[lampy44]

Hey guys,

A little background on me. I was a fabulous student in undergrad. I was a varsity athlete who was an A student in the classroom. I always got nervous before exams in undergrad but ultimately “knew” more like “memorized” the material and would come up on top. During my last 2 CPA exams I felt like my testing anxiety has thrown me for a loop. During FAR I literally got into the exam and took the full time before the clock started ticking to try and mentally calm myself. I entered to MCQ, read the question, knew I had covered to information and ultimately knew the answer only to be drawn to a blank with nerves. I’m talking palms sweating, heartbeat in my ears and my face flushing.

Being a college athlete I am use to high pressure situations but I have never in my life dealt with such anxiety. It has gotten to the point where I am not able to sleep and prior to my test I was up all night which couldn’t have helped me on test day. I failed AUD pretty bad, put in 10 times the amount of study time into FAR and fear my testing anxiety got the best of me even though I knew the material a lot better.

If anyone has advice I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks

[Ana]

My husband experienced extreme anxiety from the cpa test process, he did the following to calm his nerves: meditate 3-4 times a day, take multi-vitamin, take borion herbal calming supplements, add healthy fatty foods like nuts, avocado, EVOO to his diet (we usually avoid fat), minimize caffeine intake (no coffee, tea, just chamomile), sour cherry juice before bed (naturally has melatonin), go to the gym, take walks during lunch, and reach out to a friend to talk.

[lampy44]

@Ana Thank you. You have been a great asset to me during this time of studying. I am so sad because I really felt like I gave it 100% on FAR this last time and fear my anxiety got the best of me. All I can do now is wait and move on but I do appreciate these tips! As an athlete excericse has always been my “medication” but I recently had hip surgery so Ive been unable to commit to my normal excercise routines which has only made things worse. These are great ideas and I will absolutely try some of them out. Thanks!

[Ana]

so glad I can offer any help. I can't say anything got rid of his anxiety, he still has it even though he passed all of his exams. He even felt that the anxiety robbed him of feeling as happy as he should have when he found out he passed. I really feel for you. I felt I put in 100% for my last far but failed by two points and lost bec. it is beyond painful. He actually had the worst anxiety attack the week of my test and I really didn't get good sleep and my mind was always on his well-being and health. What can I say, this shit happens.

[shawn in VA]

Lampy-

I was in same boat. Good student in college …3.5GPA, and when CPA came around I would start the exam and literally freeze and could not think straight. I had to read the question over and over. The 1st 10 mins were hell. I would calm down but still the anxiety was high. On easy questions I would just draw a Blank. I am like ” I know this…I studied this many times”

Finally, got sick of this anxiety. Went to doctor…got XANAX. saved by butt. My 2 passes came post the meds.

Best of luck…see your doctor .

[Anonymous]

I think anxiety is inevitable. The best, most experience athletes have nerves when they first step on the field for a game. If you walk into the test room are aren't nervous at all, you probably really don't want it that bad or are just not human. When I test, I try to relax when the rules page is on. It sometimes works better than others, but just taking a few deep breathes and slowing my heart rate down is the goal. After a few questions I get “in the zone” where I am focused on the test and I don't even think about my body/nervousness. It's kind of a weird balance where you need to work to control your emotions, then just ignore them and focus on the test. Also, I try to be confident. I feel like the more confident I am, the less nervous I am, or the quicker the nerves subside. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these tests are just as much being able to handle it mentally as that are actually knowing the content. Regardless, good luck.

[Jdn9201]

I rarely suffered test anxiety in college but had to fight it before my last exam (FAR). 3 things that helped me were self visulization, reverse psychology and watching funny cat videos right before the exam (not kidding on last one lol). If I felt anxious before studying I'd remind myself that I would still have my job and everything else if I failed, because that would help take the pressure off. I'd also visualize myself doing well which helped my confidence. Finally on test day the cat videos would make me laugh which relaxed me and took my mind off of it. The lady at prometric said most people about to take far look scared out their minds…glad I wasn't one of them. Hope this helps!

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

[Ana]

Lost it a bit this evening, I don't think I have a chance of passing BEC this quarter. I'm burned out and hurting over this treacherous process. Let's keep positive and not beat ourselves up.

[Lentilcounter]

@lampy44

Something that has helped me with testing anxiety has been trying to rehearse the testing experience while studying. Doing 66 FAR mcq and timing myself. Then, doing the however many Sims and timing myself. With each round of practice, you are trying to get faster while maintaining or improving your scores.

The review phase of studying is so crucial to doing these things (2 weeks before the exam).

Exercise is important as well as eating right. Also, it's important to have a support system with people who can talk to you (in person is better).

BEC = 72 (6/08/16)
FAR = ?
REG = ?
AUD = ?

[Dro]

@lampy44

I'm in the same boat. I took FAR in October and I literally came out crying because I knew my anxiety got the best of me. I studied more for this 3rd attempt at FAR than I have in my whole life! I completely blanked on the first question and it was an easy one….. all downhill from that point. Couldn't finish 1 SIM 🙁
I lose REG at the end of the year so I must pass FAR and AUD this quarter. I've been on this journey for 2.5 years and the clock is ticking. I take AUD 12/7, and since my last attempt at FAR was a disaster, I have tried a few things:

I've added back my exercise (I've been wanting to get back to it for so long but felt studying was a priority. gained weight through this process and it's just killing my confidence), started meditation, and I went to the doctor for some anti-anxiety meds. Overall, I feel better but we'll see how it goes on exam day.

It looks like you are at the beginning of your journey. Good news is that you don't have the clock ticking yet. But I would stick to AUD and FAR before moving on to BEC and REG. So many people try to skip around, then they pass 1, get hung up on that 1 killer test (we all have 1 that's a real struggle) and fail to pass the remaining exams in time.

This is a test of endurance. How many times can you be knocked down and get back on the horse? It's a very emotional and humbling experience especially if you are the candidate that keeps at it for years. Good luck!

REG: 69, 73, 80!
FAR: 62
BEC: TBD
AUD: TBD

[ccramer14]

@lampy44 I'll try to provide some advice that isn't reductive or redundant to this thread.

-Have you considered when you feel the most mentally and physically alert during the day? If not, I would take some time to really feel your body and think about how you test depending on the time of the day. Building important and consistent habits is crucial to passing these exams. Putting yourself in the best possible testing situation time-wise can be that small thing that pushes you over the hump. Maybe you feel more anxiety in the afternoons after you've spent the morning worrying about it? Maybe you feel more anxiety taking the exams in the morning worrying that you didn't get to review for a few hours before testing? Be honest with yourself about what you need and what you can do to put yourself in the best possible situation.

-Have you tried simulating the exam experience ~a week out from your test date(s)? I know this isn't your first rodeo with taking the exams, but I put myself through the exact same route for each exam. A week out, I would set my alarm for the same time each morning, eat the same food, drink the same liquid, wear the same clothes, etc. The day before the exam, I would do all of these things and at 8:30am on the dot (this is when I scheduled each of my exams), work through an entire practice exam, which included the 3 testlets and simulations (I passed before this major change to the exam so I might be outdated with my exam format here). This may seem silly/overkill, but I really believe if you simulate this experience to what is going to work for you, you won't feel as surprised when you sit down. This includes how your body reacts come exam time. And that, in turn, may help reduce some of the anxiety you feel. The fewer surprises, the better!

-Listen to anything by Disclosure on your commute to the exam. Not only does this duo rock, but they were my good luck charm to passing each exam on my first attempt. I hope that same luck can rub off on you.

Work hard, study harder, bring flashcards with you wherever you go (yes, even the bathroom), stay true to your study plan, eat healthy, get the same amount of sleep every night, reserve some time for fun…but ultimately cut yourself some slack right before you test. Passing these exams is all about building the right habits for YOU!

[Wanna_B_TXCPA2014]

All I can tell you is they design these tests to F with a certain type of person. I wasn't a stellar student by any stretch of the imagination but for all the times they failed me by 5pts or less tells me something.

This test is more than professional hazing. That's why the joke is Can't Pass Again. I definitely feel your pain as I've been at it since Oct 2013 and like a few other ppl mentioned I too have Rx.

This attempt I made more of an effort to exercise eat clean and kinda sorta meditate. I still left Prometric angry and cussing but I get it they need a certain # to quit so designation can have weight. Bottom line don't quit

[studysled]

My quick 2 cents…since I can relate to the blanking out at the screen:

1) Familiarity helps reduce the anxiety. The more exams you take at the same center, and retaking the same exam, helps ease the nerves. Just took my sixth exam, and by taking the unknown factor out, I've noticed my pretest anxiety go way down.

2)Breathe. Just like Luke says to Rey in the Episode VIII trailers. It's that simple. Focus on breathing in and out. Then take the next tiny step of reading the question. The take the next tiny step of eliminating one answer choice. Just focus only on that next breath, that next step. You'll get there eventually.

[Ana]

I experienced the same thing your husband did just today I was also thinking about meditation. How many hours a day was he studying

[Ana]

I experienced the same thing your husband did just today I was also thinking about meditation. How many hours a day was he studying

[Author]

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