[jeff]

I will be giving away an iPad 3 Thursday to someone in the forum. Here are the details:

Who: 1 Randomly-selected winner.

You don’t have to be a current candidate to enter – Alums are welcome too!

The selection will be recorded through a screencast.

Note – the winner will be double-checked to make sure they don’t have more than one forum account posting in the giveaway thread, so no shenanigans.

What: iPad 3 – $499 model (winner will have the option to pay for any upgrades/features they want added)

Why: iPads are awesome (I have an iPad 2 … hope I win!) 😉

How:

1. “Like” another71 on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/another71)

2. In this thread, post a CPA Exam or Accounting Career tip (or both) that you think would benefit a College Senior or recent graduate. If you work for a Big 4 or Regional Accounting Firm, interview tips or anything making the process easier would be great.

That’s it … Good Luck!

***

New Prizes Added!

– 5 Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Memberships (Online)

– 5 Complete NINJA Audios

– 5 Complete NINJA Notes

– 1 30 Minute Muay Thai training session at Del Mar Beach (CA) in September (you have to get to Del Mar though) 🙂

[Anonymous]

MCQ, MCQ, MCQ, work them until you can't stand to see them any more. Be sure when you are working the mcq's that you read the entire explanation for why the right answer is correct AND why all the wrong answers are wrong. This will help you understand the theory behind it all. There is so much information packed into these answer explanations that you won't find in the books or videos. Make note cards using this info to study.

[Mikey89]

College Senior tip:

1) Start studying for the CPA exam while your still in college and not working full time. If you have a good enough GPA, at this point your grades will barely fluctuate. In the long run this is what seperates you from the competition.

Reg 4/18/12 78
Far 7/30/12 74, 74, 75
Bec 11/11/12 74, 78
Aud TBD 51, 71, XX

[lmpcpa]

Exam Tips: Be patient and be Persistent. Know that this exam process will be a test of not only the information you study, but a test of your own personal endurance and strength. Take it as soon as you can so you can enjoy life later…You will question yourself a million times and want to give up 100 times that, but you CAN and WILL pass.

DON'T TAKE “NO” FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN'T GIVE YOU A “YES”…ONLY YOU CAN SAY “YES” every time you think you want to say NO.

I know most of us go through the exam process to have the 3 letters at the end of our name, but also look at “WHO” you will become once you pass! Good Luck!

[Rookie Mistakes]

1) I find MCQ to be much more valuable then the lectures. So after each lecture go over all the multiple choice questions and write down questions you got wrong and the reasoning behind it. Keep going over the MCQ, you'll learn a lot more there than in the lectures.

2) For a Big 4 firm, if they ask you what service line or what group be decisive, don't give an answer like I dont care or between this and this. They like when candidates know what they want.

BEC-83 (studied 4 weeks)
FAR-90 (studied 5 weeks)
AUD-99(studied 4 weeks)
REG-7/10/12

[whitem]

Exam tip for college seniors….(one that I wish I had listened too!)

Do not put off studying for and taxing the CPA Exam. You may feel like you need a break but don't take one, just keep studying and get the exam out of the way. I waited a year and lost all my study habits…that was 3 years ago, I'm still trying to get back into good study habits!!

[Anonymous]

Exam Tips:

Take exams as soon as you can. From current to alum, you can see the struggle for those that have families.

Don't get bogged down on things you think are complicated on your first go around.

Becker does a good job of emphasizing the most important sections by making them the longest lectures. Since some of these are complicated, watch, take the notes they tell you do, and do the corresponding MCQs right after. If you don't understand much, when you come back for your final review, “skim the videos”. Since you don't need to keep up with taking the notes, you can focus on what they are saying, and if you are finding things being redundant, keep skipping ahead. Once you get to an area you need to focus on, you will have their notes already in front of you and can actually read along with them. This makes the difficult sections much more easier to understand, and is time efficient.

[Anonymous]

CPA Exam Tips:

1. Take it as soon as you graduate when you have no family/money obligations.

2. I highly recommend using different MC test bank, such as Becker and Wiley so you get a taste of exam questions

3. Leave about 1.5-2 weeks before the exam to just grind out MC questions.

4. Taking notes really do help you memorize information

[kellybrnnn]

Exam Tip: Follow Jeff's advice and put down the highlighters! I am on my second attempt at taking the exam. I used Becker before and I got caught up in trying to organize and take notes that I probably didn't look at again. So far I am using The Ninja Reg Review and I am very confident that I know this stuff ten times better then I ever did. The test is a challenge that requires time, hard work and patience. Give yourself time to relax- schedule it in around studying if you need to! Over-exhausting yourself and stressing out will take a toll. Take a breather an hour a day or something and do something for yourself, not involving the test and you can go back to studying with a clear head. Don't give up- it's going to be well worth it. Practice MCQ until you want to poke your eyes, and then do some more. Be confident in yourself, (especially on test day!!), and you will see the difference it makes in your study habits and patterns. Work hard now, so you do not have to in the future!

And when you do feel like giving up and are sick to your stomach from studying- remember that your not the only one and when its all said and done, its done and you can 🙂

[almostdone]

Exam:

– Don't be afraid to be aggressive. It isn't for everyone, but I was able to knock out the entire exam in a matter of 3 months (while not working) after college. It doesn't hurt to take it ASAP after college.

– You have to committ, otherwise studying will be a waste of your time.

Career/College:

– Get an Internship (as many as possible!) if you can try several different fields, that would be great, so you find out what you really want to do after college. This is also how you will land a job after college.

– Get involved in your campus organizations. This will keep you in the loop so you know what other accounting majors are doing to “get an edge.”

– Go to networking events as early as possible – this will help you get more comfortable for future interviews. And make necessary connections on the way.

Philadelphia CPA Review/Bisk
AUD 7/6/10: 84 | FAR 7/19/10: 91 | BEC 8/16/10: 80 | REG 08/25/10: 99

[sbundy13]

Exam Tip: If you are able, Pass all four sections BEFORE getting a job… treat studying as your fulltime job and you can be finished in 6 months… you are already a poor college student, just extend that mentality for a couple more months…

Also, dont get discouraged by a failing score…. everybody fails, thats why this is a big deal to pass…

Work / getting a job Tip: be nice to everybody that you meet, you never know…. I got my job through a contact I made when I played indoor soccer against him… just so happened he used to work at the firm I work at and then went to a staffing agency.

FAR - 75 (Expires April 30, 2012)
BEC - 74,74,69,83
AUD - 72,65,70, 78 !!!!!! Holy Crappola this guy is finished after 5 years.
REG - 69,84

[HustlinHustlin]

Exam tip – Stay positive! A good attitude will get you a long way in this journey! No matter how much you hate it, just keep trucking. There will come a day that it will all be worth it.

Do as many MCQ as possible and actually READ why the wrong answers are wrong

Career tip: Be yourself, be honest, and hardworking. The best quality someone in public accounting can have is knowing when to ask for help. Your delay in trying to figure things out on your own will hold everyone back!

More current to this thread: GPA does not matter. I have only been asked my GPA once and my answer was this “it isn't a proper reflection of my knowledge and abilities. Someone may have a 4.0 and be taking courses with the easiest instructors, and yet be totally socially inept!

I find that my firm only wants to hire those people who can be natural and hold a conversation. Remember that you will be establishing a relationship with clients and nobody wants to hire a robot….If they did, they would.

B 71 - 79 EXPIRED
A 69 - 75 EXPIRED
R 65 - 48 - 45
F 56 - 61 - 65 - 64

Becker, Wiley Test Bank, Wiley Text and Ninja Notes

"The fish who keeps on swimming is the first to chill upstream" -311

Experience - Done, like WAAAY done.
Still need 30 more credits, in basket weaving (gotta love new CA requirements)

[tableleg]

Just never give up. People pass this exam every quarter. Make it as a job. A second job if you already have a first job.

[Anonymous]

Exam tip: Don't give up, don't ever give up!!!

Failed twice :-(((

Aud 5/31

REG in August

BEC November

FAR ??????

I'm using Becker 2011

Wiley test bank

[nshoemak1208]

I think the best advice to a college student/grad is to hit the ground running and knock the exam out of the way as soon as you are completed college. Having a husband, child and a full time job while studying is a bit time consuming.

[JazKas04]

Begin studying for the CPA exam right out of college! I waited 3 years and am regretting it to the fullest!

Before beginning your journey make a solid schedule and print it out and take it with you everywhere! Get the Ninja Notes and take them with you as well. Make sure you stick to your schedule at all times. Once you start falling behind if you don't try to catch up then the situation just gets worst and you end up going into your exam completely unprepared or postponing it just to do a repeat in most cases.

Find a review course that seems right for your learning style and make sure you know everything they emphasize. Practice as many MCQ's as possible and mark all the ones you got wrong and drill into your head why those are wrong.

Don't give up or procrastinate because it will only make the process harder and further away from achieving!

GOOD LUCK!

REG 30 (4/1/2010)
AUD 21 (10/1/2010)

FAR 8/30/12
AUD 10/01/12
REG Late November
BEC January/Feb?

[Author]

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