[jeff]

I dusted off an oldie but a goodie (a term old people like me say, apparently)… anything antiquated that I missed?

11 CPA Exam Study Tips To Save You On Exam Day

[Recked]

Looks good. Disagree with #5. Not sure if this is from pre 15 minute freebie, but I'm not sure #5 is still applicable now that the clock stops.
Restroom, snack, drink, and some deep breaths.

[Anonymous]

Good stuff, Jeff- I had never heard of #4 before. Also disagree with #5 though, I always took the 15 minute break and was glad to have it every time.

[Recked]

Something else to add to #4, probably best used for audit. Test taking strategy. Try to eliminate 2 of the answers right off the bat, then you increase your chances from 25% to 50%, and then make an educated guess from there. Audit is so subjective, it helps to try and limit the possibilities and then refocus on the available 2.

[Anonymous]

Looks good to me except for #5

[Iceman]

I take about 10 of the 15 minute break. But I also take one or two other quick breaks for bathroom and water because getting dehydrated is just too distracting and slows me down on the exam.

I really wish they just had a water cooler inside the exam room – that would solve a lot of issues and there is no legitimate security reason they couldn't.

[Rainbow Butterfly]

If you had a water cooler in the exam room, what happens when you spill water on the computer just to get a do over on the exam? It makes sense to me not to allow water in the exam rooms.

[Anonymous]

Personally I'd change #4 to something about eliminating choices you know are wrong. Unsubstantiated statistics aren't all that helpful. Otherwise it looks great! Great work Jeff!

[Iceman]

I've been to plenty of college computer labs that allow water bottles, cups, etc. And modern keyboards are waterproof mechanical anyway… Really you would just end up with wet pants.

[polinkatlt]

I disagree with # 5 as well. My brain needs a tiny break, otherwise it'll get fried. Stretching and drinking/snacking is a must to relax a little bit and clear your head.

[Anonymous]

These are great tips! I actually am in the minority and wholeheartedly agree with #5…Call me crazy, but I took the exam 5 times and never ever took a break. Once that clock starts ticking all I want to do is just get it over with!!!! I wish I knew #4 before I took these:) LOL.

[jules1268]

I always break in the middle to use the bathroom, drink water and have a granola bar. Love how the clock stops now between testlet 3 and 4, it doesn't count against me anymore. I don't want to have my attention pulled away on being hungry, thirsty or having to pee and walking around helps too.

[YouCanDoIt]

8.When you get to the simulations, leave nothing blank. If one minute is left on the exam clock and you have a tab with a bunch of blanks, fill in something – anything.

A wrong answer and a blank answer give you the same number of points: zero. You may get lucky if there’s a drop-down menu for the answers and you guess correctly.

————————————
I don't agree with #8, there's even been some posts on here back to back on those SIMS and zero's. Not all SIMs *require* a 0 to be filled in, some SIMs are apparently asked to leave blanks.

FAR: 76
REG: Currently studying
AUD:
BEC:

[HDCPA]

I agree with Recked on eliminating answers right away. I found in BEC and AUD especially, there were several answers that were similar and one that was different. The one that was different was typically the answer.

For the SIMS, k had a few sims this last quarter that explicitly stated if an answer was not applicable, leave it blank. I would reword this advice to simply read carefully. I know during my mock exams the majority of times I failed was due to going to fast and reading the directions wrong. I always made it a point to slow down on exam day and read at least the sim questions twice and look for those instructions.

[jeff]

Thanks everyone … the break advice was from back in my day when we used to walk uphill both ways in the snow … and the clock kept running on the exam.

Good stuff.

[Author]

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