[HazeEastwood]

I thought I read this somewhere but when trying to research it again I couldn’t find it. Does anyone know the percentage of CPA candidates that sit for the exam that do not usea review course. I remember reading it somewhere and was surprised at how high the number was.

FAR-81
BEC-84
AUD-91
REG-89

[HazeEastwood]

Something that I found out while researching. 75% of current CPAs will be retired in the next 12 years. Wow, seems like there was a gap of individuals attempting and passing the exam.

FAR-81
BEC-84
AUD-91
REG-89

[herbert7890]

That's good for us : D

FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

[Anonymous]

I was on the understanding that the reason why the passing rates were so low was because individuals aren't prepared for the exam.. meaning they do not use a review program…

[Anonymous]

@CPA Someday: I agree. I used to think that I was smarter than most people. I graduated from a top California university, with a very high GPA in Physics. Then, I went to B-School. I din't take any review courses for the GMAT. I figured, I know what I know and that's it. I scored very well in the GMAT and went to a top-ten B-School. After working for some time, I decided I wanted to get a CPA. The first time I took the FAR exam , I didn't study at all (not one bit, not even for a minute). I failed miserably….got something like a 66…..was I embarrassed! So that dose of reality woke me up. Maybe my age (early 30's), maybe the fact that I am single parent, maybe the fact that I have a 3 yr. old, maybe the stars weren't aligned, blah, blah, blah….but I knew that I needed to do something different. So, I then took the Becker self-study course and scored an 82 in FAR! So, yeah, cocky people like myself who don't study tend to reduce the passing rate 😉 I have studied for every exam since…and I am praying I pass Audit (my last exam)!

[HazeEastwood]

That was my impression from the reading as well. Supposedly A LOT of people do not use the review programs. Think they can come str8 out of school and just pass it and they get destroyed. I can't remember the % who didn't use a review but it was really high. I guess that gives us who use a review a far greater chance to pass it with the AICPA relative scoring.

FAR-81
BEC-84
AUD-91
REG-89

[Anonymous]

Well, you might want to clarify what you define as “not using a CPA review program.” There's not specifically ordering something like Becker or Roger CPA and sitting through lectures in addition to reading and doing practice problems, and there is completely avoiding any textbooks and practice problems. I'd imagine that there is also a segment of the population who hasn't sat through lectures, but has read through something like the Wiley CPA book, and done all the practice problems. Conceivably, you could get pretty much the same experience just doing that, but you haven't technically taken a full review course, and possibly spent less than $100 (if you were bargain hunting and buying all 4 books used).

[Anonymous]

I know two individuals at work that bought review programs but didn't take studying seriously.. what would you classify them as? Oh yeah, and they haven't passed any exams. One person has completely given up, but has considered going back because I'm passing them.. um.. I study A LOT and I am crazy about the CPA exam 🙂

[Author]

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