The CPA exam is hard, really hard. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you can’t pass, and quick.
When I took the exam, I was determined to pass in 6 months, it took me 7, and I failed one section, audit.
Funny enough, that was the type of work I went on to do, auditing. When I took the exam, I was working a full time 40-hour a week job, taking 12+ hours of masters level courses, homwork, and I had a girlfriend.
I was determined to pass in 6 months. Here is what I did.
Online vs. Live Classes
I spent one Saturday at in-person classes and it was terrible. It started at 8am and went to 5pm with a 30-minute lunch break.
I went back and looked at the online lectures for the sections we covered and I realized that if I would have taken the online lectures, I could have been done by 2:30pm. The in-person instructor got off track and was constantly on tangents. And all the other students asked question on topics I knew in and out.
I vote online, always. And I took every lecture for every exam and read every textbook, all from home, Starbucks, and Panera.
Multiple choice practice questions
I took every single multiple-choice question I could, and many twice. You need to make sure you know why you got answers wrong, but there is also a benefit in memorizing questions and answers.
Many of the questions on the actual exam are similar if not exactly the same.
Practice Exams
I never, not once, had a passing score on a practice exam. Passing score for the CPA exam is 75% and no joke, I never got that on any practice exam.
Yet I passed 3 out of 4 exams on the first try and here were my scores:
REG 85 | BEC 84 | FAR 81 | AUD 71, 91
Setting Study Hours
Even though I had a full-time job and class, I was determined to study.
Nights without class – study from 6-10pm
Nights with class – study from 9-11pm
Weekends – study from 9am-8pm
I would also occasionally sneak in some multiple choice on lunch breaks at work and at slow points during class.
This was perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle, I was hard-core disciplined about this regimen. I stuck with it and almost never compromised.
Setting The Exam Date
I always took the exam at 8am and I took most of my exams on a Monday.
I should I also not that while I lived in Florida, I registered the exam in Alaska. I still took my tests at Prometric centers in Florida, but I did this for a specific reason. Alaska allowed me to take the exam 6 months sooner than Florida. In Florida I needed to have business law II completed to sit for the exam, which would’ve taken me another semester.
As a result of registering in Alaska I completed the exam 6 months earlier than I otherwise could have.
How did I react to failing?
The night I found out I failed audit I was surprised. It was the last of the four scores I received and I thought I passed with flying colors. In fact, I had already went out celebrating. The audit exam only took me about 100 minutes. But I rushed it. I got a 71.
This is perhaps the biggest mistake people who fail make. If you’re close to a passing score, don’t spend weeks studying. DO NOT spend more than 3-5 days, and then re-take it.
I did and got a 91.
The story is that I probably bombed a simulation or got a string of multiple choice questions wrong. I just needed a new batch of questions and new simulations. I knew the material, I just needed another shot at the test.
My mentality
While my study regimen was perhaps the most important part of passing the exam, this is close second. I have never been a huge believer of any real value in exams. I see them for what they are, an attempt to measure ones ability to memorize concepts and answer questions. That’s it.
And I don’t want to wear a badge that says, “I’m a memorizing monkey”. It’s not something that cool to be good at memorization. But if you want to be a CPA, it’s necessary.
Memorize and pass you will pass. In the real world, most of the knowledge you learned while studying won’t be useful.
I see so many people judge themselves based on whether or not they pass, and they build up all this pressure. Don’t worry about it.
This test does not define you. And you’re certainly not defined by how many times you take it. Here’s a quote I heard back in the day and this pretty much sums up how I feel about the exam:
It’s just like a fraternity, in order to get in, they run you through a series of confusing steps and test you to the breaking point. Those that make it through are now in the club.
It’s just a silly hazing exercise. Not a life defining moment. Don’t let other people passing and posting on Facebook bother you. Don’t let you parents who keep asking you if you pass bother you. Don’t let your friends bother you about it.
All of those fears and doubt cloudy up your mind and prohibit you from achieving the objective. So here is my final advice, which I heard from the founding CFO of Apple Retail at the Institute of Management Accountant’s Student Leadership Conference in 2010:
KYFHD – Michael Kramer
(Keep your f*$#ing head down)
See the full video version of this post in recent Webinar: “Pass the CPA Exam in 7 Months And Fail At Least Once”
Did you use any of the methods I mentioned above? Do you have any questions on how you should take the exam?
Would love to hear about them in the comments down below!
