I decided to study for the CPA after a year of graduating. I started 1.5 months ago. I was so stoked in the beginning. Left my ft job to part time so I can focus on studying for the CPA full time, literally 40+ hours a week. I’ve learned all about REG and I’m ready to test next month but now I have no energy and motivation. I literally feel like I have not had any fun or know how to have fun anymore. Some days I don’t leave my house at all just to study or even a few days. I feel so out of it and want to throw away my study materials. Some days I refuse to open my computer or my study materials. It’s super depressing.

For those who are doing it full time, I don’t know how yahll are doing it! Props to you!

Please send over good vibes, energy and advice so I can get through this depressing hurdle. 😆

I think I will view time differently after I’m finally finished with this thing. Studying for the CPA is definitely a test of discipline that’s for sure. But until then.. I’ll be in my study dungeon 😭😭

Is the CPA still worth it if you already make 85-90k annually and have no desire to become partner or an executive? Between working full time and all 4 parts it seems like it would take an insane amount of studying

I already have a Masters in Accounting btw..

I take TCP on Thursday. I scored a 56% on SE1 and a 64% on SE2. No matter how many notes I write about calculations for the basis, nothing is sticking. What should I do? Am I cooked? REG was far easier than this.

Took FAR for the first time today and I honestly have no idea how I did- I found myself guessing on some MCQs and ran out of time in the last tb. Is it possible that I still passed even with not being too confident in all the sims and needing to guess on some mcqs? Do they scale scores at all based on difficulty?

Also if I’m unsure on how I did should I continue to study for it as if I failed so I can reschedule asap? Any advice is helpful, thank you!!

I am currently studying for my TCP exam coming up on October 31st and recently passed REG a month and half ago.

But some of these TCP questions are brutal. There are long TBSs and the MCQ questions also take way longer to get through because of how wordy they are.

Maybe some of the topics just aren't clicking for me? I'm grinding through the MCQ and still feel way less comfortable than the REG portion on Becker.

Sure, TCP may attract more tax specialized people, but shouldn't the high pass rate go down at this point when everyone believes it is supposedly an "easy" exam?

Wanted to let everyone know what worked for me hoping it’ll give people some motivation to conquer this beast of an exam.

I originally started roughly 3 or 4 years ago right after college only having my eyes set out on the CPA exams. I even purchased a NTS but never scheduled an exam because I was so afraid of failing. The material as well just wasn’t clicking for me so it just made me feel worse about studying. I ended up just giving up and letting the NTS expire. I attempted studying for a few weeks every now and then since then but always gave up or made excuses to myself like “oh it’s a busy period right now with work”.

About a year and a half ago I left my job in public accounting for a corporate job. The first few months were just so easy compared to public accounting that I thought to myself that now would be the best time to start studying again. Things did end up getting a lot busier in the later parts of my study journey as I established myself at the company.

I originally started with surgent cpa (my college gave it to us for free). This time I studied exclusively using Becker. I felt like some of the things that surgent focused on just weren’t that important now that I look back at some of the topics that scared me to take the exam when I let the NTS expire.

I always studied after work after hitting the gym, it gave me a boost in energy after work. I studied roughly 1-2 hours max a day. I would also schedule my exam the day I first started studying, typically 5-6 weeks of studying for each exam.

I took the exams in the following order:
AUD- Studied roughly 98 hours
REG- Studied roughly 116 hours
ISC- Studied roughly 42 hours
FAR- Studied roughly 113 hours
Passed each exam on the first try and all less than a year. I also took a few months/weeks off in between each exam to recuperate.

I started off with Audit first because I was most familiar with that subject having worked in public accounting for almost 3 years prior to the switch to corporate accounting. I would recommend everyone to honestly study whatever they’re most familiar with first only because starting the process with a win was more important to me than tackling the hardest exam first.

For the first exam I started studying by watching every video, all the sims, and mcq’s (and obviously the simulated exams and mini exams).

Halfway through the second exam I stopped doing the sims immediately until during my review and I stopped watching the videos completely. Additionally, I made sure that after every day I would do a 25 random mcq of everything that I have already previously learned. My goal was to essentially do all the mcq’s for a new section everyday. By the time I finished all the sections I would have roughly 10-14 days remaining for my review. During this period I would increase my study time to 2-3 hours a day depending on how busy I was with work. I would do roughly 100 or more mcq’s a day and really only do tb’s for the simulated exams unless there was a topic I knew was heavily tested then I would do a few practice ones if I could.

I will also note I studied practically everyday during my 4-6 week study windows. For each exam I would only take one day off and it was purely due to exhaustion and I knew that studying that day wouldn’t benefit me at all.

I personally think the exams in terms of material aren’t difficult but it’s purely a test of perseverance and being determined.

Also, something that I changed later in my process as well was actually instead of buying groceries and cooking but doing a meal prep service. Honestly such a time saver and after completing the exams I don’t think I’ll go back to cooking food for a while lol.

Please let me know if you guys have any questions because I feel like I didn’t really hear stories about the cpa exam besides “oh yeah I’m a cpa”. No one really talks about the anxiety/fear one had to get over to even get over to start lol.

Just got let go. Was not warned or mentioned about any poor performance or work ethic. Offered to work overtime and take a cut in pay. Nothing. Offered any other positions available. Didn’t specify why just said performance wasn’t good enough. Was there nearly a full year for work experience.

Updated the resume. Had already been looking for a while and I just talked to a recruiter who I had talked to recently and she said she had someone interested in meeting with me but wouldn’t be for as much.

Just feeling down about it. Need someone to give me a word of encouragement. I only have REG to pass and have 60 hours for it, but I feel so pissed and hard done by considering what some others were like in that firm. Don’t get it.

They were kind enough to be professional and not nasty and even sent me a signed certification of the hours I worked there towards applying for the cpa which is over the 1600 hours and literally three weeks from a full year in case I needed to get 150 credits.

I’m just so pissed at the whole situation. Tried to log back in and they had already deleted my email account. Don’t get it.

What the fuck should I do.

Hello everyone! I’m an off again on again CPA student who graduated almost ten years ago but never had the right situation to study properly. I have more time now and looking for the best place to get materials for all 4 parts. My Becker expired about 2 years ago and hoping to find a cheaper alternative.

If someone is willing to sell their materials after they pass or know a good place to buy second hand I’d greatly appreciate it!

How similar are isc questions on the exam to the ones in Becker? I’m going through Becker and am scheduled to take isc at the end of the month, and the questions have been pretty straightforward. I’m just wondering if the questions are like that on the actual exam or if these are just simpler. Or maybe I know the information better than I have for previous exams.

I took FAR today and felt like it wasn’t as bad as I expected. TBS and MCQs were pretty straightforward other than some here and there. I don’t feel awful about it but definitely don’t feel amazing. 50/50.

I will say the questions were spot on to Becker questions imo.

Anyone else take it today? How do you feel about it?

just took SE1 and got 40%. im at 77 hours right now and my NTS was expiring so im taking it anyways, no rescheduling.

im really trying to lock in this week. i reviewed what went wrong for SE1 and retook it and got 70%. obviously need to do deeper review.

any advice/tips? or some feedback if u dont think me passing is feasible. theres always a next time, im not too worried about the cost but its just inconvenient for me to retake since i dont have many PTO days

Sigh.....

Got 88 on SE1 and 80 on SE2.

So i was feeling i am ready.

Took ISC today and feel like i bombed it like hell......

First testlet, flagged more than 10

Seond testlet, flagged more than 5.

Never saw the topics from Becker......

I wanna cry

Hello everyone, I am retaking my AUD exam on the 23, which is right at the cut off for the 11/10 score release. I should receive my score back by 11/10, right? TIA.

I’m transferring from community college to a four year university and am debating between majoring in Accounting and becoming a CPA or completing the prerequisites for pharmacy school and pursuing a PharmD.

My biggest priority is work life balance. I want a career that pays well, has a good job market, and allows me to travel, relocate to different states, and find jobs easily.

For those working in accounting or pharmacy, how is the work life balance really? Which career offers better job security, income, and flexibility? Is pharmacy school worth the extra time and cost compared to accounting?

Getting ready to take AUD for the second time tomorrow! I first sat on September 5th and scored a 71. Since then, I've gone through just about every single thing in AUD all over again! I scored an 84% on both simulated exams and am just lightly reviewing my weaker areas to see if those questions were actually lack of understandings or misreading the question. Fingers crossed I get those four points!

I am currently halfway through the material. I started studying mid September but I have slacked super bad after passing one test, I started to struggle with motivation to study.
I have forgone all TBS and got a 43% on M1…
I am feeling super bad about the day I am testing and thinking of pushing it, but I don’t want to do it in the new year. What should I really focus on to get ready to test?

Should I quit public accounting or ask for time off to study for the CPA?
I need some advice on my current situation. I’ve been working at a mid-sized public accounting firm for 10 months. I graduated in December and started working full-time in January, right during busy season, and only received about a week of training.
Throughout the year, I’ve been assigned to two large public clients, and the experience has been extremely stressful, especially when it comes to feedback. Both of my managers have told me that I don’t ask enough questions, take too long to complete tasks, and lack technical knowledge.
I interned at the firm last summer and received a full-time offer, so I thought I would be prepared for the transition, but the reality has been much harder than I expected. At this point, I’m extremely burnt out and feel like I have no energy left to keep going. The constant feedback has really affected my confidence, and I’m starting to question whether public accounting is right for me.
I’m considering either quitting to focus on studying for the CPA exams or talking to the partner who hired me to see if I could take some time off to study and recover before deciding what to do next.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would it be worth talking to the partner before making a decision, or should I consider leaving? I’m worried about making a decision I might regret, but I also don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.
P.S. Any suggestions on who to talk to or how to deal with the stress? Should I request to be switched to a different client?

Long time lurker. Previous Big4 Senior with industry experience. Recently married 30M living life with unmedicated ADHD. I have seen more success stories here than anywhere else so here's my request. I am planning to sit for FAR in late December or early January. I haven't started studying yet.

My whys, my wife and I want to start a family one day and with this kind of job market, we both are less than optimistic about stability. I am actively applying for jobs and want to study at the same time. My wife has told me to think about just taking the next few months and use our emergency fund to pass the CPA, it's something I am thinking about but am really scared of since

1. It creates a gap in my resume.

2. money going out and not coming in is something I have never dealt it, I grew up with nothing so money going out always had to be less than money coming in.

What are your best tips and tricks for FAR. I am not the type of student who wants to get a 90, I just want that golden 75 like most people.

Would consider myself of average intelligence and not IN LOVE with accounting. I am aiming for a CPA just so I can have it behind my name. I am in no way passionate about audit or tax but this is what the industry is demanding.

What I really struggle with is retaining information and writing notes that will help me. What not taking and study skills have helped you with FAR and the CPA exams in general, this question is more targeted to my fellow unmedicated ADHD people out there.

I’ve passed FAR with a 77, Failed AUD with a 72. I have no idea why I chose BAR. If I fail it I will most likely switch to TCP. I just feel like I’m walking into this test and I’m absolutely going to fail. It seems that TBS are the things that are either going to make or break it for me. Anyone have any tips? Any success stories going into it that low?

Hi All,

I’m currently in a pickle getting my experience affidavit signed off. I passed all the CPA exams and the ethics exam so I am currently only waiting on the experience affidavit to submit my application.

The CPA I was planning on using is too busy with the October tax deadlines and my current employer has not been very helpful either.

Any ideas on how I can get this signed off? Is there somewhere I can pay someone to have them verify my experience? How did you manage getting the form signed?

Please note I am in Washington state so the only requirement for the CPA is that they have to have been licensed for at least 5 years. There are no requirements for them supervising me or anything like that.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Also, if any CPA’s here would like to assist me, please let me know! I am willing to pay!

I’m in a bit of a pickle. I want to have my experience form submitted now before I find out if I passed all of my exams, but the VBOA requires that the CPA signing must send in the form themselves. I can’t have the form sent in until I start an online application.

Has anyone started an online license application in VA before passing all of the exams?

Whaddup team -

just wanted to pass along info I just received for any other folks who have also passed all four did ethics submitted transcripts etc and are waiting on the certificate to apply for actual license:

IL BOE told me the IL office is super behind right now bc their evaluator has been out for the past month, office staff is in training with new management, so there is only one person backing up new evaluations .. and said they "hope" to have the evaluator back in the next few weeks, but she is out for medical reasons that are still up in the air, so they really have no idea how long shell be out lol nice

on that note, if anyone has any info on any ways they were able to get theirs quicker, let a brotha know lmao