[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) 🙂

[ToddI]

Undergrad Tip: Research any company that you are interviewing with and know why you want to work for the company.

[mannonjay]

Undergrad: Study it now.

As someone who slept his way through college and got B's by just attending class, attempting the CPA Exam now is rather difficult. But I will finish!

BEC - 78
FAR - X, X, 78
AUD - X, X, 77
REG - X, 76

[lauramaria]

Exam Tip:

– Always do the AICPA released questions for at least 2011 and 2012. On each exam I had a variation of a subject discussed only in these released questions.

– Winning combination (for me) :

Yaeger+Wiley Book + Wiley Test Bank+ cparevewforfree (even if only for certain subjects)+AICPA released Q`s & SIMS

[Anonymous]

Tip 1: Get the exam out of the way as early in your career as possible. Trying to study with kids (and a spouse) is very difficult!

Tip 2: Don't study for more than one exam at the same time if you don't have to. It's better to take your time to make sure you pass one section than to go for two and end up not passing either one. Remember, slow and steady wins the race!

[Anonymous]

CPA Exam Tip: Passing the CPA Exam before you start work shouldn't just be one of your priorities; it should be your main/only priority. The last thing you want to be doing is working until 10pm only to go home and study. Obviously it's doable and many people do pass the exam this way but make it easy on yourself and try to pass it (or at least most of it) before you start working.

[Anonymous]

Exam Tip: I've been trying to pass this exam since 2005, honestly I actually started to believe I wasn't smart enough to pass. Then through reading bloggers on another71.com I realized I wasn't the only person out there who felt this way and just couldn't pass the exam. So I tried one more time, bought the yaeger software, and really studied instead of highlighting parts of a book. Finally 7 years later I finally passed the Audit section of the exam this past April with a 94! With that said my best word of advice is NEVER GIVE UP on something you really want and NEVER GIVE UP on yourself despite the failed attempts! Mostly I realized I had to PUT THE HIGHLIGHTER DOWN and learn the concepts over trying to just memorize information through highlighting. Best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Exam Tip: Set a schedule and stick to it! If you stop answering your phone, eventually those friends will stop calling. No pain, no gain. It is important to make the exam your biggest goal, and let your family know that. They will be there as support and they will tend to understand what its like a little more.

[Anonymous]

Exam Tips: Try to get your CPA as soon as you think you want to be one. Things get a lot harder when life gets in the way. Although it's not impossible, it's so much easier. Also never give up. I've only been studying since January but I must say, this is way harder than anything I've ever done. Always stay positive and never give up. I'm still learning how to deal with this BEAST but I've read living proof on this forum that it can be done. Good luck everyone!

[RedRage00]

My tip is to study your behind off. Use Jeff's Excel spreadsheet, make a schedule, and follow it to a tee! I passed all 4 on the first try and keeping track of a schedule helped a lot. It kept me accountable. Do MCQs over and over! STUDY!!! Put your life on hold. I had no life for 6 months but it worked out in the end.

Good luck!

Now give me my iPad 3 🙂 wait, “new iPad!” 🙂

Texas CPA
Licensed, March 2012

[ak]

Exam Trick: It is more than likely that there will be questions in the exam that you haven't seen in your study materials. Stay calm and try to read the question carefully to look for the hints in the question that will give you the right answer.

[mla1169]

don't just wait for the right job, be willing to deliver pizza or wash dishes in the meantime. Sometimes the right job comes right way but if you have to wait a little bit, do something in the meantime.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[zyt2785]

Exam tip: Do a final review and CRAM. Short term memory definitely helps. Of course a good night sleep before exam is the most important of all. On a routine basis, study early in the morning. Get the majority of it out of the way before work.

[ledgermaven]

It is possible for mature, middle aged people to also study and pass the CPA exams. With families and jobs, and so many other committments going on. You will read stories here of folks who have worked incredibly hard and given up so much to reach their goal – it was inspiring to me and it will help inspire you. It's good to have a community that cheers you on so join this one online and post your journey, don't always be a shy wallflower!

Also try to find others in your area to be study buddies. The live interaction is very helpful going over specific areas that challenge you. So my advice is don't go it alone, and believe that even if you are not young and just ouf of college, this too can be a reality for you.

[llee56]

You need to carve out time out of your life to study. The exam is not something you can just cram for in a couple hours and pass. Social sacrifices need to be made in order to succeed. Personally I have tried to keep my social life while studying for the exams, and I am still taking them! So if there's any advice I can give, it is to be diligent and keep the distractions (and excuses) as far away as possible.

AUD - 08/2012
BEC - TBD
FAR - 08/2012
REG - 07/03/2012

[Lidis]

Read the Ninja notes at the same time that you listen to the Ninja audio, then re-write the Ninja notes and make sure that you understand the concepts that you are re-writing after that just listen the Ninja audio by itself as many time as possible.

[Author]

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