Hello friends,
A new exam candidate asked me the other day what I believed to be the best practices to successfully navigating the CPA exam and I told her, “Just stick to the F.A.C.T.S.”.
Flashcards
Attack the multiple choice questions
Create a detailed plan
Time it out
Study every chance you get
Flashcards
Buy them, make them, download them – anyway you can get them, get your hands on some flashcards. Flashcards help you keep the technical mumbo-jumbo fresh in your head so that when you move over to practicing MCQs and Simulations you can breeze through them with as little struggle as possible.
Attack the multiple choice questions (MCQs)
Every day/night sit down and move through the MCQs. Don’t sit around telling yourself, ‘I’ll get to them tomorrow’ – just do it! Also, don’t quit after only doing 10-15. Get through at least 30 in one sitting without any distractions. [You’re thinking: “Why 30, Jerry?] 30 is the optimal number of questions to get through because that’s the most number of questions you’ll be asked to complete on the exam in one testlet. So avoid your cell phone, blackberry, Facebook, twitter, foursquare, tumblr, linkedin, and myspace for 35-45 minutes at a time so you can just focus on completing and understanding what the MCQs are asking you for.
Create a detailed plan
Any time you plan to take an exam, make a detailed plan. Set specific and attainable goals, whilst setting realistic expectations for yourself on a daily and weekly basis. Put it all in writing or on a calendar and print it out. Then post it somewhere that you will see it every day – next to your desk in your bedroom or home office, at your cubicle in the office, your refrigerator, etc.. Make sure you see it and stick to it. Your plan is only good as long as you follow it. Use this as your litmus test to ensure your working to pass the CPA exam.
Time it out
As your creating your plan, time your studying and exam prep carefully. Do you know you’re heading into busy season at work? Do you have any larger time commitments coming up? Will you be taking a vacation during the period? You should run through any situation or variable that might arise between the time you start your exam prep and your ideal exam date. Then, if possible, add an additional week to the end of the schedule and schedule you exam. I personally wouldn’t recommend forcing all of your studying into one month (especially if you’re working) that’s emotional and mental suicide. Give yourself at least 6-8 weeks per exam. I thought BEC and AUD were very manageable in 6 weeks, but REG and FAR took a lot more time and energy for me to master so I gave them each 8 weeks. You know how you study, if you think you’ll need more time on any particular exam, give yourself that additional time. The most important fact to keep in mind is this: once you set this all up, make you plan and stick to it!
Study every chance you get
Do you take a daily lunch break? If so, try fitting in some flashcards or MCQs during your break. Do you take a train or bus to work daily? If so, use your commute time to flip through flashcards. Do you need to get your car inspected? Take your flashcards with you while you wait at DMV. Are you going for a day in the sun? Take your flashcards to the beach with you. There’s no excuse for you not to spend an adequate amount of time studying for this exam. There’s time in your day, you just need to choose to sacrifice some pleasure with some more work. I know the feeling of not being able to enjoy my nights or just hanging with friends, but having surpassed that point in my life, I’m so glad I sacrificed when I had the time!
The quicker you stick to the FACTS, the quicker you’ll pass the CPA exam!
Good luck everyone!
Jerry
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