[ikim13]

Hi guys,

I took REG in Feb and BEC in Mar, which I failed both. I am very devastated since I studied hard. For the next 6 months, I am planning on studying approximately 40 hrs a week and even more from June since I am going to graduate in May. I am expected to start working in early October, so I really hope I can pass all four by then. I am very nervous due to the change in the exam and my confidence hit the floor after failing two in a row. Do you think I can pass all four sections in 6 months?

I am studying with Becker and trying to do Ninja MCQ for all sections from now.
Following is my exam schedule.

AUD – May 3
FAR – Jul 3
REG – Aug 14
BEC – Sep 10

[Anonymous]

It's doable, but most candidates take longer than 6 months. If a candidate passes all exams in 6 months, then he or she probably passed all 4 on the first try. Or, maybe failed one exam. Around 10% of all candidates pass all exams on their first try. Also, your prior education plays a big role because some candidates have not been exposed to certain topics.

However, you may have a really good shot at passing within 6 months because you have already performed well on 2 exams. In short, shoot for your 6 month goal, but do not sacrifice your quality of studying for meeting specific timeframe. As we know, there is nothing worse than having to retake an exam. Goodluck!!!

[Anonymous]

I passed all four in less than 6 months. I started studying for My first one in mid-October and took my last one March 7. Literally the hardest thing I have ever done. I work part time and have three kids, but I was able to study at work a good portion of November and December. I studied with Becker and watched all the lectures and did almost all the multiple choice except for my last exam, I couldn't get all of the lectures in because of time, so I focused on the questions (that was also my lowest grade). Good luck!!!

[jeff]

I'm interviewing him and will share his tactics with everyone.

[Jdn9201]

It's definitely doable. I passed all of mine close to that time frame with a full time job (6 months if you count test dates, 7 months if you count when I started studying). My advice though is to try and focus more on efficiency/productivity rather than how many hours you are spending. Hours mean nothing if half of them are spent not being focused because you are burned out. I know everyone is different, but I did the best when I gave myself 4-6 weeks to study with a 1-2 week break in between where I did no studying at all. It made it much easier for me to suffer for a short period of time. I would also say make sure you pick a study program and plan that fits how you learn. Since you're still in college, how you learn best for the CPA probably won't differ much than how you learn for any other exam. There's alot of good advice on here, but there's also alot of advice that may not work for you. Good luck!

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

[Anonymous]

Anything is possible. I did 3 in 2 months. I passed one with only 4 days of studying. It's about knowing yourself and doing what works for you. When my back is against the wall, I can do the unthinkable.

[mitchvols]

It is definitely doable, but very hard. I took from May until December 2016. I believe I would have had it sooner had I made one more point on my first Audit attempt!

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

I'll be giving it a shot. Taking FAR on April 28 and BEC on May 31, AUD in early July and REG in late August. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress and results 🙂

[cpaMD86]

It is definitely possible. You just have to put in the work. It won't be easy.

A friend of mine did it in 6 months.

It took me about 7-8 months (working full time, family that inclds a toddler) Finishing faster was an option, but I dragged it out to make sure I had the material down. My goal was to finish the exams before the changes.

Just make sure what you are doing is pure quality, and do not measure it in hours. Meaning, don't just ‘study' for 70 hours. Make it count.

FAR: 9/3

[Anonymous]

Absolutely doable…I did Sep 16, Nov 16, Jan 17 and Feb 17.

And I could have done it in a shorter time frame. My first mistake was listening to all the BS about how hard FAR is so I psyched myself out hardcore..I know for sure I got two SIMS wrong..I still could not find my research question as time expired.

my highest scores come from 4 days(BEC) and 16 days (AUD) of studying..Take the majority of what you read on here about exam difficulty with 10 grains of salt. Nothing but hype.

[Anonymous]

You will have no life but it's definitely doable. I've seen people decide to get it over with and successfully pass within that time frame (and even earlier)!

[Anonymous]

It is not easy, but doable. I started preparing around Oct and thought of taking two sections – FAR and REG. When I looked at BEC material, I realized that the content is easy for me, and decided to add that since the pattern is changing after 1st April. I finally took all three sections in space of 8 days between Feb 28 and March 7 and managed to pass. This was all with traveling 24 hours from India, completely jet lagged, and sleep deprived. I would probably share my experience in a separate thread sometime. It was an intense experience.

I was planning to take AUD by May, but when I realized that scores are not going to be available till August end, I am thinking of postponing my exam to Aug end/ Sept first week.

I did all this with a very taxing job of about 60 hours a week ( 6 days official working). So, if you are not working and can devote majority of time for studying, passing all four of them is realistically possible, IMO.

[Prachi Jain]

Yes you can i passed all in 3 months time

[Anonymous]

It's possible. You'll have to put in long hours and figure out what went wrong the first two times you took a section.

But you can do it since you have plenty of time to study and not have to worry about work right now.

[Author]

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