We all know people who roll out of bed and ace every exam without preparation. I am not that person, and if you are reading this, in all likelihood neither are you. I will spare you my life story and how I overcame adversity (blah blah). Since you only care about passing the exam, here are my tips -
1. You must want to pass
2. You must take at least 2 sections every testing window/ Money is no object
3. Never postpone an exam
4. Know what is on your exam
5. Sleep
6. Never take breaks (during exam)
7. The rest
1) You must want to pass
My first tip seems the most obvious, but it is the most important. Once I became serious about passing, I saw results. Just going through the motions isn’t good enough; as in– passively listening to lectures, zoning out during classes, skipping homework, claiming I was always busy, ect. You are investing a lot of time and money into this exam. Realize that no one owes you anything, and your excuses will continuously fall on deaf ears. Take the initiative to be reviewing on your lunch break, have lectures playing in the car, reading on the train and doing as many questions as humanly possible. The “I don’t have time” objection does not apply, nor does anyone care.
2) You must take at least 2 sections every testing window/ Money is no object
I am always surprised at how many people study 3-4 months for one part – this is a colossal waste of time. With a competent reviewer, 6 weeks is the maximum study time for all exams. Work out a schedule with your employer/family/friends to keep to this regimen. You have to be of the mindset that your exam takes precedent over most of your other obligations.
To be blunt, being poor is not an excuse. Once you get registered/licensed you will continually pay maintain your CPA recognition anyway. We already established that you must want to pass – therefore, paying ridiculous fees should have already gone into your decision. So take out your checkbook, and give yourself the best possible chance to succeed.
3. Never postpone an exam
Apart from the obviously reasons to postpone an exam, needing more time to study is a terrible excuse to do so. At the very worst, you are left in same position you were before and you learned something about that particular exam.
4. Know what is on your exam (& what isn’t)
Most of these threads revolve around people frantically searching for any clues on what will be tested. Stop doing this - you know what is on the exam. You are probably aware of the key topics before you even open your reviewer. Most reviewers do a good job in breaking down the weight of each section anyway. The rest is common sense and time management.
There are a lot of filler information in these reviewers, most of which arise from previous users complaining about topics tested that were not mentioned in the study material. No one likes surprises, but don’t let this fear of the unknown make you stray from the key topics.
5. Sleep
Drastically underrated, and essential on exam day. Sometimes, I would literally be running on fumes in the prometric center, which made the experience unbearable and inevitably led to failure. Even if you feel unprepared the day before your exam, if left with doing more lease/bond questions or getting a good night sleep, I recommend going with the latter. Good in theory and in practice, you might find yourself more equipped to pass after a good night’s sleep.
6. During exam, never take breaks
I have never heard anyone else talk about this, so maybe this will be new to you as well. As much as you might feel the urge to take a break, I highly recommend you wait and finish. You wont gain any momentum after taking a break, you will waster precious time and more importantly every break is documented. Just look at it from the examiners point of view, what would you think of a candidate constantly taking breaks? Going to check on notes? Make a phone call? You know what I’m getting at.
Avoid coffee and other diuretics on exam day, and always choose a time that you will feel the most comfortable.
7. Other helpful hints
Some simple tips about each exam (how long I recommend studying) -
Audit (3 weeks) – My most difficult exam. My last go I decided to do only multiple choice questions as a means to study. Doing the reading and/or following the lectures wasn’t doing it for me. Also fell free to cut out the filler topics entirely (10% or less), and do questions on the bigger issues. Keep note of anything with timeline or dates attached in this section.
FAR (4-5 weeks) – You know what is on this test, so stop psyching yourself out. My last attempt I used becker and reviewed about half the material – I spent most of my time trying to master to key, difficult areas that most people have limited exposure with (my best attempt without getting specific); the rest I reviewed at my discretion. The key is to keep reviewing and don’t let wide gaps of time pass before you pick up your book again. In this more than any other section, it helps to be familiar with the research tab.
REG (4 weeks) – Im slightly biased, as I never had a problem with this section. Keep in mind this about 70-80% tax. I know sometimes when reviewing Business Law, its easy to forget this is a tax exam. When pressed for time, do the key topics in tax – not much more to it.
BEC (2-3 weeks) –Since a writing section was newly added, there are plenty of current sources out there to help you on that. Not many key topics, and the rest is notoriously filler. Master the key topics & the writing and you are home free.
Good luck.