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I’ve been waiting since fall of 2011 to make this post. Now almost 4 years later, I finally get to make it. Like many before me have expressed, the feeling of passing these four exams is simply unreal. It’s hard to truly put into the words the satisfaction of having these exams behind you. Throughout the entire process I have perused the forums of this website for inspiration, motivation, and guidance. This website has simply been a goldmine of information. I want to express my gratitude to Jeff and the rest of the Ninjas for all of the blog and forum posts. They were tremendously helpful in finding the right strategy, schedule, and courage to fight through initial failures. I’m going to try to summarize this post in as few words as possible. I’d love to write a novel on my exam experience, but I’m going to try to keep this post as brief as possible and maximize value.
My first piece of advice for any exam candidate beginning their CPA journey or struggling to pass their first attempt is to write down why you want to obtain your CPA license. List every single reason why this license is important to you and keep it accessible for future reference. Believe me, you will need this when you start to lose motivation or get burnt out in the process. If you can’t find a reason as to why you want to obtain this license, this process is simply not for you – at least not yet. Do not waste any of your precious and valuable time or hard earned money until you can figure out why! My second piece of advice is to conduct a careful examination of your daily schedule and current life commitments. This exam process is a big time commitment. If you want to successfully pass these exams, you’re going to spend a lot of time studying. If you don’t have the time, don’t waste spending your hard earned money on expensive CPA review courses and examination fees. Finally, figure out how you best learn and study effectively. This was difficult for me to determine initially, but I discovered that I learn more by practicing problems and simulations then reading or watching lecture videos. There are tremendous resources on the Internet and YouTube on learning and effective study methods.
Now let’s discuss a little bit about the exam itself:
(1) You do not have to be a genius to pass the CPA exam. It is a challenging exam, a true test of disciple and perseverance, but it is not impossible. This advice is commonly given on various review courses and CPA specific websites, but it is true advice and you need to really let that sink in.
(2) The recommended exam schedule by various CPA related courses and websites is to start with FAR, AUD, REG, and BEC. Again, this is TRUTH. You will be tempted to start with BEC because based on passing results it typically is considered the “easiest” exam. Easy is a relative term in this exam process. You may discover that BEC is the hardest part of the exam – at least I did for myself personally. FAR requires the most time commitment, knock that beast out first! I learned the hard way. My path was AUD > BEC > REG > FAR
(3) When working multiple choice questions don’t initially be discouraged on low scores during your first pass through the problems. Focus on what the specific question is asking, the reason why an answer is correct and why the other answers are incorrect. If you can do this, you will drastically improve your scores during your 2nd and 3rd pass through the questions.
(4) When in doubt – practice! If you’ve ordered a lecture video course, a textbook, and practice software, but you are pressed for time then just focus on the questions and only refer to a video or textbook when absolutely necessary.
(5) Do not spend a lot of time writing voluminous notes either. Write down only the information, concepts, and formulas that you struggle to grasp, but summarize in as few words as possible. If you haven’t already, purchase the NINJA notes. They are worth every penny and an awesome last week review before your exam.
(6) A daily set of 30-60 cumulative MCQs is an absolute must! It aids in keeping the information fresh and will help reinforce that you are retaining the information that you’ve learned previously.
(7) Don’t spend a ton of time practicing simulation problems. Instead, I would suggest saving them for the end of your study process during your review week. Familiarize yourself with the format and types of questions that may appear on the exam. You’re going to get challenging simulation problems on the exam and many will be something that you may never necessarily practiced in a simulation format when studying, but if you know the material and are able to use the authoritative literature, you should be able to get most of the credit on each problem. Also, never leave a simulation problem blank!
(8) When studying and preparing for the FAR exam, know your journal entries! Practice journal entries when practicing MCQs, even when the question does not require it. You cannot show up to the exam and hope journal entry type questions won’t appear.
(9) Be alert to when it’s time to take a break or hang it up for the day. There are times when information is just not going to sink in and you’re just going through the motions and clicking through problems or losing focus when watching a lecture video. Walk away and come back to it later or the next day.
(10) Learn to “lecture to the wall”. When discovering a new concept or formula, teach it to the wall or go find some person and tell them about it. I’ve found this active approach to studying to be helpful and reinforces that I understand the concepts.
I’ve read a lot of posts during my time on these forums regarding knowing when you’re ready to take the exam. This is always a difficult question to answer. Here’s my best advice of when to know you’re ready:
(1) You’ve completed your review course
(2) You’ve practiced an insane amount of questions. On all of my successful attempts, I practiced at a minimum 4,000 MCQs. My goal for every section was to work through every problem on the test bank 2-3 times and also ensure that I was practicing daily sets of 30-60 MCQS. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying 4,000 MCQs is the magic number. Obviously, quality over quantity. But seeing a variety of questions for every topic is extremely helpful.
(3) You’re averaging somewhere in between an 80-85% on your last time through the practice MCQs or cumulative sets of MCQs. I was successful on every attempt of the exam when I was averaging between that specific range.
The common theme on all of my failed attempts essentially boiled down to this: I DID NOT SPEND THE TIME NECESSARY TO STUDY OR PREPARE PROPERLY FOR THE EXAM.
My exam journey included the following:
(1) 4 total attempts on the BEC exam until I finally passed
a. 62, fall 2011
b. 57, spring 2012
c. 66, spring 2013
d. 76, winter 2014
(2) 2 total attempts on the AUD exam until I finally passed
a. 68, spring 2013
b. 78, fall 2013
(3) 2 total attempts on the REG exam until I finally passed
a. 72, summer 2014
b. 88, winter 2015
(4) 3 total attempts on the FAR exam until I finally passed
a. 44, fall 2012
b. 68, summer 2014
c. 80, spring 2015
Sandwiched between all of my exams included getting married, 3 job changes, 2 moving events, 3 half-marathons, and 1 full-marathon. This exam process taught me a lot about myself. It taught me how to sacrifice. It improved my time management skills and ability to focus. It improved my self-discipline. Finally, It taught me how to persevere.
Stay focused. Study hard. I wish every candidate the best of luck on the exam process. You can do this!
AUDIT - 78 (10/28/13)- ROGER CPA REVIEW / Wiley Test Bank
BEC - 76 (02/09/14) - ROGER CPA REVIEW / Wiley Test Bank
REG - 88 (01/30/15) - ROGER CPA REVIEW / Wiley Test Bank / NINJA Test Bank & Notes
FAR - 80 (4/10/15) - ROGER CPA REVIEW / Wiley Test Bank / NINJA Test Bank & Notes
- The topic ‘It's Finally Over – My CPA Exam Journey, Thoughts, and Tips to Pass the CPA Exam’ is closed to new replies.
