One down; Three to go

Last week, I got an email that I was both anxiously waiting for and dreading. I got an email with the results of my first attempt at one section of the CPA exam.

I'd spent way to long long studying for just one section. I began studying back in January. Originally, I was hoping to take my first section at the end of April. But due to lack of motivation and the strenuous tax season schedule, April suddenly became July. So on July 5, I took FAR: Financial Accounting and Reporting. In preparation, I had read through the study book about three times and gone through just about every question on the test prep software twice. And after all that, I still felt like I had failed when I left the testing center. Things that I knew backwards and forwards weren't even tested, and the topics that I thought were unimportant were tested hard.

So that was why I was dreading the email. I was sure that it was going to come back saying that I had failed. So I was more than pleasantly surprised when I opened it up and it said PASS.

But that doesn't mean that I can relax and bask in the glow of my recent victory. No, there is no rest for the wicked. Passing this exam only means that the clock is ticking. I now have 18 months to complete the remaining 3 sections. But that should be easy, you say. Think again. These tests are hard. Only about 10% of people pass all four on there first try.To pass I will need to spend just about all my spare time in the next few months studying, which proves harder and harder with a newborn in the house.

So if you don't see me for a while, you know where I'll be.