Status: Fire
After my less than inspired study performance on audit, I was determined to make up for it on FAR. The first two chapters in Becker went great. I was able to do all of the multiple choice questions multiple times, and the material itself didn’t seem that difficult. Unfortunately for me, however, FAR didn’t have two chapters. It had nine, and the material only got more difficult to master in chapters 3 – 9. There were many more calculation problems which would take up to five minutes to solve sometimes. In comparison, I averaged about 30 seconds a problem in audit. By the time I got to chapter 5, I felt that the GAAP (pun intended) between AUD and FAR was akin to taking a 5 mile jog vs. climbing Mount Everest, respectively. The following diagram illustrates this.
This might not be the best comparison, since I couldn’t really do either of these activities considering the shape I’m in.
Things only got worse after chapter 5, as I came down with a slight case of pneumonia that lasted 4 weeks. The funny thing is, I was still studying a massive amount during the time. It didn’t help much though, as I have a hard enough time retaining this information when I’m completely healthy. When I’m sick? Forget about it.
After two months, I finally got through all the chapters and was ready to take the test (well, not so much ready, more forced to take it). I had fully recovered by the time the test came around, but my confidence level was not high. I had struggled with pensions, leases, and the cash flow section of FAR, and wasn’t able to go over many of the MPC’s multiple times.
As I started taking the test, it turned out my fears were right. It felt like I literally knew nothing. Question after question I kept drawing blanks. After the longest four hours of my life, the test was over. I knew with certainty I had failed. The score: 63. Once again my instincts turned out to be right. This was my most crushing defeat during the CPA Exam. Mainly because I put in close to 160 hours studying for this one, and the result wasn’t even close. It felt like an anvil dropping on my head when I saw the result. I knew it was unlikely that I would pass every part on the first try, but I hoped.
Lesson Learned. Hope doesn’t get you very far on the CPA Exam.
No comments:
Post a Comment