[Nivek]

Hey everyone, I am just beginning my journey towards becoming a CPA and will begin studying for FAR in a few days. I thought it would be interesting to ask:

What is the one thing you wish you knew, or could go back and tell yourself when you first started studying?

Thought it might be a fun question for us newbies to read

I look forward to contributing to this forum,

Thanks

Officially done.

[jeff]

Bump for kicks and giggles.

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[Juliemiddle]

I wish someone had told me:

->Buy Ninja Audio

->Study every day, even if it's only for an hour.

->The sooner you gut up and just study right, the sooner you'll be done.

->If you can pass FAR, you can pass anything. Start with FAR

->You may or may not gain 10 lbs. in this process. Nothing to do with the Lucky Charms that you're shoveling into your mouth as you're trying to stay awake and learn about Non-Monetary exchanges. (this can't just be me)

->RTMFQ.

AUD: 84 - Oct. 2013
BEC: 83 - Feb. 2014
REG: 91 - May, 2014
FAR: 68, 96 - Oct. 2014...DONE

CPAExcel, Ninja Audio (all sections)

[Anonymous]

I wish someone had told me i would gain 20 lbs during this madness!

Don't get into a relationship

Told me about Another71 sooner

[June2016]

Figure out what methods of studying will work best for YOU for the CPA.

Everyone has their own way, and everyone is going to give you different advice on how you should do it, but you need to know what works best for you.. specifically for the CPA. What worked in college may not work for the CPA.

If I were to do it all over again I would take some time and go through the first lecture and figure out what will work best for me to effectively study.

In college I was used to studying by writing a lot of notes, but in the middle of my studying I realized this wasn't working for the CPA and had to change it (for some people this may still work).

I wish I saved some time by realizing this in the beginning. It helped a lot to read on this forum how other people studied and then to figure out what will work for me.

Someone on this forum recently suggested pomodoro technique for studying, and I downloaded the app and this has helped me focus a lot. Again, not sure if it works for everyone but I love it.

Another thing that I mentioned in a different thread, if I could restart I wouldn't tell a lot of people that I am studying for the CPA. As someone else posted there are people that are doubters of your success, or people that are waiting for you to fail… and for me that energy sometimes makes it harder to concentrate. Also, what I noticed on this forum and in person other CPA test takers are not negative like that, it's those people who don't understand what studying for CPA means that are so negative or have all those smart ass things to say.

Good luck with your CPA journey

[Anonymous]

1. Get a physical to make sure you are physically prepared for this exam.

2. Learn how to STAND!

3. Laugh at people who tell you that you aren't good enough.

4. Confidence is half the battle.

5. Get mad and stay mad. Sad won't get you anything, but mad will get your life back.

[Guti]

If you want to pass FAR, do as many simulations as you do MC questions.

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Anonymous]

1. Tell as few people as possible about your test dates, because they'll start asking about it constantly. You don't need more added stress in your life.

2. Don't get engaged and plan a wedding in the middle of your studying.

3. Don't go through the house buying process in the middle of your studying.

Can you tell I have no free time? lol

[Peach1024]

1. Eliminate distractions while studying (including this website, sometimes – sorry!). I have a bad habit of checking Facebook, Reddit, whatever and I downloaded an app that blocks those websites for me on my laptop I use to study.

2. Regardless of what some people may say, TAKE. BREAKS!! I would never study on vacation. I would never skip an important birthday or graduation party for an extra 2 hours of study time. I would never neglect exercising for 18 months straight. I would never neglect my spouse for an entire year and expect the relationship to survive. Your mind will be fresher and you'll be a better student, employee, spouse, friend, and person if you give yourself time to be happy in between study sessions. Studying will take up much more of your time but it shouldn't consume you.

3. Don't put too much stock in what people consider to be the most difficult or the easiest exam. Everyone says BEC is the easiest but so far, it was the most difficult for me to study for. I'm about to sit for FAR and while it's a lot of information, it has been infinitely easier for me to understand and retain than BEC stuff. So really, don't let anything here comfort you or scare you – it's entirely dependent on how you operate.

4. Visualize success and have a good attitude! I hate it when I read things like, “I'm going to sit for FAR next week and then immediately start studying for it again, because I already know I'll fail it.” Why even bother taking it, with that attitude? You think star athletes are the way they are because they thought, “I don't know, maybe I'll go out there and make a basket or two, but I'll probably just suck”? Umm, no. Chin up, believe in yourself, put in the practice time, tell yourself you got it, and go into your exam rested and *happy*. It makes a difference.

AUD - 88
REG - 76
BEC - 88
FAR - scheduled for 10/20/14

[ymmit]

I am the OP of this thread, [lost username in the process). Funny to see this here a year later with my last test in 3 weeks. What I would tell myself, is that its all about attitude and confidence. There is no try, only do.

Licensed CPA!

[Anonymous]

To build on what Peach said, I suggest downloading the add-on “StayFocusd” while on the computer. It allows you to block all websites (or ones on your “blacklist”) for a certain period of time. Comes in quite handy for me.

[How many letters do you need]

FAR: Understand the concepts as they apply to movement on the statements. Journal Entries will help you kill the sims. Sims will help you kill FAR.

BEC: Understand the concepts from a business perspective. Don't just memorize the formulas, understand what their purpose is. How they are used and why. They will ask the same question a ton of different ways, and more than likely some ways that you haven't seen before in your review materials. Understand the meaning and you can answer the questions no matter how they are asked; then you will kill BEC.

REG: Memorize memorize memorize but also understand the flow of the returns. Don't get too bogged down in the weeds. Just keep working those basis problems until it clicks. Once it clicks once you can put it away because it will be common sense questions you can answer in 3 seconds flat (I remember rooting for a ton of basis questions before I started). Conceptual understanding helped much more than I thought it would for this one….beginning to see a pattern here?

AUD: all I can say with 3 weeks to go before my first (and hopefully last) attempt at my last section, DO NOT underestimate this one. The book is thin because there isn't too much math or problem based stuff. It's ALL lists. I have a hunch conceptual understanding will help me the least here beyond understanding the flow of the letters. The rest is memorization.

General Ideas: As touched upon by others, know your study habits, strengths and weaknesses. Put time into your study strategy; a general doesn't go to war without a plan and neither should you. I lurked here for a year before actually applying. I spent so much time here and it was so helpful that I bought the 10 point package more as a way to support the site. Little did I know it actually WORKS. DO invest in Jeffs products or at least some of them. They make a difference. DO NOT be afraid to go your own route on core materials, and don't be afraid to change it up depending on your background. I knew going in that FAR & BEC were my strengths….so I only used the 10pt+ Wiley Books for them. REG I added Roger CRAM and Ninja MCQs. Overall, know yourself (or get to know yourself) and take a little time to map things out. Don't be a Becker drone (no offense to all of you who use Becker). If you choose Becker (or any other material) know why…don't fall for the Marketing…not even Jeffs 😉

Oh ya…study hard enough and luck don't matter…but good luck anyway!

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Rocky123]

This is a great thread!

My 2 cents:

(1) Put in the time. There are no shortcuts. Expect to have no life for a while. It's a temporary sacrifice for a long term payoff. That being said, as someone mentioned earlier, don't ignore the people in your life. Go to necessary events, like birthdays or graduations. You can't isolate yourself completely.

(2)Work the sims. They will really test your knowledge of the subject and prepare you well for exam day. They are time consuming but well worth the effort. Multiple choice alone will not do it (except for BEC, which has writing instead of sims).

The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

AUD-PASS
BEC-PASS
REG-PASS
FAR-PASS

Rocky123, CPA

[How many letters do you need]

Rocky makes an excellent point that I forgot to mention. I second his statement on making time for people in your life. Taking time for family and friends keeps you sane and helps prevent conflict that some people have with time constraints. My girlfriend KNOWS I'm free Friday and Sat nights as well as Sunday….but she also knows that Friday is an early night and Sat all day is off limits as well as 3 nights during the week. This prevents issues because she knows I'm equally devoted to her and my studies, and that neither one is budging. It also keeps me sane because I know I have one night to relax after a long night of work, one night to head out if I so choose and one morning to sleep in. This also goes back to knowing yourself, I know I need that or I will become frustrated. If you don't have this type of discipline, then you should study more frequently with fewer weeks (but I would still give myself one night a week to cut loose with friends/etc…it really does pay dividends).

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Author]

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