[Anonymous]

For the past 4 years I’ve been telling everyone that once I graduate I will be studying for the CPA exam. I said it so nonchalantly because I knew I still had plenty of time ahead of me.

Fast forward 4 years, it’s finally come. I take my first exam next week, and although I’ve put in nearly 2 months (180 hours of studying time, still with a week to go) I still feel uneasy about it.

How did you get over the fear of taking your first exam?

For some reason I think to myself that this exam is super tedious, and no matter what scores I get on the practice questions I take, I still feel the exam is going to be 10x harder.

Any input?

[uglyowl]

Fear on the whole is a positive, fear is a great motivator. To alleviate some of your nervousness, what the worst that happens? The worst is you fail and take it next quarter. Best of luck!

BEC : 07/28/2012 (89)
FAR : 10/29/2012 (86)
AUD : February 2013 (80)
REG : 05/22/2013 (80)

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a good mindset.

May I ask what review course you used?

[Anonymous]

fear is the stress associated with the amount of time put into the exam, and you fail constantly. also each seconds that goes by, you age. your friends and mates have succeeded in ranks, passed their OAT, DAT, finish MED school, you have not made progress. and within the 18months you already aged by 1 year and a half…which could be used to do something else(an opportunity cost) productively…

CPA examination is a legit fear.

[Anonymous]

You will not get over the fear of your first exam until after you take it.

I studied for 3 months for AUD – Wasn't sure how prepared I really was – and literally slept 3 hours the night before the exam.

I arrived super early, paced for over an hour and wanted to throw up when I finally sat down in front of the computer.

I had the same history with the exam you did – told everyone for years that I would take the CPA eventually.

And when I walked out of the testing center, I absolutely wanted to cry. I felt like I got hit in the gut because the exam was so difficult, and specifically the SIMS killed me. I was questioning whether I really had what it takes to pass even one section, let alone four.

At the end of the day – I passed. I was sure beyond belief I failed, but I passed.

And then I passed BEC.

And now – I'm not afraid anymore. It's not a matter of IF i can be a CPA, but WHEN will i be a CPA.

I found that it got to a point after 2 exams, that it didnt matter what was written down on the pages of my Becker book. Eventually I would pound it into my brain and pass the exam.

So if you are scared out of your mind on exam day – dont even worry about it. It's just like first day of school jitters or first day of work jitters.

The best part is – even if you completely bomb it, there are ZERO consequences. Your 18 month clock is not even ticking yet, and now you know what to expect out of the exam so you can kill it next time.

Have confidence, if I can do it YOU CAN DEFINITELY DO IT.

[uglyowl]

I used RogerCPA and had a friend who passed using Becker. The test is very doable if you put the time in, I highly recommend the Wiley test bank, if you are using that for practice and doing well that is a great sign. I found hammering out Wiley testbank harder than the real test since it was the first time seeing the question and concentrating less since it wasn't the real thing.

Great posts by others. YOU WILL NEVER FEEL COMPLETELY READY (just do your best). Funny thing is I felt amazing leaving auditing convinced I scored in the 90's and got my lowest score yet and Regulation I was convinced I failed and drove home in a haze, it was awful and ended up passing.

BEC : 07/28/2012 (89)
FAR : 10/29/2012 (86)
AUD : February 2013 (80)
REG : 05/22/2013 (80)

[Author]

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