This same day… a year ago……

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #161402
    herbert7890
    Participant

    This day a year ago I took my first CPA exam (FAR) and I still remember how nervous and terribly scared I was, once I reached the prometric center. I was literally shaking hard trying to contain myself. After I finished the test, it was even worse, since somehow my brain focused all the attention on the mcqs I had no clue on or on the terrible sims that came out of nowhere. Having said that, this same day changed my life forever, as it was the first step to become a CPA. When I look back into this, I just remember all those months of sacrifice, having no life whatsoever and just drilling mcqs like a madman and reading all the exam tips from this forum.

    But boy was it worth it? 100%%%% YES! it is much like a soldier who fights for our country, it gives ourselves a huge sense of pride that not many people get to experience but at the same time this process will humble you in a heartbeat.

    Pardon me If this sounds cheesy, im a little emotional just thinking about this and Facebook’s new feature (which gives you a random post from a year ago) reminded me of a post I made the day I took my first CPA exam. Good luck to all of you and I hope all can finish this punishing journey you have begun.

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 27 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #358529
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Miss you, Herb!

    I was looking through the REG forum today and you were on there giving advice and support. I wondered if you still check on us from time to time.

    Congratulations!

    #358530
    2010Please
    Participant

    Hey, herbert7890, I remember you. Glad to see you made it through the maze too. And yes – it is an incredible feeling to NOT be studying for the CPA exam…but, after having been there and done that, I have a great amount of respect for those who are on here still fighting. I've never met a CPA yet who doesn't remember the days of studying for the exam. 🙂

    I'll be in Puerto Rico in October on business. Wondering if you could give me any helpful info as a first-time visitor to Puerto Rico. My husband has been to Puerto Rico a few times on business (and he is jealous that I'm going now). I'll be with another auditor, but neither of us speak Spanish (she did take Spanish in college about ten years ago but has pretty much forgotten it all). How big of an issue will we have renting a car and driving from San Juan to Ponce? Do the cars there have GPS in English.

    Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

    AUD 92, REG 85, BEC 90, FAR 85
    Ethics 100
    Obtained License 7/11/11 🙂

    #358531
    herbert7890
    Participant

    @Allyson – Of course I'm still here but I rarely post now! You are one of the greatest stories on this forum and I cant wait to see the gran finale this September!

    @2010Please – Very nice to be visiting us!! I hope you will like it. As a first time visitor, I recommend going to the “Old San Juan” which is a great tourist destination, since is the oldest town in Puerto Rico, dating back to the era of Christopher Columbus. There you will see a few forts (El morro, San Cristobal) that were used to defend from french pirate ships. Also, you should visit some of the beautiful beaches we have. if you are on the east side, there is one called Palomino island (need a boat ride), with crystal clear waters.

    There is also a great adventure called Toro Negro, which has zip-lines that span around the forest and some water rides also. Link here: https://www.acampapr.com/page.cgi?pag=tour&id=71416708568

    I don't think you will have a problem with the GPS since almost we are very English friendly and most likely they are in fact in English. San Juan to Ponce is around an hour and a half drive but sometimes the traffic can increase that by a large margin. I hope that could assist you somehow!

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

    #358532
    T-rex
    Participant

    Hi, Herb!!!

    Thanks for your inspirational post!

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

    #358533
    2010Please
    Participant

    @herbert7890 – Yes, this helps a lot – Thanks!

    @Allyson – So you took REG today? How are you feeling about it — are you taking a study break now and waiting? Nevermind, I just checked the REG thread…sounds like it was a rough experience. Hang in there – hopefully you'll get at least a 75. I remember you feeling bad about FAR last quarter of 2010, but you passed (and I didn't) then. Maybe you'll pull off your last pass this time!

    AUD 92, REG 85, BEC 90, FAR 85
    Ethics 100
    Obtained License 7/11/11 🙂

    #358534
    jomarie
    Participant

    Hi Herb!!

    Congrats!!

    Started sitting in May 2002, on and off. But since 2008 I've been nonstop and my scores are....
    AUD - 39, 48, 56, 65, 68, 73, 76!!! (Finally passed in Oct 2011!!!) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
    REG - 75 (Lost Credit) 72, 68, 73, 75 (Passed again in Aug 2011) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
    FAR - 65, 68, 75 (Lost Credit) 68, 73, 73, 80 (Passed again in May 2012) Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
    BEC - 65, 68, 71, 72, 72, 71, 76 (Lost Credit)- 70, 76!!!! I AM DONE!!! - Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
    After 10 long years of studying, I AM DONE!!!! Finally a Licensed CPA in the State of New York!!

    #358535
    Herbieherb
    Participant

    Hi herb! We had a similar run. First exam 8/1/10 last 2/28/11. Was cool being on this board with you during that time frame!

    NEW YORK- DONE

    #358536
    Peanut
    Participant

    Herbert! I used to stalk you! lol. So happy to see you still visit 🙂

    AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
    REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
    FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
    BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

    #358537
    herbert7890
    Participant

    thanks everyone!! I really love this forums. This site really helped me during my CPA studies, either by having encouragement from the members or just having a good time.

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

    #358538
    HazeEastwood
    Participant

    Herbie, what's up?! I remember you sent me helpful notes for AUD. You told me we wou'd be celebrating in June because I was definitely going to pass and I did!!!!

    FAR-81
    BEC-84
    AUD-91
    REG-89

    #358539
    herbert7890
    Participant

    Life is good right now. This is my last MBA semester and I will be done with that. Also I start working in a CPA firm on September. Just switched from my old job to Hewlett Packard a month ago and im switching again lol. I know this offers are a product of having those 3 coveted letters behind my name : D

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

    #358540
    JD_CPA
    Member

    Hello herbert…

    I made a quick search for posts that mentioned Puerto Rico and I found some of yours. I am a recent grad from the north side of the Island and I would love to ask you some questions about your experiences throughout the process of becoming a CPA here in PR, job hunting, study techniques etc… I don't know if you still visit this board but if you read my post let me know…

    Hope to hear from you soon buddy…

    #358541
    herbert7890
    Participant

    Hello JD_CPA,

    I still visit the forums every few days to check on things. If you need any assistance in particular or have any questions, feel free to reply on this forums and I will do my best to answer them. I'm glad you decided to become a CPA, it will truly help you on your career and professional development.

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

    #358542
    JD_CPA
    Member

    Thanks for responding so quickly herbert. I truly appreciate it.

    Well, like I said on my post I just graduated last month and after taking a well deserved vacation I am ready to tackle this beast. Next week I plan to go pick up my becker review materials and begin studying right away. I'm thinking I should start with AUD since I took that class last semester and I still remember a lot of the material.

    First couple of questions.

    How was your experience with becker? I was surprised to find out we can get it for half price here.

    Do you know anyone who attended the live classes here in SJ? Did they think it was better than watching the DVD?

    #358543
    herbert7890
    Participant

    Becker was excellent for me. We get becker full course, including flash cards for about $1,250 – 1,300 if I'm not mistaken. I used the self study program which is completely done on your pc. The video lectures are really great and they will explain a lot of important topics for the exam. Also, those lectures are made by the best Becker lectures, instead of going to a live class, where the lecturers just put the same videos, on a huge screen for everyone to see at the class room (That's what my co-workers have told me about Becker Live classes here in Puerto Rico.

    In relation to the exam order, you could take AUD first but I strongly you consider taking FAR up next, as it's the longest exam in terms of study time, due to the vast amount of material covered in that section, If you leave that one for last, your energy level won't be as high as in the first couple of exams. My study strategy for Becker was:

    1. Watch the video lectures of the chapter and do the questions at the end of the chapter (about 13-20 per chapter), to access my weak points on that particular topic.

    2. read the whole chapter, slowly and carefully to really get a better understanding of the material)

    3. Carefully read the flashcards of that chapter a few times (I even slept with them a few times)

    3. Then do the rest of the Pass master questions of the chapter. After this, if I still had any problems or doubts with a topic, I read that section of the book again and did some more mcqs.

    4 After I completed this routine with each chapters. I went back again with the first chapter and read it all over again and do all the mcqs and followed that procedure with all chapters (all mcqs would have been worked 2x by now)

    5.Now I do simulations for all chapters (I left them for last, when you will have a much stronger knowledge of the material)

    6. Keep reading all the flashcards ( I had them with me at all times, including work, graduate classes, bed, car, everywhere, lol)

    7, Do some more mcqs in your weak topics

    8. Do final exams

    9. Read specific portions of the book that are still troublesome.

    10.Read more flashcards til test date.

    I know it sound like a lot but every person will have a different strategy to tackle this beast of an exam. I just wanted to give each exam section my best shot at passing during my first try. I didnt want to use the excuse “I failed because I didnt sacrifice enough”. I assure you this exam is nowhere close to any exam you have taken before in college but that just means we need a different strategy than the one we used for college exam (which for me was, study the day before the exam). One thing I have learned over throughout my studies and working in a CPA firm is that, many people say things like “I want to be a CPA”, or “I would like to be a CPA” and most likely none of those will ever become CPAs. You know why? You truly need an extraordinary desire to become a CPA, to go through this pain and sacrifice and not everyone wants it THAT BAD. But the bright side is, those who do, will become, sooner or later, a CPA.

    I did that with every chapter of every section of the CPA exam. For FAR in particular, you will have to be going back after every few chapters, so you don't forget what have read on the earlier chapters. Keep the material fresh on your mind at all times.

    Now with AUD, a lot of what helped me was literally memorizing those flashcards in and out, including the standard audit report (Unqualified Opinion) and knowing how the wording changes and the paragraph placement when making a Qualified Opnion, Disclaimer or Adverse Opinion. I probably read each chapter's flashcards about 25-30 times. Also to your benefit, AUD is probably Becker's strongest course, as you will see many mcqs during the exam that were identical to the passmaster questions used in Becker.

    I hope it will serve you somehow and if you need anything or have any more questions, feel free to ask me, anytime.

    FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 27 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.