NJCPA Exam Cram Blog

Signing Off

Well, scores have been released and I am pleased to say I passed the fourth part of the exam. While this was a quick process for me (began studying for my first exam on June 8th, and took my last exam on August 31st,) it was by no means an easy one. In this final post I will highlight some of the strategies I used that allowed me to be successful in such a short time.

Lay out a plan for yourself prior to beginning... AND STICK TO IT. One of the hardest things for me taking the exam this summer was that I felt like every weekend something would pop up where a friend would ask me to go somewhere or do something. That is when the little accounting devil and angel pops up on your shoulder. I included in my plan some days off from studying, so If something popped up that I really wanted to do, I always had the option of moving one of my off days to that day, much like a flex player in fantasy football (NFL JUST STARTED SO I'M IN THE ZONE). 

Break up your studies throughout the day. For me this was one of the most necessary parts of my studies because I don't have the longest attention span. My typical day looked like the following:

8:15-9:00 - Wake up, shower, eat breakfast.

9:00-12:30 - Start Lecture/Homework

12:30-1:00- Eat Lunch

1:00-3:00 - Continue Lecture/Homework

3:00-4:15 - Go to the Gym

4:15-6:30 - Continue Lecture/ Homework

6:30- 7:15 - Eat dinner

7:15-9:30 - Continue Homework/ Wind down

10:00 Relax/ Sleep

At the end of each study hour, I would take a 5 minute break to get a drink of water or check my phone. This schedule gave me about 10 Hours of studying a day; however, it was manageable because I was breaking it up into no more than 3.5 hours at a time

Use a review course, and follow their plan. Now I'm not here to advertise; however, I used the Becker CPA review, and attended their final review sessions and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It truly is what I attribute most to helping me pass the exam. My education was a phenomenal base of knowledge; however, the Becker software gives you strategies for beating the exam, teaching you how to take it, and has a wealth of multiple choice and simulation questions at their disposal. 

Demand the best from yourself. No one is perfect; however, they can give a perfect effort each day. I demanded that I would give a perfect effort of sticking to my schedule each day. I said I wouldn't let anything come between me and finishing this exam prior starting work. Once I had that mentality, it was easier to drown out the white noise and focus on what was important. 

I know the exam will be changing soon, so I hope these tips are still applicable. I have enjoyed writing about my experience, and now look forward to the next chapter in my life. I will be starting work for Deloitte on September 28th, and there is no better feeling then walking in on day 1 with this exam behind me. Good luck to those taking the exam now and in the future. That's a wrap for me.

 

FAR down, REG taken, BEC now

Last week I got great news, I passed FAR! Later in the week I took REG which I do not think I had the same level of success on. I will be finding out about REG just days before taking BEC. August will be a rough month for CPA studies. I find I am really looking forward to October, when I actually start working and at least have some knowledge on all the topics in case I have to retake any parts. So far BEC has been more challenging than expected. I always hated managerial/cost accounting, but I forgot how much I hated it until opening this book. If anyone has any advice on how to tackle this, please keep me posted! 

Staying Focused

Optimists focus their energy on making their goals happen, rather than bracing for the worse.- Denis Waitley

One of the struggles I face when studying for the CPA exam is staying FOCUSED on studying.  The odd thing is, staying focused wasn’t really an issue for me previously.  I was the queen of being able to stay up all night before an exam and cram right up to the time I had to actual go and take the exam.  I quickly found out that my studying strategy during high school & college was not going to cut it for the CPA exam.  There is no way that you can learn all the material for the exam in one night.  So I had to find a better way to study and stay focused on it over an extended period of time.

 Here are a few focusing tips that I find work for me that might work for you too:

• When attending a live lecture, sit in front.  When you’re in the front of the class you are more likely to be engaged on the instructor or presenter and less likely to be zoning out or on your phone.
• Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and put it out of sight.  Did you really need to check that text message or Facebook message right then, or could it have waited two hours? If someone has something urgent to tell you they most likely will call you and leave a voicemail or call you twice to be sure they got in touch with you.  It helps remove those small distractions.
• Drink plenty of water- by drinking water you increase the amount of oxygen in your body, which leads to more oxygen to the brain, which ultimately increases our alertness & clarity. 
• Set Specific Goals- by setting specific daily or hourly goals, it helps bring the huge task of studying ALL that material to a more achievable task.  If you set a goal to finish all multiple choice questions for one chapter before you leave the library, the more likely you are to accomplish it.  Compare that to thinking “I’m going to stay at the library for four hours” and the first two hours you spent on Facebook and emails.  If you leave the library after only two real hours of studying, you’ll feel like you got nothing accomplished.
• Peppermint oil- This last one may surprise you but peppermint essential oil has a bunch of benefits including relieving headaches and improved mental focus.  By diffusing the oil for an hour while you study or even putting a drop under your nose can help improve your concentration. 

Now it's MY time!

 

"If you believe in yourself, and have dedication & pride, and never quit, you'll be a winner"- Paul Bryant

I wanted to introduce myself & tell you a little bit about my story.

Like many of those that have blogged here in the past and that are currently blogging, I started my CPA exam review right out of college before I started at WithumSmith+Brown full time.  I failed a few of the exams, got intimidated & postponed/rescheduled a few, and finally after about 3 years and countless of on and off again studying I passed my first CPA exam part: Audit!  Well I just couldn't get the next exam passed (failed with a 72, 73, & 74).  I lost confidence in myself so I took a "hiatus" from the exam.  During that almost 2 year "hiatus" a few things happened to me:

• I lost the credit for passing Audit
• moved from the traditional side of accounting to our firm's Litigation Support Group
• got engaged and
• now I'm officially a "Mrs."

After talking with my mentors & career coaches at the firm, we decided the best course of action for me to finally pass the CPA exam would be to enroll in the Becker "Fast Pass" Program.  So here I am, back on the horse.  I'll be taking you with me on my ride through this process.  

My story isn't typical nor is it ideal.  I would have loved to have passed all four parts early in my career.  But that's not how things worked out for me so my goal through this is to encourage those that feel intimidated or frustrated with the exam and the entire process to not give up.  Now it’s MY time to pass the exam and you can too! 

 

Date Pushed Back

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. 

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!

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..

 

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. 

Finally - License has arrived

Hello Everyone,

My license has finally arrived. The feeling is "Priceless". It took 6 months from when I passed the exams. Just be patient with the process, you would get there. I am available for questions. I would be checking the blog from time to time.

For those out in the exam taking world, keep digging in and getting all you can to knock down this beast. There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel, do not give up.

Thanks again

Ed Adiele, CPA

Post Exam Feelings and License Nightmare's

Hello Everyone,

It’s been 5 months post CPA exam, the “high” is over, and now I am happier and more confident with my work without the worry of ever taking the exams again. For those in this stage of the journey, I would like to hear you thoughts on the license process. For me I did not have the 150 credits during initial evaluation, so I had to apply to NASBA to evaluate the remaining 15 credits for me to reach the target 150.

This process took a while because the school did not send the transcripts on time, and NASBA took some time in getting the review completed. I finally received my eligibility letter in mid-October from the state board.

I got busy with work at this time, and did not follow up on my statement of experience with my office till the first week in November; the process takes different stages of approval, and finally the state board has received my paper work last week. I called them today, and they told me they are waiting on my back ground check to come back.

This process takes some time, and my advice is that you make sure your credits are evaluated prior to passing your exams if you don’t have 150 credits, and have to take additional classes to get to 150.

I would keep you all posted, I have been reading all the posting, and just want to wish you all the best.

Happy Holidays,