[Anonymous]

I was just wondering if anyone could give me some input on how to start preping for this exam. For example all of you guys who have already passed it or are half way through started with that first moment. I mean it has been 2 weeks since I got my books. I have started reading all the books concurrently. First week I struggled with how to go about making notes but now i have figured that out. But this is A LOT OF INFORMATION..i mean ….A LOT……i am using ROGERS CPA Prep and have just bought the books. The books are easy to read and summarized…but i mean this information is all notes…am i supposed to learn all this…..im kinda freaking out looking at it…I have made some progress…did 1 section of the FAR now going to another section..and half way through one section of the REG…so wat do i do? just make “notes from these notes?” you get what i mean….

i mean how did everyone else start from step one? Just want some advise on all this. Taking CPA in 1.5 years..give or take…so yea..i will be in for the NEWER VERSION of the exam…dont have a choice.

Thank you again!!!! 🙂

[Missy]

Only focus on one exam at a time. Pick one and stick with it before looking at another section.

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

[wombataholic]

Since you're not taking the exam for a year and half, don't start studying yet. You won't remember much of anything.

When you are ready to start taking the exam, study for one section at a time and focus on it for 8-12 weeks before the test, depending on your study program/study speed. Then do it again 3 more times.

Licensed CPA
Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

[TheHoundThatRides]

You mean you are taking the exam in a period of 1.5 years or you can only take it starting in 1.5 years?

I can only tell you what worked for me. You can pick and choose what you like from the advice people give you.

Taking notes on every little piece of info is too slow. Way too slow. You don't need notes for everything. Just watch the videos. Roger explains it all. Some stuff is stuff he REALLY emphasizes. Highlight that. Take notes on that if you need to. And definitely take notes on the example problems he goes over. Really make an effort to learn the emphasized stuff. Use common sense to realize when something is secondary information that you will likely not be tested on. Try to finish a chapter in a day. 2 days at most. 3 if it's a supremely long chapter. (like government)

Always do MCQ at the end of a chapter. If it's a chapter that is important and crucial, get to the point where you can get a 75% or above on a 30 question MCQ and you're in good shape. The MCQ is actually the best indicator for what information is most important to take away from a chapter. After a few chapters, you should get a good idea of what information Roger goes over that is really crucial and what information you can start skimming. If you do absolutely terrible on MCQ the first time, don't get discouraged. This will be true for most chapters. Just continue your practice.

Do cumulative quizzes so you don't forget what you have previously learned. Don't go weeks without seeing material or you will forget it.

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[Andyred04]

I agree with TheHound “You can pick and choose what you like from the advice people give you”. My strategy has been to read the book to get a general overview of the information that is being covered. Watch the lectures as you read to reinforce what you just read. I (personally) am not a fan of doing MCQs as you read, but many are. I like to read & watch the videos then hammer MCQs and SIMs once I'm done. I also purchase the Ninja Notes to reinforce key points from my reading that I use while doing MCQs and SIMs.

Honestly though, whatever works for you!

FAR: 80 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
REG: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
BEC: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
AUD: 8/27/16

PA Candidate

[Gabriella]

It's easy to get overwhelmed. “You eat an elephant one bite at a time” an accounting professor once told this in class and it's so true with CPA exam. Don't look at the mountain of information you have to know, don't listen to people who say how hard it is; yes it's tough but not impossible. You will get out what you put in if you're honest with yourself.

[taejeen]

That's how I felt starting out. Just think of it as a marathon.

FAR 76 (8/1/2015)
AUD 83 (10/17/2015)
REG 85 (1/9/2016)
BEC 83 (2/27/2016) DONE!

[TheHoundThatRides]

May I recommend starting with BEC? I feel like BEC (the shortest exam) gave me a good understanding of how to tackle the longer sections. And it gave me an idea of the difficulty of real CPA exam questions.

After I got my CPA score for BEC I went, “Oh. That's how you do it. That wasn't that bad!” And I didn't sweat it when I was waiting for my FAR score.

Of course, I went a tad too casual with my AUD studying and ended up failing by 2 points. Oh well.

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[Author]

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