2012 Score Release Q1 and Q2

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

2012 CPA Exam Score Release Timetable Q1/Q2

In late 2011, we announced that U.S. CPA Exam scores would begin to be reported earlier and published the U.S. CPA Exam score reporting timeline for Q4’2011. Early score reporting is possible due to the implementation of a major U.S. CPA Exam update known as CBT-e, launched in January 2011. Today we’re excited to announce the Q1 and Q2 2012 U.S. CPA Exam score reporting timeline.

In the first half of 2012, scores for the CPA Exam will be released by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to individual state boards of accountancy based upon the target score release dates listed in the table below.

Day in Testing Window* Target Release Timeline Target Q1’12 Score Release Target Q2’12 Score Release
Day 1 – 20 11 business days following day 20 of the testing window February 6 May 7
Day 21 – 45 6 business days following day 45 of the testing window February 22 May 23
Day 46 – Close of window 6 business days following the close of the testing window March 8 June 8
After Close of Window 6 business days after receiving all scoring data for the testing window TBD TBD

* Records received by AICPA. Note:  ‘Day in Testing Window’ refers to the date AICPA receives the test result, not the test date. Additionally, some candidates who take the BEC section might receive their scores approximately one week following the target release date due to additional analysis that might be required for the written communication tasks. Scores are generally released during regular business hours.

Check out the AICPA’s article here.

Filed Under: CPA Review Course Discounts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Approved To Sit!

October 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

YEAH…  I got my approval to sit.  I told someone that I was excited to get this and they asked me if I was sick.  I guess I am in a way.  I just want to get this over with.  Next step, contact the CPA Exam Services (CPAES) to register for the CPA examination, that I have to pay for over the phone with credit card or they will bill me.  I don’t remember seeing that step anywhere in all my research for taking the CPA.  I am waiting for them to open so that I can get that done.  Once I have registered for the exam, they tell me that I contact Prometric for scheduling.  I just checked and my date is still available.

A problem that arose for me was they had not received all my transcripts before the approved me to sit.  Remember my husband is Military and I have attended 5 different colleges.  once you get approved to sit, they will not evaluate any transcripts they receive.  I sent the last transcripts to them (it took the college 3 weeks to get me the transcript) on Monday Nov 3rd, and got my approval to sit on Nov 4th.  When I read the bold print at the bottom of the letter that said “Please do not submit additional transcripts or work experience verification at this time; these documents must be submitted at the time you apply for licensure.“  I got a little worried.  Once again, I was on the phone to them asking for help (remember, getting a live person before you have applied is difficult,  once you have an application number, it is pretty simple).  After pushing the right combination of number (1 for this, 3 for that), I got to a really nice lady.  She listened to my concerns and told me that they would not evaluate that transcript until I apply for licensure.  Which in Florida, will be well over a year due to the work experience requirement to become a CPA.  Why am I concerned with this?  I am deficient ONE (1) General Business Educational class to be required to sit.  I am sure there is at least one in the transcript I sent them, but I really am not sure.  I guess I will worry about that next year.

Enough about that.  Now a little about studying for the exam.  I have a schedule that Monica developed for me that is totally awesome especially as she has already passed ALL parts of the CPA exam.    It tells me exactly what I need to accomplish each day, and she even scheduled an OFF day for me each week, well not the week I take the test, but all the others have an off day.  What I really like about it is I can check off what I have done as I do it.  To me that makes it seem less overwhelming.  I have to have a schedule like that or I will wait till the last minute and cram.  It is nice to have an experienced person to talk to about the test, and the rest of the stress related to taking the CPA exam.

Next time I should have my Notice to Sit (NTS), so I can share that experience with you as well.

Filed Under: Checking In, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

New AICPA Score Release Schedule Starting Q4 2011

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Above is the new CPA Exam score release schedule.

Can I just say how lucky you are to test for the CPA Exam in Q4 with this new structure?  Back in 2010, we only had two waves (scores would release twice a testing window and each time it was released it was called a wave).  And if you weren’t testing earlier this year (Q1-Q3) you would have fortunately missed the heavy heart of waiting sometimes 3 months for your score.  Before this new schedule was released, in 2011 scores were only released once a window and at the very end of the closed month or if you were extra unlucky your waiting would continue into the following testing quarter.  So in January you could sit for REG, but those scores may not have been released until April (this happened to me). But looking at this it looks almost like 4 waves.  Amazing!!  The AICPA must have gotten much more efficient with the new CBT-e because this is great news.  Now you can know whether you passed or failed within a much more reasonable time period.  This could save you so much time because you’ll know so much quicker if you have to hit the books again for a failed section.

This new process starts in Q4 2011 which is the October/November window.

Important facts regarding this new process:

  • BEC may be released later because there is a written communication portion that takes longer to grade
  • These time frames are goals and not guarantees by the AICPA.  You may receive your score after the projected time above.
  • Testing early in the window will get your scores to you quicker than testing later in the window
  • This change came to be by efficient grading and shorter, easier to grade simulations

 

If you test after October 1, 2011, this applies to you!  Good luck everyone!

 

 

Filed Under: CPA Grades, CPA Score Release, News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

CPA Study Breaks

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

So this is kinda of an unrelated entry but for me it is an important part of my CPA Exam Study process.  What I am talking about is breaks.  What do you do when you take a break from studying?  I find that my need for breaks depends on the material.  Sometimes I just need to do something totally unrelated to be able to think clearly again.  Here are some of the things that I do:

1.)  Play my cello

2.)  Chase my dogs around the house

3.)  Open the fridge and stare blankly

4.)  Complain to my husband about how much I hate studying.

5.)  Check facebook

6.)  Shop on etsy.com

7.)  Eat cookies

8.)  Cleaned the bathroom (yes, I actually did this to avoid getting back to statistical sampling)

9.)  Make an espresso (Yup, studying this much has taken me to a new level of coffee drinking…espresso)

10.)  Vacuum (somehow the mindless activity and noise works great)

11.)  Power nap (make sure to set an alarm)

12.)  Watch Monty Python on youtube

13.)  Research my dream job (this also helps me get back to studying after procrastinating)

What are some of the things that you do?

 

Rock the CPA Exam on Twitter and FaceBook

 

 

Filed Under: CPA Exam Advice, CPA Exam Study Methods Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Learning from Past CPA Exam Experience: Failing doesn’t equal Quitting

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Before I move forward with my review process, I want to take a moment and look back at this past summer and what went wrong on my quest to pass the CPA exam.

First things first – I was late to arrive.  I did not realize until April or so that I was going to have enough credits to sit (I was at 148 so I added my internship I was already doing for 2 credits to get to the 150 needed in Ohio).  More credits transferred from high school than I thought and I had my thought process for a couple years was that I was going to need some grad school classes to get to 150 semester hours.  This did not give me a long time to go through the process of applying to sit and submitting transcripts.  As I mentioned in my first article, I also did not fully research the review programs that are out there for the CPA exam.

I received my NTS in late May, but many dates had been filled in July and August at the Prometric site.  I was not left with a lot of choices for the exams, as they had to occur in the windows in between the classes of Becker’s Fast Pass.  I started with FAR classes in the middle of June, which consisted of 9 days of live classes.  I took FAR after the 4th of July, though.  I then had to turn around and take AUD just 11 days later.  I followed up with REG at the beginning of August and BEC towards the end of August.  The Becker classes (5 days for AUD and BEC, 7 days for REG) led up to each of these exams.

Because of the great time constraint, I generally did not feel prepared going into each exam.  Even though I had the summer open to studying basically all day, I felt like I ran out of time for each section.  The good news is that each exam score was higher than the previous, indicating I was getting a better understanding of how I had to study.  Still, I fell short by a few points on BEC.

Perhaps I could have scored better if the set up fit my learning style.  However, this summer showed to me that I simply cannot study accounting or business law (or probably anything for that matter) for 10-14 hours a day.  The biggest thing for me is that I need QUALITY hours of study time.  I would catch myself in the afternoon on the same page for 10 minutes because my mind was wandering.  I needed something to break up the monotony of going over hundreds upong hundreds of multiple choice questions.  Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury to break the studying up with an average of two weeks to prepare for each part.

Lastly, a large part of my failure rests with me (perhaps even all of it).  I simply underestimated the work it was going to take to pass and thought I could do it in one quarter.  I had heard good things about the Becker Fast Pass and I just wanted to get the CPA exam out of the way before I started working full time.  The problem was that I did not take the time to even consider if this hardcore, 24/7 studying approach would work for me.  Additionally, I know the focus wasn’t there this summer.  I spent a lot of time in May saying goodbye to friends who I had graduated with and going to grad parties.  I should have spent that time studying.  The last 17 summers were a break from class and studying for me – camps, sports, the pool, and in more recent years, working.  As much as I fought it, I know part of me was upset I couldn’t be out with friends or playing golf.  I don’t know if that had any effect, but it sure didn’t help to be inside reading about pensions when it was gorgeous outside.

I was obviously disappointed last week when the scores began coming in.  I was angry, upset, sad, and probably by the 4th score just apathetic.  I probably let myself feel all of that for about a day, maybe two.  Feeling sorry for yourself doesn’t do any good – it actually made me more motivated and I got excited to make sure I passed this time.  I did some research into other CPA Review programs, realizing that maybe I needed another approach to supplement my studies.  I wrote on notecards in big permanent markers each of my scores and how far I have to go to a 75 in each section and posted them above my bed and on my desk at work.  At least 4 times a day I see those failing scores.  It just makes me more determined so I don’t have to see those numbers again.

This time around, I’m making sure I’m focused 100%.  I’m going to try to break up the study sessions into 2-3 hours so I get better quality out of my study time.  Now that I’m working full-time, I don’t have a lot of options – eat dinner and go study until it’s time for bed.  That’s the schedule I’m looking at right now anyway.  I’ll be discussing this further later in the week as well as my strategy for the second go around.  Until next time, happy studying!

 

Rock the CPA Exam on Twitter and FaceBook

Filed Under: Checking In Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Megan: A new Rock the CPA Exam Blogger!

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Hello! My name is Megan and I’m studying to become a CPA. About two weeks ago, I received my first passing score and it has given me even more drive and confidence to push through this process. My first exam was FAR, and with the help of Roger CPA Review, I was able to cover the overwhelming material (much of it new to me) in eleven weeks. I’ll tell you more about that in the weeks to come!

 

Unlike most CPAs I know, I did not go to college for Accounting. My B.S. is in Business Administration with concentrations in Management and Communications. I graduated from Elizabethtown College, (Elizabethtown, PA) with intentions of finding ANY job and working my way up the ladder. I worked in the Operations department of a manufacturing facility for about two and a half years before I decided I needed more from life. I wanted to be challenged. There had to be a better career for me, one where I could utilize my strengths while enjoying my work. I brought my love for numbers, structure, and analysis (yes, I’m a nerd) to the local community college. My mission was to pick up the courses necessary to meet the CPA requirements. It wasn’t easy juggling full-time work and part-time classes while looking for another job, so I decided to quit my job. I studied full-time and completed an Associate’s Degree in Accounting in under a year.

 

Today, I’m working in accounting for a private manufacturing company. It’s a good stepping stone that affords me the paycheck I need to live and the accounting experience I need on my resume to gain entry into a public accounting firm (Pennsylvania has a work experience requirement). It’s not easy to find time to study after long hours at work, commuting, spending time with my wonderful boyfriend, and maintaining my personal health initiatives (I’m training for a 3-day, 60 mile walk to end breast cancer). Notice, I didn’t say, “making time for friends.” I pretty much told all my friends I’d see them in a few months. Okay, that’s a little dramatic – I do see my friends every now and then, but I made a point of expressing to them how devoted I am to my goals so that they would stop being offended when I turned down plans.

 

I won’t pretend there aren’t challenges to overcome- time constraints, personal obligations, that urge to get some much-needed SLEEP! I often wonder if the accounting courses I took to supplement my business degree provided me with enough of a knowledge base to conquer the exams. The good news is, all these challenges are manageable with persistence and the right CPA review program. The key to my success, I learned from Roger. He reminds me frequently that you don’t have to be a genius to pass the CPAs – you just need to be dedicated, confident, and stick to a plan!

 

The goal right now is to pass AUD…the plan, you ask? Tune in next time…

 

Rock the CPA Exam on Twitter and FaceBook

Filed Under: Checking In, New Blogger Introduction Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

A little more about our new blogger Liz!

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After I graduated with my MBA in the winter of 2009, I decided that I wanted to pursue getting my CPA.  My primary reason for getting the license was the availability of jobs. I looked at tons of job postings and all of the required either an MBA or CPA, or both.  I have fulfilled both the education and experience requirements for my state and I thought that all I need to do was pass this exam.  Looking back now, wow, I had no idea what this really entailed….

 

So, I started to research the study programs.  They all claimed to be the best.  So how do you choose?  I decided on Becker.  If the Big 4 use them then it is good enough for me, right?  I was so wrong.  I bought the Becker program and paid the full price for it (my lovely government job has budget issues).  I studied and studied and studied but I just wasn’t absorbing the material.  I had all the questions practically memorized but just wasn’t understanding the concepts.  I was going out of my mind.  I felt like I was going truly insane.  I don’t mean to bash Becker.  I know that Becker works for some people but it just wasn’t working for me.  Becker has some great mnemonics but I wasn’t impressed with their lectures.  They mostly just told you what to memorize and read through their outlines instead of actually explaining concepts and working problems.  I can’t totally bash them; they helped me pass REG (just barely, but a pass is a pass).  But I also failed AUD twice with their program.  After sitting for these three sections, I had used up my license on the materials and wasn’t about to cough up anymore money for something that I wasn’t sure would work.  So now what?

 

Yaeger or Roger?  After doing my research, I was down to these two.  I ended up picking Yaeger and I am quite pleased thus far.  I love how they explain and work through problems.  I also love their hand outs.  They pick some of the most difficult subjects and create their own hand outs that simplify and break concepts down into manageable bites.  And, for what it is worth, my non-accountant husband has been able to learn a few things.

 

I would also like to share my exam experiences for AUD and REG but that is for another day.  I must get some studying done.

Filed Under: Checking In Tagged With: , , , , , ,

CPA Study Support and Motivation

October 4, 2011 By 1 Comment

If you’ve started to study for the CPA Exam, you probably have already encountered problems with getting enough support or getting the understanding you are looking for. This is normal. In fact, if this doesn’t happen to you, count yourself lucky. To put it in perspective (and not to justify the sometimes unnecessary rudeness that can occur while studying from people who are just oblivious), getting your CPA exam completed and passed is not an everyday life event for most of society. In fact, I had a lot of people while I was studying ask me completely off-base questions regarding the exam. People who are not involved in the CPA Exam have no idea what it’s like to study or what kind of emotional energy goes into the exam. Take into consideration that for some people, taking the CPA exam is like going to the moon. They have absolutely no idea what it’s like. And since people have trouble respecting what they don’t know, people may say things that are hurtful to you without knowing the impact their comments have on you.

 

Comments from people can be hurtful especially when they come from people you respect. Just remember you are bettering yourself by taking this exam. I had some supportive family and friends, and some not so supportive. Some comments drove me crazy. Some comments from people who should know better (because they had family/friends who are CPA’s) made me so mad that it took all I had not to say something back. Friends and family will not always understand why you can’t just drop everything and do some small task to help them out. They may not also understand why you can’t go to their birthday/wedding/event. I missed a friend’s wedding to study for BEC and I passed because of that extra time. I realize that close friends and family events you may not want to or be willing to miss out on, so make sure you plan your exam timing accordingly.

 

Here are some tips to deal with this which will hopefully help you through it and help you to continue smooth relationships with everyone you are close to.

 

  1. Set expectations before the studying even begins: Let everyone know how time consuming this will be. Tell them the events and activities you’ll be able to do will be limited. Make sure to tell everyone how important this exam is to you. Stress it until people understand.
  2. Map out a support system before you get started: Who are you best cheerleaders? Go to them for help, advice or just a person to listen to you. Your cheerleaders don’t have to be CPA candidates, but just people who know what it’s like to work hard for something. Unfortunately, sometimes our best cheerleaders are not who we would expect them to be. Your family may disappoint you. Your job may not get what it is you’re doing. Many times, people who you thought who would understand the most, end up being the least understanding. A great way to combat this is to make sure you have others who will support you (the more people who understand and want to help you reach your goals the better!). If you don’t, reach out to other CPA candidates because I can guarantee you they will understand and definitely cheer you on.
  3. Try to deal with the least understanding people: Don’t go out of your way to mention the CPA Exam to these people. If they ask, try to be vague regarding the process. It’s important to try to keep relationships in tact, even if the person is in fact tactless. If people are constantly impeding your study progress with negativity, then it may be time to say something or re-evaluate that relationship. As I mentioned above, I once had one comment so rude that I struggled not to say anything back. However, I had identified early this person would be a detriment to my CPA studying if I started believing anything they said. I knew that once the comments came, I would have to do my best to ignore this person and keep on studying and getting through the exam. For the most part, I was able to avoid any CPA progress conversations with them and felt much happier for it. You’ll realize early on there are people you need to/can talk to about the exam and there are people you should never talk to about the exam process unless you’re just telling them you’re getting started or finishing.

 

In the end, setting expectations is key. Finding a good study balance, good support and letting people know what your goals can help significantly with getting through the exam. Don’t let negative/off-base questions and comments ruin a good study day for you. Good luck to everyone this testing window!

Filed Under: CPA Exam Advice, CPA Exam Study Methods Tagged With: , , , , ,

NTS – Notice to Schedule/Sit for the CPA Exam

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I still have no news from the Department of Business Professional Regulation (DBPR). To be fair I just mailed information to them on Monday, so they have only had it a few days, but waiting really is not my forte. I want to get the CPA exam scheduled NOW. I have been watching the seat availability and thankfully it is not filling up as fast as I thought it would. I have a specific date that I want to sit and I am concerned it will not be available when I finally get my notice to sit (NTS).

 

If you are in the same boat as me and you have applied, but have not received your NTS, and you want to check the availability of your test site, go to Prometric web site (http://www.prometric.com/) and check for the date that you are interested. I searched for about 10 minutes before I found where the CPA exam is located, it is under the Academic, Professional, Government and Corporate drop down box. While the other test are listed by their name all spelled out, in alphabetical order, the Certified Public Accountant test is not listed under its full name it is listed under CPA. I had stopped looking after the Certified Professional Food Manager, but if you keep going down further and you will find CPA. Once you get past that hurtle, it is easy. To find the seat availability, Click on the Seat Availability tool. You will go through many windows that ask you questions. You will be asked what state you want to take the test, you then choose search for Seat Availability (this is also where you go to schedule your actual test), select which exam you want to sit for, then to find the closest site I entered my zip code, and was given choices from 12 miles away to 161 miles away. When you choose which site you want to go to, it will give you the details of that test center. You then click on seat availability, and choose your month, the days that are underlined are available; the days that are gray are not. Each test section is assigned seats, so make sure you have chosen the right section, or you will not be getting accurate information.

 

On another note, I started studying AUD yesterday. I am using Roger CPA course online. So far it is going well, I feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of information that I have to retain, as I only have 8 weeks to get this done. Once I have had a few days to study, I will write more on that.

 

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband that takes care of me, the house and kid and a few good friends that I can lean on for support. I am going to need all the support I can get for the next 8 weeks and they have to understand that you need to be diligent about studying, and may not have the time for them that they would like.

Filed Under: Checking In, CPA Exam Study Methods Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Yaeger REG Cram 2011 Giveaway!

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Studying for REG?  Supplement your studies with a 2011 REG Cram from Yaeger CPA Review.  This sells for $295 and includes the DVD (Wiley book not included).

 

How to win it:

Email us a picture of you studying for the CPA Exam (you and your Wiley book, you and your Yaeger DVD, you looking excited while studying, etc).  The most creative picture will win the contest!

Make sure to email us at admin@rockthecpaexam.com on or before 10/1/2011.

 

Details:

By emailing us pictures, you agree to their use on our website whether or not the picture is the winning image.  Contest ends 10/1/2011.  No late entries will be accepted.  CRAM will be mailed to you and you should receive it approximately 7-14 days after the winning entry is announced.  No Wiley book is included with the CRAM DVD.

Filed Under: Checking In, Contests, News
« Older Posts
Copyright 2011