Tori is a weekly NINJA CPA Blogger.

I passed!!! I am so elated, ecstatic, pleased.

Like so many others, I spent much of Thursday and Friday on the score release forum, waiting for news about scores being released. Not that I expected to get my score at the same time as everyone else, but because I wanted to celebrate with those who passed, and lament with those who will “Get 'em next time.”

I knew that the day after NASBA released audit scores, that California would release them. I honestly did not think that scores in California would release on a Saturday, but when I checked that morning just for giggles, my score was there in all its glory.

This is the first section I passed. It is also the first section I passed on the first try. Now, I feel like it is possible to beat this exam. Before I received the passing score, it took a lot of self convincing that everything I was doing in preparation was paying off. AUD is the first section that I changed my study methods for.

So you may be asking what I did differently. I incorporated the NINJA study materials into my study plan.

I loaded my iPod with the NINJA Audio and listened to it every time I was in the car or in the kitchen cooking or washing dishes. I even played it as a lullaby as I went to sleep. I listened to it so many times that I was finishing Jeff's sentences, as if I were singing along to my favorite song.

I also typed and retyped the NINJA notes. When I was done retyping the notes, I typed them again.

Finally, I did tons of MCQs. Granted, my review course doesn't let me select the number of questions for a practice test or a quiz, so I usually just selected 1-2 topics in order to get groups of random questions in groups of 20-24, almost the size of a testlet.

I do think that doing the MCQs helped a lot. I may be the first to admit it, but a group of 100 solid questions in a row overwhelms me, and I get tired of working them after 30 or so.

Another step I took in my rehabbed study strategy was if I did not receive at least 80% on the first go around of homework questions, I went back to the review materials and started over on the topic. Reading, note writing and rewriting. Then I tackled the questions again.

So now that I hopefully never have to study for AUD again, what is next for me? I have already been preparing for a rematch against REG. I am employing the strategies and practices I used for AUD.

Individual taxation has been very successful so far. I am just jumping into Corporate taxation. I have been sticking to the same study schedule every Thursday through Friday with my study buddy, then working on my own the remaining days.

I am looking forward to a camping trip this week at one of my favorite Central California spots. Hopefully the snowmelt from the mild winter we had has made for a nice river to relax and soak my feet in. Don't worry, I will be productive while camping, I am taking my study material along.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable week, congrats to those who passed. To those who didn't, keep at it.