[KeepGoingCPA]

This is for all those that need some inspiration and motivation to keep going with your exams. You can and will do it. I did and I may have set a record for most attempts, 24!!!!!!

BUT, it paid off. This month I have now been a Partner with my firm for two years!!!
I learned a lot about myself during the 7 years I studied, but first,
here is my statistical journey… Yes, not awesome!

AUD: 67, 74, 70, 76, 74, 84
REG: 65, 59, 73, 75
BEC: 56, 63, 62, 74, 69, 73, 70, 77
FAR: 38, 63, 61, 73, 66, 75

Rather than keep writing paragraphs about my feelings with my journey, I’ll get straight to the point. STUDYING AND TEST TAKING is the difference!

I somehow got through high school, college and university without learning how to study and more importantly how I STUDIED. I used to wonder what it meant when people would say they were studying. I never felt like I needed to study. I would show up, listen, take some notes, draw some soccer balls and take the tests. I finished university with a 3.5 GPA. I should have been ready for the CPA exam right? Wrong!

Instead, I spent 6 years trying different study methods through an expensive trial and error process. In the end, I realized that I can’t sit in a silent room, with no distractions, for hours at a time. I am a child of the 90s, which means that my radio blasted grunge music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Turns out that is how I needed to study. I was able to stay focused if I was in a public setting, I used Starbucks and Panera Bread, with my headphones on cycling through my Spotify playlists.

Having gone through all the study materials multiple times, I just focused on multiple choice questions. I would do 3 hours each weeknight and 8 hours on Saturdays with Sunday’s off.

The take away from this is find out how YOU STUDY, sooner than later.

After I started getting my rhythm with studying, I needed to move what I was learning to me passing exams. Rather than trying to memorize everything under the sun, as I would do the multiple choice questions while studying, I would notice that there were some quick formulas or mnemonics that would help me do the questions easily. The week before my exam I would create a paper of these formulas and mnemonics and memorize them.

The day of my exam, after I checked in and they sat me down at my computer, I would write down what I memorized on the sheet of paper they gave me. The system would give me 20 minutes before it forced me to start. That process helped me data dump the items I had memorized and focus on the questions that didn’t require memorization. The added bonus is that many of the items from my memorization sheet were part of the simulations.

So, if you have read this far, don’t give up. Don’t quit and move on to another career. Accounting is the career that keeps business moving. It is worth it.

On a side note… I didn’t really feel that my university prepared me to sit for the exam after graduation. Because of this, I have volunteered to be apart of a new AICPA committee where we are joining forces with the AACSB and taking part in the accounting school accreditation process. This is huge and the first time universities have allowed CPAs to participate.

[sg235]

Thank you for the write up! I needed something cheerful like this.. REG on Friday 🙂
Glad you are done and glad you are on the committee!

[KeepGoingCPA]

Good luck!!!! You got it! You are so close!

[RoseMarie]

I'm glad to see you kept going and reached your goal. I am also a 90s child but I have had a vastly different experience and way of studying, I can not study in noise at all. I completely agree on your main point though, finding how you study best is the most important thing you can do! Any time I see people asking for advice on how to study I always stress that part. For me, college was a great experience and prepared me very very well for the CPA. The professors at my college really push doing your CPA while in school and are more than willing to go over concepts with you if you are struggling. Luckily, I learned my first semester in college that I was an auditory learner and learn best by listening to a lecture multiple times and never taking notes (writing while listening distracts me and I don't take in what I'm writing). I started recording all my college lectures so I could listen to them over and over. This method got me through undergrad with a 3.99 and grad school a 4.0 (so far, I graduate in May). I have also sat for FAR, BEC, and AUD so far and passed FAR and BEC on the first try with good scores (and I find out AUD tomorrow or tonight if early release) because I stuck to how I studied best and focused most of my time on listening to the material. My method is to listen to lecture videos at least once sometimes more, then read the book to fill in details, then questions from the current section, and every couple days a set of questions covering all the sections I've covered so far to keep me fresh on older material.

[jjjgolf500]

Great Post @KeepGoingCPA! One question I do have…could you give an example of the formulas/mnemonics were you memorizing? I feel like there are so many things to cover in each section. How did you decide which ones to memorize that ended up helping with sims etc. Thanks!

[74phoenix]

Congratulations!!!! I am sticking it out.

Graduated 05/2016.
NY CPA Candidate.
Public accounting.
FAR COMING UP 07/07/2016 !! GOD HELP ME.

[74phoenix]

What was your motivation? How did you keep going?

Graduated 05/2016.
NY CPA Candidate.
Public accounting.
FAR COMING UP 07/07/2016 !! GOD HELP ME.

[AFrame]

@KeepGoingCPA You have no idea how bad I needed to hear this this morning. I took FAR yesterday, and I left feeling demoralized and dejected. Actually, still recovering this morning from the mental drain. And this is the 4th time I've taken it. Thanks for this post!

[Recked]

Can you tell me how your transition to Partner went at your firm?
Sweat equity or buy in, etc.

[Tncincy]

@KeepGoingCpa Congrats!!!!!! Wow you did keep going. great write up. I personally thank you for the encouragement. I keep asking myself why keep going, why keep spending the money, why keep hoping. I do think it has to be a determination to pass considering time passes as well. I'm not getting any younger, I don't want to change my career. I've been in the bookkeeping and tax business for 25 years and I don't think I can do anything else. This is really encouraging to me, so thank you. Keep those fingers crossed for me. I've changed my approach and study materials (Ninja only) and going at it again. Congrats again on finally being done.
I also want to know about your transition….so respond quickly 🙂

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[KeepGoingCPA]

@Jjjgolf500 – I can check my old material to see if I have any of my old study sheets. I may have thrown them all away.

@74phoenix – The biggest motivation I had was each time I had a review my firm would give me a paper with two numbers on it. One showing my salary as a CPA and the other a Non CPA. Over the years as I became more valuable in the audit and consulting practice the gap between the two numbers got larger and larger.

@AFrame – So glad I can help. I know the feeling of taking exams over and over. You are super close, you can do it.

@Recked and @Tncincy – The transition to Partner was a percentage buy-in. Made a down payment and making payments now per month.

[23]

Thank you for the post. I signed up for A71 and took my first test in 2011. Over the next 3 or 4 years, I took a total of 14 tests passing AUD and BEC. I believe I had 10 fails before my first pass. With score expiration looming and money tightening, I put a pause on testing. In the past few years I've gotten a job in accounting and decided it is time to take and pass these tests. Today I received a 73 on AUD which was very disappointing. I need to figure out what works best for me, but I will figure it out and succeed!

WA candidate

[KeepGoingCPA]

@23 That is awesome that you are back in accounting and are starting to take the exams again. Keep with it. 73 this time is an 80 next time. You got this!!!

[23]

Thanks for the encouragement! I know I can do it. Despite the number of attempts, I suppose I'm still working on identifying what works best for me. The performance report shows stronger on MC and weaker on sims. Sims were the area I dreaded studying and didn't attack after every module. It's one thing to dissect a MC question on reports, for example. It's another thing entirely to understand the nuances and apply them to a whole simulation. I will not be ignoring sims on the retake. Despite the 73, I understand I'm not 2 point away. I'm 75 (or 80) points away and will approach it as such.

WA candidate

[Author]

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