[Corey]

So I just got a 74 on REG and I have passed all the other parts. Thought this was my last one and I am honestly so burnt out from the last year and a half of studying I really thought I would be finished forever. BEC drops in July so I have two windows and wouldn’t find out until June with the new system. Anyone have any advice or any reason I shouldn’t appeal?

[Anonymous]

How much does it cost to appeal? And, if it's not in your favor, you don't get a refund. If I were you, I'd keep studying and just take it again ASAP. I think it's cheaper to get an NTS and schedule the exam. Don't risk losing your other passes over this.

[Anonymous]

Not worth it. In case you don't know, let me explain (if you already know this, then please ignore).

Appealing your score will require you to
1) apply for your appeal as soon as possible (deadlines are not generous) and
2) go somewhere “secure”, probably very far from you, to sit with the board and actually view your incorrect responses.
3) pay a lot of money (150-200) depending on your state.

The only possible way you can redeem lost points is if you provide a detailed and compelling argument for your case. Keep in mind you are dealing with the state board. Also, even though you received a 74, realistically you may be several correct responses away from getting a 75. Think about how many “compelling” arguments you will have to come up with. The chances of you being able to redeem points is probably 0%. I read somewhere that an appeal has never been successful (this might not be true).

A REVIEW, another method, has a “less than 1%” chance of being successful. This is just someone going through your exam to make sure that the quality controls were in place and the right answer key was used to grade your exam. If the right answer key was not used for your exam, you probably would have gotten a 40 or something, not a 74.

I know you're exhausted, but I think the more rational step at this point is to just review your material and re-test.

[Anonymous]

The '74' you got was definitely a corrected score, as it always is for standardized exams/board exams. They give you the benefit of the doubt and there are built-in tolerances for uncertainties. A '74' means you didn't have enough correct answers to pass. You were very close, but not close enough. Nobody knows how they arrive at their awarding of a 74 over a 75. I think there's a substantial gap between the two scores. 75 means “competency proven” and 74 means “insufficient.”

I remember in my days of teaching, as a TA at university. There were professors who were nice – and also had built-in grading tolerances for bad exam questions, limitations of technology, etc. (i.e., you forgot to answer a question because you didn't even see that the exam had one more page to it; you bubbled the wrong bubble on your scan-tron form a few times or didn't cleanly erase a wrong answer and the machine marked your correct bubble as incorrect; you mis-interpreted a couple questions). And, they adjusted grades accordingly.
Then, there were the asshole professors who said “If you get 90 percent of the points or more, you'll get an A. There's nothing wrong with my exam questions.” The AICPA/NASBA definitely knows what they're doing.

I have heard of only one instance where they rounded up a 74. The first one was an individual who had sat multiple times. She had horrible personal problems in her life going on and had lost credit for multiple parts in the past because her mother was deathly ill for like a year, and then she finally died. And, taking care of her mother had ruined her own health and put her into the hospital too, and yet she got out just in time to go take another section and get a 74. If she hadn't had the 74, she'd have had four passes. Again, she had sat multiple times for multiple sections. They approved it. She'd definitely gone the distance and they gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Take it again ASAP. Best advice. Period.

[Anthony]

I hope you realize all the AICPA is gonna do is match the answer key to the question set that you were giving. Unless you score like a 2 on the exam, don't bother because 99.99% the score won't change. Hell, I'm sure there wasn't a single person on this forum in the years that has been open that has successfully got a score change from it. You're better off winning the lottery than getting is changed.

Save your money and time and just retake it.

[Andyred04]

Not worth the money, time, or effort. I read somewhere (very well might have been on this forum) that close to 0% of candidates that apply for an appeal get their score changed. I sucks but you have to get back into the books and push through this last exam. I was in the same situation as you where I passed my first 3 on the first attempt but got a 73 on AUD. I was burnt out but I used my determination to just get the dang thing done to push me through and I got a 96 on my second attempt. Don't waste your time appealing, use that time to study and put this exam behind 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

[Nikki374]

In my humble opinion, it's better to just take the exam again in the second quarter. I don't think it's worth the time or money to appeal. You are almost there!

[Nate]

I've heard a rumor that if you get very good scores on the other three and get a 74 on your last one, that they might just move you up to a passing score. Does anyone know if this is true? And if so, what are “good” scores? I only say that just cause I wonder if it could apply to the OP, but like most people said, it's probably best to just retake it. I've only heard of one person in my state that successfully won an appeal.

[Tim]

I doubt that has anything to do with it Nate. It's my understanding they literally just go over the exam question by question making sure the computer scored you correctly. The only exam with some leeway might be the BEC written portion.

[SGood]

All grades are double checked for validity, and then any scores near the passing mark are reviewed for a third time. There is less than a 1% chance out of all CPA Exams taking in the history of the exam that your score would change. Score reviews, they will regrade it a 4th time, the appeal is crazy. You have to make your own travel arrangements to travel to the NASBA offices in Nashville, then you get to see the questions you got wrong and for each one you want to appeal you have to pay a fee. Even the appeals never return a good verdict.

[Tncincy]

I wouldn't appeal. I would study and just take it again. If they said you didn't pass, chances are still you didn't pass. Don't take yourself through the emotional downer to learn that will not over turn the grade. They give you the weaker strong evaluation, so use that.

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

[Go.For.Broke]

@Corey So sorry about that 74. I've gotten a 74 before, but it was on BEC, and it wasn't my last section. Can't imagine dealing with that when you were so close to being finished. REG was actually my final section, and it took me 4 attempts. Killed me. I wouldn't submit an appeal request, but me saying that is solely based on responses on this forum of those who have submitted requests and didn't get score adjustments.
It's so much easier said than done, but just try to stay the course and knock out REG on your next opportunity. Let that “BEC expiration” deadline help motivate you. In my case, if I didn't pass REG that fourth attempt, I would have lost both FAR and AUD (because I had passed both in the same window 18 months earlier). I was scared out of my mind, waiting on that score.

Good luck, Corey!

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