[Anonymous]

After the last score release, it seemed like the only people posting their scores were people passing and passing BIG! That is fantastic to all those who passed but I just wanted to give a shout-out to those of us that are struggling.

In the last few weeks I have been getting personal e-mails from people who don’t post on here and/or are ashamed of their scores. Please don’t be intimidated by all these awesome testers. You are not alone! I felt like a total idiot after I got my FAR score and thought, “Where are the people who didn’t pass?” and “What is wrong with me?”

Please don’t feel this way. If I read “I didn’t finish my simulations and guessed on half the questions and got a 91” again, I will scream. Some people are just great at this. Not that they didn’t work hard and earn it, because I know they did. They deserve it. It does not come easily for me and no matter how much hope I get when I read these comments, I have learned that we are all different when it comes to sections of this exam. I was devasted when I got my scores because of all the people saying they “definitely failed” then scored high. I actually thought I knew enough to pass.

How many times have you overanalyzed your testlet difficulty? Don’t! I have been driving myself crazy with that. Take each section, each question, one at at time and do your best. If that isn’t good enough, try something else. Don’t be ashamed. This forum started because of Jeff’s struggles. If you are having issues, please share them. I have gotten the best advice from people posting on here who failed numerous times and then succeeded. Ewww. I hate the word, “fail”. To quote Trevor’s signature line: “-You did not FAIL, you simply did not pass… failing means you gave up, and giving up is not even an option!”. Love that!

[Trevor]

Well thanks for the shoutout!! yea you know I feel like this place is where we come together to help eachother and vent to eachother… For me I do not have any family to go to, besides my wife. I am from a small town with a small family and I was the first generation to even go to college. One thing I learned growing up is that sure it'll be hard, but gosh darnit I am going to do it. When the AICPA send you that darn paper with the big “FAIL” written in the results column, say “hey AICPA I will show you I am not a failure!” I know that it motivated me that much more when I saw that I had not passed (notice the wording :D), I went out and did it the next time!

So post if you have questions, post if you have concerns, and please post if you do not pass (just try to be specific, why do you think you did not pass? How long did you study? What materials? we are going to ask anyway!). There are a bunch of people who are willing to help analyze your situation and help you realize what you may need to do more of/less of/ or even just do…

BEC: 73,81(7/6/2010); AUD: 75(5/24/2010); FAR: 76(8/31/2010); REG: 77 (10/18/2010) - DONE!!!!

[I can do it cpa]

This website and the people at the forum became a part of my life. When I come to work, I check my work emails, my personal emails, Yahoo!, and THIS WEBSITE. I come to share my experience and thoughts and just simply to be with people who are going through the same thing with me. We only talk through computers but the kind and motivating words definitely impact me for the better. Let's not be embarrassed about anything here. We all know what it's like to have NO LIFE and studying is all you do. We've been there and we are in this together. CPAs might be the nicest people after all! I thank each and every one of you for making this website very beneficial in so many ways!

IL
FAR-80 |BEC-85 |REG-72,82|AUD-81 |Ethics-Done
Getting it done in 2010! -> GOT IT DONE IN 2010

[Anonymous]

I agree. When you don't pass, you just need to remember that getting through the material the first time is the hardest part. The hardest part is already done! Lectures are anywhere from 20-40 hours based on the study program (more like 40-80 for me since each lecture usually takes twice as long since I'm rewinding and stopping and all of that), and you certainly shouldn't be watching all of the lectures again after your first attempt.

On the first try, I hear it's often the case that you run out of time to review and do practice problems as much as you would have liked. Well…. now you have all the time you need to do that! It's just a matter of reviewing more and doing more MC problems. You will get there!

[whonis2002]

CPAWannaBe I totally understand what your saying and trust me I don't believe folks when they say oooh… “I guessed all the way through this exam and found out I passed” in my opinion thats impossible and bs no offense to anybody. My parents told me one thing that always stuck with me and that is we all can't be smart some get there much quicker than others but ultimately we all get there no matter what time it is. At the end of the day even if somebody took this exam once or fiive times and finally passed it, in the really world we all would be considered as CPA's. Nobody is going to check on who scored 99 or 75. So for those who did not pass this time around its okay, your perfectly normal, get up brush yourself and try this again. Its just a game and once you figure it out this world stops being trick thats why we are all doing this because we are close to figuring it out… right!!!!

[financeguy]

cpawannabe – I have read a lot of your posts since I found this forum. From what I gather from your messages, it sounds like you are putting in a ton of effort for this exam, and I am really personally rooting for you. I know it really sucks to put in a ton of effort only to have to do it all over again. Keep your head up and keep at it. I'm sure you have already read a ton of advice on this forum, so I am not going to bombard you with anymore, other than this:

Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Now I am not calling you insane haha, but just saying that maybe you need to change up how you are doing things. If you read the book, stop reading the book. If you don't read the book, start reading the book, etc. Everyone has different learning styles, and so what works for someone else, may not particularly work for you. You need to find your own unique style that works for you.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[Anonymous]

cpawannabe-

I really liked your post…for FAR, I used mainly Yaeger. I definitely didn't ace FAR, but if there's anyway I can be of any help with the materials, let me know. Take care!

[RittCPA]

CPAWANNABE have you tried to lock yourself away for a few hours a night with no internet, no phone, and just multiple choice questions? I work 70 – 80hrs a week and travel a lot for work. However, my BIGGEST distraction is the internet (facebook, this site, email, etc.). In fact, I found that while I am studying it takes me almost twice as long to grasp a concept if I have social media open. My key to success has been to hold myself to doing a certain amount of practice problems a day, printing those problems out, turning my cell phone off and getting to work. If I find free time at work…I bang out problems, and I never do less then what I said I was going to do. When I finish those problems and find out what I missed and why…I return back to society. I have been fortunate enough to pass my first three sections on the 1st go around (took my first test early May), and am currently waiting on FAR. If this is not what you are currently doing you should give it a try.

[Florida_Candidate]

just my two cents… and feel to disregard. But I'm pretty sure I”m one of those people you're referring to that post “I guessed on half the simluation and questions and still got a 91” because… well… I did.

And I'll qualify this by saying, I am a great test taker, always have been. I scored almost perfect on my ACT, very high on my GMAT and have never failed a class in my life. However, I DID cry during FAR. It was extremely hard. I felt unsure of most of the questions. Now, granted I wasn't just ‘christmas treeing” it…. I was making educated guesses. I could get all the MC's down to at least 2 answers but often DID have to guess between the two. For the sims, I didn't even understand the information that they gave me for the first one, I seriously considered telling the test proctor that I thought they made a mistake, the numbers didn't add up! And that was the given information! So… when I say I guessed on a simulation and a ton of questions and still got a 91… I did.

And I realize that it's kinda obnoxious reading posts like that, but I don't just post them to build myself up. I post them, because after I got out of the testing center and could barely function because I was SURE I had failed (I mean, who cries during a test??), I got on THIS website and read posts of people who had the exact same experience as me and PASSED. That was incredibly encouraging. So encouraging that I was actually able to move on and study for my next section (AUD). If I could pass on that encouragement to even one person, I will!

Now, for people that put in just as much work and more than I did and still do not pass, I feel terrible for you. I don't think it has anything to do with your intelligence, and I wish I could help 🙁 But I don't want you thinking that experiences like mine are BS because they are not 🙁

I hope that wasn't too obnoxious…

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

[nolifecpa]

cpawannabe – i too was wondering where all the non passers were. i came in here looking for them so i can relate but found very few. i just don't know why i can't pass this thing, well 1st couple of times i was mixing business with pleasure and partying waaaaaay too much for a cpa candidate. this last time all i did was study and got the worst possible score…74. to be honest i gave about 95% but i learned i will fail putting in 95%, i may or may not pass putting in 100%, i will definitely pass putting 110%. one thing i will NOT do is give up. i'd rather tell people “yea, i failed but i'll pass next time” then to tell them “yea, i quit the exam it was too hard for me”. but geez, can i please get 1 passing score??

REG-65,71,74,73,70,74,79
BEC-60's,60's,69,71,76*,78
FAR-67,66,65,79
AUD-54,60's,65,83*,69,80
*expired

DONE

[Anonymous]

I'm very good about a schedule and sticking to it. With Becker, I have watched the videos twice, did the homework multiple choice questions at least 4 times, studied the flashcards, did Final Review twice and made my own notes.

Things that will be different this time: I just ordered Yaeger Homestudy and I will do more questions since I did not do supplemental or practice exams before. Personally, that was my downfall: not enough practice and repetition. Like dwadecpa points out, the hard part is done. I have the foundation, I just need to tweek and practice. Also less forum and more studying!

…Or I may get kicked out of my house because my family can't take much more of this either!

Florida, I admire people like you. Your posts are not intended to make me feel worse, it's just the nature of the game.

[Anonymous]

cpawannabe,

Hang in there!! I went through the same thing with you. After multiple failing of FAR and AUD between 71-74 during the past 3 windows. I finally passed FAR with 75 this window. I am now studying AUD again and plan on re-taking it in October.

[whonis2002]

whoowew….I guess I cracked a nerve…Its okay we are all venting, I believe this a good platform for doing this..Florida_Candidate its all good am originally from orlando FL, moved to California 8 years ago, don't want get my fellow Floridians upset…I offer a sign of peace:) flying white Dove…I guess some of that talk about people passing and failing Psychologically works on those who don't pass these exams. But it is what it is hopefully we will all get there eventually no matter how that is done GO UCF…………

[whitesoxfancpa]

CPAWannaBe,

Just a thought…you said you made notes.

I use Becker and I never make any notes on my own. Their text is in outline format already. I only write down the little notes that Gearty or Olinto say to make, plus maybe just a couple tiny ones each lecture, during the lecture, right in the book. So rather than spending time taking extra notes yourself, maybe working the questions more times would be beneficial. For the ones you get wrong, immediately find that section of the text and find the answer. Understand why the answer is wrong before moving on. That's been my approach. Then at the end of the day, you've gone through every single question and unerstand every single answer and why that is the answer. Maybe a couple here and there you never figure out, but I just ignore those ones!

Anyway…my brother also used Becker and ended up passing (failed two his first try), and he said he also never took any notes on his own. I personally think it would be a waste of time for me. But everybody is different. I learn best by doing questions, so I'd rather do the questions over and over and over. I do them all around four times my first go around, then another 2-3 times during my Final Review, then I use Becker's Final Review software and do those questions 2-3 times each. Even if you begin to memorize answers, that's OK; it's a nice refresher. For the theory questions this is especially helpful. “How many years may charitable contributions be carried forward?” You know the answer is five, you know it's the third choice down, but it's still a good refresher. And you can bet on exam day, after seeing that question 6-7 times, I'll darn well know that charitable contributions may be carried forward five years. It also helps with computational questions, too, as long as you do the computations each time you see the question. For REG, after doing this one particular casualty loss question six or seven times, come exam day, I sure as heck knew that formula and the threshold amounts like the back of my hand!

Anyway, I wish you nothing but the best of luck. Just remember, you WILL pass these exams and you WILL be a CPA. Some day in the not so distant future, you'll be looking back and laughing, perhaps coming on here to coach some CPA newbies yourself!

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Florida_Candidate]

lol no nerves were hit! I just wanted to make sure you guys knew my motivations for saying the things I did 🙂 No worries… Go UCF! 😀

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

[Anonymous]

I took REG 3x…65, 72 and 87!. FAR 2x, 39 (messed up studying and just went in anyway) 2nd score not here yet, AUD 1x, 56 (not sure what happened there.

I just suck at test taking and ‘effective studying.' I study ‘a lot' but it seems like nothing every sticks. 🙁

[Author]

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