CrossfitChick-
Don't give up! I started studying for the CPA exam in March of 2007 and took my first exam in May 2007. My NTS was for REG and FAR and expired in August. Due to a health issue in April of that year, I really couldn't study for the last month before my exam and because of the way I had scheduled them and my lack of knowledge about the exam, I decided to go ahead with taking REG. I got a 57. I was disappointed but knew what happened and continued on. I took FAR at the beginning of August and got a 72. I was a tax accountant at the time and August and September are a our busy time and then I just didn't want to study so I didn't take my next exam until January of 2008. I took BEC and got a 67.
At this point in time, I had taken 3 exam and failed 3 times. I was very upset and disappointed in myself. I knew on at least 2 of them I could have studied harder, spent more time on something to pass, but I work well under pressure, so spending months at a time studying just wasn't something that would work well for me. I know that it works well for others, but for me, it just wouldn't. So, I buckled down and decided to take REG again in April 2008 and FAR in May 2008. I passed REG with a 79 when I took it in April. I was so happy to finally pass one of the exams that I knew I could do this. When I took FAR in May, I failed again, this time with a 73. I was so upset at getting so close, but not getting that 75.
I didn't find out my FAR score until after I had already decided to take BEC again the first week of July 2008. So, I took BEC the first week and passed with a 76 and took FAR again 2 weeks later and finally passed with a 79. Now that I finally had those 3 out of the way, I could finally focus on Auditing, the one subject I truly hate.
I fist took Auditing in November 2008, the week before Thanksgiving. Big mistake for me. I didn't really study all that much because I was still burned out from busy season which had been a disaster and I failed with a 58. I had originally decided to retake the exam in February 2009, but because of my crazy work schedule, decided to retake the exam in May. Little did I know, I actually ended up retaking the exam 6 days after I was laid off from my job. I again failed, this time with a 60. I poured as much of myself as I could into studying those 6 days, but I knew my mind wasn't really on the exam, it was on what was I going to do now that I didn't have a job.
I took Audit for the 3rd time on August 27th and am now just waiting for my score. I felt pretty good when I walked out of the testing room, but if I don't pass, I will have to take it again and pass before the end of October or I will lose REG.
I just wanted to share my story with you because yeah, while some people do pass on the first try, some people don't and some people get really close but they don't give up and you shouldn't either! Keep your chin up! We'll both get those letters after our name!
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