I have been approved to sit for the CPA exam in Arizona. I am scheduled to take the BEC section of the exam at the end of May and will be taking the audit section at the end of July. I am currently in the final trimester of my Masters of Taxation program at ASU and I will be studying for BEC while finishing the Masters program. Fortunately, I only have one class that requires a decent amount of work/studying. My other three classes are fairly light. I will be studying from the Becker study materials and I have the “at home” lecture DVD’s, flash cards (I’ve read that these should be used <1% of the time) and I do not have Becker’s final review course. I wanted to post my study plan here and seek advice from others.

My plan:

Starting Sunday (04/09/2009) I will have about 7 weeks to study for the BEC exam. My plan is to watch the lecture for each chapter on Sundays and spend the following week working on the MC questions and doing other studying from the Becker materials. That will give me 4 hours on Sunday and then I’m planning on spending around 2-3 hours a day during the week doing the MC questions and going over material from the book for that chapter. I do not have class Thursday or Friday so I basically have a four day weekend ever week that affords me plenty of studying time. After 5 weeks I will have gone through the BEC material. I graduate on May 16^th which leaves be roughly 2-3 weeks to study “full time” before I take the exam. My plan is to go over all the material (lectures and MC questions) again for each chapter prior to taking the exam. I actually have not received my notice to schedule but it should be coming soon and I anticipate being able to take the exam during the last week of May.

So, how does my plan sound? I’m really not sure how to approach studying for the exam. I haven’t really looked at the material since my firm paid for the course and I received my material. I noticed that each book has a sample study plan but I wasn’t sure how good they were or if they were the best way to formulate a study plan. I know the exam(s) will be challenging and that I will need to be really disciplined in my studying. My friends who are taking the exam or who have passed all four sections have said that if I put in the right amount of time and dedication to studying that I’ll pass the first time through no problem. They’ve all said that Becker is great and that 20 hours a week of studying for several weeks would prepare me for each section. What should I do differently? How have you approached studying for the BEC section or any other section of the exam?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!!!

Kevin,

I really think that what you have written in terms of study time is fine.  What your friends said is true that if you dedicate the time (no matter how you do it) you will be fine.  I guess what I trying to say is that only you knoweth thyself and your study habits.  Just remember that these exams do require memorization, so the sooner after your final review of the material you sit the exam the better IMHO.  And yes, I believe the Becker timetable is good but you do not have to follow it.  Good luck!!