Posted: 31 Mar 2009 at 08:47 | IP Logged
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I am going to post something more detailed--hopefully breaking it down into days, but I have found this plan made me learn this more easily. Those of you who have listened to Becker's lectures have heard Peter Olinto say "Break it down piecemeal", and that is what I did.
Do a mini-section (a portion of each chapter) daily. You can knock it out in 2-3 hours a night. Read the chapter, make your OWN notes. Listen to the lecture. Make your OWN notes. Do homework (homework ONLY) for that particular section. UNDERSTAND why you missed what you did. I made a habit of not only reading the correct answers, but also the incorrect ones to make me understand why they were incorrect. This helps when there are two good answers and one is BETTER than the other one. Remember that each APPENDIX is a section, and I have never been sorry for going through those.
On Saturday, I did the Supplemental Questions for that chapter, following the rules above for understanding.
On Sunday, I did a progress test over that chapter. I did cumulative ones each Sunday. For example, next week would be Chapters 1-2.
I gave myself two full weeks to only review. I skimmed all the chapters for three days. Then I took a Simulated Exam a week before the exam. I reviewed what I missed. I spent two solid days on simulations. Take another Simulated Exam three days before the real exam. Anything closer to the real exam than this will only freak you out and ruin your confidence. Spend the couple of days before the exam only reviewing your notes Take the night OFF before the exam. Meditate, pray, take a long hot bath, rest your brain, go to sleep early.
I hope this helps you. I followed this to the letter on Audit, and scored a lot higher on what was supposed to be my weakest area. I started this plan with BEC.
This schedule should offer balance. A lot of us have other responsibilities, and this keeps you from getting too overloaded with too much information in too short a time frame. KEEP ON SCHEDULE for what you have to accomplish that day. When you have mastered the material for the day, then spend time with your family. I had a newborn baby starting out who is now a toddler, and this kept me from going completely insane with guilt and fatigue because I missed her so badly. If you are done for the night then: Go to bed early. Play with your kids. Spend time with your spouse. Hang out with your friends. Watch Lost. Do any of this because you stayed on schedule and you earned the time. The next section to master is for tomorrow's work.
Good luck to all of you! It feels SOOO good to be done! Email if you ever need anything!
-Retro
__________________ REG 7/22/08 85
FAR 10/27/08 81
BEC 1/12/09 84
AUD 2/26/09 93
Officially a CPA in Texas
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