This article with make you realize how hard the CPA exam really is.

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  • #181619
    Guti
    Participant

    This list of worlds touphest exams will propbaly make you feel a bit smarter than what you think you are specially if you have failed some parts.

    https://us.talentlens.com/quality-of-hire/worlds-toughest-tests-and-final-exams

    World’s Toughest Tests and Final Exams

    By chad on May 1, 2012

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    In addition to the fact that Life itself is a test, there are a number of other scholastic and professional challenges along the way that would defeat even the best of us. That said, below is a list of the hardest final exams you could ever face and, if you’re lucky, you’ll never have to take them. (Not in any particular order!)

    1. CPA – Through both word of mouth testimonials and scouring the depths of the Internet, the masses agree, the final exam to become a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is the toughest final exam one can face. In fact, slightly less than 40% of those that take the test actually pass it the first time. It’s a grueling closed book and administered test that truly separates the men from the boys.

    2. CCIE – Although the majority would argue that the CPA test is the most difficult, there is a less mainstream test out there that statistics prove to be even more daunting. The Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) is an IT industry certification that 75% of those that take it, fail. What makes the exam even more intimidating is that there is no study guide – it is experienced based and contests that you either know IT or you don’t.

    3. SAT – You may be thinking that the SAT cannot possibly match up to the other professional grade exams on this list but testing is relative. The Scholastic Aptitude Test is a long-winded academic assessment that most high school juniors and seniors take to qualify for college and while most of us have taken it, there are degrees of success. To put it in perspective, a mere .00002 percent of students ace this high school exam.

    4. The Oxford Prize Fellowship Exam – Leave it to the distinguished Oxford University in the United Kingdom to offer up one of the toughest tests ever taken. Though Oxford students are widely hailed as a cut above the rest, the All Souls College Oxford is an elite school-within-a-school; only those that pass the Prize Fellowship exam are admitted into the upper tier. While the test consists of many parts, the final and most challenging section is the essay. Students are given a single word for inspiration and three hours to produce a thoughtful and coherent essay in whatever direction they chose to pursue. It might sound flexible but when it comes time for the panel of Oxford select to evaluate the final paper, a fraction of essays get the green light.

    5. The California Bar Exam – A career in law is thought to be one of the top five most difficult professions that one can pursue and the feared Bar Exam is the final challenge one must face before becoming a lawyer. While the Bar Exam, in any state, is never a breeze, the California Bar exam in particular has a drastically lower success rate than any other jurisdiction. In fact, the passing rate is only around 48 percent (compared to the national average of roughly 60 percent).

    6. LSDT – Though the Language Skills Diagnostic Test is an undergraduate final exam taken for the purpose of admittance into many Journalism programs, it has a looming reputation for being a widow maker – a tool used to weed out the casual linguists. Ultimately this test determines ones grasp on the English language but it is not as easy as it sounds; until you’ve legitimately dissected the language and learned the black and white make up of a sentence, you’ve underestimated the intricacies of the English language.

    7. USMLE – Of course, you can’t have a list of toughest final exams without the inclusion of the USMLE. The United States Medical Licensing Examination is a test that any M.D. is required to pass before being allowed to practice medicine in the United States. Even though the test takers have already gone through the excruciating pains of medical school, this final barricade was designed as a professional form of natural selection – only those that truly know medicine will survive.

    8. CAEI – Ranking as an international equivalent to the CPA test, the Chartered Accountancy Examination of India is the final exam aspiring accountants must take to join the ranks of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). As global outsourcing in the field of accounting becomes more prevalent, India has earned a stellar reputation for its high accounting and ethical standards and this test is the final audit for those attempting to enter the privileged ranks of the ICAI.

    FAR-84
    AUD-
    REG-
    BEC-

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total)
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  • #636942
    henryv
    Member

    Back when they are still pen or paper and NO CALCULATOR, the cpa exam has a passing rate of <1%-10%. That's what they were telling me anyways.

    FAR - 92 02/2013
    AUD - 90 05/2013
    REG - 85 10/2013
    BEC - 80 12/2013

    I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

    #636943
    Shan
    Member

    WOW, a couple of my accounting professors passed CPA exams when they were tested on paper!!!!

    AUD-73, 73, 73, 79!!
    BEC-77!
    FAR-60, 83!
    REG-66, 72, 75!

    MA CPA license

    #636944
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @henryv I haven't seen official stats that low, just people telling their stories about walking uphill both ways in the snow dragging the mule behind them. 😛

    #636945
    henryv
    Member

    I emphasized the NO CALCULATOR part. I believe it was also due to the fact that the CPA exam then is taken within a week.

    FAR - 92 02/2013
    AUD - 90 05/2013
    REG - 85 10/2013
    BEC - 80 12/2013

    I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

    #636946
    acamp
    Participant

    No SOX, No IFRS, No 179, etc, etc, etc. All they had to know was A = L + SE

    I kid, I kid

    Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

    Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

    California CPA

    #636947
    MrsBing
    Member

    With a 75% fail rate and no official guides, shouldn't the CCIE be #1? My husband will be taking that soon, sucks for him.

    Becker, Wiley Test Bank, and Ninja 10 Point Combo!

    FAR: 89
    REG: 87
    AUD: 92
    BEC: 75
    Ethics: 90

    Licensed Arizona CPA

    #636948
    10keyLeah
    Member

    LOL… number 10 is DUI. I”m sorry, but that's kinda funny. I was all serious about this list until I read that.

    Ninja Combo, Yaeger, Wiley -- Licensed CPA, May 2015

    #636949
    Guti
    Participant

    10key,

    Try passing a DUI test while intoxicated and you will see why in number 10. The pencil and paper exam had to be the worst nightmare an Accountant could encounter. Studying for the four parts at the same time had to be crazy.

    FAR-84
    AUD-
    REG-
    BEC-

    #636950
    G3
    Member

    It's official: This exam is brutal!

    @MrsBing

    It said the list was “Not in any particular order”

    3XBEC:75 * 4XREG:82 * 4XFAR:76 * 7XAUD:77

    “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

    #636951
    MrsBing
    Member

    lol, reading comprehension for the win.

    Becker, Wiley Test Bank, and Ninja 10 Point Combo!

    FAR: 89
    REG: 87
    AUD: 92
    BEC: 75
    Ethics: 90

    Licensed Arizona CPA

    #636952

    Hmm… I wonder if this article considered the CFA?

    #636953
    StephAV
    Member

    The old exam sitting for the whole thing in one day with pencil and paper… I feel like the market might be flooded with CPA's now. It's like every company expects to hire CPA's even in staff and senior accountant positions. I've been looking around, I'm a senior accountant at an NPO and applied at a larger NPO, senior accountant position and they said “no” because I'm not a CPA! CRAZY.

    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.

    #636954
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    “separates the men from the boys”??? WTH!!!

    #636955

    I remember somebody posted this a couple months ago. It's a totally bogus list based on someone's opinion and commentary with probably very little research put into it. That's not to say that the CPA exam isn't difficult, but like FindYourBeach said, the CFA exam isn't even on the list….

    #636956
    gt5717b
    Participant

    The CFA exam IMHO is the hardest “mainstream” exam out there. The pass rates for each section are lower than the CPA exams and the sections are only offered once per year (though, I think the 1st section is offered twice a year). So, even if you ace all 3 sections on the first try, it takes a minimum of 3 years.

    The CFP exam is definitely on par with the CPA exam. It requires a very broad knowledge of information that has to be learned and the test is 10 hours long, comprised of 3 sections, taken over 2 days. The pass rate is about 50% but it's like studying for 3 sections of the CPA exam all at once and taking the exams back-to-back-to-back.

    REG - 89
    FAR - 84
    AUD - 73, 86
    BEC - 89

    GA Licensed CPA

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