[Anonymous]

Curious how long have you all been battling with the CPA exam? When did you first start studying? And if you’ve already passed, how long was your journey?

[cpacandidate408]

I've been studying basically full time for 5 months now while getting the 150 educational units finished. I've taken three so far and taking the fourth next month. Sadly, I won't find out any of the scores until next month as well.

[Anonymous]

It'll be a year since I first opened my Becker software next week. The first five to six months were kind of a waste because because I thought I was better than the test and did the bare minimum that Becker told me to do. I didn't find a groove until just before the new year, so hopefully that continues and I can finish before I miss anymore major holidays. I'm tired of being a hermit and missing out on everything.

[Scared-cpa]

I started studying for the exam at the beginning of August last year, so pretty much a year. Like @curlygirl1213, I thought this exam wouldn't be that bad and didn't put too much effort into FAR. That, along with beginning coursework for my Master's degree at the exact same time created a recipe for disaster. I took and found out I failed in November, studied the whole month of December with Ninja MCQ over winter break, sat for FAR in January and found out I passed in February. I studied harder for AUD but only had 4 days for a final review and I think that's where my problem was. Restudied in the same fashion as I did for FAR and will find out my score August 17th. I'm currently studying for REG (final review with Ninja MCQ) and will sit either at the end of this month or beginning of August. I will have my Master's degree at the end of this month, so once I'm done with classes, I'm going to start studying for either (1) BEC if I passed AUD or (2) restudy for AUD.

Right now I'm debating whether or not I should take time off from when my two summer courses end (July 28th) until I find out my score for AUD (August 17th) to decide which section to study for or if I should go ahead and start studying for BEC as soon as I sit for REG. Any thoughts or advice on that would be great, too. 🙂

I'm interested to see everyone else's journey, as well!

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[CPAIN2K17]

I started studying in late December of this past year, had a week off work after Christmas and thought why not? Then it turned into a kind of news years resolution. Haven't stopped since.. now I am hopefully about a month out from being done with this thing. Been a crazy 7 months but I am glad I finally did it.

Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ & Notes

 

AUD - 97 (1/24/17)

BEC - 84 (3/10/17)

FAR - 94 (5/31/17)

REG - 88 (8/16/17)

[mtaylo24]

Been studying for about 5 years, about 19 months this stint. I actually missed my first exam like a dummy q3 of 2012 (SMH), this was before the prometric courtesy call and e-mail. I thought my exam was Aug 30, didn't realize my test was Aug 29 until I was on the way to the test center, so I went to Waffle house instead for a shameful breakfast since I was out $200. I took Audit q4 12, q1 13, and q3 13, failed all three times so I quit until I switched jobs (still industry) in Aug of 15. Passed Audit in Nov 15, and have been trying to get this crap done ever since.

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
FAR - (8/16)

[CPA8675309]

I started studying in August or September 2016. I took my first exam just after Thanksgiving. From the first day of studying to (hopefully) my last, it will have taken 11 months or 8 months from the first test until the last. On one hand, I wish I would have gone through this faster,but on the other hand, the slow pace has allowed me to relax just a bit at times. I plan on taking the AICPA ethics test the week after my (hopefully) last test on July 25th, because I am very much ready to wrap this thing up.

AUD - 77
BEC - 85
FAR - 84
REG - 85

I'm done!!

[Superdude3000]

Started studying REG about mid-August last year. Couldn't test until January since that was the earliest I could possibly sit for it – I was still 6 months from 150 credits and my Bachelor's Degree and you can sit early in Washington State. Had PLENTY of time to hammer down the material even with full-time school, part-time work and a child. Passed that one easy. BEC was a much shorter window, about a month and a half but was still plenty of time to get a basic grasp of the major concepts. I spent about two and a half months studying for AUD, found the MC section to be a breeze but boy I found the SIMS to be very subjective, we shall see. Started studying for FAR a few weeks back and am currently scheduled to sit on 8/31. Hoping that if I didn't pass AUD I'll still have time to squeak in a retake before Q3 closes on 9/10, but might have to drive to Portland for it… If I pass all on my first try I'll still have spent over a year of my life dedicated to this exam, but I know this certification can be your ‘golden ticket' when it comes to accounting. Really hoping that's the case so I can brush up on my excel skills before I begin work this fall as an assurance associate!

REG - 92 (1/17)

BEC - 82 (2/17)

AUD - 89 (5/17)

FAR - 94 (9/17)

Rogers Elite + Becker mcqs/sims for all 4 exams

WA State Ethics Exam - 83, 83, 90 (9/17)

AICPA Ethics Exam - 95 (9/17)

1-year of work - complete (11/18)

Licensed WA State CPA

[Anonymous]

Finished first three exams in four months and been studying Audit for past 8-9 months(failed twice). I hope to finish strong this August.

[kdawg22]

Started May of 2016 so a little over a year

Trust the Process

FAR - 83 Wiley
BEC - 68 Wiley, 74 (Wiley & NINJA), 79 (Wiley, NINJA, & Becker SIMS)
AUD - 72 Wiley, 77 (Wiley & NINJA)
REG - 88 Wiley & NINJA

 

[Anonymous]

October 2016 is when I applied for BEC, took BEC in January, AUD in April, taking REG next week and hoping (or planning) to take FAR in November… I have until July of 2018 to get this thing done!

[HoosierCPA]

Started studying August 2015 after a little convincing from my friend to stop studying for the CMA. At the time my wife was 6 months pregnant, a year and a half later and 2 kids later I passed in Feb 2017. What a crazy rollercoaster of emotions but it was worth it!

AUD - 80
BEC - 82
FAR - 78
REG - 89

...

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[RyonT]

I started studying Mid November of 2016. Took BEC in late January and failed. I was already studying for Audit so I kept at that, only to fail that one in March. After a couple weeks off I began studying for AUD and took it in May. I took the rest of May and June off and am about to start studying for my BEC retake on Aug 29. I knew it was going to be hard, but damn this thing is really hard.

AUD - 79
BEC - 85
FAR - 85
REG - 83

Licensed CPA (MI)

CPAexcel & Ninja

AUD 69, 73, 79

BEC 67, 69, 73, 85

FAR 85

REG 83

 

[Excel14]

@RyonT:

How do you think CPAexcel prepares you for the newly formatted exams? In your opinion, is it adequate?

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Recked]

I am anticipating 8-10 weeks at 20 hours a week per section.
160-200 hours each. Hoping to have 2 done before this tax season, and then 2 done before next tax season.

Does that sound about right to anyone currently in the struggle?

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[RyonT]

@Excel14:

All the material is there, but sometimes you have to wade through some fluff to get to the important stuff. I honestly like the Ninja materials (Audio, Notes, and Plus) I've tried much more more.

AUD - 79
BEC - 85
FAR - 85
REG - 83

Licensed CPA (MI)

CPAexcel & Ninja

AUD 69, 73, 79

BEC 67, 69, 73, 85

FAR 85

REG 83

 

[Author]

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