second guessing myself, trying to pull answers out of my head that just weren't there, BUT I felt like I gave it my best effort...I really hope I PASS! I feel like it is possible, but either way, what is done is done...
Moving on to REG tomorrow. I don't want to lose momentum and I know REG is going to be a challenge. A lot of other candidates over at another71.com have indicated that REG (especially the Sims) is a beast! If I take a break now, I will truly regret it...
Happy studying and good luck to anyone else taking this journey!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 103 hours/Waiting Begins...
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 373
Just finished my exam! I am glad that is over!
I missed work today again because I am still not feeling well. Thankfully I felt well enough to take this exam and I really had no other choice...
Post exam feelings:
I feel a lot better about my exam today than I did about either of the others. I am just not sure if that is a false sense of security since perhaps the reason I feel better is that I have been through this twice already and have 2 passes under my belt. Who knows?!
I think the MCQ went as well as they could given the nature of AUD questions. It seems like I could eliminate 2 answers easily, but deciding between the remaining 2 was challenging on several of the questions. It was a matter of "choose the BEST option" so that caused me a little difficulty. I also had one question repeated 3 times and another question repeated twice within the same testlet! I really hope I answered those correctly! I averaged right around 30 minutes per MCQ Testlet.
SIMS...those things are just plain not fun! I was super lucky to have 2 research ones (I hope they both count!) and I really think I nailed them. I was careful to read them carefully and get right down to what they were looking for. Those didn't take much time. Out of the remaining 5 Sims, I found 2 to be pretty fair, another to be manageable and the other 2 were pretty bad...I had to really guess on those last 2, but I didn't leave anything blank. I feel like one would need to have some solid auditing experience to be able to really nail those. I spent 1.5 hours on the Sims.
So with 1 hour and 7 minutes left on the clock I ended the exam. I could have sat there for that hour staring out the Sims, changing my answers, second guessing myself, trying to pull answers out of my head that just weren't there, BUT I felt like I gave it my best effort...I really hope I PASS! I feel like it is possible, but either way, what is done is done...
Moving on to REG tomorrow. I don't want to lose momentum and I know REG is going to be a challenge. A lot of other candidates over at another71.com have indicated that REG (especially the Sims) is a beast! If I take a break now, I will truly regret it...
Happy studying and good luck to anyone else taking this journey!
July 25, 2011
Tomorrow is exam day!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 96.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 366.5
Wow! There is a lot of info here! Not nearly as much as FAR, but still a lot to keep straight. I hope I can pull this off tomorrow. I have completed my final review of everything and tomorrow I hope to be able to understand some of my weak areas a little more (A-4). Overall I fell pretty good about the material...another week and I would feel great, but that is not going to happen...
I did lose some study time because I was sick last night and today. I missed work, but had a hard time using that time to study. I am not sure about making it to work tomorrow as I am stll not feeling well and don't want to risk missing my exam because I didn't rest. We shall see how I feel in the morning...
My test is at 5:00pm and I can't wait for it to be over! Wish me luck cause I will need it :)
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 96.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 366.5
Wow! There is a lot of info here! Not nearly as much as FAR, but still a lot to keep straight. I hope I can pull this off tomorrow. I have completed my final review of everything and tomorrow I hope to be able to understand some of my weak areas a little more (A-4). Overall I fell pretty good about the material...another week and I would feel great, but that is not going to happen...
I did lose some study time because I was sick last night and today. I missed work, but had a hard time using that time to study. I am not sure about making it to work tomorrow as I am stll not feeling well and don't want to risk missing my exam because I didn't rest. We shall see how I feel in the morning...
My test is at 5:00pm and I can't wait for it to be over! Wish me luck cause I will need it :)
July 23, 2011
Down to the wire...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 74.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 344.5
I have really been working too much in these final few days before my exam. I worked today and will work Monday and Tuesday (exam day) too! That was not wise of me, but it really comes down to the fact that I moved this exam twice...so planning ahead didn't really work out...
As for studying, I was struggling these last few days to really get through the rest of the material. I have yet to finish final review of A-5. That is my plan for tonight. I am honestly feeling so much better about the material in this section of the exam. I feel like it is the "easiest" section as my readers have indicated by their votes and the passing rates also indicate more people pass audit. None of these exams are a breeze though, so don't underestimate what it takes to pass...
Happy studying!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 74.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 344.5
I have really been working too much in these final few days before my exam. I worked today and will work Monday and Tuesday (exam day) too! That was not wise of me, but it really comes down to the fact that I moved this exam twice...so planning ahead didn't really work out...
As for studying, I was struggling these last few days to really get through the rest of the material. I have yet to finish final review of A-5. That is my plan for tonight. I am honestly feeling so much better about the material in this section of the exam. I feel like it is the "easiest" section as my readers have indicated by their votes and the passing rates also indicate more people pass audit. None of these exams are a breeze though, so don't underestimate what it takes to pass...
Happy studying!
July 20, 2011
Exam day is fast approaching!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 63.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 333.5
Quick post to say studying is going well. I am on track, but it is taking longer to get through A-4 than I anticipated. I am wrapping that up first thing in the morning. Then I should be able to finish A-5 as well. I feel really great about A-1 through A-3 and know A-4 needs more work. I have to say that I am sorta enjoying studying for this section! Don't get me wrong, it stinks, but it seems to be going far better than BEC or FAR. I really think I can pull off a pass!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 63.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 333.5
Quick post to say studying is going well. I am on track, but it is taking longer to get through A-4 than I anticipated. I am wrapping that up first thing in the morning. Then I should be able to finish A-5 as well. I feel really great about A-1 through A-3 and know A-4 needs more work. I have to say that I am sorta enjoying studying for this section! Don't get me wrong, it stinks, but it seems to be going far better than BEC or FAR. I really think I can pull off a pass!
July 18, 2011
8 days remaining...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 55.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 325.5
So I packed up my car with my dogs and computer and headed to our new house for the weekend...I fully intended on studying a good 12-16 hours while I was there. My husband starts his new job today, so we were getting him situated in the new house with just the essentials until we actually move in September. We are not going to actually move until after my REG exam...but his commute would be 2+ hours each way if he waited to move...
Well, I decided to set my computer up (not a laptop) and try to get in some studying and realized I forget the power cord! So that totally blew my plans for studying and needless to say I was not going to drive all the way home to get it! I did finish A-2 and most of A-3 and so my goal for today is to finish A-3 and A-4. I don't work today, so I should be able to accomplish that...
Happy Studying!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 55.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 325.5
So I packed up my car with my dogs and computer and headed to our new house for the weekend...I fully intended on studying a good 12-16 hours while I was there. My husband starts his new job today, so we were getting him situated in the new house with just the essentials until we actually move in September. We are not going to actually move until after my REG exam...but his commute would be 2+ hours each way if he waited to move...
Well, I decided to set my computer up (not a laptop) and try to get in some studying and realized I forget the power cord! So that totally blew my plans for studying and needless to say I was not going to drive all the way home to get it! I did finish A-2 and most of A-3 and so my goal for today is to finish A-3 and A-4. I don't work today, so I should be able to accomplish that...
Happy Studying!
July 13, 2011
I have serious commitment issues!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 45.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 315.5
Ok, so there is just far too much going on this week for me to really have enough time to finish preparing for the Audit exam...so I decided to move my exam again! This is typical me...wasting money on exam fees and then wasting the extra time I paid for...oh well...
Good news for my husband and I this week! We found a home we both love and are signing a lease tomorrow!! We are so excited to move into a nice big house with our own yard! My dogs will be so happy :) See? I really am pretty busy with life this week...(I am trying to convince myself these are valid excuses for changing my exam and ignoring the fact that I spent 2 hours on another71.com today!)
I just really want to pass this thing! I am hoping I didn't go too far into July that I am going to struggle with time when preparing for REG on 8-31. I will have to stay on track from tomorrow until REG or I am going to really regret it come score release time in September. I would love to actually meet my goal of passing all 4 parts before I start my job in October!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 45.5 hours/Scheduled 7-26
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 315.5
Ok, so there is just far too much going on this week for me to really have enough time to finish preparing for the Audit exam...so I decided to move my exam again! This is typical me...wasting money on exam fees and then wasting the extra time I paid for...oh well...
Good news for my husband and I this week! We found a home we both love and are signing a lease tomorrow!! We are so excited to move into a nice big house with our own yard! My dogs will be so happy :) See? I really am pretty busy with life this week...(I am trying to convince myself these are valid excuses for changing my exam and ignoring the fact that I spent 2 hours on another71.com today!)
I just really want to pass this thing! I am hoping I didn't go too far into July that I am going to struggle with time when preparing for REG on 8-31. I will have to stay on track from tomorrow until REG or I am going to really regret it come score release time in September. I would love to actually meet my goal of passing all 4 parts before I start my job in October!
July 11, 2011
Where did the week go?!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 40.5 hours/Scheduled 7-18
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 310.5
So it turns out that giving myself an extra week to study resulted in me not studying much at all! I hate when I do that to myself, but I just could not focus when I sat down to study...I really should have packed up my stuff and headed to Starbucks or something, but instead I sat at my desk glued to the another71 forum, facebook, my iPhone, really any distraction was easily welcomed...So now I am stressed because I only have a week left, I work through Saturday and am not even close to prepared...
I did finish A-1 completely. I took my own notes right on the Becker flashcards as well as made my own cards, did all the MCQ and averaged 82.6% which I am very happy with. I really didn't find the questions very difficult for A-1, so I am hoping to finish A-2 as easily tomorrow after work. I am getting back into the groove of things, but it was difficult.
In other news, my husband landed a nice job that he starts the day I take this Audit exam! Now we are in a scramble to move, which we have planned to do anyway, but it is more of a rush so he can avoid a 2 hour each way commute! We looked at some homes for rent and found one we both love, so I am hoping we are able to get it...we currently live in a condo we bought literally three seconds before the market crashed and now we owe more than twice what it is worth! That is a harsh reality for us and so many other people right now...
Good luck to anyone taking exams this week!!!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 40.5 hours/Scheduled 7-18
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 310.5
So it turns out that giving myself an extra week to study resulted in me not studying much at all! I hate when I do that to myself, but I just could not focus when I sat down to study...I really should have packed up my stuff and headed to Starbucks or something, but instead I sat at my desk glued to the another71 forum, facebook, my iPhone, really any distraction was easily welcomed...So now I am stressed because I only have a week left, I work through Saturday and am not even close to prepared...
I did finish A-1 completely. I took my own notes right on the Becker flashcards as well as made my own cards, did all the MCQ and averaged 82.6% which I am very happy with. I really didn't find the questions very difficult for A-1, so I am hoping to finish A-2 as easily tomorrow after work. I am getting back into the groove of things, but it was difficult.
In other news, my husband landed a nice job that he starts the day I take this Audit exam! Now we are in a scramble to move, which we have planned to do anyway, but it is more of a rush so he can avoid a 2 hour each way commute! We looked at some homes for rent and found one we both love, so I am hoping we are able to get it...we currently live in a condo we bought literally three seconds before the market crashed and now we owe more than twice what it is worth! That is a harsh reality for us and so many other people right now...
Good luck to anyone taking exams this week!!!
July 6, 2011
Change is Good...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 28.5 hours/Scheduled 7-18
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 298.5
I just plain cannot focus! I have felt overwhelmed about having to scramble in this last week before my Audit exam, nothing is sticking to my mush for a brain :( In my insane rampage, I really haven't accomplished anything in the way of learning this material...
So then yesterday I became desperate and decided I was going to HAVE to change my exam date and if that meant driving for 4 hours to a testing center, then fine. I checked the Prometric site several times and was not having any luck finding a test date anywhere :( Then I decided to check the center I normally go to once again and a spot on July 18th had opened up!!! I grabbed it as fast as I could! Best $35 I have spent lately...then I took the rest of the day off from studying because I felt like I deserved it...riiiight! I need to really push myself to make these last days count.
My goal for tonight is to finish my initial review of A-1 and all the MCQ. I also need to FOCUS...
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 28.5 hours/Scheduled 7-18
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 298.5
I just plain cannot focus! I have felt overwhelmed about having to scramble in this last week before my Audit exam, nothing is sticking to my mush for a brain :( In my insane rampage, I really haven't accomplished anything in the way of learning this material...
So then yesterday I became desperate and decided I was going to HAVE to change my exam date and if that meant driving for 4 hours to a testing center, then fine. I checked the Prometric site several times and was not having any luck finding a test date anywhere :( Then I decided to check the center I normally go to once again and a spot on July 18th had opened up!!! I grabbed it as fast as I could! Best $35 I have spent lately...then I took the rest of the day off from studying because I felt like I deserved it...riiiight! I need to really push myself to make these last days count.
My goal for tonight is to finish my initial review of A-1 and all the MCQ. I also need to FOCUS...
July 4, 2011
Life can change in an instant...
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 22.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 292.5
Last Saturday (June 25th) my husband's Aunt suddenly passed away. She was young, full of life and beautiful. Everyone that knew her was shocked and terribly saddened by her passing. My husband and I left the very next morning for our home town (1,000 miles away) to support our family and to say our farewells. Her presence will truly be missed every day...
Needless to say, studying was not my priority last week at all. We returned home Saturday night and pretty much slept the day away on Sunday. I hoped I could move my Audit exam forward by 1 week, but there are no test dates available...so I must try and cram like crazy this week and give it a good effort next Monday. I am very prepared for the fact that I will likely have to do Audit over, but that is ok...being there for family was far more important.
On another note, my husband got a job offer after almost 5 months of being unemployed! It is a decent offer too and so now we must scramble to find a place to move to...life is certainly hectic!
I wanted to thank everyone for your support through this exam process. It means a lot read your kind comments and shared stories of struggles and success! THANKS!
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 22.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 292.5
Last Saturday (June 25th) my husband's Aunt suddenly passed away. She was young, full of life and beautiful. Everyone that knew her was shocked and terribly saddened by her passing. My husband and I left the very next morning for our home town (1,000 miles away) to support our family and to say our farewells. Her presence will truly be missed every day...
Needless to say, studying was not my priority last week at all. We returned home Saturday night and pretty much slept the day away on Sunday. I hoped I could move my Audit exam forward by 1 week, but there are no test dates available...so I must try and cram like crazy this week and give it a good effort next Monday. I am very prepared for the fact that I will likely have to do Audit over, but that is ok...being there for family was far more important.
On another note, my husband got a job offer after almost 5 months of being unemployed! It is a decent offer too and so now we must scramble to find a place to move to...life is certainly hectic!
I wanted to thank everyone for your support through this exam process. It means a lot read your kind comments and shared stories of struggles and success! THANKS!
June 21, 2011
Seriously?! 2 Down 2 to go!!!!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 17.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 287.5
So I was at work today and all I could think about was my FAR score and I literally checked it every 20 minutes on my iPhone. At around 10 am I checked it again not expecting to see a score and there it was! I couldn't believe my eyes and had a coworker check and sure enough, a passing score of 78 had been posted!! I just can't believe I passed both BEC and FAR on my first try and I am half way to becoming a CPA!! I don't think it has really sunk in yet...
I am really amped to tackle AUD now as I feel like this material is much easier to grasp than BEC or FAR. I just realized that my goal of completing this exam before I start at KPMG is still possible!!! WOW!
To anyone else that received scores and passed, CONGRATS in a big big way! And for those that didn't pass, know that you aren't alone...an awesome forum (another71.com) is filled with others who have struggled along the way and is a great resource I have used since before starting this blog...
FAR: 159 hours/Score: 78
AUD: 17.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 287.5
So I was at work today and all I could think about was my FAR score and I literally checked it every 20 minutes on my iPhone. At around 10 am I checked it again not expecting to see a score and there it was! I couldn't believe my eyes and had a coworker check and sure enough, a passing score of 78 had been posted!! I just can't believe I passed both BEC and FAR on my first try and I am half way to becoming a CPA!! I don't think it has really sunk in yet...
I am really amped to tackle AUD now as I feel like this material is much easier to grasp than BEC or FAR. I just realized that my goal of completing this exam before I start at KPMG is still possible!!! WOW!
To anyone else that received scores and passed, CONGRATS in a big big way! And for those that didn't pass, know that you aren't alone...an awesome forum (another71.com) is filled with others who have struggled along the way and is a great resource I have used since before starting this blog...
June 20, 2011
SCORES!!!!
BEC: 111 hours/Score: 79
FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 17.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 287.5
OMG I passed BEC! I checked my score this evening and am in disbelief that I actually passed!! That means 1 down and 3 to go by 10/16/2012! I will conquer this exam after all :)
I am hoping for FAR scores tomorrow and am feeling much better about looking at that one...pass or fail, I am ready to know! At least I know I didn't fail both sections...
Good luck to anyone else waiting on their scores and congrats to those who received good news!
FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 17.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 287.5
OMG I passed BEC! I checked my score this evening and am in disbelief that I actually passed!! That means 1 down and 3 to go by 10/16/2012! I will conquer this exam after all :)
I am hoping for FAR scores tomorrow and am feeling much better about looking at that one...pass or fail, I am ready to know! At least I know I didn't fail both sections...
Good luck to anyone else waiting on their scores and congrats to those who received good news!
OOPS!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 14.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 284.5
First off, I can't believe it has been over two weeks since I have blogged! That should be a good indicator that I was too busy studying to update this blog, but of course that is not the case at all! I could honestly come up with a million excuses as to why I am behind yet again, but I won't even bother...truth is I am back on track and that is what counts!
I finished Lectures for A-1 through A-4 very very slowly in the last 2 weeks and will finish A-5 tonight. That gives me 3 weeks for all the homework, flashcards and notes. I have a good feeling about this section and really like the way Becker (Tim) is presenting the information. Way way better than BEC and of course I am not nearly as overwhelmed as I was with the FAR material. I feel like I may actually pull off a passing score in this section...
Other things going on this week:
Scores should be coming out sometime this week! I am not sure how to feel about that...I mean, I want to know obviously, but I don't want to face reality if I didn't pass...
I'll share as soon as I know...
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FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 14.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 284.5
First off, I can't believe it has been over two weeks since I have blogged! That should be a good indicator that I was too busy studying to update this blog, but of course that is not the case at all! I could honestly come up with a million excuses as to why I am behind yet again, but I won't even bother...truth is I am back on track and that is what counts!
I finished Lectures for A-1 through A-4 very very slowly in the last 2 weeks and will finish A-5 tonight. That gives me 3 weeks for all the homework, flashcards and notes. I have a good feeling about this section and really like the way Becker (Tim) is presenting the information. Way way better than BEC and of course I am not nearly as overwhelmed as I was with the FAR material. I feel like I may actually pull off a passing score in this section...
Other things going on this week:
Scores should be coming out sometime this week! I am not sure how to feel about that...I mean, I want to know obviously, but I don't want to face reality if I didn't pass...
I'll share as soon as I know...
Also, I have been working a lot more in the last few weeks and expect that to continue through August. This is a super busy and often stressful time of year for a cake decorator. Tons of graduation, wedding, holiday and summer orders to keep up with...I do like my job, don't get me wrong, but on top of studying and life, I could do without mishaps and annoyed customers...and the more orders you have, the more things can and do go wrong..
Just for fun, here is a cake a made last week:
Strawberry and Chocolate Ice Cream in an Oreo Sugar Cone (This is actually 24 cupcakes!)
June 2, 2011
Audit, I LOVE you!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 4.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 274.5
Ok, well maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but Audit seems like such a nice change from BEC and FAR! I really liked my Audit course in college and did well. I had a pretty good professor who had spent many years of his career as a partner for a Big 4 Firm, so it really helped when he explained how this stuff actually works in the "real" world...I also did a 3 month internship at KPMG, so I can even apply some of this stuff to my actual experience and that helps a lot! I am only through the lectures for A-1, but I am getting my motivation back!
I am still bummed about my experience so far with this exam and now having to wait on my scores is terrible...I have to say I fully expected to pass all 4 parts on my first try and now I have had a really GIANT reality check! It does help to know that passing all 4 parts is the "exception" rather than the norm, but I (like everyone else I am sure) obviously wanted to be the exception...
I can say this, if I happened to pass one of the two I took rather than neither, please oh please let it be BEC because I hated studying for that and taking it : ( I feel like if I gave FAR another solid round and really practiced the next time, I could have a high chance of passing...but with BEC, I feel like no matter how well I prepare, there is just so much stuff from outer space on there, it is random luck every time...
So here's hoping for 2 passing scores in a few weeks, but I am prepared for the worst...
FAR: 159 hours/(Time to pray a lot!)
AUD: 4.5 hours/Scheduled 7-11
REG: 0 hours/Scheduled 8-31
Total Hours Sacrificed: 274.5
Ok, well maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but Audit seems like such a nice change from BEC and FAR! I really liked my Audit course in college and did well. I had a pretty good professor who had spent many years of his career as a partner for a Big 4 Firm, so it really helped when he explained how this stuff actually works in the "real" world...I also did a 3 month internship at KPMG, so I can even apply some of this stuff to my actual experience and that helps a lot! I am only through the lectures for A-1, but I am getting my motivation back!
I am still bummed about my experience so far with this exam and now having to wait on my scores is terrible...I have to say I fully expected to pass all 4 parts on my first try and now I have had a really GIANT reality check! It does help to know that passing all 4 parts is the "exception" rather than the norm, but I (like everyone else I am sure) obviously wanted to be the exception...
I can say this, if I happened to pass one of the two I took rather than neither, please oh please let it be BEC because I hated studying for that and taking it : ( I feel like if I gave FAR another solid round and really practiced the next time, I could have a high chance of passing...but with BEC, I feel like no matter how well I prepare, there is just so much stuff from outer space on there, it is random luck every time...
So here's hoping for 2 passing scores in a few weeks, but I am prepared for the worst...
May 30, 2011
FAR will be a repeat for sure...
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 159 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 270
I couldn't sit down to write about my exam experience until today because I took it Thursday and wanted to forget it as quickly as possible...it was terrible! I had complete test day amnesia : (
If I compare the FAR exam to BEC, it was much better for 2 reasons: I had 1 test day under my belt so I knew better what to expect AND there really wasn't very many things from outer space on the FAR exam. Having said that, I couldn't get my brain to cooperate at all. I couldn't remember anything and found myself making guess after guess on the MCQ. I honestly think that if I had gotten the question "What does the acronym CPA stand for?" I would have been stumped! My brain was just plain overloaded! I left myself just over 1.5 hours for the SIMS and needed every second...they were confusing and poorly constructed IMO. It makes me wonder who the heck comes up with them?! The research one was really hard to find and I used almost a 1/3 of my time just on that one...
Overall, FAR was just bad and it is mostly my fault. I KNOW that one is a repeat...so it is likely 2 down, 4 to go for me...sucks big time...
I can say that I have realized that just putting in "enough" time is not really going to enable you to pass...I didn't use my study time wisely. I should have "practiced" more and tried to "memorize" less. Come exam day the practice makes perfect saying is so true...oh well...
On to Audit as of tomorrow...Lesson learned in a big way with BEC and FAR...
LIVE AND LEARN!
FAR: 159 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 270
I couldn't sit down to write about my exam experience until today because I took it Thursday and wanted to forget it as quickly as possible...it was terrible! I had complete test day amnesia : (
If I compare the FAR exam to BEC, it was much better for 2 reasons: I had 1 test day under my belt so I knew better what to expect AND there really wasn't very many things from outer space on the FAR exam. Having said that, I couldn't get my brain to cooperate at all. I couldn't remember anything and found myself making guess after guess on the MCQ. I honestly think that if I had gotten the question "What does the acronym CPA stand for?" I would have been stumped! My brain was just plain overloaded! I left myself just over 1.5 hours for the SIMS and needed every second...they were confusing and poorly constructed IMO. It makes me wonder who the heck comes up with them?! The research one was really hard to find and I used almost a 1/3 of my time just on that one...
Overall, FAR was just bad and it is mostly my fault. I KNOW that one is a repeat...so it is likely 2 down, 4 to go for me...sucks big time...
I can say that I have realized that just putting in "enough" time is not really going to enable you to pass...I didn't use my study time wisely. I should have "practiced" more and tried to "memorize" less. Come exam day the practice makes perfect saying is so true...oh well...
On to Audit as of tomorrow...Lesson learned in a big way with BEC and FAR...
LIVE AND LEARN!
May 24, 2011
WOW!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 147 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 258
Just a quick post to say NFP Accounting is a pain! I FINALLY got through those terrible questions...there did not seem to be much consistency with applying what I read...I am guessing that is just because I didn't totally understand it all...I scored a 74.7% on the MCQ the first time through. For Government I scored in the 80-90% range for every section, which I am very pleased about!
I just took the short sample test the AICPA provides and surprised myself! I am retaining a little more than I thought. I only missed 1 of the multiple choice questions (because I didn't read it carefully) and I got all of the SIMS right except the research one. I had never done a research one before and although I found the section I thought was right, the answer referred to the section I found, but was not the "correct" section...frustrating! The SIMS seemed REALLY easy, so I am guessing that is quite misleading!
I think for my own sanity and for my brain, I will spend the rest of the evening reading notes carefully and trying to not go crazy! I only have tomorrow left : (
FAR: 147 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 258
Just a quick post to say NFP Accounting is a pain! I FINALLY got through those terrible questions...there did not seem to be much consistency with applying what I read...I am guessing that is just because I didn't totally understand it all...I scored a 74.7% on the MCQ the first time through. For Government I scored in the 80-90% range for every section, which I am very pleased about!
I just took the short sample test the AICPA provides and surprised myself! I am retaining a little more than I thought. I only missed 1 of the multiple choice questions (because I didn't read it carefully) and I got all of the SIMS right except the research one. I had never done a research one before and although I found the section I thought was right, the answer referred to the section I found, but was not the "correct" section...frustrating! The SIMS seemed REALLY easy, so I am guessing that is quite misleading!
I think for my own sanity and for my brain, I will spend the rest of the evening reading notes carefully and trying to not go crazy! I only have tomorrow left : (
The end is not FAR...
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 137.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 248.5
I only have NFP left for notes and MCQ, which is the second lecture of FAR-9. So far, Fund Accounting actually seems like the "easy" part of the exam! I mean, Becker does a very nice job with mnemonics to keep all the rules straight and I have taken a course in Government accounting. I am not sure I really understood much of it during the course, but the second time around it is clicking better...
Once I finish NFP this morning, I am taking a lunch break and then starting back at FAR-1. I will review my notes and the questions I marked. I plan to get through as many sections today as I can and the same tomorrow until I am back at NFP. Then, if time permits, I hope to practice the SIMS a little...from what people have posted on another71.com, the actual SIMS on the exam are far more detailed than Becker thought they would be, thus using Becker to prepare for them is only mildly helpful...
I just hope I feel better about this exam when I leave the testing center than I did about BEC. I can't imagine how terrible I will feel to have put in all this time for BEC and FAR only to fail both :( I am not sure how people find the motivation to keep at it when that happens...when I started this whole process, I fully expected to study hard and pass on my first try...now I am much more realistic about the fact that even if you study hard, it is about 50% luck come exam day. Hopefully luck is on my side!!
FAR: 137.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 248.5
I only have NFP left for notes and MCQ, which is the second lecture of FAR-9. So far, Fund Accounting actually seems like the "easy" part of the exam! I mean, Becker does a very nice job with mnemonics to keep all the rules straight and I have taken a course in Government accounting. I am not sure I really understood much of it during the course, but the second time around it is clicking better...
Once I finish NFP this morning, I am taking a lunch break and then starting back at FAR-1. I will review my notes and the questions I marked. I plan to get through as many sections today as I can and the same tomorrow until I am back at NFP. Then, if time permits, I hope to practice the SIMS a little...from what people have posted on another71.com, the actual SIMS on the exam are far more detailed than Becker thought they would be, thus using Becker to prepare for them is only mildly helpful...
I just hope I feel better about this exam when I leave the testing center than I did about BEC. I can't imagine how terrible I will feel to have put in all this time for BEC and FAR only to fail both :( I am not sure how people find the motivation to keep at it when that happens...when I started this whole process, I fully expected to study hard and pass on my first try...now I am much more realistic about the fact that even if you study hard, it is about 50% luck come exam day. Hopefully luck is on my side!!
May 22, 2011
4 more days to STUDY!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 116 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 227
So today I am going to finish up FAR-7 notes and MCQ. I am a tad behind because I still haven't touched Government and NFP (FAR-8 and FAR-9). Hopefully I can stay focused today and get a good chunk of that done too...
My wonderful boss let me take the next 4 days off to study! I am really happy about that because I have a long way to go before I really feel confident about any of this material. I seem to be missing stuff on even the easy material...mostly because I didn't RTCDQ or TIT, but with the time pressure on the exam, getting more of this information straight in my head is a must! My goal is 10 hours per day for the next 4 days. I honestly feel like I could study this stuff for another month and still not have a lot of it straight...
FAR: 116 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 227
So today I am going to finish up FAR-7 notes and MCQ. I am a tad behind because I still haven't touched Government and NFP (FAR-8 and FAR-9). Hopefully I can stay focused today and get a good chunk of that done too...
My wonderful boss let me take the next 4 days off to study! I am really happy about that because I have a long way to go before I really feel confident about any of this material. I seem to be missing stuff on even the easy material...mostly because I didn't RTCDQ or TIT, but with the time pressure on the exam, getting more of this information straight in my head is a must! My goal is 10 hours per day for the next 4 days. I honestly feel like I could study this stuff for another month and still not have a lot of it straight...
May 17, 2011
Is it over yet?!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 91.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 202.5
So I intended to keep this blog a little more current, but finding the time to do so is proving difficult...
In the last week I have studied over 40 hours trying to really nail down FAR 1-4 and I think my pace is a little too slow! I almost through FAR-4, but still have 5-9 to review and do the MCQ! I am way behind where I would like to be, but I am dedicated to getting through this and taking and passing my exam on 5-26! I really feel a lot better about my approach to FAR than I did about BEC. I would really recommend taking Jeff's advice (over at another71.com) and watching all lectures first, then retaking/typing notes and doing tons of MCQ. My main problem is slacking several weeks back and now scrambling to make up for that...I DON'T recommend doing that!
I am still astounded as to the sheer amount of information and details in FAR. I am more and more impressed that someone can actually score a 99 on this part of the exam (well any part really)! I mean, even when I read the questions and actually comprehend what they are asking for, I forget some specific rule about 1/3 of the time...very frustrating!
I fully intend on staying on track for the next 8 days so that I can give myself a really good chance of passing next Thursday. I feel like it is 50% prep and 50% luck, so I am hoping for the best of both...
Goal: finish all notes and MCQ by Sunday at the very latest.
FAR: 91.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 202.5
So I intended to keep this blog a little more current, but finding the time to do so is proving difficult...
In the last week I have studied over 40 hours trying to really nail down FAR 1-4 and I think my pace is a little too slow! I almost through FAR-4, but still have 5-9 to review and do the MCQ! I am way behind where I would like to be, but I am dedicated to getting through this and taking and passing my exam on 5-26! I really feel a lot better about my approach to FAR than I did about BEC. I would really recommend taking Jeff's advice (over at another71.com) and watching all lectures first, then retaking/typing notes and doing tons of MCQ. My main problem is slacking several weeks back and now scrambling to make up for that...I DON'T recommend doing that!
I am still astounded as to the sheer amount of information and details in FAR. I am more and more impressed that someone can actually score a 99 on this part of the exam (well any part really)! I mean, even when I read the questions and actually comprehend what they are asking for, I forget some specific rule about 1/3 of the time...very frustrating!
I fully intend on staying on track for the next 8 days so that I can give myself a really good chance of passing next Thursday. I feel like it is 50% prep and 50% luck, so I am hoping for the best of both...
Goal: finish all notes and MCQ by Sunday at the very latest.
May 9, 2011
FAR (from knowing this stuff!)
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 48.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 159.5
Ok, so I finally finished ALL the FAR lectures! Phew, that was a lot of information and my head is spinning...My plan for the next 2+ weeks is to review the material section by section, taking my own notes and work all the MCQ. I hope this only takes about 10 days. That will leave me a solid week for final review and to practice a couple actual exams.
I will say it again (mostly because I may be in this boat), I cannot believe people do this more than once! I mean, I am totally consumed by this and would never want to go through 48 hours of lecture for FAR ever again! BLAH! Let's hope these next few weeks are both productive and enough to enable me to pass.
Wisdom for the day:
A wise CPA told me recently that the Candidate that scores a 76 has achieved a "perfect" score. The candidate studied enough to pass (and by 2 hairs instead of 1) and that is all because at the end of the day, they have the same three letters after their name as someone who scored a 99. The only difference is the person the scored the 99 "thinks" they have bragging rights, but the person that scored a 76 actually does because they sacrificed less to achieve the same goal. HERE'S TO A 76!
FAR: 48.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
Total Hours Sacrificed: 159.5
Ok, so I finally finished ALL the FAR lectures! Phew, that was a lot of information and my head is spinning...My plan for the next 2+ weeks is to review the material section by section, taking my own notes and work all the MCQ. I hope this only takes about 10 days. That will leave me a solid week for final review and to practice a couple actual exams.
I will say it again (mostly because I may be in this boat), I cannot believe people do this more than once! I mean, I am totally consumed by this and would never want to go through 48 hours of lecture for FAR ever again! BLAH! Let's hope these next few weeks are both productive and enough to enable me to pass.
Wisdom for the day:
A wise CPA told me recently that the Candidate that scores a 76 has achieved a "perfect" score. The candidate studied enough to pass (and by 2 hairs instead of 1) and that is all because at the end of the day, they have the same three letters after their name as someone who scored a 99. The only difference is the person the scored the 99 "thinks" they have bragging rights, but the person that scored a 76 actually does because they sacrificed less to achieve the same goal. HERE'S TO A 76!
May 4, 2011
Wow, there is so much to know!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 30.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I really can't believe how much info FAR covers! I finished all but the deferred taxes (blah) lecture of FAR-6 today and can't believe how long it takes just to get through the lectures. There is so much detail and so many topics covered already, I am starting to see why people say this exam is the hardest. Each individual topic isn't bad, but the accumulated amount of info is nothing short of astounding. Keeping this rule straight from that rule and this exception straight from that one is only half of the struggle. Figuring out what the hell the question is even asking seems to be a huge part of it. I have only done the class questions that are included in the lectures, but I can see this being a problem already.
My goal was to finish all lectures by tomorrow so that I would have 3 solid weeks to do all the questions and my final review before my exam on Thursday 5-26, but it looks like I will not finish the lectures until Friday. I am starting to feel the pressure of the exam date already and am worrying I haven't given myself enough time to really "learn" the material. I hope I am wrong...
FAR: 30.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I really can't believe how much info FAR covers! I finished all but the deferred taxes (blah) lecture of FAR-6 today and can't believe how long it takes just to get through the lectures. There is so much detail and so many topics covered already, I am starting to see why people say this exam is the hardest. Each individual topic isn't bad, but the accumulated amount of info is nothing short of astounding. Keeping this rule straight from that rule and this exception straight from that one is only half of the struggle. Figuring out what the hell the question is even asking seems to be a huge part of it. I have only done the class questions that are included in the lectures, but I can see this being a problem already.
My goal was to finish all lectures by tomorrow so that I would have 3 solid weeks to do all the questions and my final review before my exam on Thursday 5-26, but it looks like I will not finish the lectures until Friday. I am starting to feel the pressure of the exam date already and am worrying I haven't given myself enough time to really "learn" the material. I hope I am wrong...
May 2, 2011
Inventory Valuation is a PAIN!
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 20.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I just finished FAR-4 Lectures! Let me just say, Inventory Valuation is such a pain! I mean, each individual method is not so bad, but throw in all these different exceptions, quirks and IFRS and you have me praying I don't get any questions on this stuff on my exam...
I am a little behind with my study schedule (as always...), but I am not worrying about it. I could not make myself study much this weekend...the weather was just too nice, but now I am going to regret not getting my time in because I will have to push myself harder in the coming 3 weeks. I just hope that is enough time to really nail down a lot of this material. It really doesn't seem so bad when I am going through it one by one, but combining it all is a little daunting...
On another note, so many people really just don't seem to get what I am going through with this exam and that is really starting to frustrate me. It does help to read forums like another71.com so I can continue to remind myself that there are literally thousands of people feeling the same way...
My goal is to finish FAR-9 Lecture by the end of the day on Thursday. I am really going to push myself to reach that goal so I can move on to reading the chapters, taking good notes and working the problems. That is what is really going to drive this stuff home...
FAR: 20.5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I just finished FAR-4 Lectures! Let me just say, Inventory Valuation is such a pain! I mean, each individual method is not so bad, but throw in all these different exceptions, quirks and IFRS and you have me praying I don't get any questions on this stuff on my exam...
I am a little behind with my study schedule (as always...), but I am not worrying about it. I could not make myself study much this weekend...the weather was just too nice, but now I am going to regret not getting my time in because I will have to push myself harder in the coming 3 weeks. I just hope that is enough time to really nail down a lot of this material. It really doesn't seem so bad when I am going through it one by one, but combining it all is a little daunting...
On another note, so many people really just don't seem to get what I am going through with this exam and that is really starting to frustrate me. It does help to read forums like another71.com so I can continue to remind myself that there are literally thousands of people feeling the same way...
My goal is to finish FAR-9 Lecture by the end of the day on Thursday. I am really going to push myself to reach that goal so I can move on to reading the chapters, taking good notes and working the problems. That is what is really going to drive this stuff home...
April 26, 2011
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
FAR-1 lectures are DONE! I feel pretty good about sticking to my schedule and I also feel pretty good about the material in FAR-1. Obviously I will need to go over the information in detail several times, but FAR does not seem impossible. I also really like Peter Olinto and think he does a great job with the lectures. FAR-1 had quite a bit of IFRS comparisons that I hope I can keep straight. On to FAR-2 and hopefully a little of FAR-3 tonight. I will use the Becker flashcards for FAR-1 before bed so that I don't totally forget what I just learned!
I am going to try to keep up with posts better than I did for BEC. I think it is helping me stay focused and reminds me that I am not alone in this...I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to read my blog, post comments and share the pain...
FAR: 5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
FAR-1 lectures are DONE! I feel pretty good about sticking to my schedule and I also feel pretty good about the material in FAR-1. Obviously I will need to go over the information in detail several times, but FAR does not seem impossible. I also really like Peter Olinto and think he does a great job with the lectures. FAR-1 had quite a bit of IFRS comparisons that I hope I can keep straight. On to FAR-2 and hopefully a little of FAR-3 tonight. I will use the Becker flashcards for FAR-1 before bed so that I don't totally forget what I just learned!
I am going to try to keep up with posts better than I did for BEC. I think it is helping me stay focused and reminds me that I am not alone in this...I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to read my blog, post comments and share the pain...
April 17, 2011
Time to move on...
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 3 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I decided to forget about the CPA for an entire week! I think my motivation was really hurting as a result of my experience with BEC. I couldn't motivate myself to open my FAR book at all, especially since FAR is supposed to be the most challenging section of them all. BEC kicked my butt! I spent this week catching up on homework for my online classes, had an exam in both of them and a project due...it's not like I was going to have a ton of time to work on studying anyway. I also spent some time this week reflecting on how I prepared for BEC and realized that I was trying to master everything which resulted in me mastering nothing!
I spent my final week of review by going through the cards, chapters and homework questions all over again. I took notes on areas I was still struggling with, made a formula sheet for pretty much all formulas, studied Jeff's NINJA and did most of the questions over at cpareviewforfree. I felt well prepared heading into the testing center and horrible leaving the center. I think that I was trying to hard to get every detail straight, I really just ended up confusing myself during the exam. COSO questions were somewhat confusing because they were worded oddly, as were several other questions. There were also several questions that were not covered by Becker. These questions made me the most frustrated because I was having to make a blind guess on them.
The written portion of the exam was not too bad actually. I had 1 hour and 8 minutes remaining when I started the WC and decided to use the entire time to ensure my answers were polished...I was hoping to redeem myself from the MCQ. I would suggest that anyone using Becker practice at least a few of the written examples Becker provides in order to nail down the format and time management. Becker suggests 15 minutes per memo and I think that is very realistic. I had all three of mine written and proofread in about 40 minutes...Becker also warned that the WC may cover topics from other sections of the exam and this was true in my experience, but if you have any kind of accounting background, you can certainly formulate a decent answer. Apparently, the AICPA is not grading them based on how technically correct they are, but more on writing ability. I am a decent writer, so I didn't focus much energy on preparing for this part and I am glad I didn't...
Overall, I would suggest any and all of the resources I mentioned above to help you prepare. Although I seriously doubt I passed, I think this first section was a big learning experience for me. Jeff's NINJA suggests watching all the videos before working any of the problems because trying to remember anything from FAR-1 when you finish FAR-9 is unlikely. This was certainly part of my problem with BEC. I would watch the lectures, read and then do the homework for each subsection. I was scoring above 75% on the homework most of the time, so I felt like I was comfortable with the material...but when I went back after finishing everything, I found myself a little lost with the beginning information. It is amazing how much you think you know, but you really don't...
Starting today, I am going to stop worrying about BEC and have decided that FAR is now my main focus. I made a spreadsheet schedule with predetermined study times, dates and hours from today up until my FAR exam on May 26th. I know that I cannot push that date back like I did twice for BEC, so I made a strict schedule I am going to stick to. I have a total of 172 scheduled hours, but my goal is more like 150. I will also take the NINJA's advice and watch all the lectures for FAR before working any homework problems. I am hoping this section goes better for me...
Good luck to anyone else out there going through this wonderful experience...
FAR: 3 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I decided to forget about the CPA for an entire week! I think my motivation was really hurting as a result of my experience with BEC. I couldn't motivate myself to open my FAR book at all, especially since FAR is supposed to be the most challenging section of them all. BEC kicked my butt! I spent this week catching up on homework for my online classes, had an exam in both of them and a project due...it's not like I was going to have a ton of time to work on studying anyway. I also spent some time this week reflecting on how I prepared for BEC and realized that I was trying to master everything which resulted in me mastering nothing!
I spent my final week of review by going through the cards, chapters and homework questions all over again. I took notes on areas I was still struggling with, made a formula sheet for pretty much all formulas, studied Jeff's NINJA and did most of the questions over at cpareviewforfree. I felt well prepared heading into the testing center and horrible leaving the center. I think that I was trying to hard to get every detail straight, I really just ended up confusing myself during the exam. COSO questions were somewhat confusing because they were worded oddly, as were several other questions. There were also several questions that were not covered by Becker. These questions made me the most frustrated because I was having to make a blind guess on them.
The written portion of the exam was not too bad actually. I had 1 hour and 8 minutes remaining when I started the WC and decided to use the entire time to ensure my answers were polished...I was hoping to redeem myself from the MCQ. I would suggest that anyone using Becker practice at least a few of the written examples Becker provides in order to nail down the format and time management. Becker suggests 15 minutes per memo and I think that is very realistic. I had all three of mine written and proofread in about 40 minutes...Becker also warned that the WC may cover topics from other sections of the exam and this was true in my experience, but if you have any kind of accounting background, you can certainly formulate a decent answer. Apparently, the AICPA is not grading them based on how technically correct they are, but more on writing ability. I am a decent writer, so I didn't focus much energy on preparing for this part and I am glad I didn't...
Overall, I would suggest any and all of the resources I mentioned above to help you prepare. Although I seriously doubt I passed, I think this first section was a big learning experience for me. Jeff's NINJA suggests watching all the videos before working any of the problems because trying to remember anything from FAR-1 when you finish FAR-9 is unlikely. This was certainly part of my problem with BEC. I would watch the lectures, read and then do the homework for each subsection. I was scoring above 75% on the homework most of the time, so I felt like I was comfortable with the material...but when I went back after finishing everything, I found myself a little lost with the beginning information. It is amazing how much you think you know, but you really don't...
Starting today, I am going to stop worrying about BEC and have decided that FAR is now my main focus. I made a spreadsheet schedule with predetermined study times, dates and hours from today up until my FAR exam on May 26th. I know that I cannot push that date back like I did twice for BEC, so I made a strict schedule I am going to stick to. I have a total of 172 scheduled hours, but my goal is more like 150. I will also take the NINJA's advice and watch all the lectures for FAR before working any homework problems. I am hoping this section goes better for me...
Good luck to anyone else out there going through this wonderful experience...
April 16, 2011
BEC was a BEAST!
Quick post to say I took BEC today it is was horrible! For this being my first section, I am really worried about what to expect on the next 3 sections. I will post more details on my experience tomorrow, but only a miracle (like a complete scoring malfunction adding 25 points to my score) will help at this point. I doubt that is the end of BEC for me and my goal of passing all 4 sections before I start my job in October is looking to be a fat chance at this rate. BLAH!
April 6, 2011
Countdown: 10 Days
BEC: 88 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
I finally finished the Becker Course (way way way behind schedule...but at least I did finish...). I can't believe it took me 88 hours to complete the review course, but I do feel like I learned a lot! Here is how I spent that 88 hours:
*Lightly skim book before each lecture
*Watch the lecture and take notes
*Go back and CAREFULLY read each section
*Do the MCQ for each section until 100% correct
*Go through Flash Cards at least twice for each section
That means I have been through the material at least 3 times, but that does not mean I KNOW the material!! Also, whenever I missed a question, I would carefully read the correct answer as well as the incorrect answers in order to ensure I understood why they were wrong. I actually tended to do this with most questions because Becker did a lot of explaining and I felt like if the info was there, I should pay attention to it. Now I need to go back and really memorize formulas! There seems to be quite a bit of them to keep straight and the way my luck has been going lately, I will be asked to calculate something I can't remember the formula to use...
One last note, I decided to move the exam again to Saturday April 16th at 1:30. I just didn't feel like I was going to be prepared by Monday and I would rather pay a rescheduling fee than pay for a new NTS because I failed...I want to PASS the first time around...
Goal for the next 9 days: MCQ, MCQ, MCQ
I finally finished the Becker Course (way way way behind schedule...but at least I did finish...). I can't believe it took me 88 hours to complete the review course, but I do feel like I learned a lot! Here is how I spent that 88 hours:
*Lightly skim book before each lecture
*Watch the lecture and take notes
*Go back and CAREFULLY read each section
*Do the MCQ for each section until 100% correct
*Go through Flash Cards at least twice for each section
That means I have been through the material at least 3 times, but that does not mean I KNOW the material!! Also, whenever I missed a question, I would carefully read the correct answer as well as the incorrect answers in order to ensure I understood why they were wrong. I actually tended to do this with most questions because Becker did a lot of explaining and I felt like if the info was there, I should pay attention to it. Now I need to go back and really memorize formulas! There seems to be quite a bit of them to keep straight and the way my luck has been going lately, I will be asked to calculate something I can't remember the formula to use...
One last note, I decided to move the exam again to Saturday April 16th at 1:30. I just didn't feel like I was going to be prepared by Monday and I would rather pay a rescheduling fee than pay for a new NTS because I failed...I want to PASS the first time around...
Goal for the next 9 days: MCQ, MCQ, MCQ
March 29, 2011
Long time, No study...
BEC: 58.5 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
I haven't posted in well over a week (almost 2) and I have only managed to get in 16 hours of studying in that time...there are many reasons for this, but I am back on track and need to just focus on staying on track...this certainly isn't easy and trying to stay motivated has been a little bit of a challenge...
I did decide to move my test date back a week, so now I will take it at 12:30 Monday April 11th. The fee for changing the test date was $35 and well worth it since I have more time to prepare...
I have mentioned this forum before, but the people over at http://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/ are really informative and have indicated that Becker does not do a great job with the BEC IT section. That is the section I am finishing right now and don't like the idea that all this time spent on IT won't really be helpful...I now have to research what I may need to know in addition to what Becker has taught...I also think it is a little frustrating that their course is lacking in this key area...(if the rumors are true...)
Ok, back to studying the rest of the afternoon today and all of tomorrow. My goal is to finish the IT section and about half of BEC-5. I hope to get in about 15 hours of studying in that time frame.
I haven't posted in well over a week (almost 2) and I have only managed to get in 16 hours of studying in that time...there are many reasons for this, but I am back on track and need to just focus on staying on track...this certainly isn't easy and trying to stay motivated has been a little bit of a challenge...
I did decide to move my test date back a week, so now I will take it at 12:30 Monday April 11th. The fee for changing the test date was $35 and well worth it since I have more time to prepare...
I have mentioned this forum before, but the people over at http://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/ are really informative and have indicated that Becker does not do a great job with the BEC IT section. That is the section I am finishing right now and don't like the idea that all this time spent on IT won't really be helpful...I now have to research what I may need to know in addition to what Becker has taught...I also think it is a little frustrating that their course is lacking in this key area...(if the rumors are true...)
Ok, back to studying the rest of the afternoon today and all of tomorrow. My goal is to finish the IT section and about half of BEC-5. I hope to get in about 15 hours of studying in that time frame.
March 17, 2011
Seriously?!
BEC: 42.5 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
OMG I just can't win! I feel like I should have a started a blog about my problems rather than my CPA experience...I think the world is against me actually passing this thing...
To explain, my husband was just laidoff. The economy is supposed to be getting better right? He has been out of college for 8 years and had a decent job and now he has to start the job search all over again...meanwhile I am supposed to focus on studying?! Seriously?!
Well, anyway...that April 4th deadline is not going to be reasoned with, so I still have to try and be prepared...I studied the first section of BEC-3 carefully and felt like I knew it well and then the stinkin homework questions kicked my butt! I scored 73%, but was expecting 90% based on my review of the chapter...goes to show how tricky some of these questions can be...
My goal for the rest of today is to get through as much of the BEC-3 homework as possbile. I have a lot of homework for my online classes this weekend as well as midterms for both, so I am going to lose a lot of time to that...oh and Happy St. Patrick's Day! Send some luck my way please!
OMG I just can't win! I feel like I should have a started a blog about my problems rather than my CPA experience...I think the world is against me actually passing this thing...
To explain, my husband was just laidoff. The economy is supposed to be getting better right? He has been out of college for 8 years and had a decent job and now he has to start the job search all over again...meanwhile I am supposed to focus on studying?! Seriously?!
Well, anyway...that April 4th deadline is not going to be reasoned with, so I still have to try and be prepared...I studied the first section of BEC-3 carefully and felt like I knew it well and then the stinkin homework questions kicked my butt! I scored 73%, but was expecting 90% based on my review of the chapter...goes to show how tricky some of these questions can be...
My goal for the rest of today is to get through as much of the BEC-3 homework as possbile. I have a lot of homework for my online classes this weekend as well as midterms for both, so I am going to lose a lot of time to that...oh and Happy St. Patrick's Day! Send some luck my way please!
March 13, 2011
More Blah...
BEC: 39 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
WOW...how do people actually do this more than once? I mean, I am loathing this entire process and everything about it that I am incredibly motivated to PASS on my first try! Having said that, I don't doubt many people have felt that way and then didn't pass...I feel for ya because that would suck suck suck!
Ok, as for my weekend...again I lost Saturday because of work and online classes and I lost an hour because of stinkin daylight saving time...I still managed 7.5 hours today:
I finished the Supplemental questions that I gave up on for BEC-2 and felt much much better about them. I was thinking more clearly and was able to work through them, only missing 5 of 36. I am happy with that! A few I missed because I didn't TiT (Think it Through) or RTCDQ (Read the Cocka-Doody Question). I love these acronyms btw!! Many fellow CPAs and Candidates over at http://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/ mention these all the time. (I am totally a stalker of this great great forum!)
Then I watched the lectures for BEC-3. BLAH is all I can say! The information was overwhelming and I am hoping I am able to sort through it all and get through the questions earlier this week so I can get through BEC-4 lectures and questions by Sunday. I do like Becker lectures with Peter better than Mike. I think he does a much better job going through the material and keeping my interest...
I am also really feeling the pressure of the deadline rapidly approaching! I have 3 weeks from tomorrow to get fully prepared. I am scared that just isn't enough time, but I may never feel like I've had enough time to prepare...at some point I just have to face this thing (April 4th to be exact!).
WOW...how do people actually do this more than once? I mean, I am loathing this entire process and everything about it that I am incredibly motivated to PASS on my first try! Having said that, I don't doubt many people have felt that way and then didn't pass...I feel for ya because that would suck suck suck!
Ok, as for my weekend...again I lost Saturday because of work and online classes and I lost an hour because of stinkin daylight saving time...I still managed 7.5 hours today:
I finished the Supplemental questions that I gave up on for BEC-2 and felt much much better about them. I was thinking more clearly and was able to work through them, only missing 5 of 36. I am happy with that! A few I missed because I didn't TiT (Think it Through) or RTCDQ (Read the Cocka-Doody Question). I love these acronyms btw!! Many fellow CPAs and Candidates over at http://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/ mention these all the time. (I am totally a stalker of this great great forum!)
Then I watched the lectures for BEC-3. BLAH is all I can say! The information was overwhelming and I am hoping I am able to sort through it all and get through the questions earlier this week so I can get through BEC-4 lectures and questions by Sunday. I do like Becker lectures with Peter better than Mike. I think he does a much better job going through the material and keeping my interest...
I am also really feeling the pressure of the deadline rapidly approaching! I have 3 weeks from tomorrow to get fully prepared. I am scared that just isn't enough time, but I may never feel like I've had enough time to prepare...at some point I just have to face this thing (April 4th to be exact!).
March 11, 2011
Blah...
BEC: 31.5 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
I was trying so so hard to finish up BEC-2 today and the last part about hedging was making me want to stab my eyes out! More than 2/3rds of the chapter was marked "Independent Study", yet most of the questions were about those topics. I really think the lecture should have covered a little more of this section and Mr. Mike Potenza said we didn't need to focus on the material he didn't go over...HUH?!
I had been doing well on the multiple choice for BEC-2 before today and then I missed 8 out of 20 of this last group of questions! That is horrible and my confidence has gone way way down...I started the supplemental questions and was instantly overwhelmed and had to stop because I was missing ones that I knew and was just confusing myself. I am going to walk away for tonight and work on my homework for Fund Accounting and hope that tomorrow will be a better day. This weekend will be devoted to lectures and homework for BEC-3.
I was trying so so hard to finish up BEC-2 today and the last part about hedging was making me want to stab my eyes out! More than 2/3rds of the chapter was marked "Independent Study", yet most of the questions were about those topics. I really think the lecture should have covered a little more of this section and Mr. Mike Potenza said we didn't need to focus on the material he didn't go over...HUH?!
I had been doing well on the multiple choice for BEC-2 before today and then I missed 8 out of 20 of this last group of questions! That is horrible and my confidence has gone way way down...I started the supplemental questions and was instantly overwhelmed and had to stop because I was missing ones that I knew and was just confusing myself. I am going to walk away for tonight and work on my homework for Fund Accounting and hope that tomorrow will be a better day. This weekend will be devoted to lectures and homework for BEC-3.
March 7, 2011
Can I really Survive 6 MONTHS of this?!
BEC: 21 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD: 0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
Ok, So I got home from work with a bad headache...my stinkin brain was not wanting to cooperate with my study plans, so I napped with my dogs for a few hours. It was kind of nice :) I thought I'd share a picture of one of my Boston Terriers Lilo doing what she does best...
March 6, 2011
Study Study Study
BEC: 18 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD: 0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
WOW! I spent my entire Sunday studying! Of course there was the occasional distraction like the phone ringing, my animals fighting and Tap Zoo on my iPhone, but all in all I am impressed with myself! My weekend went like this:
Friday:
3 hours working on homework problems for BEC-1 and not doing so hot on them. My pass rates were about 70% (or worse!)
Saturday:
I wasn't able to study after work because I had homework for my online classes due...Fund accounting is frustrating!!
Sunday:
9 hours working on the rest of the homework for BEC-1 and going over all problems I had gotten wrong. My pass rates were much improved, expecially with the cost accounting problems. I like cost accounting!
1 hour (so far) watching lectures for BEC-2. I WILL finish the lectures tonight and tomorrow while studying the flashcards for BEC-1.
Forgot to mention that I scheduled this section of the exam! I thought it would force me to stay on track, so I am officially taking BEC on April 4th! I have to be fully prepared 4 weeks from tomorrow!!!!!! That seems like plenty of time, but there is a lot of little things to know...
Ok back to Becker and Mr. Mike Potenza!
WOW! I spent my entire Sunday studying! Of course there was the occasional distraction like the phone ringing, my animals fighting and Tap Zoo on my iPhone, but all in all I am impressed with myself! My weekend went like this:
Friday:
3 hours working on homework problems for BEC-1 and not doing so hot on them. My pass rates were about 70% (or worse!)
Saturday:
I wasn't able to study after work because I had homework for my online classes due...Fund accounting is frustrating!!
Sunday:
9 hours working on the rest of the homework for BEC-1 and going over all problems I had gotten wrong. My pass rates were much improved, expecially with the cost accounting problems. I like cost accounting!
1 hour (so far) watching lectures for BEC-2. I WILL finish the lectures tonight and tomorrow while studying the flashcards for BEC-1.
Forgot to mention that I scheduled this section of the exam! I thought it would force me to stay on track, so I am officially taking BEC on April 4th! I have to be fully prepared 4 weeks from tomorrow!!!!!! That seems like plenty of time, but there is a lot of little things to know...
Ok back to Becker and Mr. Mike Potenza!
March 4, 2011
Life happens...
BEC: 5 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
WOW! I think that I said it best in my last post and quite possibly had fortune telling skills when I said this was the "first of many bumps in the road..." I have not blogged nor studied in more than a month. This was not my plan by any means, but life has this funny way of changing your plans without even bothering to notify you in advance.
The weekend before I was to start my Becker Online courses for the BEC section, I had a very serious personal family emergency happen. What was going on not only consumed my time and energy, but I was in no state to even think about studying. At the time I am writing this, things are slowly getting back to normal...it will certainly take some time, but I finally felt like getting back to studying yesterday.
I am WAY behind now with my online course and am afraid to login to see what the consequences may be for this. I did contact the teacher, but I am not sure that did me too much good as he wasn't really able to help me very much. I didn't feel like following through with calling the 1-800 number, so I am studying with the CDs and will then upload my progress once I catch up. Yesterday I watched all the lectures for Becker BEC-1, which took about 5 hours. Today I am going to go back through the book and start working on the homework questions. There are 207 for this first section of the BEC book. My goal is to get through all of those at least once and the lectures for BEC-2 before the weekend is over. I am going to try my best to stay on task, but that doesn't seem to be in my control at the moment...
WOW! I think that I said it best in my last post and quite possibly had fortune telling skills when I said this was the "first of many bumps in the road..." I have not blogged nor studied in more than a month. This was not my plan by any means, but life has this funny way of changing your plans without even bothering to notify you in advance.
The weekend before I was to start my Becker Online courses for the BEC section, I had a very serious personal family emergency happen. What was going on not only consumed my time and energy, but I was in no state to even think about studying. At the time I am writing this, things are slowly getting back to normal...it will certainly take some time, but I finally felt like getting back to studying yesterday.
I am WAY behind now with my online course and am afraid to login to see what the consequences may be for this. I did contact the teacher, but I am not sure that did me too much good as he wasn't really able to help me very much. I didn't feel like following through with calling the 1-800 number, so I am studying with the CDs and will then upload my progress once I catch up. Yesterday I watched all the lectures for Becker BEC-1, which took about 5 hours. Today I am going to go back through the book and start working on the homework questions. There are 207 for this first section of the BEC book. My goal is to get through all of those at least once and the lectures for BEC-2 before the weekend is over. I am going to try my best to stay on task, but that doesn't seem to be in my control at the moment...
February 2, 2011
Change of Plans...
FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, BEC: 0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
First of, as you can see I have not studied in a few days. There is a somewhat legit reason for that: I received an email right after my last post informing me the Becker live classes I had chosen were cancelled for that particular location. Normally this would not be a huge deal, but there are actually no other locations less than an hour from where I live. With gas at $3.35 and my time being already consumed by this exam, this is a problem. I do want to say that the Becker Rep I have been working with has been really great in trying to come up with a solution that will work for me. I believe I am switching to the online classes, which of course are in a different order! If everything goes through ok, then I will now be studying BEC first, then FAR, AUD, REG. I will end a little later than originally planned, but that should still work fine for me. Long story short, I haven't studied because I haven't known what to study!! I am sure this is just the first of many bumps in the road...
On another note, I received another email informing me I had been approved to sit for the exam! I have my NTS now! The application process seemed a little too easy, so I am hoping that I didn't miss something...
First of, as you can see I have not studied in a few days. There is a somewhat legit reason for that: I received an email right after my last post informing me the Becker live classes I had chosen were cancelled for that particular location. Normally this would not be a huge deal, but there are actually no other locations less than an hour from where I live. With gas at $3.35 and my time being already consumed by this exam, this is a problem. I do want to say that the Becker Rep I have been working with has been really great in trying to come up with a solution that will work for me. I believe I am switching to the online classes, which of course are in a different order! If everything goes through ok, then I will now be studying BEC first, then FAR, AUD, REG. I will end a little later than originally planned, but that should still work fine for me. Long story short, I haven't studied because I haven't known what to study!! I am sure this is just the first of many bumps in the road...
On another note, I received another email informing me I had been approved to sit for the exam! I have my NTS now! The application process seemed a little too easy, so I am hoping that I didn't miss something...
January 31, 2011
Studying has Begun...
FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, BEC: 0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
So yesterday I started studying for my very first part of the exam, FAR. About 2 hours of the 3 I spent studying were watching tutorials on learning how to use Becker and welcome videos. Then I watched Lecture 1 which guides you through the first 15 pages of the FAR book. It actually seemed to go smoothly and I am optimistic about this week. I am glad I've begun because I felt so anxious about taking that first step and actually having to commit.
My goal is to get through the first section (F1) this week and really get familiar with the topics and material. So far I like Becker and I love that it is designed by accountants!! It is so organized and easy to use :)
So yesterday I started studying for my very first part of the exam, FAR. About 2 hours of the 3 I spent studying were watching tutorials on learning how to use Becker and welcome videos. Then I watched Lecture 1 which guides you through the first 15 pages of the FAR book. It actually seemed to go smoothly and I am optimistic about this week. I am glad I've begun because I felt so anxious about taking that first step and actually having to commit.
My goal is to get through the first section (F1) this week and really get familiar with the topics and material. So far I like Becker and I love that it is designed by accountants!! It is so organized and easy to use :)
January 27, 2011
My Books Arrived!
I love irony! The day I decide to start this blog happens to be the same day my Becker stuff arrives! I have to say that I thought I was going to have the weekend to plan my approach to this whole exam, but Becker certainly has other plans for me...
Ok, just to warn anyone who has never seen the books before, THEY ARE HUGE! The sheer size of them terrifies me and when they are all stacked together it seems impossible. I have certainly lost a little of my excitement to start studying...I guess I just hope I can look back in 6 months at that same stack of books and feel so incredibly happy that I am done!
I am also taking two online accounting classes right now to complete my 150 and I work 32-40 hours a week decorating cakes. I guess it is time to say goodbye to my hobbies and my husband for the next 6 months! Wish me luck because I think I will certainly need a little of it on my side...
Ok, just to warn anyone who has never seen the books before, THEY ARE HUGE! The sheer size of them terrifies me and when they are all stacked together it seems impossible. I have certainly lost a little of my excitement to start studying...I guess I just hope I can look back in 6 months at that same stack of books and feel so incredibly happy that I am done!
I am also taking two online accounting classes right now to complete my 150 and I work 32-40 hours a week decorating cakes. I guess it is time to say goodbye to my hobbies and my husband for the next 6 months! Wish me luck because I think I will certainly need a little of it on my side...
I am a BLOGGER!
Well it is official...I am a blogger as of today! I don't really expect anyone to read this...I created it as a way for me to keep track of my studying and to hold myself accountable when it comes to this Exam. It is a monster and the more I read about it the more terrified I become!
To set the record straight, I sailed through high school and most of college on the ability to cram cram cram...I am betting that most others can say the same of themselves. I graduated this December from UConn with a 3.799 so cramming worked for the most part. I am fully aware that this style of studying will not work for the CPA Exam. That is why I am hoping that this Blog will help me actually commit to studying.
I have ordered the Becker Live Course and start my FastPass classes in March. The order I decided to take the exam is: FAR, AUD, BEC, REG. I am hoping that I will not get discouraged by facing the seemingly most challenging part first. Once my books arrive, I plan to put in a good amount of studying before the classes even start. I just hope that Procrastination does not get the best of me...
To set the record straight, I sailed through high school and most of college on the ability to cram cram cram...I am betting that most others can say the same of themselves. I graduated this December from UConn with a 3.799 so cramming worked for the most part. I am fully aware that this style of studying will not work for the CPA Exam. That is why I am hoping that this Blog will help me actually commit to studying.
I have ordered the Becker Live Course and start my FastPass classes in March. The order I decided to take the exam is: FAR, AUD, BEC, REG. I am hoping that I will not get discouraged by facing the seemingly most challenging part first. Once my books arrive, I plan to put in a good amount of studying before the classes even start. I just hope that Procrastination does not get the best of me...
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