[jeff]

This thread is for people who have completed all four parts of the CPA Exam and want to tell their story and/or impart some encouragement/wisdom to those that are still striving to earn their certificate.

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Only postings from people who have passed all four parts of the CPA Exam, please.n

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Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[Anonymous]

I first started my CPA journey in September 2009, I ordered the complete set of books from Gleim (which I actually purchased in March, but put off the actual studying). I thought it would be smart to study for 2 parts at a time, since the testing center was over 2 hours from my home, then I would just stay the night and take the tests back to back. So, I studied the 2 books (AUD & BEC) from September until my test date in February. I simply read and took notes over the entire books & did every single MCQ & simulation in the books.

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Went in & took my first 2 tests back to back, I took BEC the first day, and while taking the tests I felt like crying, there was so much information I was unfamiliar with from studying. I knew I bombed it. The next day, went in took AUD, didn’t feel too bad about it, actually thought I had a chance with this one.

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I didn’t study any between my test date and the score release date. Ended up scoring BEC-69, AUD-68. I received these scores in March, during tax season. I was so devastated by the scores, I had just spent 5 months of my life studying every single evening, & weekend. Not to mention, the time it was taking away from my children. I had a heart-to-heart with my husband, & decided I would give it another try. I had definitely underestimated the difficulty of the CPA exam (I went at it like it was a college test).

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I did a website search looking for any information I could find on the CPA exam process and study materials. I stumbled upon the Another71.com website, I have been a dedicated member ever since I found it. I log-in just about every day, & really enjoy/appreciate the camaraderie & the motivation I have received through the website.

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I also saw the promotion for the Yaeger material. So, I did a little research on it and actually called one Saturday and Phil Yaeger answered the phone. After speaking with him, I hung up and got the promotional discounts through Another71.com’s Club 75 and ordered the complete 2010 Homestudy.

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I started the Yaeger material on March 1, I watched all of the videos while taking crazy notes, then did the minimum MCQ, and spend the final week reviewing my notes, and doing back to back 20 question quizzes on the Wiley software.

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I received my first passing score on my 30th birthday May 20, 2010, and received my last passing score on September 23, 2010.

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I also, work a full-time job and have 3 children (11,5,& 2), my husband also works away from the home for 28 days at a time, every other month. So needless, to say I am one of those if I can do it, anyone can.

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My scores and dates were as follows:
nBEC (4/21) – 75
nAUD (5/28) – 78
nFAR (8/4) – 76
nREG (8/31) – 88

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Without Yaeger Homestudy & another71.com, I honestly believe I wouldn’t be mailing in my CPA certification application with 4 passing scores today.

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Thanks for everything!!

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email: valenzuelaclan@hotmail.comn

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[Anonymous]

I just passed. I don't have an interesting story. I graduated college in 01, and masters in 08. I didn't plan to sit for the CPA. But after being turned down for a job that was basically my dream job, and hearing that they loved me but felt they wanted a CPA I decided that I couldn't move any farther in my career w/o the designation.

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Passing is a great feeling, although I feel a bit empty now. Not used to just going home and sitting around, working out, watching TV. Not used to not having to spend my weekends studying. Its a new feeling, and I'm just getting used to it.n

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[viper71506]

I graduatd college in 2003 with a BS in accounting and started with a public accounting firm that summer. In 2006 I graduated with my MBA and took two parts of the CPA while working for the government. I wasn't motivated enough at that time, passed REG and failed BEC and decided not to take any more parts and use the money to build my house.

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Last year in November after my daughter was born in October, I now got the drive to get the CPA. I bought the BISK CPA review books. I passed REG, FAR and AUD but failed BEC using there self-study books. For BEC, I bought Wiley and this time knocked it out of the park. It was tough with Family as you have a new daughter to take care of and your working all the time. As soon as she would go to bed, I would study at night. My wife would be fast asleep by the time I went to bed. The thing I learned this time was the drive was there and as long as you have the drive, you will pass. If you don't have the drive, then you are just wasting your time and your money

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As Vince Lombardi says
nI firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.n

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Reg - 89, FAR - 79, BEC -74, 82, Aud -85

[limey]

1) Realize you CAN do this! You are going to be a CPA! You can do this and successfully end it – it's all on you!

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2) I used Becker's lecture CDs and books, and Wiley's books for BEC.

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3) Study schedule: I woke up early during the weekdays, around 4 or 5 in the morning, and studied until 7ish or so, until I had to get ready for work. At those hours, there's very few interruptions, and pretty bad TV on. I must say the 2007-2008 writer's strike helped me out; I also lived in a house during that time, so I got laundry done in the mornings as well.

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You're relatively fresh and alert, so you can efficiently absorb what you need to know (all while dressed in your pajamas!). When I got home from work, I worked on mostly MCQs for 90 minutes to 2 hours, but not as intensely as the early mornings.

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I would say studying early in the morning worked out really well for me. Like exercise, I got it out of the way first thing, and I didn't feel as guilty when I came home after work and only lightly studied.

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4) I re-wrote some of the important points in my own Word document, but didn't spend more than 1 weekday morning session doing that. I took my Word doc notes and studied them during weird down times, like on public transportation, waiting for trains/buses, or waiting for a friend in front of a restaurant. Those short, random waiting times are pretty good for reviewing and absorbing difficult to remember rules, tricks and such.

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5) And I did those MCQs, including supplementals, over and over, like 3-4 times. And 2-3x the simulation questions, as much as I didn't want to. I also added more notes to my Word doc, when I got MCQs wrong, and when I got them right. Having to find the right place to add notes to, helped me review and re-read things.

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6) I would say I started a new chapter or unit, then reviewed one that was maybe one or two units before that. Reviewed the notes during down time or on the train, did the MCQs again in the evenings.n

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I really can't pass again!

[almostdone]

I graduated in May of this year, and went for it ASAP as suggested by many professors/alumni. My start date with a regional firm is not until October, so I studied FT and took all parts in July/August.

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The way the classes were set up, I took each exam 1-2 weeks after the conclusion of each class. In general, I alternated days studying for AUD/FAR or REG/BEC until a week + before the exam. At that time, I focused more solely on those exams. During the classes, I mostly kept up with doing 100% of the homework, with some review. I mostly reviewed everything during the last few weeks before the exams. I kept track of all my study hours on excel and my progress in chapters – I ended up with 108 hours class time + 291 hours study time – Broken down: 80 for AUD and REG, 95 for BEC, 145 for FAR.

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My classes were excellent so I did not have the read through the book, I just did and re-did the MCQs. I also typed up most/all of my notes for some sections for a change of pace, including specific tricks/rules I learned while doing MCQ.n

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

[Anonymous]

I've been wanting to write a post like this for some time, because it would signal the end of the CPA Exam journey for me, so here goes:

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For the first two and a half years of my collegiate career, I was a secondary education major with a concentration in social studies (i.e. I wanted to be a history teacher). I had done quite well in my education classes, and was about to enter into some of my field classes the following fall. The spring of my “first” junior year, I withdrew from an education class, noting that as much as I liked my education classes, I didn't think it was something I could do for the rest of my life. The next week I went to an informational seminar in the business school, and decided to change my major to finance. I took my Accounting I class, not thinking much of it, and really not paying attention. Went to Accounting II without knowing how to do a journal entry! After that year, I let my roommate talk me into changing my major to Accounting, and that's where my journey begins. I was a “B” accounting student for the most part– had a “C” in my cost accounting class that really kept that ol' GPA down there. But otherwise, I was fairly average when it came to grades. Had some really, really, really saavy kids in my class that always loved to ruin the curve.

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I graduated with my Accounting degree two years later (May 2009); and bought the Kaplan review course to start studying over the summer (all I could afford out of pocket). After about two weeks of studying, I met the woman of my dreams, and let's just say I stopped studying pretty abruptly.

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A few months later, in October, I was hired at a regional accounting firm, who purchased Becker for all of their accountants. I started studying for AUD, and passed. I crammed in a few weeks of studying for BEC and passed that before my busy season started in December. I then took off the entire busy season from studying, which lasted until the second week of May for my audit team. I took one day off after busy season then dug into REG, and took REG on July 2nd, and passed. Again, I took one day off in between the exam and starting to study for FAR, which I just took on August 31st, and I passed! I had worked so hard, studied so long, passed up so many things, etc etc but it was totally worth it being able to say that I passed all four parts on my first try!

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I couldn't have done it without the aforementioned woman of my dreams; let's just call her Katie. She was always there for me, 110%. She was and is so incredibly supportive of everything I've been through with this exam. We had days where she would sit right next to me as I studied or crammed for 8, 10, even 12 hours in a day! She was always right there beside me, which means more than you can imagine. Were there things that were more fun that she could have been doing instead? Sure, but she wanted to be with me and spend time with me instead, which is awesome. I cannot stress how much this helps; not once did she complain about how much I studied or how I spent more time with my books than I did with her, not once! And that's remarkable!

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To keep us sane, on the weekends I would budget time to take her out to a nice dinner after a long day of studying (we like this really nice hibachi place nearby!). We'd wind down by watching some TV (Go Phils!), and just relaxing together. So, long story short, put in the hard work, have a great support system, and use your time wisely and you can pass this exam! Heck, if a “B” student like me can pass all the exams, so can you! Good luck!n

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[jennmmarrs]

I get to tell my story. See below. Hope it is as interesting as some of the others.

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I graduated with a BS in Accountacy in May 2000, which was the first semester cutoff for the 150 hour rule (in our state). After interviewing with a few accounting firms in the state, I settled in at one of the largest firms in our area in September of 2000, after spending the ENTIRE summer getting my 150 credit hours.

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I sat for the exam in May 2001, when the exam was not computerized, and not even one month after getting married to my wonderful husband, Brian. I think that the exam was litterally one week after our honeymoon. Complete fail on all parts. Later that year, I took another job at a Non-Proft hospital, and sat for the exam again. Bomb. I think my scores were around 50 and 60 for all.

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In 2006, I had a daughter. Still, in the back of my mind, I knew that I needed to complete the exam. I HAD to do it.

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In 2008, I decided to take the Becker review course. So, with a daughter that wasn't even 2, I completed the live classroom course, and the homework. The day before my final class in May, I found out I was pregnant again. Five days later, I miscarried the baby. Needless to say, I was devastated. I quit studying. All the while, I kept telling myself I need to study. Then, in June, my very good friend found out that he had a severe brain tumor that would need to be removed, and he was going to be in a neighboring state. So, we spent a lot of time that summer in NC at Duke with him. Still, not studying.

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In July of 2008, I found out that I was pregnant again. I would have another daughter in April of 2009. I'm not sure how many women have tried to study while pregnant, but, it doesn't happen. LOL. So, I wasted my Becker experience by not sitting for any of the exams.

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In January of this year (2010), I decided that I needed to achieve the CPA. So, I joined Becker another time. This time, I did the online course, where I had deadlines for each assignment, and I would be responsible. On April 16, 2 weeks after my 1st year old's birthday, and 2 days after my 4 year old's birthday, I sat for Regulation. I spent the next month biting my nails, but, continuing on to finish Becker.

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I passed Reg with a 85. Next was BEC, sitting for it after July 4th weekend. I passed with a 79. Next, I sat for Auditing on August 3rd. Audit was so difficult to me, that I started crying as soon as I sat in the chair. LOL. So, I started praying too. After studying all year, it seems, I sat for FAR on August 30th. I left that test telling everyone that I would see them again. WOW. It was definitely the BEAST!!! I called my mom, as I did after each test, and she was too sick to talk to me.

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That night, August 30th, really Aug 31st, my mom died. Just 3 hours after getting out of my 9:30 pm test. She died. She had been diagnosed with Crohn's disease in June, and after trying all sorts of treatment, they decided to use a really strong chemotheraphy medication. She had been really sick the past couple of days, and we all thought it was her body getting used to the medication. So, each time I had spoken to her, she was really quick to get off the phone, both because she was tired, and because I was studying. That night, she had an Upper GI bleed, and then went into cardiac arrest, and died.

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On Wednesday, September 1, I got my score for Wave 1 Audit. I passed with an 82. One of my higher scores. I immediately grabbed the phone to call my momma.

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Through this month, with all the changes of living without your momma, I still didn't know about the exam I took on that night.

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On Tuesday, I found out that I passed. I had fantisized for this moment for years. It was a special accomplishment, but, it was still bitter sweet. I am continuing to work through all the emotions tied to losing a parent, especially my mother, and I am sure that it will take time. I just know that she is looking down on me, and is beaming with pride.

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Thanks for reading my post.

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Jennifer Marrsn

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REG - 85
BEC - 79
AUD - 82
FAR - 87

[Jamie]

I got my masters in accounting while working full-time through almost all of it. I quit my job as an analyst at a struggling bank for my last semester (fall 2009) in order to buckle down and take my last 12 hours and graduate. I already had a position lined up at my current firm, so this was not that big of a deal. I applied to be a GA and grade papers, but the faculty selected me to teach Intro to Managerial Accounting, which was great due to the tuition break, but added to my busy load. Funny thing is, I thought I was busy, which I was, but nothing compared to what I was soon to face.

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I signed up for the first 2 sections sometime in October (AUD and FAR) and planned on taking AUD in January and FAR in February. I graduated in December and then took 2 weeks off to loaf. I cracked the AUD Becker book on January 1, 2010 and studied pretty hard for 2 weeks and took the exam on January 11.

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I started at my firm on January 12, 2010 and a little thing called busy season started. I had slightly looked over FAR and planned on studying in the evenings, but 55 hour work weeks were making me tired, or so I thought. My wife was pregnant and our little girl was born January 27th. This is where studying started to suck.

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I was getting 2 hour segments of sleep and maybe a total of 5 a night because babies want fed and I wanted to help my wife through all of it. I was studying until midnight for FAR and fighting falling asleep through most of it and then waking up sometime before 6 and going to work. I was a walking zombie. I sat for FAR on February 27th and told the prometric staff see you soon because I was retaking FAR. I had only covered 4 of the 9 Becker chapters and I ran out of time on my second simulation.

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Later I would discover that NASBA did not have my final transcript, so NASBA held my scores hostage until that was received via snail mail. I got my AUD score nearly 3 months after taking the exam and FAR a month later than expected. AUD-93, FAR-79

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I do tax, so work was teaching me a lot. Sleep was improving, but work was crazy through April 15th and I caught up on rest the last 2 weeks of April. I took REG near the end of May after not studying until May 1st. REG-85

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BEC took all of the motivation I could muster. I had taught a lot of what was covered in BEC during my last semester in graduate school and studied 2 weeks because I was ready to have a life again. I was ready to be done with busy stuff for a while. BEC- 80.

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I am now a licensed CPA.

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My advice is to not over study. Study efficiently, and study when you are supposed to, but none of this 2-3 months for each section. How in the world can you be fresh on the material you covered 2 months ago?

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And for those super motivated people who post that you must love to study and that they miss studying and having no life…GET A HOBBY OR A FRIEND.n

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AUD 93 (1/12); DAUGHTER (BORN 1/27); FAR 79 (2/27); REG 85 (5/26); BEC 80 (7/1)

[Anonymous]

Great stories on here, but wanted to stop in just to say that I read your story Jennifer. Congratulations.n

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[lauren_d]

I don't have an unusual or inspirational story, but it sure feels good to be done!

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I passed all 4 sections on the first try just using the Wiley books, so I would highly recommend them! I thought all of the multiple choice questions were really good practice, and having all reading and no lectures probably just fits with my learning style. (I think it's also worth noting that I don't have an undergrad degree in accounting, so I'd never taken any classes in taxation, auditing, or business law. For AUD and REG, I learned basically all of the information just from Wiley.) I consider myself very lucky not to have a spouse or children, so I was able to spend pretty much a whole year studying.

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Ironically, I don't even work in accounting, but of course I used to, or I wouldn't have the professional experience requirement covered. When I finished my MBA, I had enough hours of accounting to sit for the exam, so I felt like I'd come too far not to go all the way.

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Ultimately, I think it was the bad economy that saved me. I didn't have a full-time job when I graduated, so I was able to pass 3 out of 4 sections while only working part time. I'm so impressed by everyone who is taking the exam while working, particularly people who have kids on top of that!

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Good luck – you can do it!n

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BEC - 89, REG - 82, AUD - 92, FAR - 86
Woo hoo, I'm done!

[hope]

I finally did it!! I mean I finally did it!! I been imagining this very day for the last few years! This exam has brought me down to the lowest point of my life. I took a total of 10 tries for all four parts to finally pass everything! Here was my original post from about 10 months ago: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/everything-is-falling-apart#post-14639 .

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The best advice that I can give anyone, and not does it only apply to the exam is that life isn't measured how high you can jump the first time, but how high you can bounce after you hit the ground. I'm all battered and bruised, but in the end, its all worth it, because I made a goal and I accomplished it! I know hitting the ground will hurt, so that's why we are here. This site is like one big band-aid that will patch us up every time we get hurt.

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I also really wanted to thank everyone who helped me when I needed the motivations. It feels great to be an alumi of another 71! Haha. I will be sure to give back. Thanks again!!n

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[michelle119]

Hey guys! Thanks Jeff for this awesome website!! I definitely wouldn't have made it through this journey without everyone's support here. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in May of this year and started studying just after that in June. I sat for FAR first and then found this website while searching for when I'd get my scores and there began my journey here. I felt pretty good coming out of the exam and then started reading here about difficulty of testlets going up and even if you felt like you did well you could have bombed and started to freak out just a bit. Then I started studying for BEC to take at the end of July and originally thought (before I found this website) I would have my FAR results, couldn't have been more off than that… So then began my studying for AUD for the end of August and I was like okay I'm going to try and get through this material fast so when scores start being released I can just get those during the night and the next day either celebrate with a day off or take a day off to mourn the lost time I had spent studying. All in all it took about a week out of me, along with a couple other unplanned things in my life. I passed both on the first go through with an 88 and 87, then all of a sudden it was the day or so before AUD and realized that I had zero motivation and was going to fail the exam. I went into the exam saying well its okay if you fail this I still have another quarter to take it before the changes for 2011 take place. I came out saying okay, didn't go too terrible, and I think the testlets increased in difficulty. Well after another 2 or 3 nights of aggravation with score release I got my passing grade 2 days before my new job. I had already started studying for REG and started taking 2 grad classes, I do have to put out a disclaimer, I was stupid to think I could work a full-time job, take 2 grad classes, and study for REG all at once, don't do it! I was supposed to sit right after 10/15 and I didn't think I would have the time to focus on studying so I moved it back to the last day on my NTS, 11/12. I am so glad I did that, after about 180 hrs of studying, I came out of there saying okay I must have missed something, the testlets went up in difficulty but I think I knew everything…. Then I was excited to think I don't have to deal with this crazy wave 1 score release and will just hunker down and look for scores in December. Well my addiction to this website lead me to stay here and read basically all 80 pages of score release thread at that time to see that people that sat for FAR and BEC up to 11/12 were getting scores. I saw it was released and went on and refreshed a few times and saw my 96! I almost shut my screen down because it took so long to load that I thought it was another refresh of nothingness. Thank you everyone for your support! Best of luck to everyone waiting on grades and still studying for this exam! I hope you all get 75+'s for Christmas!n

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

[jwel]

@Michelle_CONGRATS!!!Hope u remember me from AUG score release.Great Job!!!n

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FAR -80
BEC -77
AUD -68 Retake 10/12 77
REG -79 Ethics -DONE!!! Licensing begins....

[luckypenny786]

Let's see… I graduated from college in May 2009 (BS Accounting / MBA combo). I wasn’t able to find a job, so most of my summer days were spent job searching, but I also started studying for AUD. In college, I won a scholarship and got CPA Excel for free, so I was using that to study. I found a job at a small public accounting firm and started in early August.

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Once I got settled at my new job and new city, I finally cracked down on studying and took AUD in late August. Passed – with an 88! Hey that wasn’t bad at all!

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I took BEC in October – 77. Ok, cutting it a little closer, but that's fine with me!

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Then I took REG in November. Thought it would be a breeze since all my work experience is in tax. I must have taken it for granted too much because I got a 65. Whoops! At that point, I switched to Yaeger. I did the CRAM course over a weekend in January, re-took REG the following week and got an 81! I procrastinated with my studying and didn’t really do much besides the CRAM, but I think the combination of the two study programs was what helped bring me up 16 points.

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FAR was the section I was really worried about… I don’t have much practical experience with most of the material, and kinda skimmed over it in college. Plus it’s just soooo much information. I waited a week after tax season ended, and started the Yaeger Home Study. First attempt (end of May) – 73. Ugh. Second attempt (end of July) – 74. So close! Finally my third attempt (mid October) – 75 on the dot.

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Never has it felt so good to see two little numbers pop up on a screen. I had to refresh the page several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I’m not even so much happy that I passed, but RELIEVED that I don’t have to study any more. 7 exams and thousands of dollars later, I’m done!!! I'm still in shock that I'm actually done and don't have to go back to studying again.

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Thanks Jeff and everyone in Club75 and Another71 for helping me not go completely insane throughout this whole process!! I’m really not sure what I would have done without all my virtual CPA friends 🙂

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–Katie–n

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D O N E !

[rnp]

I just graduated from college in June 2010. I started my Becker classes in July and took classes through September. I buckled down and started really studying the last two weeks in September. I then attempted what I was told was nearly impossible – I took all four exams in 26 days. I studied for 10 days for REG, 10 days for FAR, 5 days for AUD and 7 days for BEC. I just found out today that I passed all four tests this morning.

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I want to thank everyone on this forum. That month of studying was probably the most miserable month of my entire life. I can't count how many times I cried when I was studying for FAR. This forum got me through my tests. I really appreciate all of the experiences that everyone has shared – they helped me get through this horrible test. Thanks everyone!!n

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REG - 91 (10/1/10) // FAR - 82 (10/12/10) // AUD - 94 (10/18/10) // BEC - 80 (10/26/10)
Becker Student in California

DONE - PASSED 4 EXAMS IN 26 DAYS!!!

[Author]

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