[lilyjin0906]

Hello all,

I am pretty paranoid right now, and did not know how much information I was getting into before I spend all of the money on review and application fees.

The situation is this- I plan on studying for 8 weeks straight, about 12 hours a day. This gives us about 650 hours (taking out the days where I actually go take the exam, and I do not plan on studying after taking the exam on the same day….)

I just want to know from those of you who have passed- is it doable to pass all FOUR parts in these time given? I already schedule my exams, and my education background was in accounting with pretty good grades.

(also, the time includes watching videos and lectures.)

Just want to have a realistic expectation.

Thanks!

[Missy]

I'm not offended, either. Just being honest.

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

[JamesBJames]

I think it's possible — I spent around 500-550 hours total and could have studied less than that — but it's not going to be fun and 12 hours a day is brutal.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is possible. I almost took 3 in one window while working (including a week of vacation) and taking off a week between eams, but decided to enjoy the week of vacation instead and pushed my last exam out to the next window. However, I have no doubt I could have passed the 3rd in that window since I had a solid study plan (same as I followed in the next window), so, 4 in 8 weeks of full-time study should be possible.

The only modification I'd make to your study-schedule is to give yourself some more break time. Your mind can only go at top efficiency so long and you don't want to get burnt-out. I'd take a decent break midday (hour plus), and I'd take 1 day a week off. With an hour break and nothing else going on in life, you should still be able to do your 12 hours a day, in which case you still have 72 hours per week even with a day off. Most hours-per-exam suggestions I've seen have been in the 100-200 range for most exams, so 72 hours would cover that.

Given that you'll be studying in such a short time-frame before the exam, you'll have the added advantage of having more information in recent short-term memory, so that should help you if you'rei like me and have better short-term memory than long-term memory. Just don't get burnt out along the way and pass 3 in 6 weeks then take 6 months for the last one.

[travdivs]

Yes, 8 weeks is a stretch but if you put your mind to it and stick to a schedule i think you can do it! I studied for AUD for around 10 days and passed so if you extrapolate that out, I think 8 weeks is enough time if you study as a full time job.

AUD 5/28/15 - 98
FAR 7/3/15 - 86
BEC 7/20/15 - 89
REG 8/24/15 - 85

Becker Fast Pass, Studying Full Time

[Anonymous]

I thought this was supposed to be a supportive community? My gosh… It is doable, it's easier for some than others – you can't go through life telling yourself you can/can't do something based on what others have/haven't been able to accomplish. This has been a really disappointing thread.

[JohnWayneIsGod]

The quickest I've ever heard of was two cases of studying and passing in just six months, and those people did it without work while studying for 12 hours a day everyday. 8 weeks though…I think you are setting yourself up for failure.

FAR - 80

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

-John Wayne

[Anonymous]

@JohnWayneIsGod Keep in mind that the people who pass quickly aren't here for long if at all, usually, so if 2 is all you've seen, that's just cause the people who are around most are the people who haven't passed as quickly (partially cause this is a support site for those who struggle to pass, and partially cause people who are only studying for, say, 3 months are only likely to be here for 3 months).

If 6 months without passing is the fastest you've heard, then let me introduce myself – while working, took first exam at the end of May and last exam at the start of October (could've taken it end of August but decided to enjoy a vacation week in August before starting a new job instead), so about 5 months from test-to-test, about 6 including studying for first test.

[JohnWayneIsGod]

@Lilla Those are people that I know personally. But one is insanely smart and the other is the hardest working person I've ever known. Congrats on the speed in which you passed the exams. I'm still studying for FAR and it is a bear. Can't wait till I have this all wrapped up.

FAR - 80

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

-John Wayne

[JustAnother99]

Don't let these responses discourage you, only YOU know your chances of passing all 4 exams in two months best. It is DEFINITELY possible, as I did it myself. I knew that I was generally a good standardized test taker (and good ‘crammer' for tests), so I decided to try to get them over with as quickly as possible. I DO NOT recommend my study practices to anybody else, nor would I suggest that anybody follow the plan I outline below if you want to pass all four exams. Like I said, only YOU know how well you can cram/perform on these exams.

I only used Becker for all of my studying. Basically, I spent about 10-15 hours going through the Becker materials for each exam (taking notes on any specific equations or terms I would need to memorize), then another 10-15 hours just doing Becker test questions (and reading all of the details about the questions I missed). My final 2-3 hours before each exam I just studied my notes and memorized the equations, terms, etc. that I had written down. Also note that it helps significantly that I was able to take the exams during my last semester in college (plenty of time, and all classes were fresh in my mind). My GPA was a 4.0.

So I was basically able to cram for 2-3 days straight and then walk into each test, then dump the material from my mind shortly after. 🙂 The most time I spent studying was for FAR, and I spent about 40 hours over 3 days before my exam. I was fortunate enough to pass all of the exams with a 90+ the first time around, within about 6 weeks total (with MANY days in between of little to no studying).

Like I said, it all comes down to how well you know your self. Are you a person that can cram a bunch of material into your brain quickly? Do you remember a lot of the material from school? We are the ‘standardized testing' generation (and I thank God for that), so how well do you perform on standardized tests?

Moral of the story, it is DEFINITELY do-able and even reasonably attainable to complete all four exams in 2 months, if you are in the right situation.

Best of Luck!

[Sarah1421]

There is absolutely no way I could do it. I'd be amazed if someone could… both intelligence-wise and work ethic.

FAR - 90
AUD - 91
BEC - 86
REG - 87

[Anonymous]

A girl I went to college with kind of did it. She started Becker Fastpass in the summer of 2011 starting in May right after she graduated and was finished by early July. After that, she studied on her own and took two tests in July and her last two in August (including one during Hurricane Irene). This was right after she was done with Becker. She ended up passing all four sections, though technically in 12 weeks if you want to count the time she used for Becker Fastpass. But she took all four tests in 7 weeks after she was done with her review course and studying on her own. Fast forward, she is now an auditor at Deloitte in NYC.

My point is, if you are willing to completely put your life on hold for a couple months and do nothing but study for the CPA exam, then do it. The person I was talking about did this and obviously she made it. But if you don't think you could, I wouldn't risk it. After all, the CPA exam costs money, and you wouldn't want to spend money on a section only to realize that you didn't pass and have to pay again.

[Martin]

This thread makes me feel retarded. It took me two windows just to pass FAR, and some individuals here have passed 4 parts in one window, while others are claiming that is very doable. I guess pretty much anyone who has taken a single part in more than one window will feel the same way about this thread.

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[trish_1234]

Please Martin, do not say that….. it is very common to fail. You, I and many others will say that passing also has a lot to do with luck. If you get the right sims to use AL for instance.

People do pass more than one exam in a window but many do not. Its as simple as that…. PERIOD! No need for anyone to justify why some people fail while others do it.. is retarded to do so its fact less so stupid (comes to show never mind)… Oh its bc Mary is a soccer mom so she keeps failing or Eric is 50 yrs old and he went back to college for career change so he keeps failing blablabla. Really hahaha what stats are you referring too!!!!

Nobody can tell this individual what he/she can cannot do, We are allowed to sit all 4 in one window if we chose to do so he/she has no restraints in that manner…besides having to study 24/7 maybe. This thread was going to be controversial and defensive/offensive lol as many other threads. I am totally getting used to these debates/discussions….

AUD 69, 92 7/15 Gleim and Ninja test bank
FAR sometime in 10/15 Gleim
BEC not taken
REG not taken

[Anonymous]

As one who has posted saying that faster pass times are very attainable, I still second what Trish said – Martin, or anybody else, shouldn't read this and feel retarded. Everyone studies different, remembers different, tests different, and passes different. What matters is only that at the end of the day we all end up CPA's. My personal theory is that those who study longer have better long-term retention after they pass, since they're using more long-term memory to pass the exam, whereas those who study a shorter time rely more on short-term memory and likely remember less after they're done with the exam. So, those who are passing these 1 per quarter or per 2 quarters and studying 3-6 months for each will probably be more knowledgeable; those who are passing 4 per quarter will be done quicker; but both will be CPAs at the end. Just some people do better relying on short-term memory and some do better relying on long-term. I'm one that really doesn't do well with long-term memory, hence the short-term study style for myself.

[Missy]

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

[Author]

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