Farah is a weekly NINJA CPA Blogger.

Jeff’s CPA Exam Score Release streak continues, and I’m a happy camper that it did! Even though scores were being released as of Friday the 3rd, I wanted to wait until I was back with my family on the 10th to visit the website and see if I passed.

That way, I’d be comforted in case I didn’t get 75 or above.

I lasted until Sunday the 5th, then checked my score for FAR. There was no need for concern, because I passed FAR, and it was my first exam!

I used my self-study materials around 95% of the time, with the rest of the effort coming from working MCQs. I reviewed the materials, worked a lot of MCQs, and wrote my notes. I discovered the NINJA materials late in the game, so had not used them for FAR. I’m hopeful they will help me get an even better score for AUD.

On exam day, I arrived at Prometric early and read my notes in my car. When I was ready, I walked into the test center. While I was waiting to check in, another person saw my NTS and struck up a conversation about the CPA exam.

They were also taking FAR, and we chatted a bit about the exam and study habits.

They noticed my notes and told me that they didn’t believe in bringing their notes because if they didn’t know it by now, they wouldn’t know it for the exam. I understand their reasoning for this, but I believe it is fine to continue reviewing on the day of the exam, and it certainly didn’t hurt me to do so.

I put my items in the locker, went through the screening such as turning my pockets inside out, and so forth. Once I logged into my computer, I was fully tuned into the exam. I read each question carefully, and went through each of the options.

For anything that I was uncertain of, I flagged it for review. I earmarked 45 minutes for each of the 3 initial testlets, and that gave me ample time for the simulations. I finished about 20 minutes early for FAR, and took the time to check my answers before submitting the exam.

It was with relief, and a bit of trepidation, that I walked out of Prometric. Thankfully, my summer position kept me busy enough that I didn’t focus on the score until I saw the posts on Another71 regarding the score releases.

It was exhilarating to find out the hours and hours of studying paid off, and that I managed to pass my first section. I am nervous about the second section, AUD, because it is very different from FAR. Passing FAR gave me an initial boost of energy to continue studying for AUD, and we’ll see how that goes later on.

Congratulations to those who passed, and for those who did not, don’t give up!

Persistence will pay off!