NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

Just another day in my world...

Hello Everyone

I cannot believe 2009 is half way done; I got a letter from Sallie Mae informing me that my loan repayment would start soon. Two days ago, I put my books away to have a little fun, and i felt really good. It gets hard most times navigating between my two little children, work, and the CPA exams.

I got on the weight scale the other day, and I had gained 12 pounds since I started studying for the CPA, and I am sure I probably gained another 2-5 pounds from the stress of failing my first exam (FAR).

I got my score notice from NASBA, and I was amazed at the performance break down, its kinda cool to see how well or badly one performed. Audit scores would be out by mid-June, I would like to report some good news...I don't even think about it anymore...I am trying to concentrate on Regulation.

The ladies have really thrown a big challenge to the men on this blog...(Priscilla and Wendy) have both passed...Its now remaining Ed and my blog buddy Kunal....Don't worry everyone, we've got this....and we would defeat this resident evil called (CPA)

Finally, to all the blog readers out in the internet-land....feel free to post your passing strategy, and struggles too, we are all in this together, and together we shall all be CPA's

Have a great weekend...

Cheers..

Ed.

My Re-study Plan for a failed Part

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all your comments..I had to stop studying and relaxed a bit after getting my FARE score. I cannot give up, I made a couple of mistakes which I need to correct. The first step is to acknowledge them, and never make excuses.

One major mistake is never schedule an exam until fully prepared...This is one I have already made since all my exams are scheduled. My plan is re-take FARE in the 4th window, and any other parts I miss. (I hope I don't miss anymore)

On the areas I found difficult during my review for FARE, I plan to spend a great deal of time on them, and spend less time on the areas which I understood. This would save me from studing the whole book again.

I plan to work on my time, I had 1 hour left to spend on the simulations on the FARE exam, and you need at least 40 mins (recommended) for each simulation.

I should get my Audit score next month, and my fingers a crossed. This time (hopefully) I would get a passing score.

Cheers everyone.

Ed. Adiele CPA (un-earned title) .......(lol)

Motivation in a loss

First of all a very big congratulations to Wendy for earning her CPA title.. I am very happy for her.... Ok guys I did not pass FARE, and I have to retake it.

It is very easy to come up with excuses, but I had to get motivated in the midst of my loss, I am not blaming it on anything, but I am working harder next time. Honestly, I had to refresh the screen a couple of times to make sure it was a mistake or I was dreaming.

Even in Audit, where I felt I did well, I am just not sure anymore. I had my doubts about FARE, and now I am studing for REG.

For all those that passed in this wave "a big congrats" and for those like me that did not pass " lets get cranking again, we cannot quit"

Cheers !!!

Ed.

im doneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

i knew it would feel good but I never realized how great it would feel. I'm officially DONE!!!   Next up- filling out my application for my license!

Penman, Wendy 81 I hope everyone else is having as much success this testing window as I am!!! -Wendy

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Exam Dates

Hi All,

It's now been two weeks on my new project, and I've gotten a better sense of my schedule and the deadlines.  My original goal was to take the Audit exam next week, but after talking to my Senior Manager, I felt that rushing to study when I won't have time is not the best idea.  Right now, I'm looking to take time off to take both sections on July 6th, and July 11th.

In order to take the exam on those dates and be fully prepared, I will have to go through 12 Becker Lectures (which includes the 1.5 that I have gone through already)  I'm hoping to have gone through and made note sheets (with formulas and important lists), flagged important pages, and used my notes to understand the questions once by my Birthday (June 19th).  After that, its question time.

The work schedule makes studying difficult (not to mention the fact that I want to take the exams so close together.)  The most important skill that will help you during the CPA exam is organization and scheduling.  I'm going to refine my schedule and make sure that I stick to it, so that by the July 4th weekend, I will not be stressed.

Good luck with studying,

Regards,

Kunal

I took Audit Today !!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I took Audit today at the West Orange Facility, I must say I feel pretty good about it. The simulations were fair. I was much more prepared for this exam than FARE. Well I don't want to get too excited untill I get my grades. For those checking the website I posted 2 weeks, they are predicting  that the exams would be out next for Wave 1 ( Apr - May 7th) Some states have seen BEC already. Here is the link again

http://www.another71.com/2009/04/cpa-exam-score-release-predictions-aprilmay-window-wave-1.html

Honestly, I am worried about FARE, it was my first CPA exam, I was much more comfortable taking Audit today. I just don't want to write it again....Next week, I'll let you all know what I got.

Next week I would start my review for Regulation which I have on July 2nd....

Have a great weekend...

Cheers !!

Ed.

Waiting waiting waiting

SO I feel like its been forever since I took my last exam. Really it's be only a month but since this is my LAST one I'm even more anxious to know whether I'm done or not. I know that Ed had posted that site of when scores were going to be released, so checking now is fruitless. But I of course continue to check once a day now JUST in case that site was wrong.

Good luck to everyone studying out there. If and when you start getting scores back let us know how you did! And remember, no one cares what score you get, they only care if it was a pass or fail.

Happy Mothers Day

Hi all,

First, I'd like to say Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there.  I hope you had a chance to enjoy the day.

It's Sunday night, and I'm finishing up the first Audit lecture as we speak.  They say old habits die hard, and that seems to be the case with my study habits.  I wanted to go to the Becker questions after each section, but I'm back to the old schedule of watching the lecture and taking notes then coming back later to do all the questions.  I don't think its working, as I'm averaging 50% on the questions.  The one positive is that I can at least understand where I'm wrong and why I'm getting these wrong.

I've yet to decide on a test date.  It seemed almost definite that I would be ready for an exam at the end of May when I first left my assignment in New York and started here in New Jersey.  But as I've gotten more familiar with this project, it does not look like I will have the time to study as much as I want.  I've found that on the previous sections I passed that I worked more questions and worked them multiple times.  Going into the exam, I felt like I understood how the questions would be phrased so as to lead me to the wrong answer.  Being comfortable with the question format and types made it easier to concentrate on the material and the theory.  That's my goal for the Audit Section.

Week two of studying, and I'm looking forward to getting a better understanding of my new schedule.

Good luck.

Regards,

Kunal

5 days to Audit.....

Hello everyone,

Wish me all the luck in the world, I have my Audit exam this friday, I have not even seen the score from the first exam I took; but I am very confident I would be fine on Friday.

I am working on a lot of passmaster quetions on my Becker software, and have been averaging 70's. But I promise to fill you all in on my exam this weekend.

Remember, giving up is not an option...just keep trying.

Happy mothers day to all mums and mums-to-be.

Cheers!!

Ed.

A New Lease on ... Studying

Hi All,

I hope all is well.  Ed, welcome to the blog.  Wendy and Ed, good luck on waiting for the scores.  I'm sure you both did well.

So..., as for the name on this post, I feel like I've gotten a second chance on studying.   When I started this post, I was at the beginning of my first client assignment in New York City.  I had taken two parts, and was ready to finish the final two.  What a difference six months makes!  I've been working busy season hours since October, while working on a daily 4 hour commute, which took precedence over studying hard.  As of Friday, I have been rolled off, and brought onto a new client assignment in New Jersey.  If there is one thing I have learned (and Ed stressed this in his last post) is learn to manage your time.  I did not expect the hours that I received, and really felt as if I mismanaged my free time.  I'm definitely not making that mistake again.

I also just received my second NTS.  I paid for Audit and Regulation back in early April, but had to wait a month for my NTS because I needed to resend my transcript.  Always send away for the NTS as early as possible.  I cannot stress the importance of getting the best possible test time at a location close to you. (I can attribute being relaxed and comfortable with the location as a major reason for being able to pass two parts.)  Hopefully, I do not have to prove that I learned my lesson on this one.

I'm about to re-watch the Audit lecture 1 from Becker.  I have my notebook out and open, and I can honestly say that I'm excited to be able to start a regular study pattern.  Time to start memorizing mnemonics, and try to understand the why's behind an audit.

Good luck!.

Regards,

Kunal