If you follow our blog, you may have seen that we’re now recommending (for the time being) to sit for AUD first. That’s quite a departure from our typical Exam section order recommendation, we know. But ultimately, it’s your most efficient route to a passing score right now, with the upcoming exam changes and the Prometric delays that have occurred due to COVID-19.
So, if you use this approach – you’re probably going to need some study tips for AUD, huh? You can find those here.
1. Let your friends and family know what you’re doing
Really this isn’t specific to AUD – this is just a crucial step before setting off on your CPA Exam journey. This is going to be a time-consuming task, and you’re likely going to be out of pocket a little more than you typically are. By communicating this with those closest to you, you can mitigate any drama potential, giving you more time and energy to focus on your studies.
2. Consider the score weights of each topic
Within AUD, there are four content topics – and each is weighted differently. This should be considering during your studying. You should ensure your knowledge is strong across all topics, especially those with higher marks available. We recommend that you use a Review Course with adaptive technology to help you – Surgent CPA Review identifies what you know, and what you don’t, and serves you content aligned with those gaps (plus, it progresses as you progress – meaning you’ll always be studying the most effective content for you!)
3. Practice your simulations
Candidates, as standard, do not practice simulations as often as other question types – or study them appropriately. It’s important to remember that reviewing a simulation and then looking at the answers before trying it out yourself is not the same as formulating and writing your answers based on current knowledge before then checking your work at the end. Trying each simulation per section in your study material is crucial to ensuring you’re actually prepared.
4. Make use of practice exams
In your Review Course, you should have access to practice exams – with all Surgent CPA Review Courses, you’ll have an unlimited amount you can take. This is critical to appropriately preparing for the real deal, and making sure you’re ready come Exam day. These practice exams are under test-like conditions and timed, you’ll also get access to tools that you will really encounter on Exam day – we recommend sitting at least a couple per each section, to know if you’re really ready.
Ultimately, it’s just important to study as much as you can until you feel confident. Using a Review Course like ours, which has an Exam readiness indicator called ReadySCORE™, will allow you to have an idea of what you could score if you sat today (to 99% accuracy!). This takes away the need to go into the Exam blind and can ease the anxiety surrounding testing. Not sure how ready you are? Try out our ReadySCORE feature in a free trial today!