[gans55]

first, i am new to this site. this is my first post. Next, i am graduating college this semester, and i think i am pretty good at accounting and tax. do you guys think i should take all 4 sections at the same time? It seems like some people do this and do well while others get raked over the coals.

I am going to get a study guide and from reading this site it seems like becker is the way to go. Can anyone add anything to this? I know there are a lot of resources out there but any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Florida_Candidate]

Well this is a tough question. Passing all four sections at once can be done, you just have to keep in mind the study hours for each section are still required. For example (and I'm just throwing #'s out there), 80 hrs for AUD, 80 hrs for BEC, 100 hrs for REG, and 120 hrs for FAR…

If you wanted to take them all at the end of November you have to put in 380 hours before then. It IS doable but I don't see why you wouldn't take advantage of being able to split up the material since you can…. ya know what I mean? If you just want to pass them all really quick, and you have the time available I'd suggest just power studying through them and taking them one after another. Study FAR (the longest) full time and take it Oct 1st, power through Reg next and take that third week of October, 2 weeks for AUD, and 2 weeks for BEC. You'd have them all done by the end of November. I'm assuming here that you can devote 40+ hrs per week to studying….

now maybe I'm looking at this wrong so perhaps others can chime in, I'm just thinking about when they used to HAVE to take all the parts at once, people studied for these things for like 6 months, so it's not like they took any less time studying for each individual part (if you know what i mean).

I hope this made sense and somewhat answered your question!

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[michelle119]

It would depend on when you are looking to sit for your exams. If you are going to try and sit for them all this semester, with a full course load, it may be a bit much. I sat for 3 out of 4 exams in the July/August window after graduating in May and felt like I had enough time, but I was studying full-time, at least 40 hrs/week and some weeks 60+hrs. I felt that a lot of the stuff was almost a review since I had the classes in the last 2 years or so. It also depends on your teachers and such from college and how much you retained. I would say maybe try and sit for FAR by the end of the year and hold the rest until the new year, it all depends on how much time you can really study for these exams. Best of luck!!

FAR 7/2 - 88
BEC 7/30 - 87
AUD 8/27 - 80
REG 11/12 - 96

[gans55]

thanks guys,im not sure what i am going to do yet. Maybe just try two sections, AUD and BEC first and see how it is. Also where do people stand on this issue. I have good grades in college, so should i get a job first while studying to become a CPA or should i just study, get my CPA, then get a good job. I am the first accountant in my family so i don't really have any good references to go by, and some of my professors are wierd, that is why i am asking these questions.

Also i want to throw this out there for people to think about. I do not know how hard the questions on the exam are gonna be. But, i can say that i had A's throughout college and feel that i know a lot about accounting.(even if i probaly know nothing and i think i know something) However, i have a friend who is in law school and i have been reading some of his material, and it is so hard. It honestly makes accounting look like elementary math, or at least i think so. I have such a hard time understanding it. I am not trying to discourage anyone, but this test feels a lot easier then the bar exam would be. For instance, you only have to pass all 4 sections in 18 months. Thats so much time and you can also retake the test! The bar exam is a pass or fail. just something to think about

[whitesoxfancpa]

Congratulations on your good grades in college.

Now, throw them out the window.

The CPA exams are a mile wide and an inch thick. There is so much material you will need to know, but none of it in extreme depth. However, don't let that trick you into thinking they're easy. They are not. I did great in college, too. I have a master's in accounting, actually. In my undergrad and master's programs, I maybe learned 10% of what the exam tests you on. You simply don't learn the things it tests you on in college. They call them review programs, but in most cases you will be learning the material for the first time.

Don't let your good college grades let you fall into a passive, nonchalant state. It won't be nearly enough. You need a good review program and you need to study your ass off if you want to become a CPA. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Florida_Candidate]

@ whitesoxfan – I wish there was a “like” button on your post lol!

I'm not sure what to say to you gans55, I can't really tell you you're underestimating the exam because I don't know you, you could be the exception of a person that just kinda ‘gets' it all and can breeze through the material (they DO exist). However, I think the only way you can judge your ability to do well on these exams is to just take one. There really is no way to explain it unless you've studied for and taken a section. Until then, everyone's advice is just that… other people's advice.

for the record I had a 3.95 in my undergrad accounting degree and a 4.0 so far with only 2 classes left in my masters (also accounting) and still found these tests to be very difficult.

:-/

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[gans55]

thanks guys for all the advice, but just a few comments. First, i am not trying to be rude to anyone. Even though it may sound like it in writing. Please take everything with a grain of salt. Having said that, i find it hard to believe that only 10% of what you learn in college appears in the exam and the rest is new. If this was the case, then they should basically change the courses in college so you do learn more stuff that is on the exam. I am with tensors on this one. There probaly is some new stuff on the exam but that is not to say that 90% of the things we learned in college is not on the exam.

[Florida_Candidate]

Well I know in my case, it wasn't that I'd NEVER SEEN the stuff, it was that in class we just talked about general concepts. It was never in so much detail. I felt like the CPA exam was all targeted at small details and single words that change the entire question 🙁 In college I felt like as long as I got the concept I was good. For the CPA, not so much 🙁 I don't know if that makes sense or not…

or in other words, I learned general concept “buckets” in school (i.e. consolidations) and then studying for the CPA was like filling all the buckets up with a million details (like how to calculate a NCI) lol! But a lot of those details I had never seen before…

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[tensors22288]

I found that my intermediate I, II and advanced accounting class covered 90% of FAR material. We only did about 2 weeks of governmental in advanced, so that is really the only area I had to hit the books. She covered consolidations so well that I actually was confused by Becker because they dumbed it down so much… True story.

REG applies specifically to our one Tax class, and I took an advanced business law class, which covered contracts, sales, agency, negotiable instruments, etc.

I actually learned more about Audit from my internship than class, but that is one of those things you can learn pretty easily with Becker. I felt like I was ready for that exam after 20 days of studying, it is just memorization.

BEC… that's a fun one. Macro and Micro all covered in B2. B1 just comes up in everything, finance accounting, etc. B3 was my finance class, B4 was shaky but covered some in AIS. and B5 is a disaster, simply bc I do not remember cost! ughh.

It all depends on the program. I actually emailed my Intermediate and advanced teachers to tell them how well they covered the material. But I am a loser and really do enjoy accounting, so maybe that is why 🙂

FAR: Took 7/1/10 VA: 90
REG: Took 8/2/10 VA: 96
AUD: Took 8/31/10 VA: 96
BEC: 10/10/10

[almostdone]

I did something similar – I graduated in May and took all four parts in July/August. I graduated from a good college that has been known to prepare CPA candidates well. I had a 3.9 GPA in college and yes… you still must work hard. I put 400 hours in total (class & study time), I did ALL of the MC Q's on Bisk software, some more than once.

I was able to stagger my exams so they all were 1-2 weeks after the end of the classes, and I was able to focus on the one coming up for awhile. AUD/FAR & REG/BEC pair the best, I think. I wouldn't study for more than two at once… just a lot of information to have in your head! However, studying for two at once was very possible while studying FT.

Good luck!

Philadelphia CPA Review/Bisk
AUD 7/6/10: 84 | FAR 7/19/10: 91 | BEC 8/16/10: 80 | REG 08/25/10: 99

[potatogun]

Your college classes probably will give you a bit of familiarity with at least much of FAR. The difference is being able to answer questions on the test at the level you need to succeed.

Just don't under estimate the test. Put in a good effort in studying. I graduated early, with very good grades, and I had a job lined up for 2 years before I even got out.

I still put in a ton of effort because the CPA exam is about preparation, not inherent intelligence.

Also if you can get a job now then I say go work. The CPA exam being 100% of your time is probably something I would do if you couldn't work.

That being said, remember the exam changes in 2011. FAR and AUD will have the most changes so those are good to get out of the way unless you feel you have a good familiarity with IFRS as well.

Also no matter how well you did in college, if you're at a top company that has a threshold of GPAs, college doesn't matter. Working hard and being willing to learn is what matters. College just teaches you what you don't know; so be humble about your knowledge, because honestly it is probably very general and broad. If you approach everything with a serious effort to succeed then you should be fine with the CPA exams.

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[whitesoxfancpa]

Perhaps I exaggerated or wasn't entirely clear.

What I meant was that what you learn in school won't cut it. You learn something in school, but when the CPA covers it, they test you on the exceptions and little details, not the big stuff that was adequate in college.

Florida_Candidate said it best.

All I'm saying is that even if you remember everything you learned in college, it's not going to cut it.

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[75 CPA]

gans55

I only scheduled two exams at a time, not four exams. I wanted to remain flexible in case I needed more time to study, failed an exam, etc.

I did not schedule another exam until I found out that I passed both exams. I scheduled one exam per quarter. However, if you think that you are up to it, schedule two exams in one quarter.

Take FAR first since it takes the longest to prepare. Take AUD after FAR since you need to understand FAR to pass AUD.

Do not underestimate the 18 month clock. It goes by faster than you think. The only thing worse than failing an exam is to have to retake an exam that you already passed.

If you fail an exam, take it immediately in the next testing window.

Good Luck!

[75 CPA]

gans55

I agree with whitesoxfancpa andFlorida_Candidate !

I had a 4.0 GPA in both undergradualte and graduate school. That 4.0 GPA means nothing! The CPA exams are NOT a review of what you had in college.

The CPA exams are a mile wide. The exams will cover EVERY CHAPTER of every book that you had in college, plus some topics that were not taught at your college. Additionally, some of the college courses have lost most of their rigor in the last 40 years. I can assure you that the CPA exams have lost none of their rigor. The passing rate for CPA candidates is one-half that of the BAR Exams!

College was a piece of cake. I can teach anyone to be a 4.0 student. These CPA exams are something that I have never faced, however. I taught myself 75% of the material and with good review materials, learning the material is not a problem. The problem is the volume of material to learn. It just never ends.

If you treat these CPA exams like it will be a review of the courses that you had in college, you most likely will fail.

[Anonymous]

gans55,

Did/does your college offer a CPA review class? I've heard several people who were able to walk out of college and pass a section after taking a review course in college. I graduated college with a 4.0 as well. The CPA exams test the material differently. I'm not opposed to you just giving the tests a shot, but at least prep with tons of multiple choice questions. I studied for just over 500 hours total, maybe a little excessive in a few areas… but it worked for me.

When you say you're going to take 4 or even 2 sections at once, what exactly do you mean? In the same day? same week? same testing window? How much studying are you planning on doing before you test? Any?

[gans55]

BShep, thanks for the info. My college does not offer a review class. I go to a smaller school. I think if i would take 2 sections in the same testing window. that should give me plenty of time to get them all done within the 18 month window. I absolutely will study before the exam, and i am going to buy the becker review.

When you say you studied over 500 hours total for the exam, did you study 8 hours a day or what. I don't think i could do that. I could study like for a couple hours, go run or workout, then maybe come back to it. I find that when i take a break i can retain more information. If you don't remember anything, then that studying was no good. It seems like the average study time for each section is about 80 hours. So that 10 8 hour days. So, for me, it seems like it should take about one month to study for 2 sections of the test. Is this about the time schedule everyone else uses?

[Author]

Replies