[Tono23]

Hello all,

I recently was informed that I failed FAR for the 5th time! Another 54!

I am beyond frustrated. This nightmare has been going on for 5 years without a single pass. I am at a loss here ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong

I’ve utilized Becker, Roger and most recently Gliem text book with Wiley test bank.

I studied about 2 hours after work and 5 hours on Saturday and took Sunday off. This method was placed in use for about 1.5 months. I answered Wiley multiple choice and sprinkled Sims here and there. I took notes on those which were answered incorrectly. Scored in the 60s and low 70s on multiple choice.

People have stated that I need to study harder….I have being doing so, how much harder can I study? What does that mean? What more can I do? I have been committed, but its not paying off.

Obviously there’s a huge flaw with my study technique, but where and how?? Can anyone please help, please? I want to be done with this exam and move on with my life. I’m 34 years old. I’ve been out of academia for 10 years.

I even hired a tutor. He didn’t help much. It Felt like he just wanted my money.

I feel stupid for not passing this darn exam. My peers have passed and are very successful professionals. I too want to be a licensed accountant and suceed!

I want to be a CPA for that job promotion. I want to be a CPA to prove to the nay sayers that I did it. I want to be a CPA with the dream of hanging up a shingle one day. I want to be a CPA for the prestige of saying I’m a CPA. Those are my reasons for wanting this credential.

[Nate]

I know you are discouraged, but I am going to be completely honest with this post. First, you CAN do it, you're not stupid, these test are very possible for anyone, they're not designed for people with high IQ's, they're designed for people who truly want it. With that said, do you truly want this? Because your study habits do not indicate that you do. I'm married, and I had to neglect my wife, never see my family and friends, in order to pass all 4 sections. I studied for an hour during the work day (30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks), then 4-5 hours after work each night, about 12 hours on Saturdays, and 5-6 hours on Sundays (I volunteer at the Church so that took time). I skipped weeknight meetings constantly and made my wife go alone to them. You truly have to want to pass, to pass.

Also, based on your study habits, I imagine you're aiming to get a 75. THAT WILL NEVER WORK! Anyone who just tries to get a 75 will constantly get below 75. You literally need to aim to get a 99! You need to study and prepare as if you need a 99 to pass, and that's not to say you'll get a 99, I certainly got nowhere close, but if your strategy is to get a 75, then you're going to continue on this journey for a very very long time. Buckle down and get it done! That's all I can tell you, you can do it, but if you truly want it, then make sure your study habits reflect that, cause it doesn't seem like it's that important to you with how little you study honestly.

[El]

@OP – I'd agree with other comments that your study schedule is light but this is your 5th time and 5th year so I am assuming you had a lot of study time leading up to this.

It sounds like you don't understand the fundamentals of accounting. This sounds brutal but it may be true. All CPA review courses are for “review”. It is not their responsibility to drill into the basics. I would pull out your Accounting 101 text book and go through it from chapter 1 to the end. Once you finish I can almost guarantee the things you found confusing will be less so because you have refreshed your understanding of basic debits/credits and the transaction cycle (how B/s and I/S flow together).

Good luck!

[Recked]

I don't think 6 weeks of 15 hours a week is enough.
Give yourself a fighting chance here.
I'd recommend 8 weeks @ 25 hours a week, with 2 weeks left at the end for review, so a total of 10 weeks.
Overkill? yea probably, but I bet you pass.

[ds34168]

What is also important is understanding the concept and stick that in your brain so you can apply it to the questions. How's the quality of your studying?

[Pokey]

At least you are failing one of the hardest sections. I on the other hand have failed AUD 5 times with 2-71s and 1-74 and somehow on this last time I got a freaking 61.. wth! I feel your pain but I'll continue to study – I mean what else would I do?? Go back to watching Netflix shows in my spare time. Don't give up unless you really just don't want to have that goal any longer. I know plenty of people who decided not to lose time with freedom. I get it.. But I don't want to look back and think what could of been if I had just tested one more time.. Well.. in my case No passes with 9 fails (3 of which I didn't study and NTS was expiring).

What ever you decide – you will need to look forward and don't second guess yourself.

AUD - 74 (3x), TBD
BEC - Sept16
FAR - TBD
REG - TBD

[ixlr82day]

I also feel your study time is a little light. I am over 15 years out of college…closer to 20. On my FAR pass I studied 4 hours a day on Monday – Thursday, Saturday 10 hours, and Sunday 8 hours. This went on for over 3 months. I did 1-2 modules (Becker) a week for over 2 months. Then I reviewed for 3 weeks. I rewrote my notes and did Becker Final Review multiple times and focused on the SIMS to understand what is the best way to answer them. Went to the gym and listened to Ninja Audio.

Some people have an easy time on this exam and well others…me included…have it extremely difficult.

[Anonymous]

My guess would be that you don't really understand the material even after seeing the solutions, which is obviously a more serious problem than not remembering/retaining it.

How many times have you taken the exam?

[junodobi]

I am going to be the voice of dissent. I don't know what your life is like (or was like) in the last few years, but here is my story:

I worked full-time and went to school full time for ~5 years.

Then I studied for the CPA exam while working full time.

I took REG (and thought I failed), but passed on my first try. (I didn't even look up my score until well after it was released, and almost fainted when I saw the passing score…)

I took AUD and felt pretty good (found out I barely passed, but 75 is 75!)…

I took BEC and felt horrible, happy to find out I passed with a 76.

Then I took FAR and failed (70).

Took it again the next window and failed (60).

Was going to study and take it again, but I COULD NOT STUDY. So I stopped studying. And questioned if being a CPA was really worth it. After three months, I started studying again, and took FAR two days before my REG was set to expire. Passed with 80 (and, by the way, was pretty convinced I had failed again…). It was a huge gamble, but luckily for me it paid off.

[Author]

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