terpfan101 wrote: Just graduated and am about to begin studying for the exam using Becker self study. I don't start full time (doing audit) until September, but will be working for a friend's father doing tax work the next few months about 30-40 hours a week. I have applied to take the exam with the MD board of accountancy but am not sure when I will hear back from them. I am assuming I won't be notified in time to take an exam at the end of Feb and now am aiming to take my first exam at the start of April. I just am not sure if it should be FAR or REG given that I have a good amount of time to study (2.5 months). If I'm working 30-40 hours a week is FAR possible? I'm just a bit scared! Thanks for the words of advice.

There is no set formula for what section a person should sit for.  I will share this with you!  It's important to stay positive while prepping for the exam, as well as taking it, and with your results.  Fear of failure is something many people have.  I think that based on how you well deal with "rejection", one should consider this when selecting a section. 

For example, I stunk at the business courses in school because my plan was never to become a CPA and all I wanted was my C's and B's and to have them over with.  They were taking up my time from what I really was interesting in learning - my accounting classes! 

Said that...if you did crappy in BUL classes that's a 1/4 of REG, and you need to consider that!  I work in tax and thought I'd nail REG because I have too tax skills!  Nope...I've got to take REG again because of that attitude.  The first time I took REG, it was when I first graduated like you!  I loved tax in school and got straight A's in all 4 tax classes I took.  My friends were killing themselves with tax but it came easy to me.  When I started studying tax in REG, there was material I didn't learn in school and I didn't anticipate that I would have these bumps in the road and ran out of study time.  Also, I worked in a tax firm for two years since I took REG the first time.  I felt so confident with my tax skills that I would pass without BUL.  I didn't study the individual tax laws that tax software calculates for, didn't study BUL the way I should have, and was in such horrible time trouble from the MCQ's that I didn't have enough time to do the simulations (this is stuff I knew).  The lesson learned...you have to study everything and give everything enough attention to pull a 75% in all areas.  75% of the exam was tax and 25% was law and I failed mostly because of the law- I bombed the area.

Now...for me...because again, I blew off BEC courses, BEC is my greatest weakness.  Although, I don't understand the 51, I really studied hard on the two heaviest weighted sections - cost and IT.  Well I scored a 76 and 68 on my progress report, but I didn't give the other sections enough attention.  I scored okay on economics because I got A's in those classes - again it showed in my results but it's only worth 8-12% of my grade.   I need to study more BEC and hopefully I get it this time. 

The first test I took the first time was FAR - it was my strongest section in school.  REG would have been had it not been for law.  I figured I'd go for that one first.  I was a B student with my FAR classes, but again...I didn't put enough time aside to learn new material.  School cuts out material and those chapters the teachers didn't have time to teach you in school (for whatever reason), will come back at you.

The last suggestion...be very honest with yourself about the quality teacher you had in school.  If you had teachers that gave you open book tests etc. and weren't particulary challenging, this could come back and haunt you on the exam. 

I know I really didn't answer your question with an exact formula, but for me....I need to conquer my biggest fear first - BEC.  Once I can get through BEC, I know I will become a CPA - I have no doubt in my mind. 

I hope this post gave you a thing or two to consider.  BEC is my suggestion to you to pass first.  There are no simulations YET and you might want to consider this one first.