The Gleim Blog: Helping You Pass Your Exam on the First Try!

Here you will find helpful tips for the CPA, CIA, CMA, EA, and RTRP exams. We'll post exam updates, helpful hints, CPE information, and the study habits of fellow exam candidates. If you'd like to write about your studies for the Gleim blog, please email us at gleimblog@gleim.com.

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One Last Post Before I Go

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Christine L.

I have about four hours before I take my last part of the CPA exam, REG. Normally I spend a day or two on these posts, but this one will be quick. Seven more hours, and (I hope) it will all be over but the bragging.

I’ve pretty much given up on guessing my soon-to-be-known scores. My guesses weren’t absurd. They were not in the “I thought I got a 97 but got a 22” category, but there was not a good correlation between how I thought I did and how I really did. I expected to pass BEC, but I did not expect an amazing 92. I don’t know why my AUD score, at 82, is the low one of the bunch, and I’ll never know. I expected to pass FAR, and yet my 88 crushed my puny AUD score by a whole six points.

Studying for REG has been pretty tough. I didn’t give it as many days as I’d hoped, and some of those days were short days. No complaints–it was a conscious decision to make it tight. I got through all of the study units, worked my quiz scores up to passing, and reviewed a few weak points, but that’s about it. The last week was so jammed with S-corps and tax bases that I fell asleep with my highlighter in my hand. Spread out over twenty four days, it was well over a hundred hours, but there could have been more.

But here’s the point—it doesn’t have to be perfect, it only has to be a seventy-five. You can make a case that with scores of 82, 88, and 92 on the last three parts that I was over-prepared, but I didn’t know I was going to pass with those margins, neither before nor after walking into Prometric. Under different circumstances, I would choose to throw an extra 60 hours at it just so I would not worry so much.

It’s becoming a very emotional thing for me, probably too much. No two people will come at this the same way, and there are people who start by taking all four exams just in case they can squeak by without studying at all. I can’t imagine being that person, but I’m sure someone has done it.

It’s almost over, and the odds (and the prep course) are indeed with me. But I think my celebration will be going to bed early. Thanks for reading, and I’ll let you all know how it works out soon!

 

 

A Week Of Setbacks But Pushing Ahead

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Shelley C.

This week I dislocated a few ribs in my back and found myself with limited mobility and in a lot of pain. Studying was not high on my priority list. I realize we are all going to have these experiences in our journey, and I found myself spending less time studying. I liked the true/false questions better than the multiple-choice questions as it allowed me to focus on two items instead of four. I also listened to the audio of the study unit I am presently studying over and over. I think that by doing this my subconscious will kick in and play back in my head the voice of the recording.

It is too easy to beat myself up for not staying on track with my study schedule. This does not help me to feel confident or to have courage to pick up where I left off and move ahead. I think this is why it is so important to set study goals that are manageable and obtainable with the possibility of setbacks built in. It seems that everything I have accomplished in my life has come from steady, consistent, persistent movement forward. To get behind on my study schedule and then beat myself up because of it sucks the air out of my sails and stops my forward movement. This is where I look back on my personal experiences and have faith in the “system”. By the “system” I mean, making and planning goals and then working consistently toward them.

As I was training for my first marathon, I was overwhelmed by the thought of completing a race of 26.2 miles. That certainly seems like an astronomical number when I have been running merely four or five miles a day. But when I mapped out each week, it seemed to be more palatable. Then when I went onto the next week and added more hours, my confidence began to strengthen. A friend of my told me that running the marathon is the icing on the cake…. The cake is in the daily exercising. Even though I’ve had a week of setbacks, I remember that the icing on the cake is to pass the test. The opportunity to strengthen my confidence, my study habits, and my knowledge, and to discipline myself with a regular schedule, is far more important in the long run. Have a great weekend! And if you find a setback in your study schedule, jump right back in and enjoy the journey.

 

Excited To Study For the EA Exam!

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Danielle C.

I never thought I’d be so excited to study! I received my study materials on Friday, the only day I had to work in the office. I checked my email on my lunch break and then again before I left work to see if the package had arrived. As soon as I got home, I ripped open the package and there were my Gleim EA study materials! Yay!! By that time I had already spoken with my personal counselor and had a great study plan worked out. I originally planned to complete the first section of the EA exam in four weeks. After this week, I realized I was not as focused as I usually am, even though I enjoy studying. So, I e-mailed my personal counselor and decided to stretch it out to five weeks. I know I will get caught up. However, if something were to come up, I’d rather be ahead of schedule.

The Gleim system of teaching and studying is terrific; it really works for me. My biggest concern so far is my ability to read the questions carefully and completely. I need to work at reading the questions more carefully and maybe even reading the questions more than once so that I know exactly what is being asked. One aspect that I really like about the Gleim book is that you read the question and then you read the answer. Then it tells you why one answer is correct and why the others are incorrect. I also like how the questions are on one side of the page and the answers are on the other side of the page. I do not have to flip through the book just to get to the answers, all I have to do is cover the answers up when I’m reading the question.

It’s the little things in the Gleim EA Exam material that add up and make studying more enjoyable. When I study with Gleim, I feel more confident and I tend to remember things better. The study units are broken down into very manageable parts. It makes it easier to remember what I just read and easier to pick up where I left off. This is tremendously helpful for me, as I am constantly interrupted, usually by my children. The only tip I have to give so far is to make it fun! Make the most of it. You only get out of it what you put into it, so take advantage of all the resources you are given!

I wish you all the best and I will see you next week!

 

 

Final Days before BEC

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger John E.

I have just a few days before my BEC exam and I am feeling quite confident. I have been keeping up with the same final review strategy that I used in the past. I believe I am ready to take the exam. So far, my scores have been around 75%-90%. I still catch a few curve-ball questions every now and then. There is only so much you can retain. Even though I have already passed FAR, I feel the BEC is no exam to joke about. Yes, it is only 3 hours long, but this exam is the kitchen sink of all sections. As an accountant, this exam draws business knowledge that I do not use in my current practice, so applying these foreign concepts (such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, IT, and cost accounting) can be a real challenge at times.

Aside from final review and sitting for the exam, I am looking forward to a little time off before grades post so I can unwind and decompress from my CPA marathon. As I have stated before, I intend to pass all four sections within a six-month window. Yes, this is highly stressful, but possible. Beyond being pressure cooked for the past few months, house chores are slipping behind, and I have many errands to complete. I would like to stress the importance of having a spouse that supports you 100% during this time. You will need a strong support team along the way.

 

The Waiting Begins

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Kathy R.

I took the CPA Audit Exam on Sunday August 26 and was so relieved when I completed my last testlet. I walked out of the testing room in a complete fog. I was psychically and mentally exhausted! On my way home I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up two crab cakes for dinner. Once I arrived home, I started dinner and took a shower to relax. The remainder of the evening was watching mindless TV to attempt to get my mind off the exam.

Going into the exam, I felt totally prepared due to my multiple-choice scores consistently being in the mid-eighties and I felt I had a good understanding of the material. The first testlet required a lot of reasoning skills to determine the correct answer. The second and third testlets were a lot easier. The fourth testlet (simulations) was material I had not studied before. It’s very hard to try to predict your scores, so all I can do is wait for the dreaded email from NASBA.

I am taking a week to two weeks off from studying to rejuvenate my brain cells. I will also attempt to catch up on personal things that I had pushed aside in the last couple weeks before I took the Audit Exam.

Going forward, I am unsure of what section to take next. I need to review the subject content in each of the three remaining sections and try to determine which of them will be the easiest to take and pass in November.

 

Passed! Passed!

October 4, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Christine L.

 

When I took AUD, my first section of the CPA exam, I had no idea that the AICPA had score release dates when a block of us worried candidates would simultaneously get hit with a brick composed of approximately 55% misery and 45% happiness. My AUD e-mail was a surprise and came much sooner than I’d expected. It took me hours to get up the courage to open it. This time around I took two exams inside of two weeks, but I knew in advance that I would get two score reports dropped on me in one day. I spent all day yesterday wondering what was taking so long. The first e-mail mentioned BEC…and it said PASS. It also said I had credit for AUD, BEC, and FAR, which did confuse me a bit. So I went to the AICPA website and saw 88 for FAR, and a 92 for BEC! It took another half hour for the FAR report to pop up in my mailbox. It’s a good thing I hadn’t thought about checking the website earlier because I would have been hitting the refresh key until my finger cramped. So besides being overjoyed, where am I now?

There’s a school of thought that says that anything over 75 on the CPA exams is over preparation. It’s pretty easy to regret that strategy when you end up with a 74. I was sure that if I even passed FAR at all that the score would be more like 78 than 88, and I based that on how I felt about AUD just before walking in and just after walking out of the exam. But my FAR score of 88 beats my AUD score of 82. Does this mean that my feeling that AUD would be my worst exam was correct? And how could I be over prepared for BEC when I only studied for two weeks? I don’t know, maybe my spectacular 92 is from my math background, maybe it had something to do with how well my courses synced up to the exams. The truth is that none of this speculation makes any difference in what I’m doing next, which is studying like crazy for another week, taking REG, and passing it. If I can do three, I can sure do four.

 

Understanding Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ)

October 3, 2012, by No comments yet

 

 

Written By Guest Blogger Oprah M.

This past week was busy as always. I had to get the kids ready for school and I’m still catching up on work due to my vacation. One thing the CPA exam teaches is discipline. Passing the exam will pay off, but it’s a rough road.

I need to slow down when reading questions. Last week I realized that I was getting a lot of them wrong because I was overlooking words and not reading them correctly. I’m attempting to stay within Gleim’s estimate of 1.5 minute per question, so I began to slow down to comprehend the question. Continuous reviewing of Gleim’s multiple-choice questions is a big part of understanding the AUD exam. Memorizing answers is not important; you have to understand the answer and how it applies to auditing. A new technique I use is to write down keywords from the question to help eliminate incorrect answers.

I’m still reading the book every day. I’ve been away from the computer, but I am still reading through the study units. Gleim also allows you to print the outlines if the book isn’t convenient. For breaks at work I normally read from the PDF instead of the book.

Another thing I sometimes do is create goals within each study unit. Gleim online provides you with true/false and multiple-choice questions. If I score less than 80% on any of the true/false or multiple-choice question quizzes, I retake them. Then, I will do a brief review or go through the Gleim outline.

I should be a multiple-choice question specialist by the time I’m done.

 

Big 4 Job Opportunity, Studying for the EA Exam, and Getting My MBA

October 1, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written by Guest Blogger Kendell P.

I almost made my goal. I was hoping to finish three more study units this past weekend, which would be a total of five completed, but I was a bit sidetracked. I actually had an interview with one of the Big 4 tax departments! I am just finishing up the Study Unit 5 review questions today. Like I mentioned before, these past few sections have touched on topics that were originally introduced in the Individuals exam so it’s a bit easier to study, but I am really hoping I can keep this pace going.

 

Back to my interview though. I was really excited to get this and it was nice to see some progress towards my actual goal of working in the tax field. It wouldn’t start until next summer since Big 4 firms tend to hire very far in advance. Unfortunately, I won’t hear back for about another month or two. I feel like it went really well, but I am a couple years older than most normal Big 4 applicants. I am coming out of grad school and not undergrad, and they wondered if I would be more interested in MBA-type jobs, but we will see how recruiting goes on-campus this fall at school for those positions. Regardless, it was a great experience, and I am getting excited for this semester as I feel like the past couple years have been all work and studying!

 

I am still trying to figure out how the last part of my EA exam will play into my busy work and school schedule for fall semester. I still want to stick with my goal of finishing the EA before the end of the year, as I really wanted to finish the EA exam in a 1-year time frame. That reminds me of another thing that came up during my interview. They did say that having my EA/MBA combo would allow me to not have to take the CPA exam! Although, I still think I would ultimately take the CPA exam since I have the credits available to sit for it due to grad school. However, it was great to hear that! All this hard work is paying off! I am REALLY hoping I can somehow finish five more study units over the long holiday weekend, but not sure if that’s possible. But I like to set somewhat hard to reach goals. It has worked so far so wish me luck!

 

 

Electronics, Media, and More

October 1, 2012, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Shelley C.

I spend a lot of time in my car, and like so many of you, I want to be as efficient as I can with that time. I thought I would try studying via the audio review download because I was planning on being in my car a lot this week. I found it very interesting. First, I will provide you with a little bit of background. I have been practicing as a tax preparer for 13 years, so the EA Audio Review is a great review for me, or at least in theory. Although I have only listened to the first section at this point, I found that as I was listening, my mind was reviewing many of my client’s personal situations. I even had to remind myself this was a learning exercise, not a tax seminar on new tax law. The medium of listening was very helpful for me as I was reminded of so many concepts I already know. However, I found myself wanting to rewind and review some of the less familiar concepts.

I think that as I go through this process of studying, quizzing, and sitting for the EA exam, the more mediums of learning I can use and the better prepared I will be at test time. I can still hear the voice of the narrator in my head as I am writing this. I want the phrases on the digital media to be familiar to me, just like the charts I draw up and the flash cards I carry around with me in my purse. These things are a confidence builder for me. When I take the first exam, I will know that I have prepared myself. If you haven’t tried the media download as a study technique, give it a try. Who knows, you might have voices in your head as well.

 

Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces

October 1, 2012, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Amy W.

I’m halfway through my EA Exam study plan. I have been through all seven study units one time. I’m scoring a solid 90+% on my daily 100-question tests. But since “Overkill” is my middle name, next week I will go back to Study Unit 1 and start all over again. In both Parts 1 and 2, I was amazed at how much more of the material I understood when I studied it the second time. I think it has to do with context. Once you see the whole picture, the small pieces of the picture make more sense. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle: having the picture on the box as a guide makes the process a lot easier.

My test date is September 28th, so I have about 5 weeks left to prepare. I actually think I could take the test earlier and pass it, but then I’d have to give up my middle name, and I’m just not ready to take such a major step.

This past week I attended my first NAEA (National Association of Enrolled Agents) local chapter meeting. Since I’m not yet an EA, I am just an Associate member; nonetheless, I was welcomed by the group and felt at home. I described myself to the participants as “2/3 of an EA” and they all laughed. I was happy to be there and I look forward to the day in the not-so-distant future when I will be a full-fledged Enrolled Agent. I’m just geeky enough to want an EA coffee cup, an EA name tag, an EA tote bag, and who knows what else. After all, this has been a long and difficult process and one that I’ll be proud (and did I mention relieved?) to have accomplished successfully.