Three CPA Exam Timelines to Consider

Introduction

Every CPA student has started out their CPA journey by asking, “How long does it take to pass the CPA exams?” Students want to know how big of a commitment studying for the CPA exams is.

I want to start by stating the CPA exam journey is a long-term study journey. You have most likely never encountered an exam like the CPA exams. It covers many different accountant topics, and asks fairly complex questions about them. There is no way to pass the CPA exams other than dedicating significant time to the exams, and giving yourself as much time as you need to pass. 

Elements of an Effective Study Session

Regardless of your timeline, make sure to implement this study approach into your study sessions. Each weeknight should be focused on 1) reviewing the material from the prior night, 2) learning new material, 3) applying the material with MCQs, and 4) writing down all of the reasons why you got the MCQs wrong.

All throughout the week, you're learning new content and applying this 4-step approach. Then on Saturday and Sunday, you don’t learn any new content but rather focus on reviewing the content from the week. That way when you start Monday of next week, you understand the concept really well, and you don't have to review it for another few weeks. 

Study Path Options

After preparing many students for the CPA exams, I have found three different CPA study path timelines that work best. The first study path is an aggressive 6-8 month timeline. The second is a moderate 12-14 month timeline. Third is a more forgiving timeline of 2 years. 

The most common study path is taking 12-14 months to pass the CPA exams. This allows students to spend 10-12 weeks studying for each exam, in addition to being able to fail a few exams. Students always need to consider the extra time involved when failing an exam (reapplying for the NTS, etc.).

How many hours should you study each under this 12-14 month timeline? You need to study for at least two hours during the weekdays and four hours on the weekends. Your goal is to get 15-20 hours of studying each week.

 When Should I Finish the Material?

Your goal with each exam should be to finish all of the material 10 to 14 days before your exam date. This provide you with time to do the following: 1) take 1-2 full practice exams, 2) review your outlines 5 times, and 3) practice at least 500 MCQs and 50 SIMs.

6-8 Month Study Path

If you want to be more aggressive with your study approach and only take 6-8 months for your exams, you need to pass each exam in 6 weeks and not have any retakes. You would need to finish all of the content for each exam to give you 2 weeks to review all the content before the exam.

This appraoch would require 3-4 hours of study during the weekdays and 5 hours each day on the weekends.

18-24 Month Study Path

What should you do if you want to take 18-24 months to pass the CPA exams? First, I will say that I don’t recommend studying for any one exam for more than 3 months. Why? Because students typically start losing motivation after 3 months. It makes the exam feel like it’s far away and therefore the student doesn’t feel as pressured to study.

Therefore, just like the 12-14 month plan, you should take 10 weeks to learn the material and 2 weeks to review it. This 18-24 month timeline allows for multiple exam retakes. It even provides additional time in case the study needs to pause their studies for whatever reason. This timeline works great for many students. 

Conclusion

Keep in mind that there's not one correct timeline for taking the CPA exams. It all depends on you and what your situation is. As a reminder, try not to take more than 3 months per exam. If you fail an exam, it’s okay, you will get it the next time. Remember, once you’re a CPA, you never have to take these exams again. You get to be a CPA for the rest of your career! 

If you have any questions or comments, you can reach Kyle directly at kyle@maxwellcpareview.com.