So really…how much time are you studying a week?!

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #168707
    Tiff4
    Participant

    Since you all are the only people I know studying, how much are you really studying. Not what you “tell people” but what you do in reality, lol *raises hand of being guilty of this, which explains my scores below*. I will start. I wake up at 4:30am and study to 6:00am-that’s my hour and a half and I study about a half-hour to a hour before bed (which is a struggle being a single mom of 3). On the weekends I do well, I study 8 hours -4 hours Saturday & 4 hours Sunday. So I average about 18-19 hours per week. With that being said, are my hours comparable to yours?

    BEC 61
    AUD 66,70
    REG 67,68,67,68
    FAR TBD
    Using CPA Excel and Wiley Test Bank

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #336160
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    When I am in the groove of full-time studying here's my schedule:

    -1 hour before work

    -40 minutes at lunch

    -2 to 3 hours after work

    -8 to 10 hours average on the weekend

    That's it. So far so good.

    #336161
    NYCpat
    Member

    In order to keep some sanity, I like the 7 week approach to study planning…2 hours a day for 3 days/week, then another 4 hours each on Saturday and Sunday gets me to 14 hrs/wk. That's pushing 100 hours total.

    Add in some cramming in the last week, and I have to believe that's enough study time if I did so effectively.

    I'm probably stretching out more than necessary, but I'd rather not feel like I have to study EVERY night for 4-5 hours for 5 weeks and have zero life.

    BEC - 82
    AUD - 65; retake Feb 2013
    FAR - April 2013
    REG - July 2013?

    #336162
    nfs480
    Member

    I'm doing about 30 hours/week at a minimum, sometimes more. Haven't taken any parts yet so I don't know if it'll pay off or not. I sure don't feel ready still.

    FAR 93
    AUD 89
    REG 81
    BEC 87
    Ethics 100

    Becker 2012 Self-Study

    #336163
    mgoloubenko
    Member

    For FAR my first round through all the HW and lectures lead me to about 120 hours, and now that I'm in my final review I'm doing about 5 hours a day which should bring me to a total of 220 hours by April 9th (test day).

    FAR 4/9/12- PASSED
    BEC 7/13/12- PASSED
    AUD 8/16/12- Ughhh 71, Rematch: 90!!!
    REG-12/6/12 PASSED

    USC MAcc- Fight on!

    They say good things come to those who wait, but only those things that are left by those who hustle.

    #336164
    JakeO
    Member

    Now that exam day is approaching I have really dedicated myself to studying. Up until now I have just reviewed all of the tests to get an idea of the information. I have a great setup at work where I get an hour to study for the test, and when I combine this with my breaks and lunch times I can easily get 2 hours in while at work…(not to mention the unwritten rule that you study when you have no work to do…and we wait a lot for documentation requests woot woot).

    So my goal is to study for 3 hours a day for 4 weeks (adding another 3 weeks for FAR). I try to follow the NINJA study guide as best as I can so when I am going through and just watching videos and taking notes then I can easily get almost 6 hours a day in.

    AUD-Failed (Waiting for Score)
    BEC-PASSED (First try)
    REG-Failed (Retake February 2013)
    FAR-Failed (Retake January 2013)

    #336165
    Keely
    Member

    I study on avg. 30 hours per week (no work or kids here!). I'm attempting BEC and I study one section per week + two review weeks because it takes that long to watch the lecture, do the MCQs, reread and take notes, do the MCQs again, and again and again and again! So 240 hours-ish. It's probably overkill to most people but I want to be as prepared as humanly possible.

    BEC: (4/2012) 88
    AUD: (5/2012) 91
    REG: (8/2012) 82
    FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

    VA CPA #42010

    #336166
    Minimorty
    Participant

    @keely – Great plan! Much better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Good luck!

    #336167
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    For me it was

    1 hour of listening to lectures everyday when I drove or when I took the train

    1 to 2 hours studying after work (M-F)

    4-6 hours studying on Saturday

    2-4 hours studying on Sunday

    I took about 6 months to study REG which may explain my score, 6 months for BEC (had to retake exam), 3 months for audit, and 3 months for FAR.

    The only exam where I felt I was really ready for was audit. For BEC, the second time I took it, I felt like I was prepared while I was in the exam. REG I felt like I was somewhat ready, and FAR I thought I failed..

    #336168
    SportsNerd
    Member

    It depends on if I am in my routine. When I am not, I get lazy and do not study like I should. But now that I am in my routine, I study for 3-5 hrs a night after work then 8 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday. So anywhere from 30-40 hours per week.

    Bec - 66, 71
    Aud - 73

    Going to enjoy some of the summer and retake both in August since my clock hasn't started ticking yet.

    #336169
    Texas27
    Member

    Anywhere from 6-8 hours per day since studying is my full time job and 8-10 hours per day the last week before the test.

    BEC - Feb 2012: 80
    AUD - Feb 2012: 84
    FAR - Apr 2012: 78
    REG - May 2012: 90

    Thanks Becker!

    #336170
    mgoloubenko
    Member

    @Texas27, for how many weeks?

    FAR 4/9/12- PASSED
    BEC 7/13/12- PASSED
    AUD 8/16/12- Ughhh 71, Rematch: 90!!!
    REG-12/6/12 PASSED

    USC MAcc- Fight on!

    They say good things come to those who wait, but only those things that are left by those who hustle.

    #336171
    LittleMoe
    Member

    Minimum 17 hours a week. 1 hour at lunch M-F, 2-3 hours per night and 4 hours on Saturday with Sundays off. Work full time but no kids so it hasn't been that hard to carve out the time. I am taking 7 weeks for AUD (scheduled 4/12) and FAR, 8 weeks for REG and 5 weeks for BEC. We will see how it shakes out!

    AUD 4/12/12 79
    FAR 5/29/12 76
    REG 8/2/12 82
    BEC 8/30/12 72 Retake 10/18/12 76!!! DONE!!!!
    ExamMatrix, Wiley Books, NINJA notes and audio
    LICENSED ALABAMA CPA 11/30/12

    #336172
    HumanPiranha
    Member

    IMO, it does not matter how many hours per week you are studying, what matters most is how many total hours you are workin it. It took me from mid july to mid november to study for FAR, but i ended up with 150 hours or whatever. so if you can get 150 hours in 4 or 5 weeks, awesome. but hours per week isnt as important as total hours spent.

    #336173
    Minimorty
    Participant

    And total hours spent isnt as important as quality hours spent. Just sayin'.

    #336174
    SoCalCPA
    Member

    100% agree with Minimorty. Some of my friends that are still in college spend “all” of their time over the weekends studying and such. But in reality, they surf the web or talk to others half of their time, not very efficient…

    Thank god busy season is almost over!

    B - (4/2012)
    A - (5/2012)
    R - (1/2012) Done!
    F - (10/2011) Done!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
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