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Ten random stupid things said to candidates while studying for the CPA Exam:

I found out that I had failed FAR by 1 point and BEC by 2 (double ugh!). My boss offered to let me go back down to part time for the next two months while I study and retake the exams.

A coworker was asking snidely what I planned to do and ‘was I going to go back to part time?’ I replied that I didn’t know and was going to think about it over the weekend.

His response was ‘I don’t know why you’d go back to part time, it’s not like it helped this last time.’
-Okaygang

My family and I were invited to a neighbor’s pool party in August. I was studying intensely for FAR, so I sent an email that said my family would come, but I was going to study. (A choice I made at the beginning of the process-I would have to skip all family functions if I was going to get this test done the first time.)

She had heard me say I was studying for months, and I don’t know if she knew I was taking different sections at the time. She sent me an email that said, ‘If you don’t know this sh*t by now, you are never going to know it.’

My mouth fell open and I didn’t know how to respond. Only someone who never took the exam would say that.
-MomofFive-NY

…after explaining to my mother in law that the pass rate is like 40%, she says, ‘why don’t they just let everyone pass?’
-kmcauliffe

It amazes me that the people who have accomplished the least usually give the best “advice”.
-zooyuka

You mention the bar exam…people get excited…you mention the CPA exam…’what’s that…is it hard???…so you can do my taxes!!!’
-NJ Devilz

When I first began studying for the exam, my boyfriend dumped me because I didn’t have time to go out during the week. He said ‘all you ever want to do is study…’
-kroyal0216

I came to visit my parents-in-law from BEC exam, being overwhelmed by how I didn’t study enough for IT.

So here goes my smart a$$ father-in- law (a doctor):
‘Well, what do you think you got wrong? Tell me’.

I told him it had to do with IT and he is quickly showing off by telling me what I probably missed and says, ‘Hmm, maybe I should go take some exams, too.’
-Anna

I can’t stand when people say ‘oh you’ll be fine’ or when I say how I’m not sure if I passed, they say ‘oh, I’m sure you’re just exaggerating’ or ‘you are putting so much into it, of course you’ll pass.’

People seem to think the exam is just like another test in college where its easy to get an A if you study. This is different. I keep telling them that the majority of people who take this exam put just as much into it as me, but the pass rate is still generally under 50%.

Then they’re like ‘..yeah.’ I feel like they are either half listening. People just don’t get it.
-ktsullivan

I love the ‘you can be my tax guy!’ comments. Why does everyone thing that CPA is synonymous with just taxes? You just basically have to understate the whole ordeal when talking with those that obviously don’t get it.

I just tell people that it’s an infamously difficult exam and even if you study hard, there’s a very real possibility that you won’t pass all 4 parts on the first go around, because there is an element of luck involved as well.
-TD

This little old lady comes up to me, and she said ‘Your mom told me that you’re finishing the requirements to get your CPA…do you work with taxes?’ My answer, ‘yes.’ She says, ‘Oh, good. My mom passed away last April, and we have a mess in the probate court, and I’m going to need a good estate tax person, can you do that?’

I accidentally laughed at her.
-SwissBliss

If you have a funny/infuriating story or comment to share, post it at the [CPA Exam Forum].

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