@CannotPassAgain– My GPA in college was a 3.56, I could have done better but just didn't apply myself when I could have. I also worked part-time at least 20 hours a week as well as drove to Houston from Dallas almost every weekend to spend it with my then boyfriend, my now husband. (Yep we've been together since I was 17….almost 12 years..poor guy..ha ha ha yeah right! He is lucky…he just doesn't know it!)
I've always worked during the test taking except for last year during the Q4 window, that's when I passed FAR. I've constantly worked anywhere from a 40 hour week but more like 60+ hour weeks during the test taking process. I am married and have a 13 year old step-son (I've raised him since he was 21 months old so I am mom, the egg donor wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line up if her life depended on it). When I started this process he was 7 1/2 years old….so yeah I've been at this a long time! In that amount of time my husband went back to school got his undergrad and grad degrees in accounting and passed the exam on the first shot for each section. If you want to read more of this part of my story go to my blog with Jeff… https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-blogger-laura-1/#comments
My advice to you as a first time test taker…well first off if you don't have to work don't….make THIS your full time job. If you have a job lined up but aren't starting for another couple months…this is your time to knock this out before you start to work. If you are working the best thing to do is wake up early and study, study at lunch, and then study in the evenings. I had to find the approach that worked for me. Honestly I don't do the early morning wake up…I stay up super late and study when my house is quiet. I take my flashcards and books with me everywhere. I also look at things differently after using now three review programs…they all have the same information ALL of them do. It's their method of getting you information that is different. Know how you learn….know if writing things over and over and over again works. Know whether reading the books is better than hearing the information. You may listen better and take notes while listening…it's all about how you learn…not how you memorize…how you learn!
I can't wait to be done with this part of my life; it's gotten to the point that my 7 year old niece asks me all the time “have you passed the test yet? When can I see you?” Breaks my heart a little but I know that she will grow up and know that to achieve what you want you must work for it, you must want it bad enough to sacrifice.
Good Luck!!! Remember half the battle is when you fail to pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes…also if you fail the next time you take the exam it isn't the same material necessarily….it may emphasize all the stuff that wasn't emphasized in the previous attempt…so be prepared for EVERYTHING!!!! You will do fine….
REG-80, 77, 77
BEC-67, 68, 71, 67, 71, 74, 71, 74, 72, 77
FAR- 72, 65,67, 53, 75 (truth be known the 53 was with 4 hours of studying)
AUD-58, 62, 72, 74, 74, 75
took 5 years but I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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