[Venus2011]

Hi all, I am student in Indonesia. Right now I am 21 yo. Although not required for CPA, i took some CPA try out and CPAExcel textbook for the sake of personal development.

When I was at my prime my scores hovered around 85 on FAR, BEC, and AUD simultaneously during try kuts. It took me 2 months to get there.

I personally think that CPA is great program for individual development. The material has saved my internship a few months back because I was left unsupervised and I need to make quick judgement with a audit client.

However I was left unsatisfied. Even at my prime condition, there were always students from top schools that come up better knowledged altough they never know CPA. Did I just hit the wall of self-learning?, knowing the fact that I am in 2nd tier school. Do school quality really that matters?

[Anonymous]

I think some people learn better on their own than others, but that if you have the drive to learn independently, then you can learn independently what you need to know to make up for what others learned from a better school. My accounting courses through college were terrible, to be honest. I took them online and the professors said that they wouldn't answer questions because that would give me an unfair advantage, so all I had was a textbook. Essentially, I didn't take courses, just self-taught. However, what I lacked in instructor-assistance, I have been able to make up for in dedication and self-teaching.

If you're feeling like your knowledge was previously superior and now is lacking, I'd suggest finding something else to use for self-study to keep pushing yourself ahead. If you've already used CPA materials, maybe pick a course to study the textbooks from. For example, I feel like my auditing and investigative skills are lacking, and my tax research skills. So, I might look for an Auditing II course or an Advanced Tax course, find the textbook from it, and use the textbook to study on my own. If there's a school that you respect, you might be able to view their required textbooks online to be able to see what books to buy in order to be studying the same materials as their students are studying.

Maybe I just haven't hit the wall of self-learning yet, but as far as my experience has gotten, there hasn't been a wall yet. So far, I've been able to stay ahead of my peers, despite having attended had classes that were low enough tier that they almost weren't even on a tier at all. I think it's easier to be competitive if you have a good school and apply yourself, but you can be competitive just by applying yourself without having a good school. You can also have a good school and not be competitive if you don't apply yourself.

[Anonymous]

I get so sick of hearing people relate what school you go to to the quality of education and someones intelligence. Not speaking about the OP just in general.

My roommate in NYC went to harvard works on wall street..he sure as hell wasnt albert einstein.

I did most 150 credits at community college and spent 4 hours a day 7 days a week studying..I taught myself Bonds, Leases, PEnsions, defeered taxes etc…Fucking hard shit to learn on your own..But now in review i can discount a bond in my sleep.

Public firms dont seem to care..and the older you get the more youll realize what a scam ALL colleges are..your career will be based on how hard you work and how well people like you.

So its up to you to network and seek out knowledge to further yourself.

The school you go to means nothing (outside of networking)

[Ib]

@Lilla could not be more agree with you.

AUD - 87
BEC - 78
FAR - 79
REG - 81

Licensed CPA in MA, OCT 2016

FAR 79
AUD 87
BEC 78
REG 08/31/2016

[PharmBoy]

When you say the “CPA program” are you talking about all three (or four) parts?
Education: 150 credit hours, typically including 30+ accounting hours and 20+ business hours
Experience: varies by jursdiction but typically one to two years, with sign-off by a current CPA
Exam: the four sections of the CPA exam, AUD, BEC, FAR, REG
(Ethics: ethics requirements, varies by jurisdiction)

On the other hand, if you're only talking about one self-study book-based review program among many, that just scratches the surface. (Never mind audio lectures, video lectures, live instructor-led review, etc.)

[Author]

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