I agree that a lot of people who are newbs underestimate this exam.
However, a lot of people who are old-timers also over-estimate this exam.
Fact is, there's lots of people who pass these exams over the span of a few months that never have a problem with the exams so never seek out a place like this. For each person who fails the exam more than once, each additional fail requires someone else to pass on their 1st try in order for the 50% averages to remain (I know they're not exactly 50%, but close enough for discussion).
While I believe in being honest with people. I also think that since this forum is supposed to be a place of encouragement, it's important to remember that someone else might legitimately have an easier time with these exams than you did, so to berate someone for expecting to not have the same struggles isn't necessary. Encourage their enthusiasm while they have it and help give advice for how they can have the best shot at making their dreams into reality. So, their 3 weeks of study might not seem like enough to you, but you might recommend to someone else to study at least 150 hours for the exam. So, tell the newb that's planning on 3 weeks that his plan is ambitious, but attainable only if he can study 50 hours a week – quality study. Give some suggestions how you've been able to study effectively when you've had a long weekend to devote to study or took vacation days etc., and give him the caution that you've found 6 hours to be the most you could study in a day, so he'll want to assess his ability to study for 10 hours a day 5 days a week to meet the 50 hours goal. (All these specific numbers being examples of course…)
Our goal on this forum is to encourage each other as fellow future CPAs, or for those of us who have already acquired those desired letters, encourage the future CPAs as CPAs ourselves. Granted, a lot of these kids are going to find their plans don't work. But some of their plans will work, and more of their plans could work if they were given some good solid helpful advice and if they listened to it. Granted, we can't control them listening to it, but some of these threads have been met with more ridicule than advice. I don't remember specific names, so not pointing specific fingers, but I think us old-timers would do well to remember that we were ambitious youngsters once – if not with this, than with something else – and that some friendly advice will do a lot more good than scoffing.
Especially since some of these people will pass. And you don't want to be the person they're going “Ha! S/he said I couldn't do it, that I was an idiot, well look now – I've got a 92 average 2 months later, and they said I couldn't pass!” I've done many things people said I couldn't do. Some believed in me; some didn't. But of those that didn't, some put me down, others offered friendly cautions and advice. The friendly cautions and advice helped me out, but the put-downs just made me even more hard-headed. I passed in ways that 90% of people on here wouldn't recommend, but they worked for me. *shrug* Shouldn't we all be happy for each other when the other passes, sympathetic for each other when the other passes, and less concerned with fighting over methods?
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