[dbmonster21]

Today I passed my last CPA exam.

I want to share my experience with you all…

First off, give yourself a pat on the back and always be proud for even beginning this incredible task. This has been the hardest goal I have ever set for myself in my life.

I work full time, sometimes long hours, weekends, etc… I am engaged, and love to spend time with my fiancé, parents, and close friends. I love movies, videos games, basketball, tennis… you get the point… But I had to sacrifice all of those things for the past year and a half to accomplish my goal.

I started with REG (yes, I REGretted it, worst idea ever)… and failed with a 73. What a way to start off my CPA journey, with a fail. This really killed my confidence and I questioned if it is even worth repeating the test knowing that I have FAR, AUD and BEC waiting for me as well, with a possibility of going through failure once again. This was a terrible feeling. I know that there will be several of you reading this now who are overcoming a fail. Its horrible… time wasted, more money to spend on a new NTS, more stress, 1.5 year clock to pass all exams running out, etc etc… I had the same thoughts trust me, we all do. It SUCKS. Stay positive though. Always remember that the second time you take an exam, you are more prepared than the first. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE UP. You will get through it.

Go ahead, laugh at what I am about to say! One thing that helped me move forward with these exams is simply playing this moment in my mind… the moment where I am sitting at the computer, clicking refresh over and over, waiting for my last CPA exam score to pop up on the screen. The moment when I see that passing score and immediately think back at all the hard work and sacrifice I made to make it here. I swear I played that moment in my mind everyday, dreaming about it actually happening some day… and now I am living that moment that I dreamed of.

For those who are wondering, I used Becker for all four exams. I used ninja only for REG (which I purchased after failing with a 73, because I did not feel that repeating the Becker course would make a significant difference).

I passed all four exams in the following order (from Dec 2016 – June 2018)

REG 73, 86
FAR 84
AUD 82
BEC 81

Also, I always thought it was useful to compare mock exam scores to actual exams (especially b/c every mock exam I took destroyed my confidence). Again, these are Becker mock exams:

REG
Mock 1 = 66
Mock 2 = 58
Actual = 73, 86

FAR
Mock 1 = 77
Mock 2 = 58
Actual = 84

AUD
Mock 1 = 73
Mock 2 = 75
Actual = 82

BEC
Mock 1 = 63
Mock 2 = 66
Mock 3 = 77
Actual = 81

If I had to rank the exams in terms of difficulty from Hardest to Easiest:
REG, FAR, BEC, AUD

Hope that information helps. I know it helped me to see what other people got on their mock exams in Becker compared to actual scores.

I leave you all with one of my favorite quotes. I read this quote all the time when I felt down. When I was scoring 60's on my practice problems and felt like a failure. When I was too tired to study. When I stayed up past midnight studying even when I had to wake up early for work. When I missed so many events such as birthdays, parties, dinners, and family time.

I sacrificed so much for this, and I know you all are too.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever”

AUD - 82
BEC - 81
FAR - 84
REG - 86

 

 

[2bigcpa]

Congratulations!

One day, I will be writing a similar post. Good luck and go enjoy yourself! You earned it.

AUD - 81
BEC - 77
FAR - 76
REG - 80

AUD - 81
BEC - 70, 77
FAR - 70, 70, 76
REG - 70, 80
(I used WileyCPA and Ninja-FAR only)

It took almost two years, but I am now finished with my CPA exams.

[MommyCPA]

Stealing your tag line! Congrats!

REG: 73, 71, 69

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.

 

[TalkNerdyToMe]

Congratulations! You are quite the inspiration!

I did it!! Finally a licensed CPA!!

Even miracles take a little time. - Cinderella

FAR: 77 (Q4 2018 Wiley)

REG: 92 (Q2 2018 Wiley)

BEC: 71(Q3 2018 Wiley Only), 83 (Q4 2018 Supplemented Ninja)

AUD: 80 (Q4 2017 Wiley)

[Tncincy]

Points taken, Bless you, congrats and enjoy the success.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader.....time to pass

[Nate]

Congrats- I know exactly what you mean sacrificing hobbies and time with family. I just passed also and can't wait to start playing video games again and going to movies and oh yeah spending time with my wife again.

AUD - 84
BEC - 84
FAR - 82
REG - 79

CPA hungry

[Anonymous]

Congrats! I just finished my journey as well. I had to give up ski season, and lots of fun activities as well. I know how you felt. We did it! IT was the hardest thing I have ever done, but also the most rewarding and best feeling. I also visualized my last passing score too. Let just say I balled my eyes out on the phone with my parents / boyfriend after I saw my REG Score of a 76 for my last exam. Thanks for sharing and congrats. Never give up for those of you still going!!!!

[dbmonster21]

Just checking my post from last year! Thank you all for your comments. Keep on grinding if you are still studying! You will get it done!

AUD - 82
BEC - 81
FAR - 84
REG - 86

 

 

[coffees56]

Did you do the mock exams before your first REG attempt?

[Puppykoala]

Saw the headline i thought to myself “OH NO DONT KILL YOURSELF” for a second 🙂

Congratz! Rewards are the biggest for those who are grittiest!

Shoot for the stars!

FAR 88 04/19

REG 95 07/19

BEC 91 11/19

AUD 88 12/19

[TommyL]

@Puppykoala Thanks for the laugh XD

AUD - 81
BEC - 84
FAR - 78
REG - 86

Goals

[23]

Love reading stories of those who passed. Great tag line too – I believe that comes from Eric Thomas. Check out his secret to success videos on youtube.

REG - 77

AUD - 75

BEC - 77

FAR - Dec 10

[dbmonster21]

Yes – I did my mock exam for reg before my first exam attempt. I believe I did all mock exams before taking any of the real exams.

AUD - 82
BEC - 81
FAR - 84
REG - 86

 

 

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