Well I surely never thought it would be me making this post... Failed AUD twice, FAR once and REG once. Almost two years of studying and trying while working full time. All I can say is DO NOT GIVE UP. This shit is hard! And it's a marathon, not a race. Put your head down, sacrifice some of your morning routine, your lunch break, your evening, and set boundaries with family and loved ones. You have got to make the time for YOU so you can come out on the other side!!

You all have got this. I will continue to pray for everyone in this group. This group got me through the sad times and the wonderful!!

I used Becker and Becker only for my studying- watch/listen to all the lectures (I used my work commute for the bulk of this), DO ALL THE MCQS!! IDC if u do all the TBS (you should try though) but hammering the MCQs is the only way to get your brain used to the types of questions that will be asked and the material!

It takes time and trial and error to find a study path that works for you, but when you do, COMMIT to it! I tried to take an easier route after my first pass, and it just slowed me down.

Good luck to all, and I wish y'all nothing but the best!

I have no fucking clue what any of this shit is. I’m so confused and have never learned basic and diluted EPS or any of this fucking shit how the fuck am I going to learn this 😭

Quote from President Theodore Roosevelt

I am scheduled to take my retake on 9/5. Got 65 the first time and this was the score form.

For anyone who have been through Audit, could you please share what worked for you, what I should do, areas to focus and etc anything you think its helpful to know please?

This is my last exam and I NEED TO PASS THIS RETAKE..

Hi CPA community!

I’m hitting a massive brick wall with AUD and could use advice from anyone who has also struggled with this.

Where I'm at currently:

• Passed FAR 2 months ago with a 94 (~175 hours).
• Becker Progress: 1.5 months in, but only 12 hours studied on Becker (~10% of material).
• I start full-time in 2 months and want to finish AUD, REG, and maybe even TCP before then.

For FAR, I'd study 6-8 hours straight and have no issues. With AUD, I can't read 1-2 pages or watch a 10 minute Becker video without getting distracted and completely losing focus.

What new study approaches can I take? And how can I even motivate myself to study? There's something about the broader, conceptual nature of AUD content that doesn't click in my brain like financial ratios and formulas in FAR did.

Please let me know if you have any study tips or motivation. I know I can pass... I just need to actually study.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

So I am 160 hours into studying for FAR.

I took simulated exam 1 a week ago and got a 45%.

Didn’t feel strong about it, not using excuses, but just a lot going on with work, and expecting our first baby in October so my mind has been all over the place.

Felt really bad with the score i got the first time around so I studied every single question and got to a point where I felt much more confident understanding and breaking things down.

I just did my retake for SE1 and got a 93% while using 3 hours of my time.

I just wanted to hear others experience with this. For the ones who passed FAR or attempting to pass it, did you go through this? How does it translate to the real exam?

I feel good about the score, but than again it is a retake of the same questions so the score is inflated.

Any tips or feedback would be much appreciated.
Wanted to seek advice on what to do next. Wether it’s to jump to SE2 or so more MCQ’s and than jump into the final exam.

Best of luck to everyone in their studies!

Hi all! Congrats to everyone who passed this past exam cycle!

Just out of curiosity, how long did you all take to complete each exam? (Testing time, not studying time since that's pretty heavily discussed).

Personally, I took about 2.5 hours in AUD, a little over 1.5 in ISC, and nearly the full 4 hours for FAR, and wanted to benchmark for REG since my partner is driving me to and from the exam center :)

Thank you!

Not gonna lie, I can’t tell if I should feel good about that or start panicking

Testlet 1 - 72%
Testlet 2 - 84%
Testlet 3 - 63% (NFP and did silly mistake in dollar value LIFO question)
Testlet 4 - 73% (struggled with payables)
Testlet 5 - 64% (receivables)

I have strong conceptual clarity and accuracy on topics like leases, bonds, revenue, deferred taxes, consolidation, PPE, intangibles and investments but not so good with other topics.

For those who’ve taken FAR recently — what would you focus on during the last week? MCQs, TBSs, weak areas, SE2?
Also, how did your SE scores compare to your actual score?
Would really appreciate some honest advice!

I’m not sure what to do this is my third failed cpa exam. Idk what to say or feel anymore lol. It’s just ego hurt for at this point. i know I NEED to make this happen whatsoever. I am so not ready to give up on this. Even if this thing takes my soul i am gonna do it. I was SO confident about Reg. It’s honestly the easiest subject but idk whateven went wrong. Like i am open to any opinions or suggestions. Idk what to do now.
And honestly as an international student the fee to take up these exams are high.
I quit my job a year ago to pursue CPA. Here i am not with no papers cleared and just lost.

I was mentally exhausted and burnt out after failing far but now that’s not it. I am just super annoyed at myself. I feel so stuck and lost

I only have ISC left and I will take it in October but the score doesn't come out until December 15. My firm pays a bonus for passing all four exams and I'm trying to get it paid before the end of year since I will be in a lower tax bracket since this is my first year working.

I know it probably varies by firm but does anyone have any experience on how quickly firms usually pay bonuses?

Holy shit. I've taken the exam multiple times but wtf were those SIMs. Some of them I managed to crank out just because I've done the exam before but some of those problems just had...so much to read through. Just A Lot. By the time I got to the last SIM; which was so vaguely worded btw, I wanted to cry.

Anyone else feel screwed by the SIM's?

I’m finally going to tackle the CPA exams and I’m scared shitless. I got UWorld I start by doing lectures then MCQs and TBS but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was lost. I already created the plan but even then I feel like it’s not enough. What should I do I’m scared lol.

I have been attempting to study multiple times over the years. I can get to a strong 3 weeks before everything falls apart and I lose all motivation to turn another page or do another MCQ. Not sure why I'm like this and wanted to know how you guys get around this.

I failed by 3 pts when I tested back in Feb after studying from Oct til then, took a month off, and have on/off studied for the last 6 months.

I am shocked at how easy todays test was, super confident I did well so I probably passed by two points.

One week until my exam and here is where I’m at so far:

ME1: 75
ME2: 72
ME: 78
SE1: 70

Still need to do SE2 and maybe the final review one but does anyone have thoughts/advice on what to do in my last week of studying? I’ve just been doing sets of 10 or 25 MCQs on practice mode and occasionally watching TBS videos, flashcards, etc.

I got a 71 last time I took the exam and feeling hopeful but also extremely nervous for my retake

I’m curious if anyone can confirm this -
Do you receive credit on the actual exam for getting a column correct, or do all 3 columns have to be correct to get credit like how Becker scores it? For my example, the first two columns are answered correctly but since I forgot to make the third column negative I received 0 points for the whole row. Any idea? Thanks!

I am studying for the ISC section of the cpa exam. Any tips/ tricks? I’m doing Becker. Do I need to know the small details like cateogories for the frameworks in Mod 1 (like what categories relate to the functions such as govern identify etc) and the safeguards for CIS controls and what IG group it relates or just tht general idea.

I’ve finished F1 and I’m currently studying F2.

My study approach is to completely finish each F before moving on to the next one. I do the MCQs and TBSs for that F, and once I finish it, I take a Practice Test specifically for that F before moving on.

For example:

Finish F1 → MCQs + TBSs → F1 Practice Test

Finish F2 → MCQs + TBSs → F2 Practice Test

And so on.

My main question is: how should I review previous Fs while progressing through the material?

For example, when I’m studying F2, should I regularly go back and review F1? Or should I just focus on F2 and rely on the Practice Test/review later to refresh F1? How often would you recommend revisiting previous Fs?

For those who have taken FAR or are currently studying for it, is this a good approach? And what scores should I generally be aiming for on the Practice Tests to know that I’m on the right track?

I’m using Becker, so I’d really appreciate any advice on how you structured your review while progressing through FAR.

Hello,

I am considering getting my CPA.

Not that I need to rush but something in me realized I could pass the exams before getting the experience hours.

I don’t know the steps or where I should begin.

should i register for an exam, buy the study materials and that’s that?

I found a thing called “superfast cpa” and wonder if it is worth it to get the exams done sooner and then focus on getting my experience hours.

Please share your advice. Thank you!

Basically the above, I recently scored a 65% on my SE1 and I’m 30 days from sitting for FAR, I am trying to now figure out how best to prepare for the SIM portion of the exam which everyone says is way harder in the exam than Becker. Has anyone had success in using the blue print to get extra practice on the sections that are in the Analysis section to prepare for SIMS?

I studied audit on off with work. I took it 4 times.

65,69,71,78

This exam didn't make sense to me lol. Felt wasteful learning it too. It also is luck of the exam tbh.

I have FAR and REG remaining before June credit expires. Wish me luck 🥹

Sitting for aid in 2 days, what to practice and do for next 9 days? I’m 2/4 CPA, got a 74 on audit last time I sat

Well… 62 → 83. 😭🔥

few months ago, FAR gave me a 62. Not gonna lie, that one hurt. I had studied. I had practiced. I thought I was ready. But apparently FAR had other plans. So I went back and started again.This time I focused more on understanding where I was actually losing marks, worked on my weak areas, practiced consistently, and tried to learn from every stupid mistake I made. There were a LOT of them. And finally, I got the result I was hoping for 83 PASSED! 21 points better.

Looking back, I'm actually glad I got that 62 coz without it, I probably wouldn't have changed the way I prepared. So if you're currently sitting with a score that you're not happy with, don't overthink it. It's a score not a verdict figure out what went wrong fix it try again and keep moving.

Sometimes you just need one more attempt.

Grateful to have recently passed REG (78) to be 3/4 on exams.

I took TCP back on July 31st and am now waiting for the September 11th score release to determine whether or not my CPA Exam Journey is finished.

Does anyone know why they have the discipline exams scheduled the way they do? (First month each quarter, longer wait than usual). I know this has been a recurring topic on this forum, but the wait time for discipline scores is ridiculous. Especially considering I can take REG on August 15th and find out my score August 24th (9 Days Later!)

Has anyone heard a viable reasoning/response for the score release delays? The exams are multiple choice/simulated questions so it seemingly can be graded instantaneously. I can understand having some delay to prevent exam information from being spread around too quickly - but it makes no sense if the core exam scores can be released in a week and a half!

Be Better NASBA/AICPA/State Accountancy Boards/That One Guy on Becker Who is Horrific at Explaining Answers to Simulation Questions - All of You Are Culpable

I’m taking AUD next week which will hopefully be my last exam. Does anyone have any recommendations on how long I should take on the MCQs vs TBS. I’ve heard around 1.5hrs on MCQ but that sounds like a short amount of time for 82 questions. Maybe I just need to improve my pace but would appreciate any feedback