NJCPA Exam Cram Blog

Better Late Than Never

Whoops, looks like I'm two weeks late to the party! Nonetheless, I am proud to say that on Sept 10th I found out that I passed AUD and am officially done with the CPA. At the beginning of the process I had a goal of passing all four parts before starting with Deloitte and while this goal was accomplished it certainly came with its trials and tribulations.

The CPA exam is difficult and it should be. Though the path towards CPA licensure is arduous, it provides the profession with a level of credibility supported by its core attributes; Integrity, Competence, Professionalism, and Diligence.

I believe the exam's difficulty stems from the studying time requirement rather than the density of the material. The concepts detailed in the exam materials can be mastered with adequate time. In my opinion, the exam tests your perseverance more than your test taking ability. Hopefully this provides some solace to those who have endured moments of struggle along the way. Remember you are far from alone. 

I want to thank all of those at the society and those close to me who have supported me along the way. It has been a blast writing for the blog and I hope I provided some of you with some insight into the exam. Let me leave you with my favorite accounting Youtube video. Everyone in the accounting profession should watch this Monty Python skit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMOmB1q8W4Y

Thanks for everything!

One Left!

I have not posted in a little while, but have received good news in the meantime. I passed BEC! With that, I just have one more exam left to take (Auditing). I am very happy of all I have accomplished thus far and hope I can have similar success in auditing. I think if there's one thing the CPA has taught me thus far, it's that I should be very appreciative of the education I received at Seton Hall. I could not say enough great things about my undergraduate education, and I think the education I received there was pivotal to my CPA successes. I am suddenly very appreciative of all the professors that I felt 'assigned too much work' or were 'too demanding.' More details to come about auditing, and congratulations to all the other CPA candidates that are passing their exams!

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.

 

WAHOOOOOO!

I can not even describe the incredible feeling of finding out that my hard work has paid off and I was successful on REG. Last night at 1AM I found out that was the case. I have now passed FAR (07/01), AUDIT (07/20), and REG (08/08). I will be taking BEC on Monday (08/31). Needless to say, but this has been a packed summer of studying. I am very excited to have these exams behind me, and am trying to focus on finishing my studies for BEC. Congrats to those who found out their scores today and did well! I'll write again after BEC! Good luck to all!

REG Down, BEC Friday!

This morning I got the best news, I passed REG! I am so happy it is unreal. I'm so appreciative of all the support I've gotten along the way and every success, I believe, is another reason to thank God. 

As much as I want to run outside and scream, studying for BEC has kept me in line. BEC is on Friday. I'm very nervous and am focusing on my final review as much as I can. I am very relieved that BEC is not all cost/managerial accounting. The economics sections really add some variety to this exam. More details to come after Friday, wish me luck!

Support System

Having a great support system can really make a difference. Here are a few things that really helped me use my support system to its fullest potential.

Don’t Fall for the Guilt Trip

I remember when I was first studying for the exam and living at home with my parents.  At times my parents would "guilt" me into doing things instead of studying.  And I was a little too eager to oblige them.  You probably have heard it too: "It's only for 2 hours" or "We never spend time with you any more" or "But you really should take a break" When I heard those lines, I usually gave in and then my study plan fell apart.  This time around, I made it very clear that those lines wouldn't work on me.  I knew I could sacrifice anything for just these two months this summer.  And if I could do it, my family could too. 

Schedule Specific Time for “Fun”

I think what helped me the most was making a schedule including times I’d be studying, the time I could have dinner with my husband and then the time I needed to be back at the library to study the rest of the night.  I also let my family and friends know that I was studying and that I would make plans to see them in September after my studies were done or I’d tell them exactly when I would be free (like after 6pm on Saturdays when the library closed).

Relinquish Your “Duties”

My husband has also been a huge help taking on more of the duties/responsibilities that I normally would do.  He’s been the one primarily walking the dog, getting the groceries, cooking dinner, and cleaning the house.  Without having someone to pick up some of my slack, I don’t think I could have studied as much nor would I been able to concentrate as well.  I would have been worried about the dog (or groceries, or dinner or the house).  If you don’t have someone that can help with some of these types of responsibilities consider these options:

• hire a dog walker
• pay a neighborhood kid to walk your dog/take care of the lawn/etc
• consider having your groceries delivered using online sites or peapod
• consider having your meals sent to you already prepared or with little prep time.
• drop your laundry off for wash & fold service

Don’t Take Your Work Home with You

I have been blessed that my firm is so supportive of my study plan.  They have scheduled my work/jobs/clients so that I do not have to worry about it once I leave for the night to go home and study or leave on a Friday.  I’m not worried about checking my emails, I put on an “out of office” message with a specific date when I’ll be back in the office and can address their email.  My phone/emails are usually on Do Not Disturb mode while I’m studying so I don’t get distracted with work emails or any personal texts etc.

Hope these tips help to build your support system.

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! 

What A Feeling, I Can't Deny

Sitting, wide awake at my computer desk, it was 12:59 AM. I had time.gov open with the synchronized world clock, literally counting down the seconds until 1:00 AM would strike so I could log onto NASBA to check my scores for my first two exams. I had heard many horror stories of how the website would crash when the scores were released and I was just hoping to get on to the site at exactly 1:00 to find out my fate. Luckily, I was able to get through the site relatively quickly and enter my Section ID and my Birthday to find out my scores. I PASSED BOTH FAR AND AUDIT! It was an instant relief to know that all of the hours put into studying have paid off so far. While I have missed out on a few fun nights with my friends this summer, and haven't gotten to do everything that I would like, it was all instantly worth it when I saw my scores. I know that I will have plenty of time in the future to celebrate with them when all four parts are done! I am definitely going to use this momentum as I study for the rest of this week and get ready to take REG this coming Saturday. I am very thankful for the Becker Fast Pass course and for my Education at Lehigh University because they both prepared me incredibly well for these tests. Now, I'm half way home, and I will put as much focus into this next month to get the next two parts done as well! I hope everyone else who checked was as fortunate as I was; however, if you did not see the score you wanted, do not be discouraged. Use any setbacks as motivation to propel you to future success. Good luck to all who are studying, and getting scores back! Until next time...

You're gonna go FAR, kid

Took FAR on Tuesday and needless to say it was an experience. I breezed through the first testlet. The second testlet was significantly harder but I thought I did decent enough. I was making good time so I decided to take a quick bathroom break (the past two exams I just kept on going with the exam). Came back and the last testlet was also very hard, which I liked seeing because that's an indication that things were going well. I left myself roughly 1:45 for the sims which I thought was going to be ample time. The first time thru the sims I was struggling a bit but then fortunately was able to find some answers in the literature. 

Best piece of advice I could give to someone is to give yourself enough time with the sims to look up things in the codification. The references saved me on an answer. 

Overall, I think I passed but you never know what might happen. On to Audit. It's so nice looking at book half the size of FAR. Still on track to reach my goal of passing all four parts before starting work.

Exam Day Tips

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it.  Make your mental blue print, and begin to build.”- Robert Collier

Last week I took my first exam of this round.  I felt very well prepared but still anxious.  After the exam was over, I thought my anxiety would subside but IT DIDN’T.  I think that’s because after leaving the exam I just wanted to know if I passed or not.  Even though you feel like you did well on the exam, you never REALLY know how well you did until you get your score.

Speaking of getting you scores- here’s a link to the NASBA website with the expected score released dates for the rest of 2015.  http://nasba.org/exams/news/2015-q3q4-score-release-timeline/

 

As for the day of the exam here are a few tips that have helped me on the day of the exam:

Visualize Success: Have you heard of the study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago about shooting free throws?  He split people into 3 groups & tested how many free throws they could make.  Then he had the 1^st group practice free throws every day for 1 hour, the 2^nd group just visualized themselves making free throws, and the 3^rd group did nothing.  The 1^st group improved by 24% but the thing to note is the second group improved almost just as well as the first group (23%)!  So leading up to the exam- keep visualizing that score greater than 75!

Be Confident: For me being confident isn’t just a mental thing, I actually have to FEEL confident. And for me that means putting on some makeup and wearing nice (yet comfortable clothes) like my favorite pair of jeans and a shirt with a sweater.  If I rolled into the exam without a shower, my hair a mess, and in sweatpants and a sweatshirt I’d feel really lousy.

Take your time: Not just during the exam, but beforehand too.  Get to the exam site 45 minutes to an hour before your schedule time to allow for traffic, some time to relax, get your mind right (see tips above) and to do a little review. 

Reward yourself: You’ve worked hard to get to this day, after the exam go out for a drink with your friends or grab a nice dinner, or just do something fun that you’ve had to avoid since you began studying for the exam.  You can wait till tomorrow to start studying for the next one!