[Anonymous]

i am in the wrost place or thats how it seems.

I hated my job to a point i started hating my life. After torturing myself for quite sometime i decided to quit to take some time off for myself. Then i became too scared to go back to work and kept delaying everything. I started studying for the exam. Fast fwd to now.. took reg for the 2nd time and failed it with 72. I really needed to pass this so i can put something on resume to get back on the market. I am feeling very shitty.

PLUS I have NTS expiring for BEC and FAR mid April which i was planning on taking both. Now i dont know what to do… how do i move on? what do i study for? what do i do next? Its so hard not knowing what the future holds.

[Anonymous]

It will get better – try to find your focus and motivation for doing this.

While your looking for work and building your network, keep this in mind for getting the license.

I was in a similar situation but decided to change how studied going forward. That for me simply meant reading the Becker book and ignoring the lectures. Doing the MCQ but not relying on them other than flagging on average 18 questions for each lecture (not necessarily the ones that were difficult but ones that did a good job of showing the whole picture).

As far as on the market, just let potential employers know your actively pursuing the license. No one is going to ask what your score was especially if all you need is a 75 (who really cares if got a 90+ ; unless your applying for a scholarship).

If someone ask how many times you took it, be proud to say it – 50 times!! But you were determined to pass and quitting was not an option. That to me makes an potential employee that much more likely to succeed in the work place.

Take a deep look at where you were before.

The future will be good if you think positively and just focus.

Take some deep breaths and do something enjoyable and then focus.

[Anonymous]

@asimo

Thank you so much for responding. I am such a emotional wreck right now. I cant get over it and everything just seems like its not working out now. Its a terrible feeling.

I need something to motivate myself because its so hard to even to focus right now. How do u find your motivation?

Do u think if i just leave REG and just focus on FAR for now. would that be a bad idea? would i forget stuff? I keep thinking what if i fail FAR too and then i just keep losing time and i will get nowhere. AHHHH

[Anonymous]

Hi, I would retake REG the beginning of April.

Keep studying for REG until then.

72 shows you know a lot of the material.

After REG go to FAR.

[s2sylvir]

Normally I would recommend REG, but you already paid for FAR and BEC.

Not to bring you down, but 2 months for FAR might not be enough. It's definitely possible to pass both FAR and BEC in the next window, but you know yourself best. FAR and BEC are not to be underestimated.

So ask yourself: Is it worth compromising study time to try to take both FAR and BEC in one window, and pass 0. Or is it better to forgo one of the NTS and pass at least one? (if you pick one, go with FAR at the latest date you can take it)

If you think you can do both, heck why not take both? You have nothing to lose. The NTS payments are sunk costs now.

Also, I started with AUD and failed it 4 times before passing (including 2 74's so I was pretty pissy about the entire CPA exam at one point). The key to passing is not skimping on HW/lectures. Force yourself!! Holding myself accountable was what finally got me the passing grades.

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[StephAV]

If I were you, I think I'd focus on BEC. To me BEC is one of the easier exams and you can get through the material sufficiently by mid April. That is a month away and you are unemployed. FAR is just too much and you need a pass to boost your morale.

After BEC, I'd get right back to REG. I would do MCQ and Sims (NINJA worked well for me). As you are close to passing REG. Hit your trouble areas hard. Schedule that for the next window. Practice and work on understanding and memorizing all the stuff you just have to memorize for REG.

Then FAR and last AUD. FAR is a beast and is helpful for AUD. I thought AUD was the easiest and would be a nice one to be taking as your final section of exam.

FAR - 7/13 - 72, 11/13- 74, 2/14- 82!!! Best score ever (for me)!!!
BEC - 1/14 - 75!!! Perfect score! First Pass! YAY!!!
AUD - 8/14 - 80!!!
REG - 5/14 - 72, 10/14 - 66, 1/15 - 78 - DONE FOREVER!!!
I did 5 of the UNA and CPAExcel classes to earn units.

[KCCPA13]

I would also keep going with REG. The material is still refresh in your mind, keep going. If you took a break from REG, there's a possibility that you might forget all the little details that you worked hard to remember… I know I would. It took me 3 times to pass REG, so you can do it! Just keep cranking through the MCQ. I'm not sure what studying materials you're using, but I highly recommend you just going through MCQ/Sims practice and understanding why each answer is correct and wrong. I picked up ways to approach a problem and important things to remember while just going through MCQs. If you find an area you feel super uncomfortable with, then I would go back to your main study materials and review.

Also, I agree that taking FAR by mid-April wouldn't be your best bet. Unless you're super familiar and confident in financial accounting, I would rather go with BEC. FAR has the most materials and many people take a few months to prepare.

Don't give up! Many of us took multiple times to pass an exam. It's not an easy thing to do. You can definitely do it.

FAR ✓
AUD ✓
REG ✓
BEC ✓

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DONE.

[iloveaccounting220]

I would definitely take REG like the first week of April…April 1st if possible. I actually just failed it with a 72 as well and am retaking it on 4/6. You dont need much studying time for it since you scored very close to passing. I would just go through all the MCQ's and SIMS again. Be very familiar with the SIMS and your weak areas. Then right after taking REG, I would start studying for BEC. Many people claim BEC is the easiest which may be true since it has the highest pass rate. For me personally, it took me three times, but that was due to my lack of studying. I think you will have a better chance of passing BEC than FAR for sure. Schedule BEC for 4/30..That should give u almost 4 weeks to study, which is not too bad. Do 2 chapters a week.. Three chapters within the last week if possible. I would say BEC's hardest chapters are: 2 and 3. Those will take a while to get through, but once you get through the first 3 chapters, the other 3 arent so bad.

Also dont stress about finding a job right now, you really need to concentrate on these exams. Concentrate on studying and passing. You have lots of free time since no job committment. Once you pass, start applying for as many jobs as possible. Update your resume on LinkedIn. Recruiters will find you on LinkedIn if you have a complete profile with descriptions of your last positions. Trust me, the job market is great for us accountants. Hang in there and good luck. Be smart with your studies. Don't waste time with distractions. Good luck to you!

**EDIT**

Actually, just saw that ur NTS expires MID April. I would study for BEC then to guarantee a pass for that. You def wont pass if you decide to take REG first week of April then BEC mid-April. Then schedule your REG exam towards the end of May, get that over with. Then move on to FAR or AUD

BEC - 76 (1/24/15)
REG - 82 (4/13/15)
AUD - 89 (5/31/15)
FAR - 78 (8/16/15)

Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice. I really needed to hear from other people beside my family that things will be ok. I was just freaking out because as it coming close to be a year of being unemployed, you become less marketable.

I was an auditor for 2 and half years so i feel like i am fimilar with some stuff in FAR. If any auditor come accross my post, please advice if you felt FAR was better than BEC? I skimmed through first chapter of BEC and FAR and i felt i understood FAR more then BEC. Based on that would it be doable and would i be able to pass it by April 20th since i have no job commitment.

Btw i am using BECKER to study for the exam. Is that enough?

@iloveaccounting220 – May i ask you how you aprroached BEC differently?

Once again i really really appreciate all your response. Thank You!!

[Nute]

Retake REG April first. Sign up for BEC the date your NTS expires. Since you can study all day it is doable to study BEC everyday for 2 weeks and pass. You can knock out 2 exams in the next month, just put your mind to it, you can do it. Don't get down and never give up.

Passed All Four Exams!

Best Exam Advice (came from a fortune cookie after I got a 74 on my first exam):
"Study and prepare yourself and one day, your day will come"

That day came on June 9th, 2015

Licensed NJ CPA

[nicole2035]

i wouldn't go with REG, a lot of people suggest it but i see a lot of people fail multiple times and sticking to the same section. Taking a break from material and revisiting CAN be good. I think you should take another exam, maybe BEC to get your morale up. See your study habits for that and apply it to REG.

I think retaking a test multiple times is MADDENING, and lets be real, you're more than likely re-enforcing information you *think* you get, but actually don't. Don't be scared to try this your own route

[Anonymous]

I was faced with the REG or BEC situation a couple months ago and I went straight back to REG and understood everything conceptually (damn entity taxation). Went from a 66 to a 78 in a matter of 5 weeks! (during the holidays too)

[s2sylvir]

FAR just has a lot more material — but I agree, FAR is not hard. It's just 10 chapters vs BEC's 6 chapters (or was it only 5?).

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[iloveaccounting220]

@CPAneed – The first two times i didnt watch the lectures, the third time i actually watched the lectures. I was suprised I only got a 76 because i put in a lot more studying time than the first two tries, but maybe i got a harder test this time around.

BEC - 76 (1/24/15)
REG - 82 (4/13/15)
AUD - 89 (5/31/15)
FAR - 78 (8/16/15)

Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

[Author]

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