[megan_m]

This may seem like a silly question but do any of you think that having too much time to review hurt your scores? I have passed AUD and FAR, and currently plan to sit for Reg on May 22nd, then BEC mid July. Looking at my REG study guide from CPA excel it has me studying based on those dates anywhere from 9-17 hours a week, and it also has me set with a week of review. Maybe I’m just used to it being more intense from FAR and constantly being behind the study plan, but this seems a bit lax, and it is
making me nervous that I may start forgetting the material from the earlier weeks. Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated!

AUD - 76
BEC - 88
FAR - 85
REG - 82

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Mountaingirl100]

I passed 3 out of 4 tests with 90 or above scores – over studied. But I studied until I was ready to take the exam, and that was the process I went through to get there. I studied until I had it nailed down. I felt comfortable walking into the test center, but never knew if I passed or not till I got my scores. You never know what exam version you will get. My FAR was terrible and I got a 77 – I studied harder after that.

I managed to pass all 4 in 6 months. I was unemployed at the time, and it was the best use of my resources at the time.

AUD - 92
BEC - 90
FAR - 77
REG - 89

Still working on signature hours 7 years later...

[Missy]

I don't ever think it's a good idea to study less than 20 hours a week, my opinion is immersion in the material makes all the difference. Do I think studying 240 hours total is better or worse than 160? Not really, I don't think it hurts but the law of diminishing returns comes into play.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Mountaingirl100]

I agree with the concept of immersion. I lived and breathed it till I sat for the test. Every session I would hit the wall, where my mind turned into mush and I couldn't think any more. I took 3 days off and then hit it hard till I reached the next plateau. Then reviewed a week and took the test. Only 1 test did I walk out fairly confident that I managed to get a 75 or better. All the other times, I wasn't really sure if I passed or not. And I got 90's on most of the tests.

AUD - 92
BEC - 90
FAR - 77
REG - 89

Still working on signature hours 7 years later...

[Anonymous]

Yes you can over study. At some point, you have to just say “I'm ready” even if you might not be completely confident. You probably know more than you think you do!! If you finish your review course, take the test within 4 weeks of finishing, or even less. I really goofed on that – I was scheduled to do FAR in December 2016. I postponed it until January, thinking I wasn't ready when (in retrospect) I was ready. I would have had another shot at taking it in the Q1 2017 on the old format. Now I'm stuck retaking it later this year.

[Anonymous]

BTW, if you are working full time, you can definitely come home and do 3 hours every night, assuming you get home by like 6-7 pm *and* assuming you don't work 12-16 hour days at your job (if you're in Big 4). If you put in like 3 hours Mon thru Fri, and another 6 hours on Saturday and 6 on Sunday, that's enough. Unless you're trying to pass all 4 parts in one window or something.

[megan_m]

Thanks guys, I guess I should also take into consideration that I have two closes in between now and the exam and those weeks it is normally just weekend study. My job has a strict 5 day close schedule so that means many late nights, and less opportunity for studying.

AUD - 76
BEC - 88
FAR - 85
REG - 82

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Anonymous]

Month end close can be very stressful particularly if you've got a bunch of bank recs to do. I had to do bank rec for eight accounts in my last job – not fun at all, particularly if there were problems in each one.

[Anonymous]

BTW yes – to anyone who reads this: if you are unemployed, use every moment to the fullest. I got the vast bulk of my studying for FAR done during 10 weeks of unemployment last year.
I didn't actively search jobs at all during that time. If you have enough of a bank account to keep bills paid and food in your stomach for 6 months or more, use that time to
knock out as many sections of the CPA exam as you can.

[RE2PECT]

I overstudied for my REG retake and I'm glad I did or I might have been stuck taking the new format. I treated it like it was my last chance at passing and studied almost 3 months. I probably could have taken it a couple weeks sooner, but I'm glad I took my time and made sure I nailed down my weaker areas.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Roger & Ninja

FAR: 75
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, 73, 82
REG: 68, 82

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[Missy]

Squeeze study in wherever you can, it doesn't have to be a straight two hours to count. Listening to audio on your commute, at your desk, while making dinner. Few flashcards at lunch, ten minutes here or there all count. My schedule while I was doing the exams was such that I could only study after 10p during the week so I gave up a bit of sleep but really had no other options at the time. I even fell asleep listening to audio hoping for subliminal memory retention. Trust me the Wiley audio puts you out quickly!

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

No, you cannot overstudy. There was not a single exam I walked out of wishing I had known less and spent that time elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I'd love to know how effective/ineffective those audio CPA lectures are….I may even have gotten them as part of the package when I signed up on Roger but I haven't checked. I am guessing it's an iphone app or something. I'm not really an auditory learner though, at least not for accounting. I am hands-on, and it seems just a tad passive. Listening to someone else talk about accounting is never as effective as doing accounting, or answering questions about it. But, if they give you some mnemonics or something that will help you pass, then that's a good thing.

[Missy]

Leon I agree it's not as effective as reading/practicing for me but better than doing nothing at times reading/practicing were not an option like when driving. Think of how many lines of a song you can complete if given the first 2-3 words. I thought it was a decent compliment to reading the book and doing about 3k MCQ per section. I'd never recommend it as a sole study option.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[JustAnotherWannabe]

I almost echo @Mountaingirl100 exactly, I also passed 3 out of 4 with >90 and I'm sure some would say I over studied. However for me I had a lot of anxiety and confidence issues regarding the exams and I needed to feel as prepared as possible to overcome them. I had coworkers advise me to move up my test dates and took longer than most to get through them, however I did pass all on the 1st attempt. To deal with the problem of forgetting earlier material I was constantly reviewing the note cards I made along the way whenever I had a spare few minutes which helped a lot on refreshing concepts.

AUD- 98 2/24/16
FAR-
REG-
BEC-

Self Study CPAExcel

[Yukkeko]

To answer your question – i don't believe you can overstudy CPA. I think generally the more you study the higher score you get….
However with that being said…higher scores don't bring you anything. Employers rarely care about the scores unless you get that award thing which could be worth mentioning during interview. So spend time elsewhere and wisely.

AUD - 99
BEC - 92
FAR - 97
REG - 94

Accounting

FAR (4/14/14) - 97
REG (11/17/14) - 94
BEC (11/30/14) - 92
AUD (2/28/15) - 99
TEARS!

[Author]

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