i am trying to keep a postive attitude here but i am 0/2 on exams and my scores weren't that close to 75. painfully discouraged and considering the fact that CPA may not be in the cards for me. i feel like i have worked hard on learning the material and not sure what i need to do differently. what i would like to know is: did you ever feel the way i feel? how many of you failed at least two sections before passing? what did you do to pull yourself out of it?

sorry for the self pity!

trying, I wanted to respond to your message because I have been there! You are sounding pretty down right now. I failed FAR twice before passing recently and believe me, I wondered if I was actually capable of passing as well. It was worth it to keep going though, for sure. I have now passed BEC, AUD, and FAR so I am one section away from making it happen! A big motivator for me was just thinking about my friends and family that knew I was taking the exam and how proud of me they would be if I passed. I don't know what motivates you to be a CPA but find what that is and dwell on that when you are looking for motivation.

I hope you stick with it and hope things get better for you.

Hang in there.

Before you decide that the CPA is not for you, let's make sure you're attacking it the right way.

1) How long, on average, are you studying per week?
2) Do you study in a distraction-free environment (or close to it)?
3) Are you practicing lots of multiple choice questions? When you review them, are you making sure you understand the solutions?
4) Have you made a detailed study schedule and are you sticking to it?

Don't give up! Many people have gone through what you're going through and have still went on to pass. Of course, some have not gone on to pass and that's because they gave up!

As Andrew has mentioned, you can't go about it half-heartedly. You have to be fully committed to passing this thing if you want to make it happen--which may include putting the rest of your life on hold for a while.

thanks so much for all the encouragement. i haven't touched a book since my post and just took some time away from studying. after reading your responses and clearing my brain i am re-dedicated!

Andrew:
thanks for all the good questions/calling me out when i needed to be. no, i haven't been studying as much as i should and i don't always study distraction free. i will make a detailed study schedule and practice more multiple choice questions!

thanks again to everyone and i am determined to pass the CPA exam!

Glad to hear it! Let us know if we can do anything to help out.

"Trying"

I'm late regarding this subject, but I would like to comment on the posts. I am retaking BEC for the third time. My score started in the low 50's, second time 68 so I hope third time is a charm. My comment is, I started out attacking this test the only way I knew and what brought me success on past exams but unfortunately they were not effective on this particular test. Through various trials and errors I have concluded this exam is way different. In college we were shown what to study and that information was much focused and what three chapters the most. This exam has a lot of material and its all fair game. It’s like someone giving you a telephone book and you have to know every name, address and phone number even though a hand full of that will be on the exam.

Regarding your emotional state: I have been their and revisit it often. Andrew made a real good comment on a prior post on another subject but I feel I would like to address it even though it may not pertain to you. It was about entitlement on test day. I felt since I was averaging 100 to 115 hours of studying time "keep in mind I was not doing any problems", I felt I was entitled to pass. It’s unfortunate for me because if I had a better study approach combined with those hours I may have passed one of those attempts. I agree with the other posts, determine your motive for acquiring a CPA Certification, set a plan and keep trying you will get their. In conclusion, run your own race, but model the ones that do pass do re-create the wheel and be humble enough to ask for tips and help when needed.

Great advice. Thank you! Reading this and knowing there are other going through this helps me to keep going!