[worryingCPA]

Hello,

I’ve been reading about people’s multiple attempts and failures. I’ve been out of school for 10 years with a BA accounting degree (i was a terrible student average 3.0GPA), and I worked as a car salesman (currently 35 years old, no children, rarely see my significant other, and living with my loving parents). I was laid off so i decided to study for my CPA. I forgot almost everything about accounting but i believed that if i studied diligently, i can pass. However, after reading people’s failure (who seem to be studying diligently), I am worried that i cannot pass the CPA.

I am currently using the Ninja assault packages only. My first exam was BEC with 65, and i felt confident that i passed (I read the book, rewrote the NINJA Notes, listened to the Audio, and did the MCQs (4000+)) within a 4 week time span (studying full time 9am-8pm). This time i will watch the lecture videos and reread the book and write notes on the chapters i struggled on (based on the exam score comparability weakness to others) and work the MCQ.

I’m curious why did other people failed their exam when they put in so much effort? Why do you think you are failing multiple time?

Thank you to anyone who has any advice for people who study full time.

[turo9992000]

These are hard tests bro. Everyone's different. I started to succeed, by taking hella notes and doing a lot of MCQs. I could not do the videos. I study 6 days a week. Wake up at 5 go to sleep at 11pm.

Try not to memorize the mcqs, buy a new test bank and try to understand the concept. Quality over quantity might work for you.

[worryingCPA]

Thank you @turo9992000 for your feedback. I agree that my quality of studying was terrible. I normally go through all the MCQ wrong first time around to understand the questions. Then i go through them again to see if i could get them right. Maybe i should save the MCQ for last after reading through the whole book and actually test my self to see if i understood the book. I was purposely getting the MCQ wrong the first time (just to see the right answer).

[MIsconnie]

Try reading and or watching the lectures first. Take notes and only until you feel you grasp a particular section then and only then move on to MCQ's. I always challenge myself to get over a 75 on each round of MCQ's, therefore I prepare myself before I practice them. Once you go through them re-do the ones you got wrong and write down why you got them wrong. If you take your study one section at a time and follow the material (without rushing) you may find better success. I am certainly no expert, but it has worked for me thus far.

Best of luck to you

[PonyUP]

@ worryingCPA – Your 1st grade is very respectable. Think of it as a practice. I hear all the time it takes some people 2 & 3 times to pass.

[Anonymous]

65 is nothing to scoff at. If you'd gotten 25, it might be cause to really think about your approach, but if you're within 10-15 points of a pass, you are definitely on the radar.
I prepared my rear-end off for FAR. 1700 MCQ and SIMs and writing/rewriting notes, all of Roger's lectures. But, I also didn't study for a few weeks before taking it because of burnout. I'd say timing is a big part of whether someone passes or not. Don't take too long to study for a section and take it as soon as you're done with the last chapter of your review course. Don't hem and haw afterwards for weeks and weeks trying to go back over stuff. It will not pay off.

I had a 62 on BEC earlier this year. I studied for it for about 2 months. I did not finish the Gleim review textbook (last 2 chapters not studied) and that's why I didn't have a 75. My NTS was expiring and it was either that or forfeit.

If there's one thing I've learned in my journey, it's not to get pissed off or depressed. I certainly have had my share of both since starting in July 2016 with my studies and I have fumed and lambasted and ranted on this forum, much to the dismay of some people! haha If you happen to be having emotional problems with the CPA exam, you can find ways to overcome it.

Happy 2018 and I hope this year brings 4 passes for you!!

[MaLoTu]

I passed the exams in 2016 and i had quite a few failures along the way. You can pass, I think anyone who preserveres can.
My tidbit would be every time you fail start from scratch with studying and study harder than you did before. If you do this you will eventually get to a point where you have all the knowledge you need to get through the exam successfully.
Btw, I took BEC 4 times (including back to back 74s) and personally felt it was the hardest to study for.

[Alex]

Key for me was not only doing tons of mcq, but understanding why each wrong answer was incorrect.

Really take time to read and think through the explanation even if it’s a topic you feel confident about. The exams tend to make your strong points feel like weaknesses.

[Stilgoin]

I have seen people pass on only MCQs, but I think those people were outliers. Lectures are a good idea to help fill in the blank spots. What was your overall score on MCQs at exam time?

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Will]

I got a 74 on FAR in September and a 76 in November.

I was not in accounting at ALL. Last year I made a decision to (at age 34) go back to school (I have a BA/MA in an unrelated field and no previous business or accounting) and pursue a CPA.I took 18 classes online in 1 summer and 2 semesters and purchased Roger. I found/stole/begged/borrowed some old Wiley test banks.

I took the 74 on the chin…it was disappointing to say the least. One point off. But I did the only thing you can do; I sat my ass down in the chair and started studying again.

I CANNOT stress the importance of the AICPA blueprint pdf (below). This document is what Roger, Gleim, Wiley, Surgent and Ninja use to make their exam reviews. While the list can be scary, it's your reality. You need to know what's being tested. It's not feasible to just buy Roger's book and lectures and let it sink in. You need to study exactly what is on the exam. You need to know which SIMS to study for and which sections are heavily tested. Sometimes what you think is heavily tested ends up not being on the exam. Since I can't disclose any details to my 2 FAR attempts I can say that in an alternate reality I didn't see a single Bond or Lease question. Can you believe that? you know how many times I studied bonds and leases? If you look at the blueprints you will see that bonds do NOT have a check mark under ‘analysis'. This isn't a guarantee, but it's safe to assume you won't get a SIM on bonds since they're not testing you on analysis. I guess what I'm saying is ” don't spend time studying things you don't need to” and the only way to do that is to inform yourself with the blueprint.

Also, study what you KNOW will be on the exam. For FAR you know that 12-20% of the exam is on Government and Non-Profit. 20%. !!! This means you should be hitting this section hard because you can guarantee it will be on your exam — unlike bonds or leases for my alternate reality experiences.

Another example in FAR. Look at FAR page 22: Item J: Analysis check mark: “Derive the impact to the financial statements and required note disclosures due to identified subsequent events”
I can't disclose examples from my own exam but I'm pointing this out for a reason. You need to expect any/all Analysis items to show up as a SIM. I wish I knew when I took the exam that this could show up as a SIM — it's pretty simple and easy to blow off — but I didn't know about the blueprints until later.

Sorry for rambling but you should also hit the MCQs on different test banks. Go to the AICPA website and download old exam questions and take them. Use Ninja. Use Roger. Get as many MCQs as you can. For me the repetition really helped and I think I passed mostly because I crushed the MCQs.

https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/becomeacpa/cpaexam/examinationcontent/downloadabledocuments/cpa-exam-blueprints-effective-20180101.pdf

[Author]

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