[June2016]

Hi I am curious how many days in total do you allocate to each section, do you work full time, and what is your daily schedule like (how many hours of study, work, other activities, and how many hours of sleep do you get) ?

Sorry for so many questions, I am trying to plan out a study schedule for FAR and wondering what the norm is for each section.

[Anonymous]

I am currently studying for AUD and am using a similar strategy as I used for FAR and BEC. Since I use Becker as my main study material, I break down my total study time by Becker chapters. For each section I have supplemented other material such as WTB, Ninja notes, Ninja Audio etc. For instance AUD has 6 chapters so I am giving my self 6 weeks. My goal is to finish the material in 5 weeks and use the last week to review. Since I work full time, this is how my typical day goes (weekdays).

– Wake up at 4:20ish. Prepare coffee, get material ready etc. and start studying at 4:30. Study till around 6:15ish. If am doing MCQ's then I take notes while doing them. Mostly, I take notes for answers I got wrong or I guessed but got right. I never take notes while listening to lectures.

– At 6:15 I do a 20-30 minute work out. I have a work out bench and few dumbbells at home. Also, I don't work out every day.

– Am at work by 8:15. Depending on how busy I am, sometimes I listen to Ninja audio. During lunch hour I'd spend 20-30 minutes or so doing MCQ's. Mostly it'll be random questions from previous chapters

– At 5, when everyone starts leaving the office I pull out my material and study until around 6:30

– Head home and spend time with wife and kid. After diner I might spend 15-20 minutes listening to ninja audio or review my hand written notes but not always. Like last night I watched 30 minutes of a movie. Lol

On weekends I study about 3 hrs each day. Oh and I try getting at least 6.5 hrs of sleep.

[ShelahV]

I'm taking a slightly longer time to study than most but that's the style of studying that fits best for my life, committments, and study style. I work a FT job and have a PT job that I work 2 Saturdays a month from 3 pm until about 2 am (I'm an event coordinator).

I'm NOT a morning person so I study for about 30-45 minutes at work during lunch and then after work I try to do 2-3 hours at least 4 nights a week. And on weekend I generally study about 6-8 hours each day except when I have an event – those weekends I generally only get 6 hours total. My goal is do 25-30 hours per week. I started studying for FAR in late August and plan to take it the beginning of January. I know most people say that's too long and you'll forget stuff but I do periodic reviews as I study and did a similar strategy with BEC and it worked. Plus I've decided that I'm not going to completely give up my life to this exam and plan to still take time to be with family/friends. This is a personal decision for me and wouldn't work for everyone. I plan to be done next July.

I read the book (Becker), then watch the lecture and then do MCQ (generally by the subchapter in Becker), then I do the Sims for that chapter. I also take a 30 question Progress test after each chapter for just that chapter and then do a 30 question Progress Test for all the chapters I've completed.

BEC 8.14.14 - 87!
FAR 1.8.15 - 89!
REG 4.15.15 - 86!
AUD 7.2.15 - 90!

Application submitted 8.6.15
Licensed CPA 8.19.15

Benefit in living in a small state SD!

[y_u_no_pass]

I usually study 2-3 days a week for about 4 hours until the last 2 weeks then it is pretty much all of my free time. Every night after work and 8-10 hours on Saturday and Sunday. As well as the whole day before the exam (about 12 hours) because I get that day off for work. I do work full time. In those last two weeks I will usually schedule 1-2 nights off to relax but that's it.

Also, in total I study for about 4-5 weeks between exams.

Just realized I forgot sleep. Sleep is extremely important to me. I sleep 7-8 hours on weeknights and 8-12 on weekends. Although for whatever reason I can never fall asleep the night before my exam so I'm usually only on about 5-6 hours that night because it takes me so long to fall asleep.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Author]

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