Nida says: Looking for help or guidance on the following. Is it possible to pass the CPA exam during the following times: start studying August through November 2017. So pass all four in three months? Is that three months? Yeah, that's three months. It's certainly possible. So there's only, let's say, 30% of people who pass the CPA exam the first time, and I don't know what the statistics are on people who pass in three months, but it's extremely low. How many hours for each section is needed? Please indicate the hours as though the person does not have any financial background. I don't really think that matters as much. And I would say 120 to 130 hours per section on average, studying 20 to 25 hours a week. And finally Nida says, should I apply for an NTS for all four CPA Exam parts at once? If no,

Rollie is a NINJA CPA blogger. NINJAs Ready for a fun fact? I got 7 NINJA MCQs correct in a row! I know right? I'm actually learning. Shocker! The bad news is I am not trending any where near the 75 percent mark in REG. This has me moderately worried as I can not fail again. I have wasted too much time, money and stress on this test to fail again. Hence, a full court press into the final weeks to take this magical and glorious test. Speaking of failing again, I offhandedly mentioned to my boss about giving up because I am so tired to doing this process. And the money. Don't forget about the money. He said that it is not for everyone and that some people are bad test takers like me. The guilt of giving up would be terrible, although I'm sure my wife would love

Aida is a NINJA CPA blogger. I wanted to share my strategy on preparation for REG section. First, I try to do 50 NINJA MCQs a day. If I miss a day, I catch up the next day – so total 100 questions on that day. Second, there are topics I enjoy and topics I struggle with. Business Law and Ethics and Responsibility are much easier for me to get, so I start with one of the difficult portions (for example: corporate taxation). After I’m done with that, I do the ones that are easier. That way I do not concentrate only on the hardest part. And of course – after each section – practice, practice, practice. For those who do not work as tax preparers, I recommend you print out Tax Return forms for the Taxation portion. It was easier for me to memorize the facts and circumstances when

Christina is a NINJA CPA blogger. Once these tests are over I need to plant trees to make up for all the paper I’m using while studying. I’ve already gone through one legal pad, front and back, with notes. This weekend I grabbed two more notebooks for the rest of my studying. I hope two is enough. One is for copying and the other is for my own notes. I plan to fill them both. It's about two weeks before my test date and I haven’t studied as much as I'd hoped, so I’ve got a big to do list this week: Get through every remaining MCQ and SIM and take notes at least once. Next week I will study what I got incorrect and brush up on needed topics in my book. I’m getting seriously nervous about this retake, but feel confident that if I stick to my plan, I will

Kimberly is a Although the content for the CPA exam has not changed, the weights being applied to both the multiple choice questions and TBS have. AUD went from being 60:40 to 50:50. That is the part that freaks me out the most. If you do better on task based simulations than multiple choice questions, these changes work to your advantage. Unfortunately, this is not the case for me. I have always done well on the multiple choice questions. When given the correct answer, I can usually find it amongst the wrong options by using process of elimination. Typically, I can narrow it down to two possible answers. Then, I focus on the keywords to find the answer I am most confident is correct. I’m sure I’m not the only one that can pull this off. However, when it comes to task based simulations, it all falls apart for me. Jeff

Rollie is a NINJA CPA blogger. NINJAs It looks like I am finally making headway on learning tax and some business law. I am still struggling with some concepts with corporate taxation (I mean who wouldn’t struggle with corporate taxation?). Estate taxes are a fun ordeal as well. The major concepts are starting to kick in as I plow through REG . I feel that the key is to continue to plow through the software until your head hurts and you want to go jump in the big piles of snow. (See what I did there). Another study method I have been employing is sending questions back and forth to Blogger Stacey. It helps pass the work day and then we are required to try to teach a new concept. With teaching someone else being a great way to learn, I feel that this strategy will further our success. Spoiler