Maldo000

what review materials did you use and how long did you study???

thanks

I used the Becker Self Study CDs. I also used their note cards and final review. The company that I work for paid for it so I had no excuses not to get it.

I basically spent a week on each chapter then two weeks for the review. Keep in mind that I work full time so my timing may vary from what someone else should do.

Essentially I did the following for each chapter:
1 - view lectures
2 - Do MC Questions, Supplemental Q & Simulations
3 - Read Chapter and take Notes
4 - Review Becker Note Cards, create my own for any additional topics
5 - Re-do ALL MC, Supplemental Q & Simulations
6 - Re-do & Mark any Questions that I still got wrong
7 - Read any posts on Cpanet that related to what I was studying

Once I finished all of the chapters, I spent one day (work night) reviewing everything for each chapter. I Redid all Class Q, MC Questions, Supplemental and Simulations for each chapter and marked any questions that I kept getting wrong or those where I was getting the answer right but didnt understand why. I created my own notes for these questions. From this process, I identified any tough questions, simulations or concepts to focus on the last couple of days before the exam.

Once I finished reviewing the chapters again, I did the final exams and got a 76 & 70 on the MC and probably around an 85 on the simulations.

Lastly, I watched the first 10-15 minutes of each lecture in the final review (they spend a lot of time walking you through how to answer the simulations so I only watched the part where they are doing a quick review of the chapter) and did all of the Final review MC questions for each section.

The last 3 or 4 days, I really just reviewed the note cards, marked questions and any tough simulations. The day before, I did absolutely nothing.

I definately know I over-prepared for the exam, but since it was my first I didnt know what to expect and wanted to ensure I passed my first one. It was to the point where I would be studying in my sleep :)

When I walked out of the exam, I felt that there wasn't a single question that I should not know the answer to and I knew I did pretty well on the sims.  I walked out feeling like I barely failed or that I absolutely crushed that test. I know for a fact I answered some of the MC wrong and I'm pretty sure I didn't do all that well on a few parts of the simulation. The thing that tripped me up at times was that I didn't know what they were asking for. I could write a 2 page paper on each question, but still wasn't sure if I answered it the way they wanted me to.

I know this is long, but I hope this helps. Hopefully some other people can benefit from my experience because I know I benefited from the posts on this site.

Ultimately, the key isn't just about getting the questions in your review right, it is to understand why you got them right (and why you got others wrong).