[Anonymous]

I want to get an idea from all those who have passed any of the exams as to how many hours a week they put in and how many weeks did they study for each section.

I am studying for Audit right now and spending close to 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. And I am planning to sit for the exam after 6 weeks. I don’t think I can take the exam any sooner or without studying 8 hours a day. Of course there are days when its abt 5-6 hours but generally its 8.

[Anonymous]

I've put in less time than most for my two exams.

Around 90 in 5 weeks for FAR and 60 in 3 weeks for audit.

I'm a fresh graduate and almost all the material I've seen was covered in at least one of my classes.

[Anonymous]

I've put in less time than most for my two exams.

Around 90 in 5 weeks for FAR and 60 in 3 weeks for audit.

I'm a fresh graduate and almost all the material I've seen was covered in at least one of my classes.

[impska]

I studied around 100 hours for REG and passed wih a 94. It felt like overkill. I also did my best studying in the 3 days before the exam.

I'm trying to pare it down for the others. My advice is to schedule it ASAP as soon as you feel 75-80% ready. The remaining 20% comes easier in those last couple of days when you've got the fire under your butt.

It's no big deal if you over study though. Your first exam is a learning process that will guide you on the next three.

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[impska]

I studied around 100 hours for REG and passed wih a 94. It felt like overkill. I also did my best studying in the 3 days before the exam.

I'm trying to pare it down for the others. My advice is to schedule it ASAP as soon as you feel 75-80% ready. The remaining 20% comes easier in those last couple of days when you've got the fire under your butt.

It's no big deal if you over study though. Your first exam is a learning process that will guide you on the next three.

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[gt5717b]

I have no idea how many hours I studied per section because I wasn't concerned with reaching some arbitrary time invested. However, here are the time frames that I gave myself to learn the material for each section.

REG – 8 weeks

FAR – 8 weeks

AUD (1st time) – 4 weeks

AUD (2nd time) – 5 weeks

BEC – 6 weeks

REG - 89
FAR - 84
AUD - 73, 86
BEC - 89

GA Licensed CPA

[gt5717b]

I have no idea how many hours I studied per section because I wasn't concerned with reaching some arbitrary time invested. However, here are the time frames that I gave myself to learn the material for each section.

REG – 8 weeks

FAR – 8 weeks

AUD (1st time) – 4 weeks

AUD (2nd time) – 5 weeks

BEC – 6 weeks

REG - 89
FAR - 84
AUD - 73, 86
BEC - 89

GA Licensed CPA

[Anonymous]

@ayafzal78 – For BEC, I studied 4-5 days/week. I studied until the answers looked the same or I spaced out, which took about 2 hours. Saturdays, I would leave my home, go do something, and then return to studying. I studied during downtime at work also.

I studied for a little over 7 weeks. I spent more time on Econ, IT, and Corporate Governance, because these were harder for me to grasp/remember. Econ took the longest because it was more like learning than reviewing; I never got a good understand of Econ while I was in school.

I'm giving myself 4-5 weeks to study for AUD because the material is less random than BEC topics.

[Anonymous]

@ayafzal78 – For BEC, I studied 4-5 days/week. I studied until the answers looked the same or I spaced out, which took about 2 hours. Saturdays, I would leave my home, go do something, and then return to studying. I studied during downtime at work also.

I studied for a little over 7 weeks. I spent more time on Econ, IT, and Corporate Governance, because these were harder for me to grasp/remember. Econ took the longest because it was more like learning than reviewing; I never got a good understand of Econ while I was in school.

I'm giving myself 4-5 weeks to study for AUD because the material is less random than BEC topics.

[Kenada]

I second the person that said about the amount of hours invested as being a bench mark if I am studying well or not.

I used what % I was scoring after each chapter I finished reviewing. My aim was to get to at least 70% and then move on to next chapter. Once I am done with all the chapters – I start my review again and this time I need to score over 80% to feel confident that I have grasped the material / concepts or do I need to go back and dig deeper.

For BEC – I had 6 weeks (4 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For AUD – I had 7 weeks (5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For REG – I had 7 weeks (5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For FAR – I have 9 weeks (6.5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2.5 weeks of just review)

I used Rogers Study planner to set out my mission before each exam and then followed it. I would give a few days here and there as empty so it was a buffer. Life does happen so needed to ensure I had a manageable study plan.

CA Candidate. 05/27/2014 ~ 786/110
I am done!!

[Kenada]

I second the person that said about the amount of hours invested as being a bench mark if I am studying well or not.

I used what % I was scoring after each chapter I finished reviewing. My aim was to get to at least 70% and then move on to next chapter. Once I am done with all the chapters – I start my review again and this time I need to score over 80% to feel confident that I have grasped the material / concepts or do I need to go back and dig deeper.

For BEC – I had 6 weeks (4 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For AUD – I had 7 weeks (5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For REG – I had 7 weeks (5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2 weeks of just review)

For FAR – I have 9 weeks (6.5 weeks to do the CPA lecture and homework questions and 2.5 weeks of just review)

I used Rogers Study planner to set out my mission before each exam and then followed it. I would give a few days here and there as empty so it was a buffer. Life does happen so needed to ensure I had a manageable study plan.

CA Candidate. 05/27/2014 ~ 786/110
I am done!!

[sukhenkoy]

FAR: Started June 2 or so and took the exam July 15 or so. I put in about 230 hours altogether for FAR. Passed with an 89. I was studying full-time on average about 9 hours a day.

REG: Started around July 20th and took the exam August 16 or so. Put in about 180 hours or so. Passed with an 85. I was studying full-time on average about 9 hours a day.

AUD: Forgot when I started, but I was doing about 20-25 hours a week on average. I probably put in around 120 hours altogether. I was studying part-time because I was working full-time. Passed with 88.

BEC: Also forgot when I started, but I was doing about 20-25 hours a week on average. Probably put in around 120 hours altogether. Studied part-time. Passed with 92.

I realize that I probably put in more hours than is recommended, but I just wanted to be sure that I passed. Luckily, it worked out for me.

I used Yaeger.

[sukhenkoy]

FAR: Started June 2 or so and took the exam July 15 or so. I put in about 230 hours altogether for FAR. Passed with an 89. I was studying full-time on average about 9 hours a day.

REG: Started around July 20th and took the exam August 16 or so. Put in about 180 hours or so. Passed with an 85. I was studying full-time on average about 9 hours a day.

AUD: Forgot when I started, but I was doing about 20-25 hours a week on average. I probably put in around 120 hours altogether. I was studying part-time because I was working full-time. Passed with 88.

BEC: Also forgot when I started, but I was doing about 20-25 hours a week on average. Probably put in around 120 hours altogether. Studied part-time. Passed with 92.

I realize that I probably put in more hours than is recommended, but I just wanted to be sure that I passed. Luckily, it worked out for me.

I used Yaeger.

[tomq04]

Pass of Reg: 120 hours

Fail of FAR: ~80 hours

Fail of AUD: ~80 hours

Pass of Aud: ~80 hours

so far on FAR, test in 3 more weeks: ~80 hours

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[tomq04]

Pass of Reg: 120 hours

Fail of FAR: ~80 hours

Fail of AUD: ~80 hours

Pass of Aud: ~80 hours

so far on FAR, test in 3 more weeks: ~80 hours

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[Anonymous]

For BEC it took me 17 days to watch some of the lectures (I stopped about 1/3 of the way through because I didn't feel they were all that valuable in my case), read the material, and take notes on the material. I then spent the last 2 days going through the NINJA Notes and doing as many MCQs in the WTB as I could. I added my hours up when I was done and I actually spent less time than I had thought, probably around 40 hours or so in total. I don't plan on spending that little time on the other sections as I took BEC at a very bad time of year in my excitement to get started and spent most evenings at my office for tax season duties rather than studying, but I did pass on the first try and without having seen much of the material before except for the cost accounting material, so I'm happy with the 75 I got.

[Author]

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