[Anonymous]

For those who passed all 4 parts, how much of your life did you give up? I work 40 hours a week and because of that, I feel like I have to devote all of my life outside of work just to study. I tried adding just a few hours of enjoyment per week just to relax a bit, but I end up feeling more overwhelmed afterwards because I’ve wasted those few hours and now I have so much studying to catch up on. I’ve been giving myself 2-3 months to study before I take one part of the exam, but I feel like I need to use every single minute of my free time to study or else, I’ll fall behind. I can’t give myself just a few hours per week for myself. It’s crazy. Heck, I just took FAR a week ago and after I took it, I felt like those 20-30 hours of studying per week for three whole months weren’t enough. So, now I think there’s a chance I might’ve failed it.

So, I’m just wondering. For all of you who passed, did you have to literally give up your whole life just to study for this exam? In other words, was your life like this…. Work, eat, study, sleep….Work, eat, study, sleep…. And so on?

[Liz317]

I had to give up about 75% of my free time. I would say it's VERY important to plan one day a week to not even think about studying or the exam. You need a break. But you come to cherish that 25% that you do get off.

I studied 2-6 hours a night after work on workdays (most of the time it was around 4 hours). I would take one evening off during the week and not think about studying. Sometimes this was Friday, but there were many Friday nights when I felt like the lame person in Starbucks who was studying on Friday night. I would study 4-8 hours a day on weekends, but this left me with free time on both Saturday & Sunday.

Take advantage of “dead time” by carrying around flashcards. I studied in the Walmart line, waiting at the doctor's office, and while waiting through many traffic light cycles during rush hour.

FAR - 92 --- AUD - 87 --- REG - 80 --- BEC - 87
A licensed CPA in Louisiana!!!

Dear CPA Exam, You are a beast. But you WILL be defeated!

[hhiccd]

I studied for three months for my first section and after passing that, lost all motivation and didn't take another exam for eleven months. Big mistake!!! I then took the remaining three parts in 4 months. Not the recommended plan of attack! I have a pretty demanding job but just sent my youngest child off to college so I did have a fair amount of free time to study. I found that quality was better than quantity as it relates to studying and rarely studied during the week due to my brain being fried from working all day. I spent the better part of the weekends studying and while on vacation in Steamboat, Colorado over Christmas I stayed in the condo and studied FAR while the rest of the family went out skiing. There were clearly sacrifices and there were many times that I was questioning why I was doing this but in the end I got through it by focusing on how I would feel when I passed. Now that I am done I can say that it was all worth it!

BEC 11/2009 87
AUD 10/2010 75
REG 11/2010 73, 2/2011 80
FAR 02/2011 85
Licensed FL CPA as of 10/5/2011 Yay!!!

[TowsonCPA]

5 Months from the very first stay of studying to sitting for my very last exam (waiting on results) I started studying November 1st. I took my first right before thanksgiving then took one right before busy season and one 2 days after my main client filed there 10-K. I was working 80-95 hours a week all through January and February which made studying very very hard. I useually hit the bar every friday and saturday but during this 5 month peiod I only went out maybe 5 times which for me is not normal. I quit going to the gym and quit doing all fun things that I enjoyed. All I did was work, get home from work and study until midnight, granted I got off work before midnight, and then wake up at 6:30 and study until 8:00 before heading to work every morning. Very long 5 months but I should be all done just waiting on my last grade. I have not been able to really relax in over 2 years because every since I graduated college this has been hanging over my head. Now I can read, enjoy the outdoors and go to the gym again without feeling guilty!

Audit - 11/23/10 - 90
Financial - 1/4/11 - 88
Business - 2/28/11 - 86
Regulation - 4/1/11 - Last one!

[whitesoxfancpa]

I worked full-time while studying. I went out on Friday and Saturday nights. I studied from around 6:30 to 9:30 on the weeknights (not Friday) and around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Give or take.

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Anonymous]

I woke up at 4:00am each weekday and studied until 6:30am. Drank 3-4 cups of coffee while studying. Then studied most of the day Saturdays and Sundays.

I can't study at night. I'm not a night person. I work full time as a Controller for a Real Estate Developer while also owning a small accounting office (4 people) in my home town (that I work weeknights at.)

This is a SPRINT……not a marathon…..if an airplane cuts its power by 50% but doubles the length of the runway, it still won't take off. You have to go “balls to the wall”, “full out” “101%”….and you'll pass….

[jelly]

Wow, cpawannabee…you really used up all the pages in your passport and then some to pass! Congrats!

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who woke up at bizarre hours to study!

Couldn't pass again!

[ak311]

I'm just starting the exam, I'm 4 weeks in. I'm studying about 3 hours a night after work, and then about 5 hours on saturday and another 5 on sunday. So all in all about 22 hours per week. And I give myself Friday off, and then Saturday and Sunday afternoon/evenings off. That's about all I can do while also keeping my sanity. But I've given up completely on working out for the next 7-8 months. I used to work out 4 days a week but not anymore until I'm done with the CPA. I'd rather sacrifice that than sleep or down time. I'm fortunate to be single and not have kids or a spouse to worry about.

FAR - F (2011), 5/16
AUD - F(2011)
BEC -
REG -

2nd attempt at this thing. Time to get serious.

[T-rex]

Sit in traffic, work, study, eat, sleep, repeat. I try to exercise for 30 min. per day, 3 days per week. Have gained 10 lbs since Feb., which include 2 new dimples on my @ss.

No one I know (other than you guys on this board) is taking this exam. I feel very alone in this process. My friends and family think I exaggerate the amount of time and energy this monster takes. They really have no idea. How could they?

I turn down 99% of social invitations, which makes me sad. I miss my friends and family. Also, I have no time for a relationship right now, so it's good that I'm not in one (although the support would be nice).

The amount of time I spend alone studying is causing me to feel very depressed and lonely.

This whole experience has been sheer misery, but I'll be glad when it's over and proud of myself for sticking it out.

122 days to go until I'm done! (I WILL pass FAR on the first try. Failure is NOT an option.)

Back to FIN 2.

AUD - 95, BEC - 85
REG - 85, Rawrrrrrr FAR - 88
Used Becker for all sections.
CA candidate not residing in CA

[Princesskimber]

@cpawannabee – Love your quote! You are an inspiration!

[Author]

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