[Abcd6789]

Just curious because I am very nervous about the Exam after I graduate next semester. I have a 3.3 Accounting GPA and a 3.6 Overall GPA from AACSB State school. Simply put, I outwork other students and am probably average intelligence. Thanks for your responses and sorry if this question is somewhat irrelevant!

[Kemi22]

@ Srowe2278: the key like you said is not to get burnt out. I learned that the hard way. I was 3/4 done in 2011 when I got burnt out and let it all expire even though I had over 1 year to pass the last section before the others started to expire. So, anyway, I started from scratch again last year, I'm 3/4 done, feeling a bit burnt out but hanging in there.

When you start, commit and tell yourself you will go through no matter what.

Good luck!

AUD - 78
BEC - 79
FAR - 80
REG - 75

Impossible is just a word.

2010:
BEC: 74, 71, 74, 75
AUD: 71, 74, 83
REG: 71, 76
FAR: (I quit) 34, 45

2015:
BEC: 79
AUD: 78
REG: 67, 76
FAR: 56 (trial run), 74, 74, 74, 80!
Thank God. Your prayers are always answered! Do not give up. Thank you St. Joseph Cupertino.

[Missy]

School always came very easy to me, my undergrad GPA was 3.8 and grad was 3.7 . I think a lot of my focus in school came from being an older student (I started college at 33 years old and finished at 40 with my Masters) and I wasn't tempted by all of the distractions that 20 somethings face.

That said, nothing prepared me for the CPA exam. I won't say its so much “harder” than college work, but you've got to be so much more disciplined to pull it off because in my humble opinion its all about short term memory and LOTS of it. I don't think any of my college courses really provided a foundation it was all basically learning from scratch (I was in my last year of grad school concurrently with taking the exam so there was no gap between school and studying). Its a lot like training for a marathon, IMHO, virtually anybody can do it but the only ones who finish are the ones who push through when every fiber tells them to just stop. And I don't think theres a way to completely avoid burn out, its going to happen whether you give yourself a free day a week or take longer to study because there is so much material and it is so dry and best case scenario you're at it for 6 months, worst case 2+ years. Its about being able to convince yourself that the pain is temporary and worthwhile.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Anonymous]

I took a lot of classes pass/fail, so don't have a reliable GPA, but if I did, it would be much lower than the OP's. My accounting courses were all graded, but I don't remember my GPA…probably around a 3.0, give or take a bit. Still, I passed all the exams on the first try.

Passing the exams takes the ability to learn and the ability to take tests, and college may or may not be an indicator of either ability. So, don't let your undergrad GPA make your cocky or scared; just take the CPA exams as their own separate challenge, give them due respect, and pass them on their own accord.

[mtaylo24]

2.55 lol *insert sad michael jordan face*

I have had no problem staying employed and passed Audit (on my 4th attempt (another sad mj face)) thou!

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
FAR - (8/16)

[Hammer]

After my first year of college I had a 0.0 GPA. That's right. I failed every single class. But, I certainly enjoyed my freshman year of college.

I still managed to pass the CPA exam and get a Big4 job. It's not as hard as everyone makes it out to be on this website.

FAR - 70, 81
AUD - 83
BEC - 77
REG - 70, 78

Licensed in Ohio.

Now what the hell do I do?

[Missy]

Always makes me smile when someone says “its not as hard as everyone makes it out to be on this website” when the person saying it certainly made it out to be hard when they were studying. No offense but it IS that hard, its a barrier of entry.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Jdn9201]

OP, don't be nervous – you'll be fine. My undergrad overall GPA was a 3.5, but my accounting courses were 3.6-3.7 with grad GPA the same. (I changed majors 3 times in undergrad.) I've passed 2 parts thus far and am waiting on score for AUD. These exams are not a test of intelligence – they are a test of will, determination, and the ability to apply what you have learned. In some respects, I think smart people may be at a disadvantage, because many of them haven't had to study as much which means they may not have the study habits in place that you need to do well on the exams. I didn't really have to study until I got to grad school, and it's much harder to develop those good habits the older you get. It's normal to be anxious about this process, but just make sure you redirect that to motivate you even more to study for the exams.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Vanessachy]

I don't think it means much now. I have a 3.91 GPA in college (my school is decent), but I still don't pass the CPA exams at the first try. I know a lot people who don't have a good GPA, can pass their CPA exams within 3 or 4 months.

Far, 64 82
Reg, 60 86
Aud, 74 82
Bec, 70 81
Done done done! I did it!!!
Licensed CPA in MA, issued October 2016

Far 10/26/2015, 64, 1/4/2016, 82
Reg 7/10/2015, 60, 2/27/2016, 86
Aud, 5/9/2016, 74 (ouch), 7/26/2016, I cannot wait to take this test again
Bec, 6/10/2016, 70,9/8 retake

[leglock]

to piggyback on what mla said, I had a classmate who just take reg. he got out of the test and told me it wasn't that hard. that the questions were on all the easy topics that he didn't study and that he had focused on the hard topics. he ended up with a score in the 30's

[CPAchaser123]

@MCHammer how did you graduate from college if you failed every course your freshman year? very suspect

FAR- 79 2/29/2016

AUD- 93 4/20/2016

BEC- 85 6/10/2016

[ocarina]

Bad freshmen year so 3.2 overall, accounting is a 3.1. I was more worried about working fulltime and getting my career off the ground then getting a high GPA. I passed my CPA all four on the first try in less then 9 months and work at a public accounting firm in the city and job I wanted. Yay.

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]

@CPAchaser You can retake the courses to replace the “F”s with a passing grade, and thus raise your GPA, or get such good grades on the other courses that it raises your GPA to an overall passing GPA. I work at a college and have seen kids fail a whole semester or a whole year that still eventually graduate. Not easy, but can be done.

[Abcd6789]

Thanks for all the responses. I greatly appreciate all the advice from everyone! To pass the Exam you must be very very dedicated, sacrifice A LOT, never give up, and don't burn out. That's what I have taken in from everyone's advice.

Thanks to all of those who have responded. Goodluck with your Exams and keep on grinding! I have one semester until I graduate then I will start taking the Exam. Looks like I found the right Forum for support and advice!!!

[Martin]

It would be cool to see if your GPA matches your IQ. The following is a very basic 20 questions IQ test=

https://www.free-iqtest.net/

The one from Mensa is a lot harder (for adults), but the above test could be given to kids to check their IQ.

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

[Tripin93]

I think my accounting was 3.3 and overall 3.4. At one point, my accounting dropped to 2.9! That semester, I look 18 credit hours and my first tax class (1040) and intermediate accounting. I was hurt, because before that I had an internship offer at Grant Thornton, but they rescinded the offer because I went below 3.0.

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[Author]

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