CMA Study Group

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  • 1.  To get some study tips

    Posted 11-29-2020 02:08 AM
    Hello , 
              Is that 2months of preparation is enough to clear the exam .please give me some studying strategy 


  • 2.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-29-2020 12:12 PM
    How I plan on studying for the CMA is going to be very similar to how I studied for the CPA.  

    Working full time, I really only have the evenings to really study, so I had to make them as effective as possible.

    So my routine was/is:
    -At work, punch up lectures and listen to them passively via my phone.  Typically about 2 hours worth

    -During lunch, do a first pass on the MCQ sets related to the lectures.  I usually bomb these.  This is only to get an idea of what what the ask is.

    -When I get home, then I watch the lectures actively and answer the questions as I go.   I use Wiley, so this makes this method easier as they come in bite sized lessons.  Because I have already seen what sorts of MCQs I would deal with, it makes the lectures stand out more on what i should be absorbing.

    - I do this Monday through Friday

    -Weekends, I review everything I did during the week.  This is where, If I really struggle with a section I break out the text book.

    -Two weeks before the test, I take my first practice test.  This is to get a general sense of how I am looking.

    -Then I start reviewing everything.

    - Week before the exam, I do practice tests ad nauseum.  This is really helpful, because 1) typically questions come in random orders, so you have to access your brain in random ways and 2) it helps set the pacing for when I hit the actual test


    Most review courses for the CMA, from my research, lectures are about 30 hours per part.  The method above, you can clear the test in 6 weeks.

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    George Ofslager
    Analyst
    Rock Island IL
    United States
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  • 3.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-29-2020 08:25 PM
    Hi George, thank you so much for the tips. Do you mind if I ask how much the Wiley course costed you, or any tips you may have for study materials on a budget?

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    Dylan Hughes
    Student
    Troy MI
    United States
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  • 4.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-29-2020 09:10 PM
    Wiley does have a premium cost.  Which is why I bought the CMA materials during black Friday sales.

    I researched a lot of the courses, but just stuck with Wiley just due to familiarity, the ability to really break down my study schedule and, which I forgot to mention, the 11th hour review, which is worth it.

    If you're on a dime, the other course I was looking at was Hock.  They do have a financing option, where Wiley does not.  They break down courses in bite sized bits.  But from best I could tell, the study planner was not as precise as Wiley's and they offer less MCQs.  But I read their reviews and it does seem like it is a quality course.


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    George Ofslager
    Analyst
    Rock Island IL
    United States
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  • 5.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-29-2020 10:14 PM
    Fantastic info George !

    i dont know how you managed to keep up while working especially listening to courses in your break time.

    For others i have a simple recipe, the course roughly requires a 300 hours of studying for both groups which means if you study 3 hours a day you can complete the 1st part in 50 days. 

    weekends are days where you must and insist you must revise everything you did during the week.

    time your study in such a way that you complete the videos with MCQ's in 2 months or 2.5 months leaving the rest of the month for practice tests and maintaining a healthy mind without going overboard.

    the course is purely practical and I promise you this is a practical fun game of accounting and Finance which they didnt tell you. Fun fact! It also pays great !



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    Puran Kapoor
    Analyst
    Mumbai
    India
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  • 6.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-30-2020 05:53 AM
    Puran,

    I use the idea that 3 hours a day for 6 weeks is 150 hours.  The key is consistency, and having a willingness to persevere.  

    That being said, some sections or content is harder than others.  One topic you may understand right out of the gate, where as other topics you have to constantly work at it over the course of a couple of weeks.

    I also believe as you get closer to the test, study time should expand so you can get used to mental conditioning and fatigue.  Nothing is worse than your brain giving out in middle of a test because its not used to working for extended periods of time. (and then you start getting impatient and frustrated and just begin filling in answers)

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    George Ofslager
    Analyst
    Rock Island IL
    United States
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  • 7.  RE: To get some study tips

    Posted 11-30-2020 09:19 AM
    Dear George Ofslager

    I think this is an apt strategy to clear CMA exams in the first attempt. Especially revising on weekends of what you did during the week will support to get  the concepts clearly and to memorize them. 

    Thank you for sharing the tip,

    Kind regards,

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    Daliya Babu
    Qatar
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