[Double A]

I’ve followed this forum for quite some time and enjoy seeing the opinions of the members. I wanted to hear some thoughts on when you should start studying.

A little about me: Married with 2 kids (as of April), Graduating this May with a Bachelors in Accounting, starting at a CPA firm in June, plan to sit for the CPA exam in the fall ’14 or spring ’15 at the latest.

I’ve read a lot of journeys about how you put your life on hold and have no time for anyone. Most of them say you set aside time for studying and hit a goal of X hours per week in X amount of weeks. Does anyone think its a good idea to buy these materials and start going over them gradually? Or will that be a waste of time and money?

[Anonymous]

I would strongly suggest you start early if you have a busy time, and implement a cram system that allows you to review your material often and in certain period of time (NINJA notes for example). Buy a calendar and plan what section you want to take and when (not a plan but a fact, for you to push yourself to do it!), write down weeks of review during your studies, and give a good time to cram everything (especially for FAR).

I think the most important: you must take a decision, send your papers, book in prometric and start!

Good luck

[Anonymous]

I would strongly suggest you start early if you have a busy time, and implement a cram system that allows you to review your material often and in certain period of time (NINJA notes for example). Buy a calendar and plan what section you want to take and when (not a plan but a fact, for you to push yourself to do it!), write down weeks of review during your studies, and give a good time to cram everything (especially for FAR).

I think the most important: you must take a decision, send your papers, book in prometric and start!

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Don't buy them until you are ready to commit to xx days, whatever that magic number is for you. No one can tell you how much time you have to study nor what is normal for each section. Some study for FAR in 100 hours but for me it was over 150 hours. In my opinion, figure out how much time you will have to study then pick a date, apply and then buy 1 section of a review course. Too many people do what I did and buy a whole course then wish they hadn't. Plus, what happens when baby #2 gets here and you have almost no time. Not to mention the learning curve at your new job.

I think if you drag it out, you'll be stressed for a longer period of time. Think of the worst class in college and imagine taking it for a year instead of 16 weeks. There is so much to learn that if you stretch out your study time, you'll forget a lot of it. 2-3 months is typical study time if you work. If you can swing it, take 1 or 2 this fall if you will be in tax because of busy season. A lot of new grads aim for 1 in the July/August range; then 1 or two for October/November testing cycle.

Just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy them until you are ready to commit to xx days, whatever that magic number is for you. No one can tell you how much time you have to study nor what is normal for each section. Some study for FAR in 100 hours but for me it was over 150 hours. In my opinion, figure out how much time you will have to study then pick a date, apply and then buy 1 section of a review course. Too many people do what I did and buy a whole course then wish they hadn't. Plus, what happens when baby #2 gets here and you have almost no time. Not to mention the learning curve at your new job.

I think if you drag it out, you'll be stressed for a longer period of time. Think of the worst class in college and imagine taking it for a year instead of 16 weeks. There is so much to learn that if you stretch out your study time, you'll forget a lot of it. 2-3 months is typical study time if you work. If you can swing it, take 1 or 2 this fall if you will be in tax because of busy season. A lot of new grads aim for 1 in the July/August range; then 1 or two for October/November testing cycle.

Just my 2 cents.

[Study Monk]

I see no harm in buying a used Becker/Wiley book on ebay for one of the sections to look over. You could also start with the section that will help you with the job your going to start. For example if your going to be an auditor buy a used audit becker text book. DO NOT BUY MATERIAL FOR ALL SECTIONS. Good luck!

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

I see no harm in buying a used Becker/Wiley book on ebay for one of the sections to look over. You could also start with the section that will help you with the job your going to start. For example if your going to be an auditor buy a used audit becker text book. DO NOT BUY MATERIAL FOR ALL SECTIONS. Good luck!

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[tough_kitty]

I agree with Study Monk – if you are not ready yet, just get a cheaper FAR textbook and start browsing it for now….

Do some research and invest in something more serious when you are ready to take all 4 parts. You will need a study plan! Make it realistic. Account for the holidays. Unfortunately, from what I observed on this forum, fall/spring are the worst testing windows – due to winter, people getting sick, and all the holidays you can think of!

I used Roger CPA Review which was worth every penny! Total study time for all 4 parts – around 450 hrs.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

I agree with Study Monk – if you are not ready yet, just get a cheaper FAR textbook and start browsing it for now….

Do some research and invest in something more serious when you are ready to take all 4 parts. You will need a study plan! Make it realistic. Account for the holidays. Unfortunately, from what I observed on this forum, fall/spring are the worst testing windows – due to winter, people getting sick, and all the holidays you can think of!

I used Roger CPA Review which was worth every penny! Total study time for all 4 parts – around 450 hrs.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[I Got This]

Original Poster.

If you're thinking about taking the test in Fall 14 and want to glance over some material, then there should be some free cpa stuff online, or you can even go to your public library and rent older versions.

I wouldn't buy anything until you are dedicated and have time to study. Personally I thought I would be done in 4 months after college. I was wrong. These exams are tricky and you need to spend quality to study. It ain't no college test/final exam.

We can do this. It is a difficult journey, but it'll feel wonderful once we are done. Then at that time, we'll reap in all the benefits.

[I Got This]

Original Poster.

If you're thinking about taking the test in Fall 14 and want to glance over some material, then there should be some free cpa stuff online, or you can even go to your public library and rent older versions.

I wouldn't buy anything until you are dedicated and have time to study. Personally I thought I would be done in 4 months after college. I was wrong. These exams are tricky and you need to spend quality to study. It ain't no college test/final exam.

We can do this. It is a difficult journey, but it'll feel wonderful once we are done. Then at that time, we'll reap in all the benefits.

[mla1169]

My opinion is when it comes to CPA material, you aren't likely to remember much of anything you saw more than 6 weeks ago. This is why a person who scores a 74 still needs to study from scratch for a retake. This is also why some people are able to study and pass in 4-6 weeks while others who study for several months rarely fare much better.

Yes it is a challenge to do this with a job and family but it's absolutely possibly and if you're lucky it's less than a year of your entire life.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

My opinion is when it comes to CPA material, you aren't likely to remember much of anything you saw more than 6 weeks ago. This is why a person who scores a 74 still needs to study from scratch for a retake. This is also why some people are able to study and pass in 4-6 weeks while others who study for several months rarely fare much better.

Yes it is a challenge to do this with a job and family but it's absolutely possibly and if you're lucky it's less than a year of your entire life.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[jlough]

I agree with the other posters— create a realistic study plan for yourself and wait until you are ready to implement it to buy the study materials. If you casually study a section from now until the fall, you will a) not remember anything and b) be completely sick of thinking about the CPA by the time you actually have to study hard core.

I would recommend that you use the next 7 months to enjoy graduation, have quality time over the spring/summer with your family, and get acclimated at your new job. Also, use this time to do research on what study materials will work best for you. In addition, I would take a calendar (or two) and map out a detailed study plan. For mine, I wrote notes of expected study speedbumps (busy days at work, holidays, birthdays, etc.) and worked my plan around them.

Once September hits, I'd buy your study materials and get to work- good luck 🙂

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[jlough]

I agree with the other posters— create a realistic study plan for yourself and wait until you are ready to implement it to buy the study materials. If you casually study a section from now until the fall, you will a) not remember anything and b) be completely sick of thinking about the CPA by the time you actually have to study hard core.

I would recommend that you use the next 7 months to enjoy graduation, have quality time over the spring/summer with your family, and get acclimated at your new job. Also, use this time to do research on what study materials will work best for you. In addition, I would take a calendar (or two) and map out a detailed study plan. For mine, I wrote notes of expected study speedbumps (busy days at work, holidays, birthdays, etc.) and worked my plan around them.

Once September hits, I'd buy your study materials and get to work- good luck 🙂

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[Kimboroni]

Great advice above. After passing this first one, I did the same thing– I printed a calendar and mapped out the testing windows, when the score releases would be (those are very distracting!), and took a serious look at my schedule (busy season, school term, holidays, anime convention prep, etc.) so I could figure out when I could have 6-8 relatively undistracted weeks to study for each test, with about 6 months extra built in for re-takes. Glad I'm not alone in my obsessive planning!

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Author]

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