[Anonymous]

I have five more weeks till audit and I don’t feel prepared at all. Bec took me 4 months to study for.

I’ve heard ranges from six months to 3 weeks. What is the average for each part?

[Anonymous]

3 months and counting for FAR

[Anonymous]

3 months and counting for FAR

[Anonymous]

I studied for about 30 days each for AUD, BEC and REG, but about two and a half months for FAR. Everyone is different through, so obviously whatever works for you is the right amount of time.

[Anonymous]

I studied for about 30 days each for AUD, BEC and REG, but about two and a half months for FAR. Everyone is different through, so obviously whatever works for you is the right amount of time.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on what else you have going on. If you aren't working and solely studying I think 1 month for each BEC, AUD, and REG and 6 weeks for FAR, maybe even less time than that. I spent 4 months simultaneously studying for BEC and AUD with more emphasis on BEC because that exam was first. I passed BEC and failed AUD. I have been studying for my AUD retake for about 1 month and my test is on November 13th, but I work full time and have a family so my studying consists of listening to the Ninja Audio a couple of days a week on my drive to and from work, going through the Ninja Flashcards during lunch, taking notes on the book and quizzing 2 nights a week and for 12-15 hours on Saturdays. If I could study every day without interruption I think it would only take 1 month for each exam max, but I would also cut out ALL other activities for that month and study, study, study.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on what else you have going on. If you aren't working and solely studying I think 1 month for each BEC, AUD, and REG and 6 weeks for FAR, maybe even less time than that. I spent 4 months simultaneously studying for BEC and AUD with more emphasis on BEC because that exam was first. I passed BEC and failed AUD. I have been studying for my AUD retake for about 1 month and my test is on November 13th, but I work full time and have a family so my studying consists of listening to the Ninja Audio a couple of days a week on my drive to and from work, going through the Ninja Flashcards during lunch, taking notes on the book and quizzing 2 nights a week and for 12-15 hours on Saturdays. If I could study every day without interruption I think it would only take 1 month for each exam max, but I would also cut out ALL other activities for that month and study, study, study.

[Anonymous]

Like the others have said, it varies from person to person. I've been working 32-40 hours a week (and sometimes OT) while studying, and took about 5-6 weeks of studying for each exam. I don't have kids, but do live with and help care for grandparents (and have ended up having family members in the hospital within a week or so before my exam for most of them!).

I also believe firmly that your chosen review material makes a BIG difference in how long your studying takes. I used Wiley, with no lectures. I think that saved me a lot of time. I've said elsewhere that I was at or below 50 hours of studying for most of the exams (I can't remember the exact figures right now), and I credit Wiley for that. So, not saying that people should do Wiley just to be quicker, but remember that your review material makes a BIG difference. If you have a review material with 100 hours of lectures (seems like one advertises that?), then if you watched lectures for 20 hours a week, it'd take 5 weeks just to see them all once…let alone doing practice problems, reading their book, reviewing notes, etc.

All that being said, though, with 5 weeks till AUD, if you make it your top priority in life, you can be prepared for it. 4 months for BEC was a long time to be honest. Most people seem to recommend about 6 weeks per exam so that you don't forget the start of the material before you do the end of the material, and that may be too quick for some people, but I think that trying to stay within 2 months is probably a good idea in general. Again, varies from person to person, but I'd say that's a fairly reasonable goal for most people.

[Anonymous]

Like the others have said, it varies from person to person. I've been working 32-40 hours a week (and sometimes OT) while studying, and took about 5-6 weeks of studying for each exam. I don't have kids, but do live with and help care for grandparents (and have ended up having family members in the hospital within a week or so before my exam for most of them!).

I also believe firmly that your chosen review material makes a BIG difference in how long your studying takes. I used Wiley, with no lectures. I think that saved me a lot of time. I've said elsewhere that I was at or below 50 hours of studying for most of the exams (I can't remember the exact figures right now), and I credit Wiley for that. So, not saying that people should do Wiley just to be quicker, but remember that your review material makes a BIG difference. If you have a review material with 100 hours of lectures (seems like one advertises that?), then if you watched lectures for 20 hours a week, it'd take 5 weeks just to see them all once…let alone doing practice problems, reading their book, reviewing notes, etc.

All that being said, though, with 5 weeks till AUD, if you make it your top priority in life, you can be prepared for it. 4 months for BEC was a long time to be honest. Most people seem to recommend about 6 weeks per exam so that you don't forget the start of the material before you do the end of the material, and that may be too quick for some people, but I think that trying to stay within 2 months is probably a good idea in general. Again, varies from person to person, but I'd say that's a fairly reasonable goal for most people.

[lleon]

Depends person to person and like Lilla said the # of hours spent studying is a better measure, as opposed to number of days or weeks. For example, I took 4 weeks to study for BEC, but actual study time measured by cpaexcel was about 28 hours, which I'm sure is the amount some people might do in a single week and others might even do less than that overall.

I'm coming up on FAR, and took 8 weeks, but again actual time I'm sitting here studying is approximating 100 hours. Just depends on what you got going on in life, how much time you'll actively study and how well you retain information. My advice is to be honest with yourself in terms of test-taking skills, retaining info and how much time you will allocate, and plan accordingly. For me, I acknowledged that I tend to slack a bit, text, and read an article after every 30-45 minutes of studying or so, but I also usually retain info well so I gave myself some extra days to accommodate that. Someone else might be able to buckle down and knockout lessons without a break, so they might schedule less time since they know they'll be able to finish up quicker.

Just assess yourself, have a carefully crafted plan, and stay dedicated.

Licensed in Arizona

[lleon]

Depends person to person and like Lilla said the # of hours spent studying is a better measure, as opposed to number of days or weeks. For example, I took 4 weeks to study for BEC, but actual study time measured by cpaexcel was about 28 hours, which I'm sure is the amount some people might do in a single week and others might even do less than that overall.

I'm coming up on FAR, and took 8 weeks, but again actual time I'm sitting here studying is approximating 100 hours. Just depends on what you got going on in life, how much time you'll actively study and how well you retain information. My advice is to be honest with yourself in terms of test-taking skills, retaining info and how much time you will allocate, and plan accordingly. For me, I acknowledged that I tend to slack a bit, text, and read an article after every 30-45 minutes of studying or so, but I also usually retain info well so I gave myself some extra days to accommodate that. Someone else might be able to buckle down and knockout lessons without a break, so they might schedule less time since they know they'll be able to finish up quicker.

Just assess yourself, have a carefully crafted plan, and stay dedicated.

Licensed in Arizona

[Anonymous]

hey illeon, how far have gone in cpaexcel? im on the 2nd book and kinda skipped around a bit, then jumped to leases, govt and not for profit since apparently those are commonly tested topics. i still have scheduled my test for nov 30 but was thinking about pushing it back a week after the testing window was extended to dec 6

[Anonymous]

hey illeon, how far have gone in cpaexcel? im on the 2nd book and kinda skipped around a bit, then jumped to leases, govt and not for profit since apparently those are commonly tested topics. i still have scheduled my test for nov 30 but was thinking about pushing it back a week after the testing window was extended to dec 6

[lleon]

@cpa I'm on Gov't accounting which is the last topic on the online exam planner. Hoping to finish that up by tomorrow night hopefully, then final review up until exam day on Saturday. How much time are you able to study per week? Not to delve too much into your personal situation, but you've spent a long time studying for FAR, I'm wondering if I or anyone could suggest any changes to help that.

Licensed in Arizona

[lleon]

@cpa I'm on Gov't accounting which is the last topic on the online exam planner. Hoping to finish that up by tomorrow night hopefully, then final review up until exam day on Saturday. How much time are you able to study per week? Not to delve too much into your personal situation, but you've spent a long time studying for FAR, I'm wondering if I or anyone could suggest any changes to help that.

Licensed in Arizona

[Anonymous]

i mainly study on the weekends and on my days off. maybe a few hours after work. im having a hard time really grasping the material tho, since i havent used much of it at my current job and its been a few years since i took them in school. im also like you where i can become easily distracted by things lol

[Author]

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