It's been awhile since my last post since I visited some friends up in Boston the past couple of days. Before I left for the weekend, I decided to push the date of the exam back 5 days to July 22nd. The cost to move an exam date is $35. I know 5 days isn't a huge adjustment, but right now I should finish up the material tomorrow and then begin my review stage. This should give me closer to three weeks to review and I intend on spending two days per chapter. When I go through the material the first time I usually don't master it because a lot is thrown at you at once. The review stage, in my opinion, is the most important stage of the studying process. This is where you figure out 1) What do I truly know & 2) What do I need to master. Understand your limitations and pushing back the date of the exam is potentially a valuable resource.
FAR
July 01, 2015
June 29, 2015
T-Minus 2
It's almost test day! I will be sitting for FAR on Wednesday, July 1 at noon. I have still been studying just as hard as I was at the beginning of my studies. For the past few days, I have been simulating 4 hour exams and have been doing fairly well. After each exam, I review my areas of error, and then make sure I focus on those areas for the rest of the day. I am feeling more confident each day and am eager to get this beast of an exam over with. One thing that I have found difficult on the exams is time management. I find myself flying through the multiple choice questions because I want to leave myself with enough time for the simulations. My aunt who was in the education field for 25+ years made a recommendation to me which has actually helped me to slow down. I acknowledge in advance how crazy this may sound. She said, "Sit on your hands each time you get to a new question, and don't take them out until you have read through it in its entirety." I looked at her like she had eight heads. Even though I doubted that it would help, I tried her strategy, physically sitting on my hands each time I moved to another question, and to my disbelief, I slowed my time per question down, and made many less careless mistakes. It helped me to focus more on the questions and maybe that technique, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, will help you too! Good luck to everyone getting ready to sit for exams!
June 26, 2015
10 Days Away from the first Exam!
Hi All,
My first exam is scheduled for July 6 which means that we are approximately 10 days away from exam day! I finished the review course for FAR and have been doing self-study type work for the past week. This has included outlining the chapters, re-doing multiple choice questions and simulations, as well as taking some progress exams. As a break, this week I attended my little sister's high school graduation. I am very proud of her. She will be following all of us and pursuing a degree in accounting at FDU beginning this August. I hope everyone's studies are going well and more details to come next week!
Falling behind this week
This week I was supposed to complete 2 chapters on the Becker software and am about to finish the first chapter, meaning that I have alot to catch up on this weekend. I had planned on spending my two days off this week studying all day, but was tempted by friends to go out fishing instead. While we had an awesome time and caught tons of fish, my studying time was sacrificed and I'm going to have to make up for that. I also spent some time this week writing an article for the NJSCPA Pulse about how the CPA exam is scored, so keep an eye out for that in the July edition of Pulse.
Til next week..
June 25, 2015
Ready...Set...Test
My NTS has finally arrived. By some miracle I was able to schedule an exam for next Wednesday (July 1). I was also able to schedule the other 3 exams as well for later this summer. Now that I have my test dates, I can study towards a goal, and execute my plan. I am excited, and also nervous to be taking the exam next week. I feel very well prepared thanks to the Becker Fast Pass, and will be taking the Becker Final Review Course tomorrow; however, I still have nerves that I need to calm because this is the first of the four tests that I will be sitting for. I hope that these nerves calm over the next few days, and that I can go in to the exam as confident as ever. For now, I'm just thrilled I got my NTS, and am going to go back to studying!
June 23, 2015
Still No NTS But Progress Made Nonetheless
As the days until test day become fewer and fewer, I find myself working through more multiple choice questions. I have finished all of the lectures and review homework problems/ TBS for F1-10. What I have now found myself doing is segments of 90 MC Progress Tests in one sitting to simulate the 3 MC Testlets on the exam. Then after finishing them, I review one of the sections of Tasked Based Simulations. I have found that this is helping to prepare me mentally for working out the problems in the allotted time.
As for my NTS, today, I finally received an email saying that my application was approved, and that I would receive my NTS in 3-5 business days. Then I will FINALLY be able to schedule all of my exams. I am keeping my fingers' crossed that it will come by Friday so that I may be able to schedule my exam for late next week. Good luck to everyone studying and taking the exam!
June 20, 2015
Halfway through FAR studies
Today I'm wrapping up my studies for Becker chapter 5 of FAR. There are 10 chapters for FAR, so I'm halfway through. This will keep me on schedule to finish all 10 chapters by mid July and then have 2 full weeks to review. I'm not being very diligent with my completion of the simulations at the end of each chapter, but I am working through the multiple choice. My plan is to focus on the simulations in the two weeks before the exam. This is the strategy I took before the other exams and it has worked well so far. I work a double shift at the restaurant tomorrow, so I wont be studying at all tomorrow. However, I have Monday off from work, so will try to complete the videos and multiple choice for chapter 6 that day.
FAR a long long way to study
I have a little more than a month left until FAR and ooof it's kicking my butt. It's been significantly harder than the other two sections but that could be the result from a myriad of factors. I've noticed my drive and urge to study has dipped a tad as I've hit the CPA Wall. I'm hoping that this is a case where when you go through the materials the first time you feel completely lost but then when you go through a second time it doesn't seem as daunting of a task. Either way this kid is riding the struggle bus for awhile. So if anyone out there also struggling with FAR you're not alone. Enjoy Father's Day weekend.
June 18, 2015
Another Week of Studying...
Everyone always told me that studying for the CPA exam is brutal, but I never expected it to be THIS much work. I do not know how people are able to study and work at the same time, and I am realizing every day how fortunate I am to be able to take the time off to study. I am finding that the best way to learn the information is to do additional practice problems. While the online lectures are a must, the best way, I believe, to reinforce the material is through actual questions. On another note, I just signed up to take FAR, this will be my first section taken. Wish me luck! More details to come soon.
Still Waiting, But Making Progress
Unfortunately, I have still yet to receive my NTS. It is incredibly frustrating; however, all I can do is continue studying and wait until I receive it to schedule my exams. My goal, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is to have all four parts of the exam done prior to starting work at the end of September. Because of that, I am on a very packed time table for studying. I finished F8 yesterday of the FAR Becker Fast Pass Review, and am going to do F9 Today. After I complete the course tomorrow with F10, I will have approximately two weeks to review for the exam before I hope to take it (if I ever receive my NTS). I have found myself studying for about 10-11 hours a day, including watching the 4 hour lecture. On the weekends I have only studied about 3-5 hours a day, to give myself some time to recuperate some of my energy from the long weeks. I will keep everyone updated on my NTS situation with NASBA. Good luck to all taking the exam, or in the process of studying for it!
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