[Anonymous]

I am having a tough time deciding if I should continue this road to becoming a CPA. At what point do you say that the short term cost of reveiw materials, exam cost, and just the overall stress and misery of studing out ways the POTENTIAL long term benifits? I have taken FAR 3 times and BEC once in the past 12 months and have not pased one yet. I have spent well over $15,000 in the past 3 years on getting addtional college credits, review material and exam cost.

Is anyone else in the same situation?

[financeguy]

Wow $15K is a lot! I don't know if you play poker, but this is where I would say you are all in, pot committed. You have invested too much to quit now.

Its like if you bought a stock for $16K, and have lost all the way down to $1K left. No reason to sell. Just ride it out. Step your studying up and make the committment to pass this thing.

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

[FARbehind]

I don't know why you only sat for Far and Bec for these 3 years but I think you should try the other 2 as well. Far and Bec are hardest I think and since you are not trying for aud and reg there is nothing to boost your self-confidence. I suggest sitting for aud and reg at least once, and if successful, you will know that you can do it and just keep going. If you fail the other 2 exams as well, then you can start having thoughts of giving up…

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[Anonymous]

cpaindiana

How do you think you did on BEC? What study materials are you using, what is your approach to the exam? There are overlap between the concepts between the exams. Have you used the exam analysis report to help target both you r strong and weak areas?

Short but true story. A friend's boss had been sitting for various parts of the exam for several years (at least 5 that I know of). She did not pass, between her job, kids, life in general she had not made it her priority. She finally got fed up and made it her #1 goal and passed. She had a long drive into work and would listen to CPA exam study lectures during the commute. Her non-accountant ride share buddy should get a gold star for friendship.

Good luck – you can do this!

[FL_CPA2010]

cpaindiana – Don't give up! You are in this forum, so that is your first step…it's like your cry for help. I have seen people in here who have taken this thing in excess of 10 times and still keep going. And as financeguy said, you are all in at this point.

What review materials are you using? You may need to find something else…maybe something that includes lectures. Becker and Yaeger are really good. You need to set up a study plan, and it has to include being committed. I'm not passing judgment as I don't know how you spend your day, and maybe you do what you need to do. But if you intend to pass, you need to make this your #1 priority. I have put my 3 1/2-yr old, husband, friends, and even my job on the back burner. My output at work is starting to become affected from my studies bc I refuse to work overtime when I could be studying. But whatever, I just want to pass. You HAVE to study EVERYDAY, not just sporadically. Doing 20 hours on the w/end and nothing during the week doesn't count because it won't stick…you'll forget it if you don't keep using it to do Q's. You need to pull motivation from somewhere and make sure it doesn't go away. You can do it!!

I bombed audit and BEC, so I know what it feels like. Although I did pass Reg and I know that I can do it, that does not take away the sting of when you hit F5 and you realize that a month of studying was for nothing and/or not enough.

And sorry if part of this sounds harsh, but I was also talking to myself so that I stay in gear…only 2 weeks until my 2nd attempt at BEC.

Good luck 🙂

REG 79 (Becker); BEC 63 (Becker) 70 (Yaeger); AUD 66 (Becker; 11/30 - Becker); FAR 11/24 (Yaeger/Wiley)

[Anonymous]

The first time I took FAR was Nov '09 then again Feb '10 and again May '10 and BEC July '10. The first and second time I took FAR I used Becker only the third time I used Yaeger and for BEC I used Yaeger. My study schedule is 3-4 hours M-F and 8-10 each day on the weekend, its like as I currently study for FAR it seems I have never even seen this stuff before?? I do 10 m/c problems and may get 5-6 correct the others I have no clue on. Any hints on how to get this stuff to stick? My Becker will expire at the end of this month so I am going to take advantage of it this time and use it. I have also started using cpareviewforfree.com during breaks at work.

Is Audit and REG really easier?

[Anonymous]

@ CPA Indiana, Here are my 5 cents. I used wiley only for my tests and did ok by doing this: Read chapters, did MC's(three times each), wrote notes on main topics. I followed your schedulle prety much. I work full time so the week days are short. There is a fundamental part of my study: I do write down all formulas or key concepts pertaining to every chapter in the book as many times as necessary untill they become second nature. I do this at work, between brakes or not. Then, I test myself by reciting out loud those main subjects, topics, formulas, etc. My goal is to know by memory what is on every chapter of the book and the main topics,formulas, etc.

Keep on trying…you'll get it, everyone gets it at some point, the important part is not to stop. So answering your original question: YOU NEVER STOP. Good luck!!!!

BEC 77, REG 75, AUD 83, FAR: 08/23

[FARbehind]

I don't think Becker prepared me adequately for FAR. If I fail for a third time this will be confirmed. I will switch to Yeager for FAR. I think Becker prepares well for the other 3 exams but since FAR is not that much memorization but understanding, I don't think Becker do a good job, they don’t go deep enough for certain topics. Becker may be sufficient for people with good fundamental skills, but if you need more practice I would do Yeager.

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[Anonymous]

FARbehind-

Did you do all the mcq's, including the supplemental ones for Becker? I actually had Becker as well and Yaeger for FAR and decided to use Yaeger.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Sorry– meant to ask this on the FAR thread!

[FARbehind]

From Becker I did all HW questions at least 3 times, most supplemental once. And I still think something is missing. I listened to old Yeager dvds and Sindy Simpson really explains well. I was able to get concepts I couldn't get before. I will need to get new materials because those dvds are very old but… lets hope I passed and I don't need to go there.

Anagha, do you have similar experience with Becker vs Yeager?

Cpaindiana, now I see that you also used Yeager, so never mind, I was suggesting yeager for you. But seriosly I think you should keep going and take two exams every window so that you have bigger chance of passing. 3 scores for only one part cannot prove that you are unable to pass…

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[Anonymous]

FARbehind-

While it's hard to feel “completely” prepared for FAR, I felt prepared when I took the test. I followed Yaeger completely and have no complaints; however I think because of the volume and diversity of FAR it's going to be hard to find a review course that teaches/covers all the topics very well. I definitely liked Cindy. Once in a while I would listen to a Becker lecture and do those mcq's just for variation and I found a bit of overlap in the questions. My issue in the test was that either I did not see a lot of stuff I was strong in or even if I did get questions pertaining to those areas they seemed “twisted” or worded in a way that was completely new to me. And definitely the time constraint made that worse; I felt that I had to somewhat rush in order to leave enough time for the sims.

[potatogun]

If you are deciding based off the amount of money you have spent remember it is sunk cost. I disagree with the “pot committed” mentality. That has a specific use in poker because the additional marginal bet has a potentially very high multiple of your additional bet as winnings given your probability of winning the hand. This isn't probability. This is your work and effort translating into succeeding or not.

If you feel you have all the materials to study and have the personal willingness (spending your time/misery/however you want to put it) then go for it if it is what you want.

And also if you want to look at the potential earnings aspect look at how long you expect to be working after potentially having a CPA.

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[Anonymous]

i asked the same thing to myself cause I been studying one year already and havent passed a single section yet!, i told myself, i just signed a “fictional” contract where you cannot quit. period. lol.

[Sandra]

I wouldn't give up if I were you. I joined just last month. I have been taken ALL sections of the exam working on three times now. I will be taking the REG section for the 6th time next Saturday, 8/14. On my third attempt at REG, I scored that painful “74.” I about cried when I saw that. I have not let any of that get me down. I study harder and keep after it. My goal is to pass by the end of the year and I will pass.

AUD 58, 59, 61, 70 (8/31/11)
BEC 51, 58, 59, 57 (7/11/11)
FAR 51, 63, 64, 65, 61 (10/31/11)
REG 55, 63, 74, 68, 65, 71, 69 (4/21/11-waiting)

[nolifecpa]

I'm in the same boat as well(see scores below). Yes failing feels bad but being a quitter feels worst. I know I couldn't live the rest of my life as an ALMOST cpa, knowing that the only thing that stood between me and those 3 letters was a stupid exam. I too had to take extra classes to become eligible and to throw that away is such a waste. I have the education and work experience, all I need is to pass the exam. I always hear people saying you have to find out what works best for you, obviously I haven't found that out yet and I'm not going to stop until I do. I always remind myself that a lot of people pass this exam, there's no reason why I can't pass either

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

[Author]

Replies