Introducing Club 75 Blogger: Matt

13 Jul 2011

Club 75 Candidate Bloggers

Matt is a new weekly Club 75 Blogger as he documents his journey through the CPA Exam. He has been a member of Another71.com's Club 75 since April 2010.

Hello to all studying candidates out there. My name is Matt, and I’m trying to finally finish this exam so that I can move on with my life.

I probably have one of the more unbelievable stories out there, and I’m hoping that these final two exams I am currently working on will be my ticket to a CPA.

To start out, I first want to give everybody some background on my journey through this process. I started on this long, long, long road back in July 2007.

I did an internship in 2006 with Deloitte, was hired full-time by Deloitte in January of 2007 and finished my Masters in June 2007.

In July 2007, I decided it was good time for me to start taking the exam, and I had it all planned out to take BEC in July, AUD in August, REG in November, and FAR in January. In my mind I thought, “This is it. I will pass all four and be done before busy season.” Easy enough, right? WRONG!!!

Out of those four exams, the only one I passed was REG (I’m in the Tax Department at Deloitte), and so we go on this journey of Matt trying to pass the exam.

Fast forward ahead to July 2011, and I’m still working on trying to pass the exam. I’ve taken the exam 21 times, not counting the two exams that I’m currently studying for. I’ve taken BEC 5 times, AUD 8 times, REG 2 times, FAR 6 times. I’ve had my credit in BEC expire once, my credit for REG expire twice and my credit for FAR expire once.

I’ve passed all of the exams at least once, but not all in the same 18 month window. I’ve gotten two 74’s. Both times, had I passed, would have resulted in me becoming a CPA, and both exams subsequently caused another exam to fall off.

I’ve had one exam rescored to no avail. And yes, if you’re wondering, I do keep my statistics on a sheet of paper. I think the people at the Prometric testing center in Omaha know me by name and always seem to ask, “Is this the last one?”

Of the 21 exams, I’ve had two outlier scores and everything else has been between a 64 and a 74. As you can tell, I haven’t given up, as it would have been very easy to just give up.

I feel as though I have lost 4 years of my life to studying, and it makes me sick to my stomach that I just can’t get over the hump. I’ve used Becker review materials, Yaeger, Wiley books, CPAforfree.com, Jeff’s NINJA notes, and now I’ve decided to try Roger CPA Review.

In this session, I’m going to be studying for REG first (test date July 29th) and then FAR (test date August 25th). I just received my login for the Roger CPA Review course videos, and I’m waiting for my software and books in the mail.

Currently I’ve been through the Individual Income Tax section videos and the Federal Security Regulations sections on the Roger CPA Review course while I wait for my books. I have been listening to Roger’s lectures and taking my own notes.

I have found that Roger’s energy and passion to see his students succeed is second only to Jeff’s motivation. I supplement my own notes by reviewing Jeff’s NINJA notes to ensure that I have a full scope of the topic at hand.

I hope to get through the rest of the REG 2 and REG 3 sections of the Roger Review by the end of the week, review my notes, and supplement my learning with many, many, many MCQ’s.

I’m hopeful that you’ll join me on the remainder of my journey to try and pass the CPA Exam. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Take care and all the best!

Leave a Reply

12 comments

Blake 13 years ago

Matt, I'm not religious, but I'm praying for you man! Keep it up and down this thing once and for all. Best of luck to you in the next 6 weeks.

Angie 13 years ago

Good Luck Matt! I have a similar story, and know how frustrating it can be. Just this week, I've been feeling particularly down, but reading your blog today was a huge help. Thanks for sharing your story!

Binh 13 years ago

Matt, hang on tight. It will be over before you know it.

Hilary 13 years ago

Hi Matt, I test in Omaha too. Maybe I'll see you there sometime! However, I'm hoping my FAR test on July 25th is the very last time I have to enter those doors. It will be by sixth attempt at it. Good luck to you!

Jenn 13 years ago

Best of luck Matt!! I have taken 3 of the 4 exams and just like you I tried to cram them all into 6 month period from June- Nov 2010. As you can probably guess I failed them all. I took a "break" from studying since November and have been dreading getting back on the horse but going to start up in August again. Reading your story really inspires me to never give up no matter what so thank you so much for sharing :)

Jessica 13 years ago

Hi Matt, Just wondering, when you had your exam rescored... did they end up passing you? Does anyone know any information on the rescoring process and how often it works? GOOD LUCK!!! Thanks, Jess

Stephanie 13 years ago

We are all cheering for you Matt!! Maybe a color coded star wheel will help?? :) All this talk of studying reminds me of the good ole days! Steph

Shawn 13 years ago

Wow, that's rough. Kudos to you for not giving up. I look forward to reading about the remainder of your journey!

Ann 13 years ago

So I have just started the same journey you did back in 2007 after graduating with my masters in May. Recently, I received my audit score of 74. Womp womp! And just a few months into studying for FAR I start thinking that this section, and exam for that matter, will be the end of me (with negative thoughts wanting to peep in), I read your post. Thank you soo much for sharing that. It really brought me the hope I needed to keep pushing forward. Wish you the best. Let's kill this beast! =D

Becky 13 years ago

Hey Matt! I live in Omaha and just passed the exam using Becker. Do you still work for Deloitte and if so, do you like it? Good luck! Becky

Matt 13 years ago

@Angie: Keep pushing hard and never give up. This is something you want and this is something that you can do! There are days when you get down but hopefully the good outweighs the bad! Let me know if you need a pick-me-up. @Hilary: Hope you did well on the exam yesterday! @Jenn: I wish you nothing but the best of luck. If you need advice, let me know! @ Jess: When I had my exam rescored, I ended up with the same exact score as before. I think they say less than 1% chance of them changing the score. Its not worth the $200 or whatever it is now to have it rescored. Its even more depressing when you receive the letter and it hasn't moved an inch. Keep studying and just bit the bullet and take it again! @Becky: Congrats on the passing! I will be so excited when I finally pass! I do still work for Deloitte, love what i do, love my clients and the people that I get to work with on a day to day basis. The hours can be rough during some points in the year but the good always seems to outweigh the bad. Where do you work? Thanks for all the support guys!!

Becky 13 years ago

Thanks for responding! I currently work for a software company and haven't been in the accounting area since I first graduated 6 years ago. I basically just decided to take the exam to get it over with before any kids come along and with the idea that I may want to join an accounting firm someday. I look forward to reading your updates on your progress!