Philip is a resident of the great state of New York, but has inspired and motivated fellow Roger students through online forums and social media platforms across the globe. Philip has already passed FAR, and is currently preparing to tackle AUD in November.
Hello! I want to share some of my thoughts about the all too frequent ups and downs of studying for the CPA Exam. This topic came to my mind when I finished AUD 4 this weekend. It was amazing at how everything just simply came together. It really was. I remember walking away Sunday with a pretty good morale about my weekend study blitz.
I remember back to FAR and spending days studying a subject like bonds, and just not getting it. I remember thinking to myself, I’m just too old and too far from my college studies to make any sense of this. I used to refer to this as the death spiral. Once I started beating myself up, I couldn’t concentrate. I began to get more questions wrong, and the spiral continued.
I found that I needed to just stop.
That’s right. Take a break or a day off. Clear your mind. I remember taking the day off after the spiral in bonds, and then going back to the MCQs the following day. I scored in the 80s. And then what happened my confidence flew back up and I was able to move on. In fact, as I was encroaching exam day, my strongest topic in FAR was bonds.
I mention that because it wasn’t too long ago that I posted an SOS on Rogers Facebook page when I was struggling with a few of the concepts with AUD 2. Here I am a few weeks later with AUD 4 feeling absolutely great. AUD 4 ended brilliantly and put all of the concepts from TIPPICANOE together.
I wanted to share with everyone that this emotional up and down with the CPA exam is normal, albeit frustrating. Roger gives us the tools and support we need to pass the exam. So don’t give up. Learn to take a break, breathe, ask for help or motivation, and get back to the studying. Keep plugging away, because it will make sense. Just remember that, If you study, you will pass.