[rwclark2]

I will finish my first year of law school this May, and then I will be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. I would very much like to pass the exam, but my school workload makes it very difficult to pass it during the school year. I have talked to some friends who are taking the exam right now (hey Taylor!), and they assure me it’s realistic to pass 3 sections during the summer, and the last one in early January during Winter Break if I don’t have any other obligations besides studying for the exam.

I thought I would ask around and see what other people are saying. What do you guys think?

[Anonymous]

You can do that for sure. Since you say you have no obligations it can happen, no doubt. You should take your first section the end of may if possible. I would try BEC if I were you or whatever area you feel you are strong in. Take your next in the first week of July and your third the end of august. If you are a big smarty pants you may could pull off all four but you would have no life, be crazy and possibly lose all of your hair.

[Marivy22]

You can do it!!!

I have seen people in this forum passing all parts in just one window.

Done 😉
Class of 2012!!!!
Lots of prayers and hard work....

[heatmiser]

The hardest part of studying for the exam was finding time to study for me. With a full-time job with month-end responsibilities, I just couldn't bring myself to study after a 12 hour work day.

That said, for those who are in job limbo (or not working full-time), it is definitely possible to pass all 4 parts within window or 2 if you study your ___ off. Personally, that would drive me insane, but people do it all the time. I passed the exam in essentially 2 windows (i took the summer window off because I was burned out from studying FAR and AUD).

Like I always say, if I can pass this exam, anyone who studys hard can. FWIW – i used Becker self-study.

2011 CPA Exam Graduate

[katiekanton]

It's absolutely possible, and not in a “sure you can give it a try, and you'll probably fail, but 1 in 35 manage to make it work” sort of way. It's not all that much to ask if you're not working and have no kids. I'd schedule FAR end of May if you can get a little studying in before school ends, if not, you could schedule it for July 1 and have extra time, but take it first because there's FAR stuff on the other sections. Then do AUD and BEC or REG and BEC at the end of July and August, and save one of the big ones for Jan 1 if you think you'll be able to study for one section while you go to school. Or if you're really committed and disciplined about studying, do AUD and REG and save BEC for January because you'll be in school and it's the “smallest” though by no means the “easiest” (for the record, I don't think there IS an “easiest”).

It's actually completely possible to do all four over summer break. One end of May, one beginning of July, one end of July, one end of August. A month for each. If you're gonna do this, though, utilize this forum. There is no downplaying the value of tips and tricks I have gotten here. Start with the “rules for the CPA exam” thread.

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/the-rules-of-the-cpa-exam#post-145520

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[See Pee A]

You can definitely finish all of it over the summer. If you have no other obligations, there is nothing holding you back. Take a big one in May (FAR or REG). Then, in the beginning of July, take the other (FAR or REG). Then take another one in late July/early August and the last one at the end of August. This gives you approximately 4-5 weeks per section… more than enough time if you can put in 4+ hours/day (depending on how fresh the accounting is in your head). Trust me, once you get in the study groove you can keep hammering this stuff out.

Don't go too fast, but don't go to slow either. A lot of this exam material lives in your short term memory so time is your enemy. Studying for 7 weeks may not be as good as studying for 3 1/2 weeks if you study hard for 3 1/2 weeks rather than spreading it out over 7. Worked for me, may not necessarily work for you, but judging by the fact that you are a law student you should be able to handle lots of information. Good luck!

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[Anonymous]

@ See Pee A…had not read you in a while…….waz up?????????????

[rwclark2]

Thanks for the motivation guys. It's gonna be one rough summer, but hopefully it'll be worth it.

[valueofnothing]

absolutely. i did it (and so did many of my coworkers) in summer + thanksgiving (or even just the summer)

REG - 81
BEC - 88
AUD - 85
FAR - 81

[bighitter56]

This is definitely possible. Apply the same amount of time that law school demands to studying and you will be fine.

BEC- 86
AUD- 96
REG- 83
FAR- soon hopefully

Using Wiley CPA Review Books and 2012 Wiley Online Test Bank
MBA in Finance & Strategy

[Anonymous]

Just be dedicated…Its definitely possible. I sat for two sections in November, and 2 sections in February and passed all 4 while working full time. I took a grand total of 5 days off of work I believe. Weekends were heavily utilized as I studied for 14 hours each weekend day.

[Anonymous]

Yea, it's definitely plausible.

I passed two sections in one month.

You just have to be willing to put the time in..be willing to sacrifice something for extra studying time [in my case, it was sleep]

[Author]

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