When I first started studying a few years ago, I would get so overwhelmed with all the steps the study courses would recommend - read, watch lectures, notes, do mcqs, repeat. When I finally decided to buckle down for real and start studying last October, I decided that I was going to study on my own terms and do what kept me motivated. I used Wiley for the content and Ninja for MCQs.

I’m very much a person that needs to see daily progress so instead of watching lectures for every chapter, I only read the book and did MCQs. This made me feel so much more motivated to continue on. I felt like I was making progress everyday and it make me more likely to study. I also would get up 30/45 mins early to read before I started the day, that way I already made progress even if I wasn’t feeling like studying post work. Don’t feel bad about not watching lectures or taking notes if it doesn’t work for you! The hardest thing about the exams is figuring out how you study best.

I always gave myself at least 1.5 weeks of review. This was crucial! So many concepts come together in this time and it’s a good time to drill concepts you may have studied weeks ago. I would take all of the important concepts and take two a day to focus on and drill so that I truly understood what I was doing.

I never did a practice exam. I personally thought I would use the time better doing MCQs where I could get instant feedback whether something was right or wrong and see why. The 4 hours it took to just do the exam never seemed like a good use of time to me, but everyone is different and I was using Wiley when most people in this sub seemed to be sharing Becker mock exams so it never seemed comparable.

I ALWAYS did the AICPA practice exam during my review. It’s a short exam and it I will give you a good idea of what the SIMs will look like. I’ve had multiple that were very comparable to what I saw on the exam.

My scores in order with study time:

FAR: 86 - 8 weeks

BEC: 84 - 5 weeks

AUD: 82 - 4 weeks

REG: 72, 87 - 6 weeks, 3 weeks

Please ask any questions you might have! I might not remember specifics of each exam but I’ll do my best to help you out!