NJCPA Exam Cram Blog

One last push

As I approach my final week of review before my BEC exam next Tuesday, I am finding it pretty difficult to stay motivated. I think it is a combination of many factors, ranging from focusing on wrapping up my internship, to trying to somewhat celebrate the arrival of summer this past weekend. I also think that this whole process has become such a part of my life since I started studying back in January, that I'm having a hard time believing this is actually my last exam! I only have two days of work left, and will use the remaining time before next Tuesday to go through all the chapters again and take practice tests.

I think in times like these when you're not feeling too motivated, it helps to refocus on your goals and remember why you're actually taking these exams. I think what eventually helped me was telling myself that no one ever became a CPA with only 3/4 of the exams passed!

Wish me luck!

In the homestretch!

I passed REG!!! That's three down, one to go!

To be honest, I left the testing center after this exam feeling pretty defeated after struggling through the simulations, so I was surprised when my score popped up on screen during the last score release. Before starting to study for this exam, I knew that a few of the topics (Corporate Tax and Business Law, specifically) were not my strong points. Keeping this in mind, I definitely employed a few extra study tactics, such as rewriting my notes and doing a few more practice tests, to cover these areas. One thing I have learned about this exam is that, with such a large amount of material to remember, it definitely helps to focus more on the material you are not so familiar with.

Another thing I have come to grips with is that once you take an exam, there is really nothing you can do until you find out your score. I think this is how I've been coping with the long weeks between taking the test and actually receiving my score. That, and the fact that I am usually about half way into studying for my next exam and don't have much time to even think about it!

Besides the CPA exam, I have also been focused on wrapping up my internship at PwC's National Quality Organization. This Friday is my last official day before the new interns arrive, and I will only be working a few days over the next couple weeks to transition my projects. I am definitely looking forward to having these next few weeks off to focus on my final review for BEC which I am currently scheduled to take on July 1st at 8:30am! This being the first possible appointment on the first day of the Q3 testing window, do you think I'm excited enough to get this exam over with?!

My last exam?!

Hello all, I know it has been a while since my last post. I have actually been enjoying a few weeks of not having to study since my last exam! After taking REG on May 16th, I had my graduation weekend the 17-18th, and then Memorial Day the weekend after. It was really nice to connect with friends I hadn't seen in a while and to let everyone know I'm still alive! It was also a good chance to step back and take a breather after 4 straight months of studying. After experiencing what it was like to not have to study during every free moment, I am so much more motivated to get this exam over with!

Although it was difficult to get back to studying last Thursday, I was definitely motivated by the fact that I could possibly be studying for my last exam! I am currently waiting on my REG scores which are rumored to be coming out this Friday. It was definitely a tough exam to say the least. I felt I did well on the multiple choice, but definitely struggled with the simulations. I think the one thing that saved me was that I had freed up some time during the multiple choice testlets so I could focus more of my time on completing the simulations.

I am now currently studying for BEC, which is very different than all the other exams simply because there are written communication portions instead of task-based simulations. I'm just praying that I can muster up enough of my existing cost accounting knowledge to get through these questions.

Hopefully I can report back to you next week with some positive news! Keep your fingers crossed!

Murphy's Law

The universe has this funny way of letting you know that you're really just a pion in the grand scheme of things. Dare to think that you know what's going on in your life or have it planned out in any way and some force somewhere will slap you in the face, laughing.

This happens to me a lot.

Usually it's for the worse but today (for once) it was for the better. Yes, that's right folks, I passed BEC. After my week-and-a-half of doubting myself and creating my Plan E, so to speak, I checked my score at 11-ish this morning to be greeted with a nice 76.

After getting over the initial shock (and verbal outburst that went something like "holy s**t"), I practically skipped over to my mentor's desk to announce the long awaited good news (...and to have her come over to my computer and check my score to make sure that I did, in fact, pass and wasn't delusional).

This experience confirms my belief that none of us really (especially NOT me) have any idea what is going on with this test. I think I pass...and I fail. I KNOW I fail...and I pass! If this were twitter, I would seriously hashtag #wtf (...followed by multiple smileys, of course).

So I am half-way to CPA, as they say. Two down (AUD and BEC), two to go (FAR and REG). For the first time in a long time (maybe even ever), I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Lauryn

 

Insanity

in·san·i·ty (n) \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ -- Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

 

There are a lot of things I don’t understand about the CPA exam: why there is a time frame after which parts expire, why I can’t see my incorrect answers after my results are released, what the magical study method is that will allow me to pass this test…

I sat for BEC this past Friday. I do not have my results yet. I am both terrified and excited to get said results as, per usual, I have no idea if I passed or failed. My intuition track record is not so great, as I have taken this test more times than I care to admit and have always had the same general range of feelings about it. How many times can a person do something before going completely bonkers? Did I change my study method? Yes. Did I commit the time? Yes. Did I blah, blah, blah do every other single little thing that I could possibly think of? YES! Did I pass this test? I sure as hell hope so. (Can I say “hell” on here? I don’t know but I just did.)

I’m not sure why I have such a difficult time with this exam – more difficulty than most people, it seems. Honestly, I’ve never really had difficulty with anything in my short 23 (soon to be 24) years of living. Maybe that’s the answer in itself – the big man upstairs decided that I needed a good challenge (not sure if I can talk about that either). All I know is that all I do it work, eat, study, sleep and that there are not one but TWO empty Starbuck’s cups in my garbage can under my desk right now because I am so tired.

After having said all of that and feeling like my life is passing me by along with fun times and missed opportunities  (insert sad emoticon here), the fact remains that I am not a quitter and I’ll be damned if I don’t (eventually) pass this test. I say “eventually” because I am not going to beat myself up if I end up getting less than a 75 come Friday (or Monday or whenever these horror-provoking results are released). Maybe I will pass and this whole rant post will be for nothing. I guess I’ll have to let you know either way.

Lauryn

Cost Measurement

Two weeks of studying down and four to go until the big day. I don’t know how I feel about that. Before yesterday, I felt pretty good about the discovery of my new study method (see my last post), but yesterday I felt discouraged. I could not focus on anything. I got home from work, ate dinner and cracked open the review questions (per my normal routine) to discover that they were going in one ear and out the other. Today will be a lost cause as I have dinner plans directly after work (hey, a girl’s got to eat, right?). However, I have high hopes for Saturday morning. Saturday morning is probably my favorite time of the week. I am an early riser, you see. I tend to get a lot done while the rest of the world is still sleeping or brewing their morning cup of coffee. This includes studying for BEC. Here’s hoping.

The good news of the week is that I think I’ve found my problem area with this part of the exam. According to Wiley, it’s called “cost measurement”. After taking each 30 question quiz, Wiley gives me a report on my overall score and then my score by section. There are about 5 or 6 sections in each quiz (thanks to my method of mixing all of the chapters up), all of which I score decent on except for cost measurement. Must find a way to defeat this…will get back to you on that one.

I really think my new study method is going to work. Before this method, I would take a quiz on one chapter at a time. I think this is kind of a skewed method because you can cleverly get one answer correct because your last question was on the exact same topic. By mixing up the questions, this doesn’t happen. Also, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I keep scoring in the 70% range on my mixed chapter quizzes, which is exactly what I’ve been scoring on my exams. It’s that pesky cost measurement section that’s costing me the extra 5%!!

My game plan from here is to keep doing what I’m doing. I will probably devote a whole week solely to cost measurement. I may even take a few quizzes without including the cost measurement topic to gauge if that's really the hang up. If I score high on the quizzes with cost measurement removed, I can be sure it’s the problem. I will let you know how this goes once I get around to doing it.

In the meantime, if anyone has comments or tips on cost measurement equations, please share!

 

Lauryn

I'm Not Dead Yet

Tax season is officially over and I’m still alive – barely. While many of my colleagues will be happily getting their life back, I will be trading one kind of crazy for another. As of today at 4:30pm, I am officially back in the full-swing of studying for the CPA exam. I had already registered for the May 31^st BEC exam, as I knew that was going to be a highly-coveted day, and as of today I am signed up for the Wiley CPA Test Bank’s BEC section. Between my smorgasbord of Wiley multiple choice questions, Becker flash cards and texts, AICPA released questions, and Another 71 NINJA audio, my study arsenal it impressively stocked. With 7 weeks to go until the exam date, I will be trying a new study method called “mix all the multiple choice questions up and take them in random order.” Nicely named, right? Will the help of some friendly brainstorming, I realized that the exam is not in chapter order so why should I study in chapter order? The answer, I believe, is that I shouldn’t. I’ll let you know how that works out for me in the following 7 weeks. In the meantime, happy studies!

Lauryn

BEC: Round 4?

I have finally got up the courage to register to take BEC again. After almost 3 months of not even thinking about the exam, I've put it back on my radar. I've been SO close with my scores...I just can't let this section defeat me. On one hand, I hate to admit that I am taking BEC for the 4th time. On the other hand, I'm really glad that I haven't thrown in the towel yet. I'm hoping and praying that the 4th time's the charm.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I will be using the Wiley CPA Test Bank to study for BEC. I believe that I really do know the meat of the test...I just have to do more questions, questions, questions! I'm going to read a bit to refresh my memory, but I don't think that's what's going to be my saving grace. I'm going to focus my energy on multiple choice questions and flashcards and I'm going to mix them up. No more studying one chapter at a time. The test, after all, does not indicate which chapter you're answering questions from.

It is almost impossible for me to study during tax season, but I am going to make the effort. A friend of mine lent me his Another 71 BEC Ninja Audio...which I have been listening to in my car on the way to clients (like I don't have enough accounting in my life already!). I'm also going to do multiple choice questions here and there and carry my flashcards around in my bag.

I know I can kick BEC to the curb. I'm almost excited to take it in May (I know, I am crazy), so send your positive thoughts and/or suggestions my way!

Lauryn

(Hopefully) Happier New Year

It's no secret that I have been majorly slacking in the blog post department as of late. I believe, at the time of my last post, I was waiting for my BEC score. If you'll remember, I scored a 69 on BEC during summer of 2011 and a 70 on it during October 2012, so I thought I could bounce myself over the extra 5 points by studying for a few more weeks and re-taking BEC in November 2012. I received my score some time in December and was greeted by a big, fat 68.

I didn't really understand how that was possible. After basically not studying at all for the test in 2011 (you know, post-college graduation, pre-full-time job stupidity), and studying my a** off for the test in October, I couldn't really fathom how I could receive practically the same score. I was really angry, I think. "Why does it matter if I study or not, then?" I thought. So I decided to put BEC aside and continue on with my plan to take REG in late November.

I failed that one, too. And along with that attempt comes a similar story of how I "barely studied" during the 1st go-around and "studied so much I had no life" during the 2nd go-around and still got virtually the same score. After receiving this "F", I decided to abandon my plans of taking FAR in late January. I had no hope left inside of myself with which to conquer "the Beast".

I believe that leaves us to where I am now: slowly building my confidence back with plans to take my next exam after tax season and most likely some time in May. I am thinking BEC (I know, I'm a masochist -- but aren't we all? Taking this exam?). I figure I will only have a month and a half to study and BEC is the shortest exam, so it just makes sense.

My plan is to give myself a little bit of a breather (...during tax season...oxymoron...) and to read my BEC text whenever I have a spare minute. Nothing crazy, just as a refresher until I start seriously studying in late April.

I am very happy (albeit, rather jealous!) for all of my fellow-bloggers that have had recent success with this exam. I have faith that I, too, will pass this thing. With 3 parts left (BEC, REG and FAR) and 1 part expiring in exactly 1 year (AUD). I really have to get my head on straight and start kicking some exam butt!

Now that you are all caught up, this is where I tell you that suggestions are welcomed, even though I am pretty sure I've tried everything short of hypno-therapy (...although that doesn't sound like too bad of an idea right about now). I hope you will forgive me for my absence.

I'm back.

Lauryn

GOT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I passed BEC.

Lauryn: GO FLASHCARDS! Never used them before, now for every exam.

Janice: it was nice to meet you the day before the test.

Now: let's celebrateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Claudio B.