In this episode of the CPA Exam Experience Podcast, you’ll hear how Jordan was able to not only pass the CPA exam, but also pass the CFP exam by using the SuperfastCPA strategies. He never thought he would be able to pass each CPA exam first try, but by applying the right strategies, he did!
It all changed one night when he was up in the middle of the night taking care of his baby. He had YouTube running on his phone, but he happened to be across the room to grab something. A SuperfastCPA ad popped up, but he couldn’t skip it like he had done before. He listened through it, it made sense, and the story goes from there. He got SuperfastCPA, changed his study process, and passed the exams.
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Master your study process by attending one of our free study training workshops:
https://www.superfastcpa.com/study-secrets/
Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 Jordan Interview
- 03:16 Started with Physical Therapy, Fell Into Accounting
- 04:59 The Pivot to Accounting
- 06:07 A Year Long Program Turned Into Three Years
- 07:36 Felt That the Traditional Method Was Ineffective
- 08:37 God’s Intervention for Finding SuperfastCPA
- 09:29 Listening to the Podcast Convinced Him to Get SuperfastCPA
- 11:29 Finding Another Review Courses
- 13:33 7-Day Trial of Universal
- 14:10 Switched Studying in the Mornings Was a Big Game Changer
- 15:05 Jordan’s Daily Morning Study Routine
- 15:50 Learning with Universal CPA
- 17:10 Doing Mini Sessions All the Time
- 17:48 Constantly Immersed in CPA Studying
- 19:03 Using the SuperfastCPA Review Notes for Final Review
- 19:37 The Motivation for Waking Up Early
- 21:11 Hearing People’s Stories On the Podcast
- 21:57 The Initial Goal Was to Finish in Three Years
- 23:32 Jordan Had Fridays Off
- 24:39 Passed All Four Exams on First Try; Chaotic First Exam
- 27:01 Took Two Family Trips and Never Took a Day off Studying
- 28:59 Finding Out That He Passed FAR
- 31:14 Passing FAR Gave Jordan Confidence
- 31:57 Jordan’s CPA Study Timeline
- 32:30 BEC Test Experience
- 33:12 Thought He Crushed The AUD Exam But Barely Passed
- 34:17 Doubling Down for the Final Exam
- 37:22 Choose the REG as His Last Section Where He Felt Most Confident
- 38:45 Held Off His Celebration Until He Finished the CFP
- 40:10 Why the SuperfastCPA Method Worked for the CFP
- 41:23 Final Review
- 42:09 The CFP Exam
- 43:03 The CFP was kind of like REG and BEC Combined
- 43:59 Top Benefits Jordan Got from SuperfastCPA
- 45:05 Studied Sims By Watching Walkthrough Videos
- 45:38 Only Studied Sims During Final Review
- 46:47 Making Sure That He Really Understood a Topic
- 49:35 How Jordan Did His Cram Sessions
- 53:18 Top Tips for People Still Struggling with the CPA Exams
Interview Transcript
Jordan: [00:00:00] But to hear so many other people say, yeah, I bought in. I just, I’m gonna go full in on this method. I’m gonna trust that it’s gonna work.
I think that gave me a lot of confidence that, okay, it’s worked for all these other people who all had different things going on in life and, you know, they could have used whatever as an excuse, but instead they decided to go all in. They’re gonna follow this to a T to work. I’m like, okay, so I’m gonna go all in as well.
And I’m just gonna trust it’s gonna work out if I give it my all.
Logan: Welcome to another episode of the CPA Exam Experience podcast from SuperfastCPA. I’m Logan, and in today’s episode, you’re going to hear me talking with Jordan.
Jordan has a great story and he was able to pass not only the CPA exam, but the CFP as well by using the SuperfastCPA strategies.
So this is gonna be a great one if any of you are interested in the CFP as well.
Now, Jordan originally started out with physical therapy years ago, but he [00:01:00] decided to drop out of that pretty quickly and through a series of circumstances, ended up in accounting and decided that he wanted to get the CFP and also decided that he wanted to get the CPA.
And he was trying to pass the CPA exam. He was struggling. He was failing exams. And one night when he was up in the middle of the night with his baby, one of the SuperfastCPA ads popped up on his phone, but he was across the room so he wasn’t able to skip it, which he had skipped them multiple times, and so he actually listened to it this time and it was exactly what he was looking for.
He purchased it for FAR and then even a few days later, he purchased the total bundle and it made a huge difference. He has a lot of great tips and a lot of great strategies throughout this video. Again, especially if you want to not only pass the CPA, but also pass the CFP. I think you’re gonna wanna listen to this whole episode.
Now before we dive into the episode with Jordan, I just wanna give one more reminder about our SuperfastCPA training webinar on superfastcpa.com. That is one hour that will save you months and months of struggling with the exams. We will teach you the key ingredients to passing the CPA exam. So again, you don’t [00:02:00] waste months or even years of your time failing exams. So make sure you check out that webinar.
And with all that, let’s dive straight into the interview with Jordan.
Logan: Thanks for getting on the call with me today, Jordan. I’m really excited to talk to you. Uh, how are you doing today?
Jordan: Pretty good, Logan. How about you?
Logan: I’m doing good. I’m doing good. Uh, looking forward to the weekend for sure. Um, so you posted in, a comment on, one of, you posted a comment in one of the posts on the forum. And so that’s when I, I think I reached out to you or you were saying that you were ready to get on the podcast. Is that right?
Jordan: That’s right. Yeah. So I, I originally had, uh, made a comment that I’d passed, um, my fourth CPA exam, which would’ve been in, I would’ve found out the first week of June in 2024.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: Um, yeah.
Logan: And then, and then we’ll, and we’ll talk about this, you went on and passed the CFP, is that right? Were you using similar strategies? Okay.
Jordan: I, yes, exactly. Use the Superfast, uh, PRO method to [00:03:00] study for the CFP, um, and then pass that later in the year in 2024.
Logan: Perfect. Yeah, we’ll, we’ll dive into all that, but uh, I remember in like your message about, you know, when we were prepping for this, you, I think you’ll have a pretty cool story, so let’s just dive straight into it.
Started with Physical Therapy, Fell Into Accounting
Logan: Where were you, like what was happening in your life when you decided to go for the CPA? What’s your background?
Jordan: Okay. So I’m gonna back up about 10 years actually. Um, so I was actually in physical therapy school 10 years ago.
Um, and was not enjoying it. Um, wasn’t, it wasn’t, uh, what I, once I got into school, I, it wasn’t what I thought I would wanna do with my life, you know, for the next 40 years. Um, so I actually knew somebody who worked at a broker dealer. Um, they recruited me.
Uh, so I started in, uh, uh, wealth management for about four years and, uh, passed my series six, series 63. And then I was looking at the CFP. And I noticed that, [00:04:00] um, there’s like a two year educational requirement, um, and it’s like their own proprietary requirement. But if you had a CPA, it knocked out the requirement.
So I was like, okay, so how long would it take me to just to do that? Um, so I looked and I could get like an a degree, uh, an accounting degree online. Um, it would probably take me a year and then study a year for the CPA. Um, and then it’s like, well, hey, add a third year and I’d have a CPA plus CFP, instead of just the CFP.
Logan: Instead of just, okay. Okay.
Jordan: Yeah. So that’s what first got me interested in it. And that would’ve been in the middle of 2019.
Logan: Okay, so you, uh, so you would, did you like finish, uh, you said physical, is it physical therapy? Is that what you said?
Jordan: Yeah, so I, so it’s a three year program. I finished the first year and then decided it wasn’t for me.
Logan: Okay, okay. I, yeah, that’s what I was wondering, like if you had gone all the way through it and started, or if you kind of were like, nah, I’m gonna switch it up. So, yeah.
Jordan: I, I switched pretty early.
The Pivot to Accounting
Logan: And so [00:05:00] you, that’s a very interesting route, like getting to the CPA through wanting to actually get the CFP.
So why, like, I, I mean, I get the like, okay, hey, I’ll be a CPA and have the CFP, but why was like, why was that interesting to you? Why, why not just go for the CFP, if that makes sense.
Jordan: So, yeah, a couple things. Um, so in the wealth management world, one of the big things is you need like centers of influence and it seemed like every CFP was trying to be close pals with a CPA.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: So my thought was why wouldn’t you just be the CPA as well? If that’s who you’re trying to, you know, tap into for a referral network.
So while I was at the broker dealer, um, I went and ran this via my CPAs, ran this idea by him and he was like, Hey, actually we have an opening here. Instead of doing all that over there, just come do that here. Meaning, you know, taking your accounting classes while you’re [00:06:00] working here and get the CPA here.
And I was like, okay. So then I pivoted into accounting, um, in September, 2019.
A Year Long Program Turned Into Three Years
Logan: Okay, so, so you got into accounting through that kind of roundabout way, and then with, so did you actually do like that year long online school, or how did that go?
Jordan: Yeah, so the year, the year long program turned into three years. Um, a week after I signed up, uh, my wife told me she was pregnant.
Uh, so, you know, we had a baby in the mix. Um, tax season and audit season was way more demanding than I could have ever anticipated. Um, two, three weeks after our first daughter was born, COVID hit, so now I’m working from home and trying to, you know, learn the ins and outs of tax and audit while on the job, while taking the exams. Um, so yeah, so I finally finished that degree in May, 2022.
From there, I took this [00:07:00] series 65 in November, 2022. We were looking at expanding our, um, tax planning services. And one of the partners, um, at our firm, uh, has, was like testing out e-money, which is a financial planning software, but to be able to actually use it with clients, somebody at the firm needed to have a Series 65.
So I just finished my degree, decided to take that. Passed that. The next day our second daughter was born. It’s like the day after the test. So that’s, uh, the day before Thanksgiving. And then in January, 2023 is when I began to start to study for the CPA, finally.
Logan: January, 2023.
Felt That the Traditional Method Was Ineffective
Logan: Okay, so what did you do to start studying? Did you get a review course? Like, kind of, how did that start?
Jordan: Yeah, so, uh, everybody I talked to is all Becker, Becker, Becker, so I bought Becker, um, and I started to go the traditional way. I tried to, you know, fill up the green circles, read um, every single chapter, [00:08:00] watch, um, all of the lectures. And then I would try to find time, uh, for questions at the end.
Um, and yeah, it was very inefficient cause again, we had a newborn daughter. Uh, I’m in the middle of tax and audit season, so for our audit season, um, a, a lot of times, you know, you’ll be out at a clients for an entire week working 14 hour days. Pretty tough to study while you’re doing that and watch all of, you know, Olinto’s, uh, long lectures and read and highlight this and underscore that and yeah, so it just wasn’t working.
Um, so I did that for about two and a half months.
God’s Intervention for Finding SuperfastCPA
Jordan: Um, there was a late night in March of 2023 where I was feeding my daughter and I was watching YouTube videos and I went across the room, um, to get like a little cloth for her. And then one of, uh, Nate’s ads started playing. I had skipped his ads probably 20 times.
I had never watched more than the first five seconds, and I feel like this was just God [00:09:00] intervening and showing mercy upon me cause I was, I was such, you know, in a rut. There was like no way pass FAR, which was the first exam I was studying for. Um, so the phone was in, across the room. Um, so I couldn’t hit skip and I listened to like the full pitch.
It was something like, you know, are you a busy professional trying to make it all work and study for the CPA exam? And I was like, yes. Oh my gosh, that’s me. Like my daughter was crying, I’m losing it.
Logan: As you’re holding a baby and
Jordan: Exactly. Yeah, so it felt like divine intervention.
Listening to the Podcast Convinced Him to Get SuperfastCPA
Jordan: Um, so I listened to the full pitch. I went to his YouTube page and watched, um, I forget who the interview was with, but it was somebody else who had used Becker.
Um, and they were trying to do the green circles method as well, and found Superfast, switched up their whole study method, went the Superfast method and went on to pass all, all the, I think they failed their first exam, found Superfast and then passed the other, or the remaining, uh, exams after that. So, um, I just [00:10:00] immediately purchased the FAR course.
I think that was like March 26th. Just a few days of using that. I went on and purchased the rest of it, like the pro course and all the other
Logan: Like the total bundle, Okay.
Jordan: The total bundle, like March 29th, three days in, um, I found a couple of coupon codes from, uh, Reddit, so I was able to get everything like half price and that made it easier, you know, when you’ve got these, all these, uh, diaper bills and formula bills and everything comes with a new baby.
Um, yeah, so I, I purchased that. Tried the new method.
Logan: And can I ask just to, so what made you like, so you tried out the stuff for like a few days with FAR. What did you like right away that made you like, okay, I’m just gonna buy everything.
Jordan: Um, okay. So a couple things. Um, just the conciseness of the audio notes, like, look, just cutting through the mess in just the efficiency of the notes, I could tell, like, okay, this is gonna work. Um, the [00:11:00] concept of just the easy MCQs throughout the day, like not, you know, two paragraphs. And then the answer is, well, A is wrong because D is right, you know, um.
Logan: Yeah.
Jordan: So that I was just sold and then I, I didn’t initially purchase a PRO course and I thought, okay, this, I’m just gonna buy the PRO course. I’m gonna just go all in, whatever Nate says to do, I’m gonna do, um. So I purchased, uh, yeah, the rest of the bundle and got the PRO course and everything.
Logan: Okay.
Finding Another Review Courses
Logan: So after about two and a half months, you find SuperfastCPA through that divine intervention, which I believe that, and, uh, you just switch everything up. And what, like, did you just restart or did you just continue from where you were? How did that look?
Jordan: Yeah, so, so there’s, yeah, there’s another component to it. So that’s, uh, March 26th, so we had the S corp and partnership deadline behind us, but we still had like the April 15th deadline. So I, I tried to attempt to study and I was like, you know what? I, my [00:12:00] original FAR exam date was like june 1st, I was like, it’s just not gonna happen.
I’m gonna need to just restart from scratch. I think I was like on F-7 with Becker and I was like, I just need to go back to square one. First chapter, restart the Superfast way. Um, so I thought, I’m, I’m not gonna do anything until after tax season’s done. I think I have the blueprint now, I’m just gonna wait until after April 15th.
So, um, I get to, to that point and I start implementing the method, but something was still off with like the Becker explanations. I’m like, I feel like this should work and I know it can work, but it may just be, um, the program I’m using, like my main course. So I did a lot of research on Reddit and um, found Universal CPA and they had exactly, what I needed which made the Superfast method flow even better because they had multiple, a video for every multiple choice question.
So, whereas Becker, you know, they give you consolidation question and like the explanation is a wall of [00:13:00] text and it’s like reading, you know, an academic research paper. Universal has like cartoon videos that explain it really well and you just get it right, like you can watch a 32nd video. That’s how that works.
And a lot of their questions were the same as Becker, just better explanations. So the combo of Superfast with Universal was like having shadow. Their prime. Like it was incredible, like going in, um, studying, um, after having that and then looking back and comparing it to when I just used Becker. I mean, it was night and day.
Logan: Yeah.
7-Day Trial of Universal
Logan: So, and uh, like did you find out that stuff about Universal just from like your research and everything? Or did you do a trial?
Jordan: Yeah, so similarly for them, um, I did a, a, a trial, like a seven day trial, and I think I purchased their entire course after the first 10 minutes. I’m like, this is it, this, like this, mix ’em with Superfast, like they just, they pair really well together. And I think I’d heard another person on the podcast mentioned that before.
I [00:14:00] forget who it, who it would’ve been or what episode, but somebody else mentioned that and yup,
Logan: Yeah, I mean there’s like 180 something episodes at this point, so, yeah. No, I get it.
Switched Studying in the Mornings Was a Big Game Changer
Logan: Um, so let’s kind of get into like the real, your real studying at this point.
So, you know, you switch everything up, you get universal as well. And what did your, so what did your, well sorry, we already know what you’re studying looked like, you know, you were trying to do all the check boxes and everything. So what changed, what did your studying look like now?
Jordan: The first thing I changed was studying in the mornings. So before I would study at night and by the time we got our newborn down, they may, that I may start at 10:00 PM. Well, I’m exhausted, you know, from the day, from working a long tax season day, you know, doing all of the things that require that a newborn requires, you know, getting her down.
And we were up all night during that season of life. Um, so studying would be interrupted. So yeah, switching to the mornings was like the first, um, game changer. That was like the [00:15:00] first, um, big change I implemented that worked immediately.
Jordan’s Daily Morning Study Routine
Logan: And so you start studying in the morning and was that the two hour session? Is that what you did?
Jordan: Yeah, for me it was like an hour and a half session, but I mean the same concept. So I would do new MCQs for the first hour, and then the last 30 minutes I would do review questions. I would just review everything I did before. And so restarting from chapter one, and then with the new program, um, it just like doing review.
If it, if I didn’t understand a question with Becker, it may take me, I may take 20 minutes on one question, trying to understand what they’re talking about, and then doing the review method with the universal quick video. Okay, when I understand it in two minutes I can go to the next review question and truly understand what I just, um, you know, the question I just attempted.
Learning with Universal CPA
Logan: And did you feel like, because I don’t really know much about Universal, if I’m being honest, did you feel like the questions built on each other? Well, like, okay, I learned this concept. Next question kind of [00:16:00] builds, like, just curious how that worked.
Jordan: Yeah, definitely. And they had a lot of the same questions as Becker, just, you know.
Logan: I mean, yeah, they all, every single review course has pretty much the exact same or very similar cause it’s all based off the AICPA questions, so.
Jordan: Yeah, um, one thing that they had that may sound like a disadvantage, but to me was an advantage, is they had less questions, and that might have my first post in the Superfast forum was, am I supposed to complete every single Becker question for every module. And, cause I’m like, I, there’s no way I can get through a module a day with Becker in a two hour span.
It’s just impossible. And like, actually understand what I’m supposed to be, you know, learning. Um, so they had less questions, so I was able to get through the material faster, which meant I could review more. And, and again, it just, they didn’t have as many redundant questions, um.
Logan: Just a little bit more. It seems like it was a bit more focused, like, here’s just a few questions to learn this concept. You don’t need 20 [00:17:00] questions to learn it.
Jordan: Yeah, yeah. You didn’t need 20 questions on, um, itemized deductions. You need five, and you’re gonna understand the concept really well with those five.
Doing Mini Sessions All the Time
Logan: Okay, so you know, you switch all this up, you do the two hour, and then did you also start doing the mini sessions as well?
Jordan: Yeah, I implemented that immediately as well, so I had those audio notes playing constantly. If, if I wasn’t studying, I had the audio notes on, if I didn’t have the audio notes on, I was doing the MCQ questions, the quick five question quizzes, like there was no waking hour or I wasn’t like entrenched or engulfed in the material, like I was constantly in the material.
Logan: That’s exactly, that’s exactly what they’re built for. So I’m glad that you did that, that way.
Constantly Immersed in CPA Studying
Logan: So what did that look like for the mini, like, you know, you’re saying that you did it all the time. Like did that look like when you’re driving to work? What did it look at work?
Jordan: Yeah, so kind of my typical day would be I would finish like my hour [00:18:00] and a half in the morning, like walking upstairs, back upstairs to get ready. I’m already having the audio notes playing. They’re playing while I’m in the shower, getting ready while I’m making my daughter’s breakfast in the morning. On my way to work.
Um, I would listen to them sometimes during work. Um, at lunch, I’m hitting as many five question quizzes as I can. On the way home from work, I’m listening, you know, I’m hanging out with the kids. Um, I might be doing, you know, quick five question quizzes while I’m pushing ’em on the swing or whatever. Um, when I’m feeding my daughter a bottle, I’m either doing a quiz or I was listening to the, uh, lecture or the review notes, or I would listen to a podcast if I just needed like a break from the notes.
I would listen to the podcast. Try to get, um, inspiration from how other people studied and, you know, other successful exam takers, whatever methods they would’ve had that I would be unaware of. Um, yeah, I was just constantly in the material and if I wasn’t doing that, then I was on the CPA subreddit trying to see what, what has anyone else done that has passed these, like what, is there [00:19:00] any like little edge I can gain from somebody else?
Logan: Yeah.
Using the SuperfastCPA Review Notes for Final Review
Logan: And, uh, two, so two questions with that, did you ever use the review notes, like the, the reading through the notes as well?
Jordan: Yep. So I, I use those, um, during my final review. So I would kind of look at them a little bit and do like a, I would like go through them in highlight areas or I’d make like a little text box note on the PDF of like, review this or, um, something to make a, a certain, uh, I don’t know, concepts stand out for my final review.
But yeah, those review notes for me really came into play during the final review.
Logan: Okay.
The Motivation for Waking Up Early
Logan: And then my second question was, and we kind of were talking a little bit about this before we actually started the call with the podcast. Uh, what do you remember anything that you heard throughout the pod through the podcast that was like, Hey, I’ll try that, and it was something that worked for you. Do you remember anything like that?
Jordan: Um, there were, there was somebody who, so I’m a big coffee drinker. There was somebody [00:20:00] who once mentioned, I like to get myself up in the morning. When I’ve been studying at night, I would like make my coffee the night before, have an auto timer set so when I wake up, I already smell the coffee. I’m ready to get up and go.
That was one thing, and so I tried that like the first night like, and again, I was not getting much sleep during this.
Logan: Yeah. Oh, I know. I know, how it goes.
Jordan: I don’t think she, our youngest daughter, um, I don’t think she slept a full night until the day after tax season ended from born in November and it was like April 16th, she decided to sleep.
Logan: That, that sounds very similar. So my, I have, I have three kids and my, uh, our newest, she’s almost a year old and yeah, it took like probably six or seven months for us to actually to, to like get her sleep trained, like to be able to have her sleep through the night. So I definitely understand the, and that, and actually when I was going through the exams, our son was only three months old, so he was also so, like, I totally get the, [00:21:00] doing all this, but not really getting sleep.
So, I mean, but that just shows like, you can do it. Like even with all this stuff going, like if you have the right strategies, you can do it and that you’re, you’re proof of that as well.
Hearing People’s Stories On the Podcast
Jordan: Yeah. Well, and I think for me, just hearing that other people did it like, was just a big help. Um, like if, if I was like, you know, subscriber number one, Superfast, it will be harder to like buy in, but to hear so many other people say, yeah, I bought in. I just, I’m gonna go full in on this method. I’m gonna trust that it’s gonna work.
I think that gave me a lot of confidence that, okay, it’s worked for all these other people who all had different things going on in life and, you know, they could have used whatever as an excuse, but instead they decided to go all in. They’re gonna follow this to a T to work. I’m like, okay, so I’m, I’m gonna go all in as well.
And I’m just gonna trust it’s gonna work out if I give it my all.
Logan: Yeah, and so, what happened?
The Initial Goal Was to Finish in Three Years
Logan: So you had, you hadn’t, had you not taken any [00:22:00] exams yet before all this happened? Okay. So you hadn’t taken any exams yet.
Jordan: Hadn’t taken any exams. So, um, to be honest, uh, so my oldest daughter at the time was in preschool. Um, so my original goal was to pass the exams by the time she graduated kindergarten, which is, um, spring 2026.
Um, actually she was about to start preschool that fall in fall ’23. And I thought, okay, if I can get these knocked out by the time she graduates kindergarten, I won’t have to be doing this, you know, while she’s in elementary school.
I really thought it would take me like three years. I did not think I would pass ’em all in the first try. Um, I mean, I actually job shadowed one of the partners at the CPA firm that I work for now back in college. And thought, you know, I’m honestly probably not smart enough to do accounting. Like I can do the science stuff, I can do organic chemistry, probably not smart enough to do accounting.
That’s probably not my thing. So, well, turns out I am, I am smart enough and um, [00:23:00] it. It just took, I think, a little bit of, you know, faith and effort to, to make it happen. So yeah, initially I had no thought that I could like pass these easily.
Um, so started studying in January and I scheduled FAR for like June 1st. Um, so I thought it’ll take me five months to study for FAR. I heard so many horror stories about it, you know, the low pass rates of like high thirties, low 40%. It just seemed impossible. Honestly, I, I didn’t know if I would even pass that one.
Logan: Yeah.
Jordan Had Fridays Off
Logan: And so you had it scheduled for June 1st and, but you kind of stopped studying until after April 15th, so you only had about a month and a half of studying with SuperfastCPA. Did you still take it on June 1st, or how did that go?
Jordan: I rescheduled, so I found Universal probably like May 20th, and I think I, um, I was already going to reschedule my exam. I might’ve rescheduled it to like June 30th, um, like May 20th, and then I rescheduled it [00:24:00] again for July 31st. So I was like, okay, that is eight and a half weeks.
If I follow this method and I used Universal as the main course, I’m pretty sure I’ll, I’ll have a shot. Just go all out, like my summer is gonna be deleted. Like just go all in. Like, so our office actually has Fridays off in the summer, so that was my advantage and I thought, okay, I can study 8, 10 hours every single Friday and then, you know, just have these cram sessions every Friday.
Um, and so I thought I am gonna need that to pass FAR. So yeah, moved it to July 31st.
Logan: Okay.
Passed All Four Exams on First Try; Chaotic First Exam
Logan: And so, what happened? Like, I, I’m pretty sure that you said you passed them all first try, is that right?
Jordan: Yeah, that’s right.
Logan: How did it, how did it feel going in for your first exam ever? You’ve been, had all these months to prepare. What, what did that exam feel like?
Jordan: Uh, so that first exam was, I would say chaotic. Um, so I had been practicing with [00:25:00] like a whiteboard and a, like a Sharpie, and I get in there and it’s like paper and pencil. I’m like, okay, so already like how I’ve like practiced writing the formulas is gonna be different now. And then the calculator they gave me was like, the, the buttons were sticky.
So like if I hit the four, nothing would register. I’m like, oh, shoot. Like I’ve been practicing with a calculator instead of Excel. So now I need to just on the fly switch how I’ve been writing things and switch how I’ve been calculating things. Um, the testing center I went to, it had like a really small four by three monitor, and so to open up attachments for the sims, like I couldn’t see like hardly anything on there. The light above me went out during the exam, so then I can’t see the paper I’m writing on. It was chaotic.
Um, I, I spent two and a half hours on the MCQs. Um, I thought I had a break after that, but no, it was after the first sim I had a break, um, the first set of sims.
[00:26:00] So the first sim that I got was a consolidation, and that was like the one thing I was praying that I did not have. I spent like 30 to 40 minutes on that and then just erased all of my work, put zeros in the trial balance and went on cause I had read on Reddit that it’s better to put all zeros if you’re not sure than to change an account that does not need to be changed. So I remembered that and I was like, I’m not confident in any of this work.
So I erased all of that. Um, anyway, I get to like what I think is the final sim and I’ve got like 20 minutes left, but there were actually three sims. I’d forgotten how many sims I actually had in the exam. So I, I had 20 minutes to finish out the final three sims. Um, I get to the last one, time runs out and I just stare at the screen and I’m like, I cannot believe I just spent my whole summer studying for an exam that I probably failed. Could not believe it.
Logan: Yeah. I mean, it, so, so you’re saying that you didn’t get to submit the last sim, is that right?
Jordan: No, I did not. The time ran [00:27:00] out.
Logan: Dang.
Jordan: Yeah.
Took Two Family Trips and Never Took a Day off Studying
Jordan: So, um, we had a vacation that we were going on that week. Um, so like three or four days later, that was a Monday, three or four days later, uh, we went on vacation. But the very next day I just started studying for BEC. So this is 2023,
Logan: Yeah. So BEC was still there. Okay.
Jordan: Yeah, it was still there and the exams were about to, uh, change to like the quarterly release. So this was still when it was two, three week release. So I felt like I was on this time crunch to knock out as many as possible before the end of the year. And I knew I probably had time to take three exams. Um, so we go on vacation and I’m studying BEC every morning and it’s, uh, we actually had like a lot of family, like we rented this huge house in the mountains and over in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
There were like probably 20 of us in this house, I’m up first before everybody, studying. We’re walking around the town. I’m, you know, doing MCQs on my phone. Like I studied the whole week. Like I mentally, I was in the [00:28:00] material. Like I, I don’t even hardly remember the trip. Um, we got, we came back home for two weeks, you know, I studied every day.
That was one thing, I never took a day off. I studied every single day. There was like, the day after an exam I studied.
The only time I had off would be the drive home from the exam.
Logan: Yeah.
Jordan: Which I would, like two hours from the testing center, so I would
Logan: Let yourself be decompress and stuff like that?
Jordan: That’d be my decompress, yeah, then the very next morning I was back into new material.
So anyway, um, we had another trip then before BEC, um, to Disney World. So in Disney World, I am studying the whole time I’m like, again, I’m there, but I’m not like mentally present, like I’m in the material. I’m doing questions the whole time.
Like I don’t remember anything about the trip other than that. I, uh, so that was, we had those two trips within like a three week span, like one with my family, one with my wife’s family. And then I took, um, BEC I think it was seven weeks after FAR.
Finding Out That He Passed FAR
Logan: [00:29:00] And when did you, did you had you already found out your FAR score at that point?
Jordan: Yeah. So actually I think it was after, I think it was after the Disney World trip we got back and then I found out that I passed, uh, FAR. And, uh,
Logan: And how did you feel about, like, were you like, there’s no way, like how did I pass that?
Jordan: Yeah. So yeah, I do. So I remember, I remember, um, yeah, like the whole day, like checking Reddit and people saying, oh, it released in my state, it released in my region. And so I think for Missouri, it released at like 5:45, so just a little bit out, out of after work.
Um, and so before we checked the score, I mean, man, I was like shaking nervous.
I was so nervous that like I was gonna add a year of studying to my life and I was already like four years into it from when I switched into accounting. Um, so we pulled up like the screen before you hit like. The view results button and just our little [00:30:00] family, we said a prayer and uh, I said something like, you know, pray I can stay humble if I pass and motivated if I fail.
And my 3-year-old said, daddy, you’re not gonna fail. So I was like, okay, that’s like, that’s a pretty good sign there. I looked view, and it said I had a 75 and I just like fell on the floor. I could not believe.
Logan: That’s,
Jordan: Uh, the,
Logan: awesome.
Jordan: The feeling of the 75 on FAR was better than passing, like the other three exams combined.
Logan: Oh yeah. I, I could, like it, like especially with how that experience had gone, like where you’re like, I still passed even, even with that like that, that’s amazing.
Jordan: When I got home the night of the exam, I went on Reddit and searched FAR miracle stories and just read every miracle story of somebody passing FAR when they thought they failed, like that was on the site, so yeah, it was great.
Logan: I mean, I definitely identify with that feeling like I, I very similar to you, I went on like, I just went to the next exam every single time. [00:31:00] Uh, and I remember that, I think the day or two before, I was like, no, there’s no way I, I failed.
And so I actually went back to studying FAR cause I was just like a hundred percent convinced that I had failed. But I, but I didn’t so like, I, I definitely get that feeling.
Passing FAR Gave Jordan Confidence
Logan: Uh, was your, just curious, kinda like, and maybe we could talk a little bit about this in general. Uh, what did your family think when they saw that 75? Like how, what did they feel like?
Jordan: Oh man, like just relief. Like I think I had, you know, all my, my immediate feeling, my wife and daughters, um, you know, everybody was like praying for me. And then, um, I think all the partners at at our office were just thrilled. I sent them a text and I think everybody was just excited because I knew how much work I put into it.
Um, and then for me personally, it gave me the confidence, like, okay, if I can pass FAR, I can pass any of them, like, that was the big hurdle. I knew, like if I can pass FAR, the others are all doable.
Logan: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jordan’s CPA Study Timeline
Logan: So, and how did the rest go after that? [00:32:00] Like you were studying for BEC, I mean, obviously you passed all of them, but did, what was the, kinda the timeline with that?
Jordan: Yeah, for the next two, because of the compressed deadline, I think the blackout period was like the first week of December. I really just had like seven and a half weeks to take the other two exams, um.
Logan: Like total?
Jordan: Uh, no for to study each, like seven and a half for BEC, seven and a half for audit.
Um, and then I had to take REG, um, under the new.
Logan: In 2024.
Jordan: Yeah, in 2024.
BEC Test Experience
Jordan: Um, yeah, so for BEC, like the first set of MCQs, I felt pretty confident. I think I only flagged like four, um, and a lot of it had overlap with the series exams I’d already taken. Um, like the series 65, 6, 63, a lot of those, um, finance and, you know, economics questions were, were overlapped to stuff I’d already seen.
Um, the second set of MCQs, I think I flagged every other one, like literally half of them. And I thought, oh my gosh, am I gonna [00:33:00] fail this one? Um, no, I, so I felt definitely more confident leaving that exam. Um, and I got that score back and it was in 83.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: So when I got that, I’m like, wow, I am halfway done.
Thought He Crushed The AUD Exam But Barely Passed
Jordan: Um, and then for audit, like the studying for that didn’t seem nearly as intense because there was no math. Like it was tricky, but it didn’t feel as hard.
Um,
Logan: A lot more like logical thinking, like,
Jordan: Yeah, logical thinking.
Logan: You know.
Jordan: Yeah. Um, so I, I sat for that exam in November and it was gonna be my last one, and I, I had just enough time, I think to reschedule it, to retake it the first week of December if I passed but not enough time to like take a whole new section, so like if I passed that I wouldn’t have had enough time to study for REG.
Um, so I took that and during that test it honestly kind of felt easy and I walked out of that test thinking I maybe made a 90 and I got that one back.
I made a 76, [00:34:00] so I barely passed it. Uh, I was way overconfident there.
Logan: But hey, in the end it doesn’t matter. But that, that’s pretty funny. Like, yeah, I think I did like 90 on that one.
Jordan: Yeah. It’s like, man, I think I, I crushed that one and no, it’s just a 76, just like two points above passing, um.
Logan: That’s awesome.
Doubling Down for the Final Exam
Logan: And so what did, what did, what did studying look like in 2024? Because it was, I mean, I, you know, I was working for SuperfastCPA at that point, so I was dealing with everybody, uh, talking to everybody with that.
Did you change your study method at all, or was it more just like you had to wait for months to get the res result?
Jordan: So with it being the, the last exam, um, I just, I put in even more hours because I did not want to pass and have to wait another quarter.
Logan: Hmm.
Jordan: Um, and then like a thing that was weighing on me, like probably the, the toughest part of the exam is I felt like I was missing out on my, so like the first year of my, um, second daughter’s life, I mean, I felt like I missed the whole thing.
And the only way to get [00:35:00] past that and to like be present with my kids was to pass the exams and put them behind me.
Um, so, uh, like studying less and trying to have more work-life balance wouldn’t like ensure that I actually passed. So I thought, okay, I’m just gonna have to like double down. I don’t wanna fail this final exam and, you know, retake this in the summer and spend another summer doing this.
So, um, what my week kind of looked like during tax season. Um, so I would study in the morning, uh, before work. Work longer hours, um, during tax season. And then I would start studying again at like between 7:45 to 8:15 at night. And I would study until probably 11:30 or midnight.
And then we work, uh, Saturdays, and so I would work from either six or 7:00 AM until like, I don’t know, maybe 1:00 PM. I would get home, take a one hour break, and then study from 2:00 PM until 2:00 AM. And then I would sleep in a little bit Sunday and then I would [00:36:00] study from say like 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM and then like have Sunday night with the family or work a little bit more Sunday night and catch up on tax stuff.
Um, and so I did that for, I don’t know, from the first week of January until the test March 25th. And it literally felt like every day was just, to be able to get to the weekend to then do like the cram session every single weekend. But again, I did not wanna I wanted to make sure never had to do this again.
Yeah, I did not have a break, like I didn’t listen to like a fun podcast. I didn’t watch a TV show. Like I watched a little of the football playoffs, but not really like I was, they maybe were in the background,
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Jordan: Um, I’m, I’m a huge basketball fan. I miss March Madness. Didn’t watch hardly any of it. Um, I just wanted to make sure, uh, up until March 20, March 25th that I wanted to make sure that I pass this final exam.
Um, because March 25th and the score release was [00:37:00] June 4th, and then the next time I could retake an exam, I think I would find out in September. So yeah, I just front loaded all of the work, went all in, and just ensured that I was gonna pass.
Logan: Yeah, I, I, I remember talking to so many people, like, and some people did take it in like January or February, and so they literally were waiting four or five months to get their, it was just ridiculous, honestly.
Choose the REG as His Last Section Where He Felt Most Confident
Logan: Um, so what were you doing during that time where you were waiting for about two, two and a half months, were you still studying or were you just like, I’m done like, I’m just gonna let it
Jordan: I was done. I was,
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: I saved REG for last and, um, tax is, um, like the section of accounting that I, um, it’s probably like, I guess I do best. I felt very, very comfortable during that test. Like I could just, because I’ve been that this CPA firm now, um, at that point for four and a half years. So during, I mean, I could just think of clients’ [00:38:00] returns that I’ve worked on and I could, it was applicable to what I’d seen in practice.
Um, I could even like, just think through our software, like, okay, where does that go? It’s probably, it’s on that form, okay. And so I felt extremely confident that I’d passed that exam, so.
Logan: And, uh, you know what, and we know that you passed it, but what did, what was your score in the end?
Jordan: 88.
Logan: 88, was that your highest one? That sounds like that was your highest one. Nice. So, and how did that
Jordan: oh, say I feel like the scores coordinate with my, with like my actual level, like FAR, I probably am like a 75 on all of those topics. Audit. I’m like a 76, probably, probably lower, but like the tax, I’m in the eighties for sure, so.
Logan: Yeah.
Held Off His Celebration Until He Finished the CFP
Logan: So what, um, what was it like to find out that final score? Like, did you guys celebrate, how did that feel?
Jordan: Yeah. Um, honestly, it was kind of like, I’m gonna hold my celebration, my final goal isn’t [00:39:00] complete. I have the CFP coming up now. Now I need to sprint to finish that. So I actually got my license. I, we did celebrate a little bit for like, a few days, um, and I got to, I guess have like three months off studying. I guess like the most free time I’ve had in five years.
Started the journey in 2019, like in late summer 2019. Um, yeah. And then I got my license in July and then I, not CPA, but on the CFP side, um, the only thing a CPA has to do to sit for the exam is to take a capstone course. I enrolled in a capstone course through the University of Georgia.
Completed that within like two weeks. And then August 1st purchased, uh, CFP materials. Started the Superfast, uh, method to study for that. Took that exam November like 11th. Found out, um, like immediately. They don’t make you wait three months, they just tell you.
Logan: It’s just like, yeah, you passed. Man, I wish that,
Jordan: [00:40:00] And I my, exactly, I actually got my, um, certificate, like the CFP, um, paper like December was like, okay, now I’m finally done.
Why the SuperfastCPA Method Worked for the CFP
Logan: So, and uh, I’ve had multiple people ask me about the CMA, which obviously is different than the CFP, but you know, the big question that people are really asking is, can you use these strategies for other exams? And obviously you can, as you just said.
So what, what worked? Like, why do you think it still worked for the CFP, even though you know it’s for C, even though it’s SuperfastCPA.
Jordan: The program is very efficient, like the method, so like, again, I watched all of Nate’s PRO course videos and just applied them how he said, and it’s very efficient. Kaplan, similar to Becker, had like a lot of noise with their material that you just need through, and so I went straight to multiple choice questions, um, wrote out flashcards and then another thing I did with the CPA and CFP is I would make like a one [00:41:00] page summary of topics.
And so it might be like S corp versus partnership, on the left side is the S corp, on the right side is the partnership.
And so when I’m in the exam, I can remember, okay, left side was that. Right side was that, and then I can think through the question based on like my one page summary.
Logan: Right.
Jordan: Or I may have like all of the information on a specific topic on that one page summary.
Final Review
Logan: So was that kind of like your version of flashcards or did you also do flashcards as well?
Jordan: I did both.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: I did both, but I wouldn’t really review them until like the
Logan: Until the final review.
Jordan: Weekend or final, final review. Yeah, like so I would make them, but, or just like writing, it just kind of reinforced the concept, even if I didn’t immediately review them.
Logan: Yeah. Yeah. That’s what I’ve seen a lot with notes and with flashcards is just the act of doing it, you know, obviously, I’m not saying don’t look at your notes and don’t look at your flashcards. You still should do that, but the act of doing it like that process of [00:42:00] trying to figure out how to make it make sense to yourself of writing it down in a way that works for you is a great way to help it stick even besides, you know, reviewing it later.
The CFP Exam
Logan: Um, so would you say that you just applied very similar strategies then? So like you went to the multiple choice questions, you did flashcards, uh, and is it very similar, like do they have like, I don’t know what it’s like, do they have sims as well or is it just multiple choice questions?
Jordan: So no, they don’t have, um, they have, I forget, but it’s like a chain of questions, but it’s not like fill in the blank like a SIM would be, um.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: Case studies is what they’re called. So it’d be like a specific client has all of the financial planning, um, things going on and the the questions just chain together. But you can still like get question one wrong and question seven correct, whereas sim if your missing the early concept, you’re missing the entire thing, you’re gonna
Logan: Yeah, cause like, because it all is together, if [00:43:00] you miss that, then that calculation’s wrong and that calculation’s wrong, yeah.
The CFP was kind of like REG and BEC Combined
Logan: Uh, would you say that, I’m just curious, would you say that the CFP was, I mean, it’s only one exam, right? But is it, was it easier?
Jordan: A seven hour exam, so it’s longer. I would compare it to if you, um, put REG and BEC together.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: More financial planning concepts in there, but it wasn’t as deep, whereas like FAR as a mile wide and a mile deep, the CFP was like a mile wide and an inch deep. Like there was a lot to cover. Seven hour exam, questions weren’t like, as like difficult or I don’t know, um, complicated
Logan: Yeah, just more basic knowledge.
Jordan: Yeah, they definitely have finance math questions. Um, but the CPA exam felt like every question was difficult. I mean, there were not hardly any gimmes
Logan: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Top Benefits Jordan Got from SuperfastCPA
Logan: Uh, [00:44:00] so, kind of coming to the end here, uh, just a few more questions to ask. If you could kind of summarize, you know, throughout this whole interview, we’ve talked about a lot of different things, but what would be the top things that, the top benefits that you got from SuperfastCPA?
Jordan: Yeah, I’d say just changing my whole mindset about how to study, um, and making me more efficient at studying and just, I think giving me the confidence to know that like I actually could pass these exams and pass ’em on the first try.
Logan: Yeah, I mean, it, it, it is such a, it’s such a good feeling, um, to pass these exams. It’s just so, it’s just so awesome.
Jordan: Each one, like each one was so rewarding, um, but kinda my mindset in the moment was, okay that’s good, I have another one to go. I, I didn’t celebrate for long. Once I passed the CFP is when I finally celebrated.
Logan: What did you guys do? Anything like go on a trip or anything?
Jordan: Uh, yeah, we, yeah, we, we went on a little [00:45:00] vacation, um, the week after that exam. Yeah, around Christmas time. It was pretty fun.
Studied Sims By Watching Walkthrough Videos
Jordan: Um, thing to mention was sims, um, cause I felt like I was asking people, how do you study for sims? And what I did is I don’t think I, I went to Universal sim section and would just watch their video. Then I would maybe click around in the modules just to get comfortable with, but I wouldn’t actually practice one.
But I would watch like every single uh, sim video they had.
Logan: Okay.
Jordan: And then I would like screenshot things on my computer and then like review those screenshots later.
Only Studied Sims During Final Review
Logan: Okay, so, so you’re saying that with sims you more focused on like watch, watching their walkthrough videos. Did you, did you study the sims on the weekends? Like when did you study sims typically?
Jordan: I really saved those for the final review. Um, I’d say like if my final review consisted of two weekends, it would maybe be like [00:46:00] the weekend before I’ve seen them and by my final review, which was always, always had like two week, two full weeks for final review. And by that point I would’ve already seen like every multiple choice question in Universal. And would’ve at least watch the video for every sim. So then I can go into the final review, like really knowing what do I know, what are my strengths, what are, what are my weaknesses? Um, have a, like, I could be honest with myself at like where I’m at with the material.
Logan: Yeah, I think that’s a huge, uh, we’ve talked about that in a lot of different podcast episodes, like being honest with yourself. Don’t kid yourself if you don’t understand something, don’t be like, oh, well I, maybe I just won’t get it on exam day, or don’t trick yourself into thinking that because you’ve memorized a question, you know, the topic.
Making Sure That He Really Understood a Topic
Logan: Uh, just curious, did you ever run into that issue with Universal? Like, because you had seen the question so many times you were like, I, I know the answer to this, but then you had to maybe step back and be like, no, I need to make sure I actually.
Jordan: Uh, smaller question [00:47:00] bank, like I said. So yeah, I would be honest with myself. Uh, when I would go through my final review, I would hit each module, like let you have five question quizzes. And for me, I can get through ten five question quizzes way faster than one 50 question quiz. I need that hit of dopamine as I’m going through to keep going, so if I saw a question and like I know the answer, but I can’t actually work it out, I wouldn’t, um, count it, if that makes sense. Like I would try to hit 80% before I’d move on to another module, go through say 20 questions, maybe like in five question increments, 20 to 40 questions or, um, some, some of their modules only had 10 questions, so I would go through all 10, but I would try to hit 80% before I’d move on. I try to hit 80% before I’d move on, but I would be honest with myself if like, was that like, kind of know the answer there.
And if I didn’t then I would like. Do it again, rewatch the video. I had a whiteboard that I used to study and I would just rewrite what they were writing and try to like really [00:48:00] understand the concept and the question.
Logan: Yeah. Uh, just a couple more questions and you kind of already mentioned some stuff like this, but do you feel like studying like this allowed you to have, still have somewhat of a life? I mean, you did make a lot of sacrifices, but at the same time you were still able to do some stuff with your kids, I’m assuming, right?
Jordan: Yeah, we’re still able to go on vacation. Like if I were to do the Becker method on vacation, I would’ve been in the room the whole day because it took so long to get, like, do their study methods. So yeah, like I could at least like leave the house and like leave the hotel room when I was on vacation. Absolutely.
Like it, uh, there are people who are much smarter than me who could just do the hour and a half in a, in the morning or two hours in the morning and have the rest of their evening. For the most part, did that, um, for BEC and audit, I would just study in the morning until my final review week. Um, for REG, I just went all out because it was the last one.
Logan: Yeah. You’re like, there’s no way I’m failing this one.
Jordan: Yeah. No way. I’m gonna fail the last one.
So, yeah, it, [00:49:00] it absolutely gave me more time back, yeah.
Logan: That’s awesome. And, and that’s something that I always hoped for and cause for me personally, before I started working for SuperfastCPA, that was a big thing that I loved about it was, I was able to do my master’s program work, have two kids do the CPA, and I felt like I still kind of had a, the occasional bit of time when I probably shouldn’t have, and I just, I wanted to help other people have that as well.
So I’m glad to hear that you had, you still are able to have some things that were enjoyable, even though if, you know, these exams are hard.
How Jordan Did His Cram Sessions
Logan: Um, and I guess the last thing that I wanted to ask you before, like we get to the, like, you know, the final question. Uh, was there anything about your process, you know, kind of like sims, you were mentioning sims, anything about your process that. We haven’t gotten to talk about yet, but before the call you were like, I would like to share this. Is there anything like that, that we’ve missed?
Jordan: I’m gonna start like on my final weekend, kind of what I would do. Um, Nate [00:50:00] would always talk about, what, what was the phrase, like
Logan: The 48 hour cram session?
Jordan: Yeah, the cram session. Yeah, so I did that. So, um, uh, I would kind of start on Friday night, um, but like Saturday morning my wife would take the kids to her mom’s and they would stay to her mom’s for the rest of the weekend. So I would study from early Saturday morning, um, until probably two or 3:00 AM so maybe like, yeah, 10:00 AM until two or 3:00 AM and what I would do is I’d go back through every single question that I had flagged.
And I would try to get, again, an 80% like through all my flagged questions. So I would do that, go through every single module, and then maybe just do some like bonus questions for fun. Then I’d go through all of my flashcards.
Logan: So much fun.
Jordan: Yeah, it’s fun to pass so, yeah. Um, so I’d go back through all of my flashcards cause I really saved those for this final weekend.
Go through all those one page sheets [00:51:00] that I made. Um, go through, and then I’d kind of do like for a night cap, I would then go through these Superfast notes and like scroll through those on my laptop with like my eyes barely open at 2:00 AM and finish that out.
And Then I would like put my phone in another room and I would just like sleep just like long as my body needed to just, I wanted to be fully rested going, going into exam day.
Wake up on Sunday and just do like a light review that day, like my hard review was Friday night and Saturday. Then I do like a light review, uh, Sunday, just flashcards just my one page notes. And then the, again, finish out with the Superfast notes, like no questions on the day before the test. Then I’d go to sleep early, and then I would wake up, um, early on exam day, I usually scheduled my exams for like 1:00 PM, and so.
Logan: Yeah, cause you had your two hour drive, yeah.
Jordan: Yeah, so I would leave, um, like at nine and I try to get [00:52:00] there in the parking lot, like two hours before the exam so I could flip through my flashcards and like the one pager notes one more time, like right before I walk into the exam center,
Logan: Yeah. And that’s exactly, yeah, that’s, that’s perfect cause you’ve done all the hard work for your studying to get everything in your, like long-term memory, and then you do that cram session and it, then you also have it in your short. It’s just all just right there.
Jordan: Yeah, every single test there was something that I, a question I got, I know I got right, because I had just seen it before I walked in like that. I would’ve absolutely gotten wrong if I didn’t do that, like that last two hour review.
Um, then as soon as they would let you, I would write just like brain dump, like write down a bunch of, um, critical info.
Um, usually things that like I was getting, uh, stuff on during studying. Um, so I would try to like keep those in my short term [00:53:00] memory, write them down like, okay then when you’re, you know, on hour three of the exam and you have an hour left and it’s stressful. You’ve got that right there.
Logan: You just look down. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. Uh, yeah, that’s, that’s perfect honestly. Uh, I think that you’ve had some awesome tips throughout this interview.
Top Tips for People Still Struggling with the CPA Exams
Logan: So, so as we’re wrapping up, you know, I ask this question to everybody. Last question, even if it’s something we’ve already talked about throughout the interview, what would be your top two or three tips to people who are still going through the exams?
Jordan: Um, I would say, I mean, get SuperfastCPA if you haven’t, like the night that I listened to Nate’s, um, ad in full was literally the night, like my whole journey changed. So I would say like definitely buy in and just do what Nate says. Do what Logan says, and like the system works. Um, yeah, I wish I had, like, listened to the ad in full early, uh, earlier than I did.
I would’ve saved myself like three grand, probably wouldn’t have [00:54:00] purchased Becker and would’ve gone a different route from the start. Um, and probably passed my exams like three months earlier and would’ve been done in ’23 instead of ’24.
Logan: Yeah. So that, that you’d say that was your, that’s your biggest tip. Do you have any other things that, like, any other ideas that you’d love to share with any, with everybody?
Jordan: Um, mean, it really does come down to like, trust the process, you know, like the NBA phrase, the Sixers like trust the process, like it’s going to work. Uh, and like, just like go all in, like you can’t halfway do it. Or like fool yourself that you’re kind of doing the right things. Like go all in, actually do like what the process says to do and you will pass.
Logan: Yep. I, I, I’ll add, I’ll add to that, like you can’t pick and choose what to do like, like maybe if you’ve started passing exams and you’ve realized there’s a couple things that you want to tweak, that’s great. But if you’re not passing exams, just do the process [00:55:00] exactly as it’s laid out like, just like you did.
Jordan: Like I would, I’d get to the forums. And like, um, some people on Reddit or whatever and the, and in the Superfast forums, and if people like, weren’t following what you guys said to do, and I’m like, well, there’s your answer. Like, just follow what they’re saying.
Logan: Yep.
Jordan: You can’t say, I bought the program. I’m gonna listen to the notes sometimes. I’m gonna listen, you know, do the MCQs like the week before, like you have to actually do the process the whole time.
Logan: I bought, I bought SuperfastCPA, Why am I not passing? Well, you actually have to use it.
Jordan: You have to use it. Yeah, I saw some, like for all the naysayers out there, like I saw some posts. It’s like, oh man, that didn’t work for me. It’s a scam, blah, blah, blah. I’m like, did they actually do the program or did they like think it was gonna be easy, like this is hard no matter, you know, what program you use, just the Superfast, um, stuff makes it more efficient and more doable.
Logan: Yeah. Yeah, I, I agree with that, obviously. Uh, [00:56:00] so I think that you’ve had some awesome tips. It’s been great talking to you, Jordan, and congrats on being done and being done with the CFP. I mean, that’s awesome.
We’ll definitely share that with other people. Uh, but I hope you have a great rest of your day. Thanks for coming on.
Jordan: Thanks, Logan.
Logan: All right, that was the interview with Jordan. Again, it was a great one. I really liked that he was able to apply the concepts from SuperfastCPA to not only the CPA, but the CFP exam as well. And I will always remember his story of, you know, kinda that divine intervention as he calls it, where he was across the room when that ad popped up and he wasn’t able to skip it.
And it turns out that was exactly what he needed to be able to change his process and pass the CPA exams. So I loved that story and I loved that interview with Jordan. I’m sure you enjoyed it too. I hope that you listened through all of it because again, he had a lot of great tips and a lot of great strategies.
As we’re ending this interview, I want to give one more reminder about our SuperfastCPA training webinar on superfastcpa.com. Again, it’s a one hour webinar that is free where we will teach you the key ingredients to passing [00:57:00] the CPA exam so you don’t waste months or even years of your time failing exams. So make sure you check that out.
Now before you go, make sure to like this video or leave a comment or leave a rating in your favorite podcast app.
Thanks for watching or listening, and we will see you in the next episode.
