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July 16, 2014 at 4:38 pm #187007ZulyParticipant
Hi all! I am hoping to get a feel of everyone’s CPA exam study experience to help me with my own. It will be super helpful if you can post how long it took you to study (total # hours & total # weeks) by section and if you work FT/PT. Also, if its not too much to ask, did you pass on your first try with those hours, if not then please include how many times you had to take it? I’m suffering from a lot of anxiety because I work full time and have a small child so I was hoping to spread out my study time…say 3 months @ 20 hours a week for each section of the exam, more or less. Studying with Roger CPA & using NINJA 10PT combo and doing the NINJA method, btw. Thanks for all the help!!
FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74
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July 16, 2014 at 5:14 pm #581397AnonymousInactive
I work FT and studied for 2.5 weeks for BEC and around 3 weeks for REG. BEC I probably had around 50 or so hours of study time in and I had approximately 30 hours of study time in for REG. I passed both of these exams on my first attempt, BEC with a combination of Roger and the WTB and REG with the NINJA Notes/MCQs.
I haven't received my score for AUD yet, but I'm thinking that when I do I'll likely be getting my first failing score since I didn't prepare well enough for the SIMS. But for AUD I had 4.5 weeks of study time in and around 110 hours total using the NINJA Notes/MCQs and the Wiley Focus Notes. AUD is the area I have the least amount of experience and education in, so I made sure to put the extra time in to compensate for that.
FAR, which I'm studying now, is going to have taken roughly 6 weeks of study time and around 120-130 hours total by the time I sit for that exam. I'm using the same study materials for FAR that I did for AUD since I thought they prepared me well overall for that exam. And the NINJA MCQs were great for both REG and AUD.
In terms of daily time allotment for studying, I try to block out around 3-3.5 hours each day but will take a day off when I'm feeling overwhelmed or will put in anywhere from 5-8 hours if I'm managing to stay focused or it's a weekend. I'm useless when it comes to studying in the morning, I don't get much of a lunch break, and I have an hour long commute home after I get off at 5:30 or 6 every day, so my studying time during the week is normally from 7:30 or 8 until anywhere from 11 to 1 or 2 AM. Unfortunately, I'm not much of an auditory learner or the NINJA Audio would have been a fantastic way to utilize my commuting time. But instead I use my commute as my unwinding time and actually let myself listen to music and enjoy my break from work and studying for that little bit every day. It helps keep me sane! 🙂
I think you have an excellent study combo there in Roger and the 10 Point Combo and shouldn't have too much of a problem if you manage to put those 20 hours a week in of studying for a few months. A lot, too, depends on how much of the material you've retained from college, how familiar you are with the material from any work experience, and how well you can pick up on the concepts in general. I know I enjoyed studying for REG and put in a lot less hours than I see the majority of folks on here do but then I had to study for AUD more than I think is usual because I just have a harder time with that material. So it'll all come down to you as to how many weeks and hours you need to prepare for each exam.
You may not want to do a whole 3 months of studying for each exam, though. I've seen on here that 2 months is the recommended maximum time and I have to agree with that because you'll start to forget some of the material you learned in the beginning in that time. If you do need the 3 months, just make sure to constantly review that beginning material to keep it fresh in your mind.
Good luck!
July 16, 2014 at 5:42 pm #581398AnonymousInactiveBEC- 30-40 hours in total over four weeks- 88
REG- Didn't really study (got cocky after the 88) over 4 weeks- 71
AUD- 20-30 hours in total over two weeks- 77
FAR- Didn't study (took the day after AUD)- 73
All tests taken in less than four months while billing 50 hours a week and moving into new home.
I've only used the Wiley books. I read the chapter, take every fourth question and assess my knowledge. If I score over 75%, I don't look at it a second time. Anything under 75% gets wither more questions, or a re-read and more questions, depending on the percentage. Then I review MCQs one or two nights before the exam.
I wouldn't take any more than 6 weeks to study for any section. Any longer and you run the risk of forgetting a lot. These are cram tests. There isn't a difficult question on any of them. The difficulty lies in that there is a lot of material.
July 16, 2014 at 5:51 pm #581399mla1169ParticipantI studied on average 20 hours per week for 6-7 weeks for each exam.
For a working parent, I think taking one test per quarter (window) is perfect. It took me 4 quarters to pass all 4.
I had a full time job, plus a weekend job, plus 2 classes per semester for grad school, a 10 and 16 year old.
I also agree that much more than 6 weeks time you start to lose what you learned earlier, but either keep refreshing/reviewing the earliest material if you go longer or take some downtime between exams to catch up on things that are bound to be sacrificed while you're studying.
FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.
July 16, 2014 at 6:34 pm #581400ZulyParticipantThank you all for responding! Your information definitely helps. I'd love to hear from others…pleeease. 🙂
FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74July 16, 2014 at 6:44 pm #581401LindrobeMemberI work full time in Tax, but I don't have any children. I probably over-studied some, but wanted to pass each section on my first try.
FAR – 230 hours from 9-15-13 to 12-2-13
AUD – 163 hours from 12-18-13 to 2-2-14
BEC – 170 hours from 2-4-14 to 3-31-14
REG – 233 hours from 4-2-14 to 5-26-14
For all sections except REG I used the following studying plan:
M-F, 1 hour at lunch time, 1 hour at home in the evening
Sat-Sun, 4 hours per day, usually in the morning
For REG, I ramped up my studying cause I just wanted to be done. I studied 4 hours each day M-F and 6 hours each day on Saturday and Sunday.
FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94Licensed CPA, Indiana
"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"
July 16, 2014 at 7:23 pm #581402AnonymousInactiveBEC–Studied approx 80 hours–passed
AUD–Dual studied for BEC and AUD at the same time–about 80 hours for AUD as well, but didn't leave a good enough amount of time between BEC and AUD so didn't get a good review in–Failed
AUD 2–Studied for 100+ hours for 6-8 weeks–Passed
FAR–Studied closer to 200 hours for 12 weeks–Passed
these are all estimates because I honestly didn't keep track of how much I studied. I work full time and have 3 small kids, but get a lot of help from my husband and my parents to watch the kids while I study. I cannot study with them in the house awake so some of my studying was after they went to bed and most of the time it was while they were out of the house. Your plan sounds good if you can reduce your distractions. I suggest studying early in the morning if you can (I'm not a morning person so that never worked for me) and during your lunch breaks (also didn't work for me as time went on because people wouldn't leave me alone at my desk) to reduce the amount of time you have study and miss time with your child. However, even if you miss time with your child to study just know that the more you focus now and get it done the better it will be and if he/she is young enough they won't remember the time they are missing. I've been at it a year and my family is tired of it. I would suggest trying to take one at the beginning and one at the end of two testing windows back to back and get it done sooner rather than drawing it out. Trust me–the children don't notice as much as we do.
July 16, 2014 at 8:23 pm #581403KimboroniMemberI work full-time and have a daughter at home, just finished part-time school, and also keep up on my workout schedule of ~2 hours a day 4-5 days a week. Here's my study overview, since I really have no idea how many hours total:
weekdays 1-3 hours at night (not a morning person either)
weekend 4-8 hours each day
— For those ranges, it is less in the early part of my studying and more hours closer to my test. I also listen to Ninja Audio when I drive, and that is not included in the above hours.
AUD I technically studied about 4 weeks, but most of it was in the last 2 weeks. And I had just finished audit class.
FAR I studied 7-8 weeks, then ended up with an extra 10 days which I didn't really use.
Passed both of those the first time.
REG I studied exactly 7 weeks, but I don't know if I passed yet.
I hope that helps!
AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂
July 16, 2014 at 8:27 pm #581404JamesBJamesParticipantFAR: 6 – 6.5 weeks, 170 hours total; passed with 91
AUD: 3.5 – 4 weeks, 120 hours total; passed with 97
BEC: 4 weeks, 100ish hours total; still waiting on score
I graduated in December. At the very end of February, I locked in an October tax position and so I've just been studying about 25 – 30 hours a week ever since March. I'm probably gonna take a few days off before I start REG.
FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88Licensed December 2015
Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!
July 16, 2014 at 10:51 pm #581405ZulyParticipantThanks everyone! These are great!!
FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74July 17, 2014 at 12:56 pm #581406PumpkinsMemberThe variance in study hours for CPA candidates blows my mind. I know people who study for one week and pass, and people who study for 3 months and fail. WTF
I'm doing about 5 weeks for BEC right now, luckily I'm already familiar with most of what I'm studying.
Studied about 6 or 7 weeks for AUD… no score yet.
AUD- 93
BEC- 81
FAR- 1/26/2015
REG- TBDCIA Exams Passed in March, 2014
July 17, 2014 at 1:52 pm #581407ZulyParticipant@pumpkins I completely agree! This is why I wanted to get an idea on what others experiences were because the whole thing is pretty overwhelming.
FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74July 17, 2014 at 1:58 pm #581408AnonymousInactiveI think studying over a shorter period of time is better because you have less time to forget things you previously studied. 3 months is a long time per exam and drawing it out contributes to loss of motivation and burn out. Short term memory is better than long term memory.
July 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm #581409AnonymousInactiveI spent 3 months preparing for each exam at roughly 20 hours/week. I work full-time, so put in 2-3 hours in the evening on average. I passed all on the first attempt, except AUD, which took a second attempt to beat. My order of testing was FAR, AUD, BEC, REG.
3 months per exam at 20 hours/week can work! Just make sure to dedicate a solid 10-14 days of final review before the exam
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