[floacct]

So since starting this journey 22 months ago I’ve accumulated an extra 35lbs. I now take perscription strength acid reducer called pantaprozalone. I now need glasses and my therapist says this is all stress related. Oh by the way I scored a 59 on my last exam and have yet to receive any passing score. What’s ur story? Needing motivation.

[Anonymous]

I've lost almost 20 lbs. since I started studying in January. That's not necessarily a bad thing in my case as I wanted to lose a bit of weight, but I do still have to remind myself to eat when I'm focused too intensely on studying because I don't want to lose any more at this point. I've gotten better by having set slots of time to study during and then eating at specific times outside of that. And since losing weight has been my biggest problem thus far, I've started rewarding myself for studying by eating a cookie for every hour I manage. So it helps all around. 🙂

Now if I could just get rid of the chronic insomnia I've developed from studying until 1 or 2 AM every day…

[Study Monk]

Honestly learning how to deal with stress is something the poster needs to learn how to deal with. If its not the CPA exam it will be a stressful job. Studying should be fairly relaxing compared with even a job that has light amounts of stress. A failing score might cause a week or two of stress, but should not cause blindness. I think looking into Buddhism and/or meditation might be helpful.

As far as the 22 months of studying is concerned………I doubt the poster has been strait studying for 22 months(even a hour a day would be 660 study hours). I have been a 3.0 student my whole life and have an average intelligence(hopefully) and I found that I could pass any exam if I dedicated the proper amount of time. If a person can meet the educational requirements they can pass PERIOD If they did put in truly 22 months then they need to study properly(do 1000's of multiple choice questions shortly before taking the exam).

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

I highly doubt a 12 year old could pass a section of the CPA Exam, regardless of how much time they put into it. Clearly, the poster is trying to figure out how to deal with stress…going to a therapist is one way of dealing with it. Just because your experience hasn't been like this particular persons doesn't mean that they're exaggerating or lying about their situation. Having a stressful job and studying for something like the CPA Exam are two different things. Some people are bad test takers. Maybe this person has a very stressful job and studying on top of health issues is wreaking havoc in their life.

[NYCaccountant]

Very well put @Amanda_88.

AUD - 99
BEC - 84
FAR - 93
REG - 87

NYC born and raised.

FAR - 93
REG - 87
BEC - 84!!!!
AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

[Study Monk]

Very well Amanda I will take out that comment about a 12 year old being able to pass after 22 months through dedication, because I forgot about the limitations of the public school system in this country. I also forgot about the CPA candidates who like to hear about the crazy difficulty of these exams so that they can accept defeat and/or stroke their ego for the rest of their years on this earth when they finally do pass.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I'm not buying that. Go find an average 12 year old from a public middle school and try to give them the book for FAR or REG and see how well they do with it. They don't even know how to do algebra yet to solve a basic math equation. Don't downplay someone else's experience based on that. Your post really strikes a nerve with me. I don't see a whole lot of self pity in the OP's post. Maybe they just wanted to see if other people were having problems too. Isn't that what this forum is for? Motivating eachother as a community. Lucky you, that you don't have to deal with these kinds of problems. You could at least have a little bit of empathy for others that have a harder time with the test.

[mla1169]

At this point, I'd be overly impressed with a 12 year old who was able to retain being told to clean their room without being reminded 8 billion times.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Study Monk]

Honestly the highest math level in these exams is algebra which can be learned at 12, and the English language has more information than all of the exams put together. My original comment did not say that the average 12 year old could pass an exam in less than one year. It was freakin 22 months and 1 Exam, which is a LONG LONG time. In fact if a 12 year old student could put in 5 hours a day it would be 3,300 hours for one exam. Your faith in young children really strikes a nerve with me.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

@studymonk- my faith in young children has absolutely nothing to do with the point of this post. Unless you're an educator, I don't think you have the expertise to really comment on this. However, I will say that children grow up learning the English language from everyone speaking it around them but they don't grow up with everyone reciting tax code and US GAAP around them. Totally different methods of learning. That's like comparing apples to oranges. Anyways, if you're going to accuse someone of exaggerating, you probably shouldn't exaggerate in the very same post.

[Study Monk]

Amanda what do you want from me? You win. 12 year olds can't pass the CPA exam even after close to two years of dedication. The poster has a reasonable excuse for not passing an exam after close to 22 months and I should of encouraged them by saying everything will be alright. This is a community where only encouragement can be expressed and where a tough love approach is highly frowned upon. The CPA exam is very very hard and the reason why lawyers, doctors, and the like don't become accountants. Good Day!

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[itsjustatest]

i will agree with study monk on one thing – this board does an incredible job over hyping the CPA exam and placing it amongst one of the most elite accomplishments in the world.

Also, for what its worth, a 12 year old with 3300 hours of studying could pass any section of the CPA exam. If you can conquer 2x + 3 = 4 you can conquer the math requirements for the CPA.

AUD - 83
REG - 78
FAR - 69,73,79
BEC - 85

[mla1169]

K lets drop the 12 year old debate. Monk, tough love is not frowned upon, and you know that very well. But theres a difference between honesty and beating someone down (not WHAT you say but how you say it, right?)

Anyway as I mentioned the OP said in another post that he studied 60 hours for FAR (over 8 weeks). If that is the truth then I'm not at all surprised at the results. And unless someone has an underlying condition 7.5 hours a week of studying isn't enough to cause health problems in an otherwise healthy young adult.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Floacct-

The extra weight is prob the main contributor to the acid issues. I've had a volatile weight my entire life. I was a high-level competitive swimmer with a 12,000 calorie a day diet. I'd go from having an eight-pack to putting on 30 pounds in the four weeks that I had off each year, no problem. I'd run into health issues like that every time. Another thing I can tell you is that after ten pounds or so, your mind isn't as sharp as it should be. It's hard to describe other than just “fuzzy”.

I've gained a few since I started studying this year, but make time to work out at least three times a week for 30 minutes at extremely high intensity. Get that heart PUMPING!

My advice would be to step back for a bit, get yourself healthy, then get back at it with a plan to keep yourself healthy while you study. The more you gain, the harder it is to get it going when you do eventually start working out.

Health before wealth!

Also, you may just find that you are able to better concentrate and retain information better. Another nice benefit is you get a full nights' sleep.

My two passed tests were taken when I was swimming 1.5 miles 5x per week during my lunch break. The 10 lbs and the REG failure I was “studying” instead of working out. I say “studying” because I had major problems concentrating and would just fall asleep while reading on the couch.

[itsjustatest]

@billbrasskey i can assure you that you were not taking down 12,000 calories per day.

AUD - 83
REG - 78
FAR - 69,73,79
BEC - 85

[Study Monk]

Honestly my post was less cruel and harmful than the “just give up” posts. What really happened is a member of the “I'm special because I can pass the CPA exam” clan got offended by the 12 year old comment. This clan is intrusted with preserving the illusion that the CPA license is only achievable by an elite class of people with a high level of intelligence. Ironically, these are the same people who give people like this poster an excuse to give up paired with an imaginary cloud of self doubt and stress.

What my goal was with the 12 year old comment was to show that the goal is achievable to anyone that is willing to put in the effort and was not to demean the poster in anyway. I knew as , Mia confirmed, that the poster had not truly made a real effort(meaning over a 100 hours of study per section). Despite the perceived cockyness of my recent tone towards this post I do not feel that I am overly intelligent. I literally put in between 400 and 500 hours of study time for 3 sections. The only difficulty of these exams is finding the time to learn the material. Difficulty decreases for each hour allocated to learning the material and it is choice whether or not people want to consider these tests difficult by not allocating enough study time to each section.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Author]

Replies