How Mickey Passed FAR Using SuperfastCPA

I was struggling with FAR, and that's when I kind of stumbled across the Super Fast CPA videos

And that study method definitely helped me go from almost like 46% to like a 79% in FAR

Nice. Welcome to episode 19 of the CPA exam experience podcast from Super Fast CPA

I'm Nate, and in today's episode, you're going to hear me, talk with Mickey. Mickey is a super fast CPA customer and he's currently in the study process

This interview is specifically about how he went from failing far to finding super fast CPA

starting to use our study tools on the go all throughout his day and using some of our study

strategies and in a month or two turning around his far score and in passing it. So three things I

want you to listen for in this interview with Mickey. So the first thing, his overall story

he kind of describes as he goes through it, as we go through the interview, how he was studying

in the beginning and he wasn't, he didn't realize at the time some of the mistakes he was making

Then he gets the failing score. Then he watches our study hacks videos and realizes some of the

big mistakes he was making in his study process. And then how that kind of transformed his

study process and how he studied each day after that. The second thing, which goes right along with

the first thing, is how he started using multiple choice questions for each chapter as a learning

tool. And most people view questions, because we're kind of trained that way from college

most people use questions as an evaluation tool, as in how well do I know this topic. But on the CPA exams

specifically because I talk about this all the time, specifically with the C

CPA exams, because there is so much information and it's so dense and you're on these timelines

with limited time to study each day, the multiple choice questions are the best learning tool

They are more effective for learning in general for most lessons than your video lecture or

the chapter. And then the way that you use those tools is when you run into a really difficult

lesson and you can't learn what you need to know from the practice questions, then you go back

and then you watch the video lecture. But going through the questions first gives you really good context about what kind of things you're seeing questions on

Instead of watching a half-hour lecture and not really knowing what to do with it

you go straight to the questions for a lot of lessons. You can get what you need to know from the questions

And obviously, the study process in its entirety is more involved in that

and that's what the study hacks videos walks you through in detail. But the general idea is what you'll hear him describe

in this interview with learning how to use the multiple choice questions as a learning tool

And then the third thing he talks about, and he doesn't say this specifically, but it's kind of

the idea he's alluding to, is just the fact that the more time you review your CPA material

throughout the day, the faster you will pass your sections also and or, you know, it's less

likely that you'll fail a section, which obviously means you pass three months faster or two

faster because you're not studying for a retake and having to retake a section that you failed

But what he said specifically was that he would listen to our audio notes, not only in his

car whenever he was commuting, but also in the mornings when he's getting ready

And multiple people on these interviews have mentioned that. And that's not something I typically tell everyone to do

But there are a lot of times throughout the day where you're kind of busy

You know, you can't be looking at your phone reading notes or taking quizzes. but you can almost always be playing audio in the background

And trust me, I get it. Thinking of listening to audios every spare second throughout your day sounds very boring and probably, I mean, is boring

However, the more time, the more exposure you put your brain through on a daily basis regarding the CPA material

the higher you'll score in each section, and so the less likely it is that you will fail sections

and therefore you get done much, much faster. And if you're better prepared, the better prepared you are, the less stressful test day is

and the better you will just cruise through the material on test day

just it makes the whole process that much easier. The more exposure you can give yourself to the concepts each day

the easier this whole process gets. And that sounds really obvious, but that's not how most people treat this

they don't really think about it except for their main daily study session

But if you will use the study tools that we have, the audio notes, the review notes and the

quizzes, you use those like a maniac all throughout your day outside of your main study session

You will retain things infinitely better. You will learn the material faster

And it's just you're so much more familiar with it by test day that it's just a much smoother

experience. And that's the entire point of our products. The app is very, very simple, but it's extremely

effective. We made it so simple so that in two taps, you are doing whatever it is you want to do. You're

instantly taking a quiz, you're instantly reading the review notes, or you're instantly listening to

a section of the audios. And it's just very, very fast and easy to use. The reason that most people

don't use their apps that come with their review courses is because there's a million options

when you open the app to configure whatever it is, whatever resource it is you want to use

And just that extra 30 seconds each time, that is the exact reason why just behaviorally people end up not

using the app. Like if you're walking across the hallway in your office to the bathroom

you know it's going to take 30 seconds to even configure a quiz to even open it

So you just, you're like, ah, not right now. And that is why we've made the app the way that it is

So anyways, I went on a diatribe right there, but you can't dispute that idea

The more exposure you give yourself to the material on a daily basis, the easier the material becomes for you to process, understand, learn, retain, remember, whatever you want to call it

So all that being said, let's get into this interview with Mickey. Sweet. So how long have you been in public accounting

So I started in January of this year, so not too long

Oh really? Just barely started. Yeah. So like last year were you still doing your master's? Yeah

So I finished my master last year and then with kind of like a little break from I finished it my last credit over the summer And then kind of that time frame between the summer and January was using to try to knock out as many as I could

And I was struggling with FAR and that's when I kind of stumbled across the super fast CPA videos

And that study method definitely helped me go from almost like that

It was a 46% to like a 79% in FAR. Nice. And I bought the audio notes too

What was the timeline on that? Like how long, so you took FAR once and failed then

And how long did you study for that? I studied for that from basically, I want to say August through basically

probably the beginning of November is when I took it. Okay. And then

you came across our video somehow and then how long did you restudy

So then I restudied from when I got the scores in November

through up until I took the test at kind of right before

I started in January so January 3rd because there is that blackout period in December. Yeah

And so I took it kind of like as soon as I could and got the results, like three weeks later

and found out I passed it. Nice. Yeah. So that was your first one that you passed

How did you do your restudy? Did you kind of treat it as if you were just starting over

Or what, well, actually, this is my real question. Yeah. How were you studying before

And then kind of how did you, what did you change that, that, that, that

worked. Yeah, so for the first study way, or my first study methods, I was just following the Becker structure

I would, you know, watch the lectures, kind of try to kind of space out when they were talking

and then go skills, multiple choice, and then some of the Sims

And then when I restudied, basically, I went through. And since I've already saw, like, the kind of material already once, I have

I just went through each section and was doing the sets of 30 multiple choice questions

I would do the sets of two and then one set of kind of like a cumulative until I was getting in the 80s

And then I would move on to the next section. And then I would kind of group in like a set of five sims in there, just cumulative when I was doing that

And that was huge. And then once I kind of got through the 10 sections, I would just use the 30 multiple choices, cumulative

I would just do two sets of those. And then a set of the five systems kind of up until my test day

And I used the review tests or like the practice tests on Beck or two

I used them about like a week and a half before is when I started it

And I took one. I basically did it. So my final week of review, I would do, basically, I would just do like, I would review

all my notes, like with the flashcards, I would write down the missed questions from the MCQs

I kind of review all those. And then the next day, I would take kind of a practice test

It's like the final review week. And then, you know, like flash card, what I missed or, like, kind of write down, like

maybe like some summaries of important topics I was weaker on. And then I would go on and take the next test the next day and then the next test the next day

And that seemed to help as well. And so kind of the format of your studying, what was the typical study day for you like just from start to finish

Like what resources did you use? You know, like when did you do your main session

And then if you use the like some of our tools on the app or whatever

how did you use everything throughout the day? Yeah, so usually I would kind of in that stretch from November through January

I was working at just kind of part-time at the baseball facility helping coach out

just to make some money before I started at PWC. So I would wake up kind of before that and do the two sets of MCQs and the set of Sims

write down what I missed and then kind of throughout the day when I had time I would go through

the ones I missed or like some of the previous flashcards I made in days prior kind of throughout

the day while I was if I had time like after like a hitting lesson or you know after like on

the lunch break then when I got home I would do kind of sometimes I would do another set or

sometimes and usually um since it was kind of like the end of the day i found that better for me would

just be better to review it um throughout the day yeah nice and when i got home i would just continue to

review as well and i would use um the audio notes to like on my commute there and on my commute back

um that kind of just really helped hammer home the topics and you know and i like how you just

i don't know the the way you you made the audio notes was a way that like i don't know it

it made sense like meaning like you just kind of walk through like and explain the topics

like in a very like common sense kind of way and like and that kind of helps me like think through

the questions in a similar manner even if it's not the exact same topic but using that kind of mindset

of like thinking through like okay what makes sense here like based on like the wording and

stuff like that yeah yeah i don't talk about it that much but that is a big uh

Because a lot of people just get so focused on, like, what the words are saying

And if you really just think about, okay, what does this really kind of mean

Or how do these accounts flow together, that whole thing? A lot of it is very, like, logical and just makes, like, common sense

And it's easier to think about it in that way. Anyways. But, yeah, I totally understand what you mean

So our side note, are you a big baseball fan then? Yeah, I am being baseball

fan. I played in college a little bit and yeah, my family's from New York, so they're a big Yankee

fans and kind of big reason why my dad named Mickey as well. Oh, nice. All right, so are you all

done then? You have all four passed or where are you at on the CPA? So right now I'm, uh

kind of when I joined it was like in the middle of busy season So I kind of got a head start on audit I taking it and then they postponed the testing because of the virus but I able to take it on May 9th

So I'm pretty ready for that. I mean, I'm averaging in like the 80s right now

like high 70s, low 80s from like MCQs and the SIMs. So I'm pretty prepared for that

It's been kind of a while. So I've just been really, like, hammered home with the review, just because the testing has been postponed

But, yeah, so I don't take that one and then move on to tax and BEC

So had you had it scheduled earlier, like in March or something, and they made you move it

Yeah, so I had it scheduled in April and then basically, like, the centers were closed

And then, yeah, and then so I, about, you know, I was kind of worried they were going to postpone it again

And it seemed like they, uh, they did, but they like declared the CPA profession as essential

And we can kind of still go in and take it. So it'll be interesting. I'll probably be in there

with them in a mask and some gloves. I think are the requirements you have to wear. I might take some

practice tests to get used to just the feel of that. Yeah, seriously. That is bizarre

Uh, wearing a mask is brutal. Like going to the grocery store, it just gets so hot and you're sitting

there for four hours. Yeah, that's, I didn't realize that was a requirement. And so, so what

I guess that's a very relevant topic then, because a lot, I've been getting a lot of emails

about that. So are you, so if you, you've strictly stayed with audit, you haven't tried

starting to look at reg or anything, you're just sticking with the one that you have in front of you

Yeah, I'm just sticking with the one I have right now. Um, and I

since I'll take it on the ninth. I feel I'm going in there pretty confident

I've heard stories of people trying to kind of look at both

and they just kind of, I don't know, it seems like just focusing on one

For me, at least, is the best situation. I feel like if I kind of started working on another one

I might lose some of, you know, audit or some of, and not be as prepared for it. Yeah

And then now since kind of, you know, the high demand busy season is through

and I feel like I can really use this summer to really get through reg and in BEC with these study methods

Yeah. And then are you in tax or audit, did you say

I'm in audit. You are not in financial service auditing. Okay. Yeah, so I think the audit exam, that makes a big difference

Even if you've only been working there, you know, a few months. Like that's, you're basically right on the same timeline as when I took audit

It was like three, three or maybe two or three months after I had started

But even that little experience, I do think that matters a lot with audit

So let's kind of go to the mindset thing. Like when you were studying for far the first time

How did you feel each day? I mean, you were obviously putting in the time and the work

Did you feel like you were just kind of spinning your wheels and struggling

Or did you feel like you were kind of getting it? And then finding out you failed was a surprise or like

how did you feel about the whole thing the first time? Yeah, I felt I was pretty frustrated with it

And I felt like I was getting some of the stuff. But a lot of it just wasn't really sticking

and I think I just the way Becker's set up I think Becker's a great tool

especially with the MCQs and Sims and everything but I think for me at least

like the lectures just weren't the best way to learn and I was spending way too much time

on the lectures yeah and so okay so each day you would just kind of

you just kind of do the normal thing like watch the lecture

look through the chapter and then go into the practice questions. Yeah, and I just would struggle with the practice questions

and then kind of memorize more so the words than kind of like what the questions

like topic was more so. Like the second time through, if I got an answer wrong

I wouldn't really even look at the questions when I was going through

I would just look at, like, when the solutions popped up, I would just kind of read through

the explanation and then kind of in my head, explain it back to myself and then write

like, write down that explanation. And then when I came across the same question, it wasn't like

oh, I memorized the answer. It was, oh, like, I know the answer because I know how this works now

Yeah, that's, I guess the first time I was more just remembering the question

And then once I got to the test, it was like, like none of these are the same question, obviously

Yeah. And like, yeah. So, I mean, I think, and I think the second time through it

I was even spending less time on studying per day. And I was getting a lot more done with that study strategy too

Yeah. Yeah. And it does. That's just a big thing is like hearing everything conceptually from start to

finish, meaning like a video lecture, that's one thing, but it takes a lot of time to watch it

And then you go to the questions and you still, it's not like watching that directly just

allows you to answer the questions. I mean, like you still have to figure out how the questions

work. And so it just, for most of the lessons that aren't that difficult, it makes more sense

to go into the questions first and try to understand, okay, for this topic, this is how the

questions show up or this is how they ask them and you know this is how you

calculated or whatever it is what the answers are and then when you need to go back and

maybe watch the lecture if something's really difficult or yeah hard to understand what

about any test day like from your you know first attempt to the second one when you

passed it what differences were there on test day how you kind of went through the

actual exam yeah so the first day, I was really concerned about the time. And so I think, like, even on when I was able

to take a break and the timer kept going, I wouldn't take, I wouldn't really do anything

I wouldn grab a drink of water or anything But then the second time through you know I was pretty confident Like just since I gone through so many multiple choices I was pretty in Sims I felt like I was my ability to answer those like

efficiently was, like, I was more confident in that fact. So I basically took more, like, when the

even when the timer didn't stop, I went and grabbed a drink of water, maybe like a quick, like

a couple almonds, and I went back in there, go to the bathroom really quick. And I think that really

helped me kind of focus in more. I wasn't like, instead of like, oh, man, I really have to go the bathroom right now

but I got to, like, finish these. And then I kind of, like, distracts me from the questions

But then, like, kind of, like, the pre-s, like, before the testing

like, I took, like, the last, the two days before that to just, like

really hammer-home MCQs and Sims. I mean, I think I just took, I took both days off from work

and then just when I 30 MCQs reviewed them maybe like a five minute break

30 minutes like the same 30 MCQs review and break Sims and I would just I would do that all day

until for those two days leading up to the test and I think that really kind of just hammered home

those small topics that you get them in the front of my brain

like remember them on test day so I think that that was probably the biggest difference

in my preparation I think it was those two days prior as well

Yeah. And again, that is a huge thing. It's like just getting good at answering multiple choice questions is such a big advantage

And again, when someone, you know, their main study format is watching the lecture, reading the chapter, then the practice questions, there's really not that much time spent on working through questions, you know, through their whole study timeline

But when you do the questions first, and that's like 80% of your study time is spent answering questions, you just start to get good at answering questions, which is what happens on test day, obviously

So, yeah, that's another, that's a good tip for everyone. So if you were to give just one tip, we've kind of gone through everything, if you were just to give one tip or your one big breakthrough to anyone that's, you know, studying right now

what would be like the one big thing that you think is like the best tip you can give to somebody

I would say is start on the multiple choice because, you know, even if you do get like

you have no idea about the topic, like the first five questions, like what I've noticed is

really sets you up for like the remainder of that chapter's questions

And like if you kind of get an understanding of that, then I've noticed that like, okay, I might miss like

the first three or four, but then like the remaining of the questions, I have a really

pretty good understanding of usually. I can kind of use that way to think through the process

And then I think another, so I would say start with MCQs is kind of my biggest one, but also

make sure you're writing down on those flashcards, the ones you miss, because I think just

going back and reviewing, like, I mean, it's really hard just to memorize them, you know

by not writing down and reviewing, or at least I can. And so

I think those two are like the biggest things that I've seen help me

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that's a pretty good summary. I just, yeah, the, I think the flashcards were absolutely huge for me

And then everyone, I've done like six or seven of these interviews this last week

And that's what everyone says is you have to take the things that you personally kind of struggle with or struggle to remember or

understand for whatever reason and be able to explain it to yourself until you kind of get it

and you're not just writing down, you know, the answer that it's showing you. You write down your own

explanation and your own words. And then later, it's just so much easier to remember that. And

each time you go through your flashcards. Oh, that was my question. Did you use your own flashcards

you'd written along the way a lot in those last two days or like the like the day before the exam or

anything yeah definitely um i would have kind of like a sec like i kind of split them into categories

of like all right like these are my flash cards that i'm pretty comfortable on these ones i could

still review and like these ones are like okay i really need to look at these ones um so i would kind

of if it was like like really late at night kind of before bed i would maybe go through um so

of the ones I was so comfortable on or like some of the ones that was like okay on

still use some more and then kind of throughout the day maybe like while I was making breakfast

or something listen to the audio notes or go through like the one to flash cards I still

needed to improve on or the topics I still needed to improve on nice and were you using

Quizlet or like a digital you're talking about you were writing digital flashcards that you

could then use on your phone right I was just riding them down on like

Oh, you were using straight up. Oh, okay. Yeah, nice. All right, man

Well, I don't want to take up much more of your time, but I appreciate you doing this

and you have a lot of good tips. And I think, you know

I think all these interviews will be really helpful to people that are currently studying. So best of luck on May 9th

And, yeah, I appreciate you being on here. Sweet. Thanks, Nate. I appreciate your help

your videos are awesome, though. Yeah, glad to hear it. Glad they could help

So that was the interview with Mickey. If you listened to it to this point, you heard the whole thing

I hope you found that really helpful. If you found this episode helpful or any of our other interviews helpful, I would just ask that you do two things

Number one, share it with someone else you know that is studying for their CPA exams or will be studying at some point in the near future

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Share it with a friend and I will see you on the next episode