Balance is always critical, and as long as you maintain balance in your life, there is no such thing as over studying.
Background:
I graduated high school in 2006 and almost decided not to go to college because I believed at the time that it would be a whole lot of work for nothing. Ultimately, I attended college and on day 1 decided that I would major in accounting. I made this decision on a whim when looking at the college registration paper and checking the box titled "Accounting" as my major. Maybe at the time I was just too lazy to read the rest of it so I just picked what I saw on the top of list. It's funny to think that that one choice has led me down this path.
CPA Exam:
I used the Becker Fast Pass program where from about June 5th - July 20th, the instructors went over each of the four sections, one chapter a day, four days a week, four hours each day. Of course, the preparation didn't stop after that four hour lecture. Each day after the lecture, I went home and did all of the multiple choice questions (about 120 each day) for that chapter. Over the weekend, I would review the week's work and focus on things I had difficulty with.
Upon completion of the Becker Fast Pass program, I had a little over a week to study for each section as indicated in my signature below. For those unfamiliar with Becker, each section is broken down as follows: 5 (BEC/AUD), 7 (REG), 9 (FAR) chapters. My goal was to study one chapter a day. One chapter a day means:
(1) Spend 1-2 hours reviewing the textbook that the instructor lectured on in class, paying special attention to any notes/highlights made in the textbook from when I attended the live lecture.
(2) Prepare my own outline of the key points in the chapter (my outlines were about 5-10 pages per chapter on size 22 font on yellow office paper, I believe using that format enhances your ability to retain the info).
(3) Doing all of the multiple choice questions and writing down any problems that gave me trouble or anything that may not be obvious in my head already (even if I got the question right the first time).
(4) Read the entire outline and notes on the problems, which is about 15 pages total at this point in super big font.
(5) Read the flashcards that I purchased through Becker.
The day before my exam, I would take one practice test and review all of my outlines. I also reviewed the Becker Final Review booklet which really wasn't necessary. Morning of the exam, I would read all of my outlines again, eat a huge breakfast, and take the test.
The Aftermath:
There was another member of this forum who stated something along the lines of "one thing's for sure, there's no telling how you scored based on how you felt coming out of the exam." I found that to be very true. I still haven't received two my scores yet, but after receiving my first two scores, I'm confident that at a minimum I will pass them.
I accepted a full time offer in early May of this year. One month later I went to the partner and asked for three months off to study. If I did not have that time off, I wouldn't have been able to properly study for the exam. To address what I said earlier, there is no such thing as over studying, provided you maintain balance in your life. I balanced my studying with staying in touch with friends, going to the gym, and walking my dog. If you still believe there is such a thing as over studying, just imagine spending 50 hours studying for a section when the recommended time is 70 hours (numbers made up). If you fail and have to retake that section, you will put in way more than just 20 hours in an attempt to pass; you may put in an additional 50 hours. Do it right the first time, do not slack off on studying if you can control that. You'll know you're ready when you ask yourself "what more could I study?"
I've written a lot, I hope someone will find this information useful in preparing for their exam.
FAR 08/02 - 95 || REG 08/11 - 98 || AUD 08/23 - 91 || BEC 08/31 - 90
