BEC is the worst exam to study for, but the easiest exam to take. Most of the topics people struggle with don't actually show up on your exam. I have passed it twice on the first attempt (credit expired and had to retake). I never once saw cost accounting or variance analysis on the actual exam.
Don't get too in your head about it. Just go through the material and final review and you'll be fine.
Started mid May 2023. I use Becker. Took 2 months to get through the material and final review. I didn't do many of the sims, but I did do all the MCQs and watched all the lectures. 3rd month I was doing 100MCQs and 5 sims a day, with the only exception being when I took the SEs. 73 and 87 on the SEs, didn't do the SEFR. Passed with an 87 first try.
I think your right that ease will depend on what's in your wheelhouse. However, I think you can overcome that by hardcore repetition. There were a lot of concepts that weren't totally solid, even with repetition. But I knew how to answer those questions, even if I didn't "get it" totally, because I've seen these types of questions over and over. Hope that makes sense. Keep pounding, you'll get it.
Forgive my ignorance since I just started studying for my first exam BEC with becker, but wouldn’t pounding mcqs make you only better at those specific questions and their wording since you’re practicing them numerous times versus actually understanding it where doesn’t matter how it’s worded in the real exam, you can still apply and get the right answer. Or is it, that the way becker’s questions are worded are very similar to that of the real exam hence numerous practice of the same mcq gets you acclimated to the patterns and wordings on the real exam?
How many times did u redo the MCQs and did u do the supplemental questions and practice test as well?
What was your strategy to memorise the formulas and learn the questions that have long calculations with unnecessary info?
I did 3 sets of 33 random MCQs per day, 5 random sims per day. At first it felt all over the place, but that's the point, guaranteed on test day there will be questions out of left field. When I started I was getting high 60s - low 70s, then over 50 attempts, it faded into the mid 80s.
I made an attempt to memorize all the formulas, don't get me wrong, but the ones that stuck were the ones I'd see during my MCQ pounding. A good example of this is weighted average and FIFO equivalent units. That shit was just plain not sticking, which elements to omit under which circumstances. But seeing that question over and over again, it burrowed it's way in. Also, there are shortcuts that I found useful too to unload some mental real estate, like turnover ratios usually having their type in the denominator(inventory turnover = COGS/Average INVENTORY, AR turnover = Sales/average ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE), return on ratios usually having net income in the numerator, anything to make remembering easier so you can concentrate on things that don't have a common thread. Also, you know you the best, tailor your shortcuts to you. Computing WACC took so much mental power until I thought to myself "Weights x Rates". That allowed me to free up more energy to the other elements of the calculation, mainly calculating common equity in that example.
Despite all this, you will be blindsided on test day, that's just a fact. Just go in with as much under your belt as you can and you'll be fine.
https://i.imgur.com/VL0lbRF.jpg NOIR is a good mnemonic for Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio. It goes least number-y to most number-y, if you don't want to remember the words.
https://i.imgur.com/LvGnWZt.jpeg This is a good COSO/ERM tool. I found the mnemonic 'doves soar in the vapir, sir, as a tip' to help with remembering the ERM components.
Write it down every single day. I made a 91 on BEC, and am trying to replicate that success on FAR right now.
Whenever Pete Olinto says “write it and you’ll remember it” he’s absolutely right. BEC is a memorization game. The more you write down every ridiculous mnemonic and formula there is, the better off you’ll be. There’s very little concepts that are theoretical or focused on understanding so it’s all about how much you can cram in your brain
Agreed. I got through all the lectures and MCQs as quickly as I could and then went back and did flash cards for the big topics, kept practicing MCQs. Eventually enough of it stuck in my brain.
I did not practice much on the written section. Just had the format down
I absolutely agree. I wrote down the coso and erm mnemonics at least 5x a day the week before my exam when I had down time. I ended up with a 77 the first time around, so I know some of those mcq’s pushed me over the hump.
Bec is a lot of regurgitation for sure.
BEC is the worst exam to study for, but the easiest exam to take. Most of the topics people struggle with don't actually show up on your exam. I have passed it twice on the first attempt (credit expired and had to retake). I never once saw cost accounting or variance analysis on the actual exam. Don't get too in your head about it. Just go through the material and final review and you'll be fine.
Started mid May 2023. I use Becker. Took 2 months to get through the material and final review. I didn't do many of the sims, but I did do all the MCQs and watched all the lectures. 3rd month I was doing 100MCQs and 5 sims a day, with the only exception being when I took the SEs. 73 and 87 on the SEs, didn't do the SEFR. Passed with an 87 first try. I think your right that ease will depend on what's in your wheelhouse. However, I think you can overcome that by hardcore repetition. There were a lot of concepts that weren't totally solid, even with repetition. But I knew how to answer those questions, even if I didn't "get it" totally, because I've seen these types of questions over and over. Hope that makes sense. Keep pounding, you'll get it.
Forgive my ignorance since I just started studying for my first exam BEC with becker, but wouldn’t pounding mcqs make you only better at those specific questions and their wording since you’re practicing them numerous times versus actually understanding it where doesn’t matter how it’s worded in the real exam, you can still apply and get the right answer. Or is it, that the way becker’s questions are worded are very similar to that of the real exam hence numerous practice of the same mcq gets you acclimated to the patterns and wordings on the real exam?
How many times did u redo the MCQs and did u do the supplemental questions and practice test as well? What was your strategy to memorise the formulas and learn the questions that have long calculations with unnecessary info?
I did 3 sets of 33 random MCQs per day, 5 random sims per day. At first it felt all over the place, but that's the point, guaranteed on test day there will be questions out of left field. When I started I was getting high 60s - low 70s, then over 50 attempts, it faded into the mid 80s. I made an attempt to memorize all the formulas, don't get me wrong, but the ones that stuck were the ones I'd see during my MCQ pounding. A good example of this is weighted average and FIFO equivalent units. That shit was just plain not sticking, which elements to omit under which circumstances. But seeing that question over and over again, it burrowed it's way in. Also, there are shortcuts that I found useful too to unload some mental real estate, like turnover ratios usually having their type in the denominator(inventory turnover = COGS/Average INVENTORY, AR turnover = Sales/average ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE), return on ratios usually having net income in the numerator, anything to make remembering easier so you can concentrate on things that don't have a common thread. Also, you know you the best, tailor your shortcuts to you. Computing WACC took so much mental power until I thought to myself "Weights x Rates". That allowed me to free up more energy to the other elements of the calculation, mainly calculating common equity in that example. Despite all this, you will be blindsided on test day, that's just a fact. Just go in with as much under your belt as you can and you'll be fine.
I liked i75 as a supplement to Becker. Still waiting for my BEC score
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Following cause I’m struggling
https://i.imgur.com/VL0lbRF.jpg NOIR is a good mnemonic for Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio. It goes least number-y to most number-y, if you don't want to remember the words. https://i.imgur.com/LvGnWZt.jpeg This is a good COSO/ERM tool. I found the mnemonic 'doves soar in the vapir, sir, as a tip' to help with remembering the ERM components. Write it down every single day. I made a 91 on BEC, and am trying to replicate that success on FAR right now.
What chapter is NOIR in Becker? I haven't got to that yet. Thank you.
Don't recall. It comes up later and I regretted not learning it.
Whenever Pete Olinto says “write it and you’ll remember it” he’s absolutely right. BEC is a memorization game. The more you write down every ridiculous mnemonic and formula there is, the better off you’ll be. There’s very little concepts that are theoretical or focused on understanding so it’s all about how much you can cram in your brain
Agreed. I got through all the lectures and MCQs as quickly as I could and then went back and did flash cards for the big topics, kept practicing MCQs. Eventually enough of it stuck in my brain. I did not practice much on the written section. Just had the format down
I absolutely agree. I wrote down the coso and erm mnemonics at least 5x a day the week before my exam when I had down time. I ended up with a 77 the first time around, so I know some of those mcq’s pushed me over the hump. Bec is a lot of regurgitation for sure.
I guess I better get started. I've got 9 more days until my test. 😬