Shawn is a 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 December 2010.
Hello Another 71,
My name is Shawn and let me tell you why you are reading this post. I recently sat for my final part of the CPA exam. After two years of studying, countless questions, multiple review programs, an obscene amount in testing fees, this was it.
The catch: one credit was expiring the day after the test and another was expiring at the end of the month. This was a do or die situation with two of my credits expiring back to back if I didnt pass REG. I doubted I had gas left in the tank to re-take two parts. Due to time constraints, I had been able to only do the minimum items on my study checklist:
Watch Lectures check
Mimimum Questions check
Pray/Sacrificial Pigs check
Re-write Notes check
Re-watch Lectures ½ check
Give money to Homeless (last minute karma) triple check
Fast forward two hours into the exam day. It had been going relatively well; I was behind on the MCQ as far as time and was just starting the simulation. Then, the unimaginable happened my computer shut down. The lady at Prometric was very kind and able to get me on another computer in about 5 minutes. Should I have been able to pick the pieces up and charge back into the exam? Yes, that would have been ideal.
Cue the FREAK OUT. Big time. The rest of the exam is a blur of cursing, mismanaged time and self-pity. Boy, was I a wreck. With simulation now counting for a much bigger part of the grades, this was definitely not my best nor proudest moment. Afterwards, I filed the obligatory reports with NASBA and the AICPA. All my pleading and begging over the next week was to no avail. I did not qualify for a re-test or extension and would have no choice but to wait for the results of the exam.
It was a horrible time. I drank. I told my family and friends. I avoided speaking to co-workers whod recently passed. I drank some more. I couldnt sleep at night without having a dream (I pass, my credit is extended) or nightmare (any situation not a dream). Both felt hollow when I woke up. There was just something eating away at the pit of my stomach and I was ready to give up.
Recently, I learned that there just might be enough juice in me to make another push after all. When the little icon popped up in my inbox from Jeff saying he was looking for bloggers, my first thought was Well, I am going to need updated material for those two parts. It gave me hope that my heart hasnt given up yet, no matter how much my brain whispers sweet nothings.
After my score came back with a 62, I leaned on that hope to push myself to study gain. Its a small spark still but I plan to fan it into a much bigger resolve. I am going to pass this exam and become a CPA. As the Chinese proverb goes, You only have to get up one more time than you fall. At the end of July, I will be retaking REG. This post is the first step to quashing that test.
