[Anonymous]

I am 29 years old and about to start my year-long journey of studying for the CPA. I have never been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or any type of learning disorder. Just never mentioned it to anyone, but I am pretty sure I have something, and have had it since I was a child.

In terms of education, I have scraped by at everything. And in the rare glimpses of mental clarity, I have scored very very high, but then it very quickly goes back to a scrambled tv channel, with the picture coming in clear or partially clear every once in a while. And when I say clarity, I don’t mean me understanding certain material and struggling at other material. It is this way with everything. I just have the worst time at focusing. I am a very calm person physically. Too calm and boring actually, but my brain is the opposite. It is always racing around. If I meet someone and they tell me their name, I instantly forget it. My brain just doesn’t process it. When I read just a single sentence in a book, I have to read it over 3-5 times, just for it to partially make sense, and then majority of the time it is all forgotten once I start the next sentence. So, I am absolutely the worst at studying because I struggle and grasping concepts because of my brain’s inability to solely focus on one thing. Even when I have no distractions around me, my brain distracts itself. It is like there is two people in there, one trying to focus and study and the other jumping around and wanting to play.

So, I am terrified about the CPA exam because of this. I know deep down inside, I have the ability to pass the exam, but I can rarely awaken that person deep down inside. It is not a motivation thing either. That is not an issue. I just have some type of learning disability. Anybody similar?

[quittingcpa2013]

Alright look.. here's what you should do:

1. Watch the movie Limitless
2. Go and tell a doctor exactly what you wrote on your original post and get a prescription.

[June2016]

I have the same exact issue, it got so frustrating I thought maybe I should get a diagnosis but then I realized if I read a book I enjoy or do some other type of tedious activity I am able to get through it without ADDing, for some reason it is only when it comes to studying for accounting even though I can't say that I hate accounting, I actually don't mind it. Maybe it's the pressure we put on ourselves when we are studying in college or the cpa that keeps us from focusing.

So what has helped me a lot, I don't know if any of you with this problem are coffee drinkers… But I quit all caffeine which was extremely hard in the beginning. But after all those withdrawals go away (which can take some time) I felt like I was able to focus much better. I think coffee is not for everyone, and only after quitting did I realize what a difference it is. I still have some issues focusing but I think for some people the ADD thing is an issue of discipline and practice will make it better.

Another thing, before you start studying take some time to figure out how you study best.. Try different ways and see what helps you remember best or what keeps you focused.

[Anonymous]

@Positivethoughts

Thanks! Ya, I am a HUGE coffee drinker. I drink it at all times of the day. Morning, afternoon and night. I can probably try quitting, but I feel coffee would be a benefit while putting in the long study hours. But, I will consider it.

@quittingcpa2013

LOL ok, ya now you are definitely trolling.

Limitless is a good movie btw 🙂

[golfball7773]

I have the same issue. My wife brought it up to me in Mexico that I may have ADHD. Before going on meds, I was constantly checking CNN, random websites, etc every 3 minutes at work. When I was studying, I would check facebook or something similar after every MCQ. I did not get good grades in college despite how hard I tried. I would be in the library until midnight every night and still squeak out a C on an exam.

Now I can focus on a set of 30 and control my urge to go to another website. At work, my productivity jumped to where I concentrate for 20 minutes before taking a mental break.

Here is how it worked for me:

1. Went to primary doc – referred to psychological services

2. psychological services – the guy was a crack

3. Found my own shrink since my insurance won't start paying until after the deductible. Wife and I were willing to pay the 189.00 an hour until deductible was met. Plus EAP paid for 2 sessions.

4. 3 – 1 hour sessions later she concluded her results based on testing from Barkley. Scored in the 99th percentile. My neurologist was damn sure that the results were conclusive.

5. Writes 16 page report to my neurologist.

6. Neurologist starts me on 18 mg concerta er. 2 weeks later we bump it up to 2 18mg a day. I go to get a refill and insurance won't pay. Concerta has a very expensive cash price. Now I am on 54mg a day.

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Anonymous]

As has been mentioned, it's all figuring out how you learn best. Like I said, your experiences sound similar to mine, so here's how I got through.

First off, I could never complete the marathon study sessions that some people do. How anyone could read this stuff for 4 hours straight is beyond me. Definitely break it up into digestible chunks, focus on the big picture and learning the concept, not studying for 4 hours just for the sake of studying for 4 hours. But make sure you get the big picture and get through all the material, typically when people fail it's because they'll go into the test saying “welp, I didn't study Government accounting, but I feel great about the rest of stuff.” The test isn't graded is if you knew 80% of the material, it's more like you knew a little bit about everything and could go in depth as needed.

I found Jeff's ninja audio worked great during my commutes. I have a 20-30 minute drive to work one way, so putting those on a USB drive and playing it through my car's audio gave me ~1 extra hour of study time every day. If I remember correctly, Jeff's audio runs between 2-4.5 hours per section and it hits all the high points you need to know. I listened to this probably a minimum of 10 times over the course of the weeks of studying, so the point I knew what he was going to say.

Next, I did Becker and I discovered they provide outlines for every chapter you can print out. These outlines are basically condensed notes of almost everything you need out of the chapter. I watched the becker lectures once, taking notes of any missing info and found I could condense everything in a chapter down to 10 pages of notes or less. This created easily digestible study sections. I then read through Jeff's ninja notes, comparing them to mine and adding any more info you are missing.

My next step was drilling MCQs. I can fly through those and easily do 100 in an hour. Doing these really helped as you'll see straight copies of some questions on the actual exam. It also helped because I could do 20-30 questions in a 10 minute chunk, see a lot of info without killing myself with being bored.

I really think the biggest thing is you need to be yourself. Take others advice and find what works for you, but everyone is different. Some people tell you forget having a life, which I don't necessarily agree with, but again I could work through things really fast. It's all time management skills. I'm a gamer, I didn't stop playing video games but I did listen to Jeff's audio while I played them. If working out is your outlet, don't stop working out, but do listen to audio while you do it. If you go out with friends every Tuesday night, go out with friends on Tuesday night but make sure you make up the time elsewhere.

Focus on the concepts, not magic numbers of time put in. No one at the test is going to give you a punch card to make sure you spent 200 hours. I've known people who passed tests with 1 week of study time. Everyone is different, it might take person A 3 hours to master a concept while it takes someone else 30.

[golfball7773]

^boom – I haven't gave up family time or falling behind 2 of my favorite shows or spending time with my wife. I don't understand how people think they have to give up their life. Plus doing some fun things makes you focus better when you are studying

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the input everyone. A lot of great advice.

[golfball7773]

Did you come to a conclusion/hypothesis?

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Martin]

This exam makes you feel like you have a learning disability. After many months of studying, and scoring a 72 or 74, anyone can feel as dumb as a rock. Specially if you compare yourself with individuals who passed all 4 parts in 4 months. I dont think someone with a Bachelors in Accounting can have a learning disability, I just think there are some individuals who can focus a lot better than others and they are also smarter. We were not all created equal. I can speak 3 languages fluently,but it took me 6 months just to pass FAR.

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[golfball7773]

To be honest – my depression and anxiety has dropped significantly since getting the right diagnose. But there is the flipside of people who fake it.

It has made a huge difference in my life.

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[June2016]

For those that were tested for ADD I am curious how do they do the testing? I am skeptical of ADD diagnosis because I don't get how they come to the conclusion, anyone can claim to have hard time focusing so how do they actually know who really needs the meds.

As someone else stated some people are smarter than others so studying comes easier. And I believe the same applies to focusing some people are just better naturally at focusing so people like us have to work a little harder at it.

I think meds should be a last resort thing after you've tried everything else. For me I don't like the idea that once you start the pills they eventually become ineffective and have to keep increasing dosage. If you got through grade school, high school, and college I think something like a learning disability or add would've gotten caught much earlier.

Really try to give up coffee or at least cut down on it. I was a very heavy coffee drinker.. Had a cup next to me all day. When I started considering getting a diagnosis from dr I first decided to google natural ways to help ADD and one of the suggestions was to cut out caffeine and it states that people with ADD shouldn't be drinking caffeine anyway. I really wish I discovered this while I was in college… Maybe my gpa would've been higher. I always thought my last minute studying due to focus issues got me pretty good grades compared to students who studied for long time and

Defintely give it a try it has helped my with studying for cpa a lot. Before stopping coffee I was rereading the same page for hours or making myself take extensive notes just so that I focus more.

[June2016]

For those that were tested for ADD I am curious how do they do the testing? I am skeptical of ADD diagnosis because I don't get how they come to the conclusion, anyone can claim to have hard time focusing so how do they actually know who really needs the meds.

As someone else stated some people are smarter than others so studying comes easier. And I believe the same applies to focusing some people are just better naturally at focusing so people like us have to work a little harder at it.

I think meds should be a last resort thing after you've tried everything else. For me I don't like the idea that once you start the pills they eventually become ineffective and have to keep increasing dosage. If you got through grade school, high school, and college I think something like a learning disability or add would've gotten caught much earlier.

Really try to give up coffee or at least cut down on it. I was a very heavy coffee drinker.. Had a cup next to me all day. When I started considering getting a diagnosis from dr I first decided to google natural ways to help ADD and one of the suggestions was to cut out caffeine and it stated that people with ADD shouldn't be drinking caffeine anyway. I really wish I discovered this while I was in college, for all the last minute studying and papers I did in college I always thought I did not bad compared to other students who took a long time to study.. Maybe my gpa would've been higher without the coffee.

Maybe it is just me but it definitely helped me with studying for cpa a lot. Before stopping I was rereading the same page for hours or making myself take extensive notes just so that I focus more.

[Missy]

The testing is a lot (hundreds) of behavioral questions. You are correct that its a fairly subjective thing and its entirely possible that someone could BS their way through all the questions to get the meds. Frankly its not necessary to go that far, if someone WANTS to get their hands on the meds they're pretty easy to find even without a prescription. Kids sell them like skittles on college campuses.

As I mentioned above, the inability to do one thing at a time was very negatively affecting me emotionally and physically. I was 41 years old and had no need or desire to get better grades, and was on my last section of the exams before I was diagnosed so clearly even WITH ADD, its possible to pass the exams. And you are correct that there are plenty of other coping mechanisms such as avoiding caffeine, white noise in the background, dietary changes, etc. Meds aren't always necessary and I certainly wasn't looking for some quick fix to up my scores on the exams. Besides the pills themselves are not magical, they may make you more alert and focused but to pass the exams you STILL very much need to put in the work.The only reason I stopped taking them is because they upped my blood pressure which is worse than the ADD for me.

But I would hesitate to necessarily dismiss those who do need the medication like myself. I think everyone here is great don't get me wrong, but think my doctors are in a better position to make that decision than anyone here ever will be. I don't want my neurologist doing my taxes, nor a CPA giving medical advice 🙂

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

@allaboutstout wow. You described everything i have been feeling especially since i have started studying. I used to give myself excuse that maybe the material is so dry thats why i can't focus. I wake up early to study but i would do everything but study. It literally takes me 3 hours just to work on 10 MCQ. After every MCQ, i feel like i need to check my phone, some website and waste more time than i actually put in to study. I literally start studying last min and realize i don't have enough time to cover all material which makes me not pass the exams. Then i get frustrated and not motivated to even study AND yes i think about million things beside focusing on the material. I don't even drink coffee. 🙁

So frustrating!

[Missy]

and if you're having a hard time studying, whether or not there is an underlying issue, try the Pomodoro method. It is a lifesaver!

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Author]

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