[kyle.brown]

So i am not sure if this is just me but i feel until i start passing some parts that maybe my best option will be to only try and attempt to take one test per window so i can make sure i am giving my self proper study time and not cutting my self short and just wasting money away. Any thoughts?

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[Anonymous]

that is what i have done. It will take you longer (maybe up to a year) but at this point I dont have any regrets. I wish I could just take as many as I can each window, but its hard for me to study for a new section w/o knowing for sure whether I passed a previous section. But watch out for overstudying cause it exists. There are some sections where depending on who you are, you really dont need an entire window to prepare for one sit down. For example, in my opinion judging from your audit performance, you would need a month (at most) in order to prepare for your next audit test. If you work hard, it could probably even be done in 2 weeks.

[smazthespaz]

I've been doing one test per quarter. My idea was that if you can book an hour or two at night after work and dedicate more time on weekends, then it can be a very manageable exam. I'm coming up on a year of doing this (hopefully I'll find out I'm done on Tuesday!), but I've had enough time where I can take days off to keep my mind rested.

REG - 83 11/24/14
AUD - 94 2/17/15
FAR - 93 5/26/15
BEC - 90 8/10/15

[Kayla123]

I think it all depends on how much time you have to dedicate to studying. Right now, I am studying full time until I start my job in November, so studying for a whole quarter would be way too much study time. I am taking REG on Thursday, and I gave myself about 3.5-4 weeks to study.I think I gave myself way too much time. I am finding it very hard to focus and am getting bored very easily since I have already done all MC questions (multiple times) and sims and re-read the book like 8 times now. I found that when I over study I start to confuse myself and it has a negative impact on my studying.

But if you are already working full time, I would say a month or a month and a half may be needed to prepare.

AUD- 99
FAR- 93
BEC- 90
REG- 94

[Anonymous]

I'm a strong advocate of one exam per testing window. That's how I approached the exam and it worked well for me. By spending 10 to 16 weeks per section I had plenty of time to go over the material and then review it all until everything stuck. It's a quality over quantity approach in my mind.

I see a lot of people here who want to pass the exam as quickly as possible. So they schedule multiple sections per window while working full time. Many people end up failing one or more times and, in the end, it takes them just as long to pass the whole exam as it did for me with my “one exam per window” strategy and it costs them more money in the long run as they have to keep forking over the signup fee (and the reschedule fees since a lot of times they fall behind and have to move things around). Again, one exam per window solved a lot of these problems for me.

With that said you really need to commit to passing each exam otherwise you are in danger of losing credits. You are taking longer per exam so you need to put that time to good use.

[kyle.brown]

Thanks guys this really is helping… I have a one year old and have been missing out a lot on spending time with him and my wife on weekends doing stuff because i have been studying i think i am going to stick with this approach since i cant dedicate more than 20-25 hours a week at the most and still have time for my family.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[kyle.brown]

Also how much time off did you take between exams.. I test for FAR again on the 29th and was wanting to take at least one week off.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[smazthespaz]

I've usually taken a couple weeks off to wait to see if I've passed or not. This past window I only took a few days off. You can easily get away with taking a couple weeks off if you schedule at the end of a window. You really just need to make a schedule and stick with it.

REG - 83 11/24/14
AUD - 94 2/17/15
FAR - 93 5/26/15
BEC - 90 8/10/15

[kyle.brown]

Thanks this really helps…. This window i had planned on taking AUD at the start of the window but when i went to pick a date i could only get the 20th of July making my study for my FAR retake almost 3 weeks shorter. I am going to stick to one test per window from now on until i get my mojo and start dominating these exams.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[Anonymous]

I tried to take my exams on Fridays. Then I'd give myself the weekend off. I'd start up studying for the next section on Monday.

In my opinion you don't want to take too much time off. You don't want to lose your focus or let the study habits you develop deteriorate. My advice is to not take too long before starting your next section.

[Missy]

When I tried 2 exams in the same window (three windows I tried this) I'd pass one and fail one. Ended up taking a year to pass all four anyway. The cool thing about a 1 year old is you can read the material out loud (they'll never miss Brown Bear a couple nights a, week) or listen to audio while you're pushing a, stroller! Make your family a priority of course but you can be a bit more flexible than sitting alone to study.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[ocarina]

I've done one per quarter. I'll find out tomorrow if that has worked well for the first half! (eek)

I'm doing REG now and will take the test the first day of the next quarter then take BEC towards the end.

FAR - 78
AUD - 82
REG - 79
BEC - 78

Study Materials: Becker Self Study, NINJA Notes, NINJA MCQ for review
Started March 2015 and finished December 2015 all on first attempt. Licensed CPA Jan 2016.

IT Auditor/CyberSec Consultant in Public Accounting
Future goals: Learn IT Network infrastructure, obtain CISA & CISSP

[Anonymous]

I work full time and have two children (7 and 3) and have been taking one a quarter. It worked for FAR and I will know tonight if it worked for REG. I don't think I could take more than one a quarter and stay sane. It gives me time to study at my own pace. I had planned on finishing all the exams this year but life happened and I will (hopefully) take my last exam in February.

As to how long to take off between exams, I usually schedule my exam so that I have two weeks until score release. I take those two weeks off because 1) I need to rest my brain 2) I need to catch up on the backlog of housework, etc. that does not get done during final review stage and 3) there is no way I could concentrate on a new section without knowing how I did on the prior test.

Good luck!

[okcpa2015]

Passing these exams are all about creating an Individual plan and sticking to it. Everyone has their own commitments and time limitations.

I approached studying for the exam like creating a financial budget for my family. I wrote down my typical week, found time that I already had free and cut out more time (such as waking up an hour earlier and studying at lunch everyday).

The difference between passing and failing in my opinion is sticking to your plan!

Just like your own personal financial budget, it only works as well as you stick to it. Your plan is only going to work if you use the time you committed. That's approached allowed me to pass all four parts on my first attempt.

Hope that helps.

FAR - 91
REG - 88
AUD - 98
BEC - 88

[gamerCPA]

@okcpa2015 what was your study plan? I'm trying to figure out a study plan that will work for me. I workout and like to spend time with my family after work. I consider during an hour before work and at lunch and an hour after work. I think that could work and could get me 3 hours a day during the work week and the weekends are wide open for me beside the usually yard work and family time.

[Mustang13]

Shout out to the guy who red your child audit material at night instead of an actual story. Man it feels good to be a gangster. hahaha

Whether you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

AUD 73,77
BEC 74,76
FAR 66,79
REG 74, 81

[Author]

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