In this episode, you’ll hear how Wells was putting in “120%” in the beginning, but it wasn’t paying off, to then making a few small changes to her process that led to her going 4 for 4.
Wells has a lot of great tips to share, including the importance of not putting your life on hold during the CPA exam process, as well as a profound idea about making your own flashcards.
Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 – Introduction
- 01:56 – Free “CPA Study Hacks” Training
- 02:38 – Finding SuperfastCPA on a workout video
- 04:28 – From throwing her textbook to passing
- 04:51 – How Wells started the study process
- 05:56 – First exam result was big surprise
- 06:33 – Moving on to FAR
- 06:49 – Giving 120% but still failing
- 07:15 – “I’m doing everything everyone is telling me to do…?!”
- 07:46 – Masters program with integrated CPA study
- 08:31 – Is it intelligence or your process?
- 09:30 – Review course “progress checkers” aren’t always accurate
- 10:36 – Biggest “aha moments” that turned things around
- 11:33 – Actually studying vs “going through the motions”
- 12:17 – Getting her first passing score
- 12:42 – “I’ll never forget getting that first passing score…”
- 13:22 – Moving onto FAR
- 13:35 – Going 4 for 4 after changing study approach
- 14:08 – Taking and passing REG in less than a month
- 14:23 – BEC retake in 10 days
- 14:44 – Experience of masters students being on same exam timeline
- 17:08 – What did a day of studying look like before & after?
- 18:01 – How Wells got her evenings back so she could hang out with friends
- 18:31 – The power of making your own flashcards
- 18:53 – Detailed explanation of Well’s study process
- 20:19 – Printing out the SFCPA review notes
- 21:04 – Why Wells used the SFCPA quizzes constantly
- 22:26 – “What finally clicked or made the difference in your study process?”
- 22:54 – A key reason going to questions first helps you learn so much faster
- 23:32 – “Think about what the words mean…”
- 25:02 – A CRITICAL point about making your own notes or flashcards
- 26:58 – Test-day strategy for SIMs
- 27:42 – “There are a lot of ways to fail the exams…”
- 28:11 – Timelines to aim for on exam day
- 28:57 – Flagging questions on test day
- 29:26 – Wells 10-day restudy process
- 30:55 – “Never miss a day” BUT still have time for fun
- 31:03 – Do something every day
- 32:00 – How Wells used the SuperfastCPA audio notes
- 32:36 – “It was giving yourself no excuse to fail…”
- 32:56 – The “hardcore” yet “take evenings off” approach
- 33:39 – Find your “outlet” through the study process
- 34:03 – “If I don’t pass these, I’m going to regret throwing my life away”
- 34:14 – You don’t have to put your life on hold to pass the CPA exams…
- 34:31 – Well’s “beer-the-night-before-an-exam” tradition
- 35:36 – Deleting “time wasters” from your phone
- 36:30 – Why Wells deleted all social media during the study process
- 37:24 – “Going through the motions” vs getting “good” at the study process
- 38:43 – The “48-hour cram session”
- 40:40 – Wells unorthodox process of checking her scores
- 41:37 – How Wells celebrated her 4th passing score
- 42:44 – Reflecting on the highs & lows of Well’s CPA journey
- 43:06 – What Wells did instead of full practice exams
- 43:35 – 2 failed scores had Wells re-thinking accounting in general
- 44:43 – “I felt stupid…”
- 45:07 – “The same person, same brain, gets completely different results by just changing their process”
- 45:41 – “The first question you should ask yourself…”
- 46:53 – Well’s top tips for current candidates
- 48:36 – How Wells used the SFCPA for motivation
- 49:13 – The “800 meter” metaphor
- 49:51 – One of Wells’s “Why’s” was to be on the podcast
Episode Resources
Free CPA “Study Hacks Training”: This is the free training mentioned on this episode, where you’ll learn how to use your current review course much more effectively.
Subscribe to the podcast: Never miss an episode and get notified whenever a new episode is published.
More SuperfastCPA Reviews Podcast Episodes
Here are a few other episodes from the podcast to help you in your CPA journey:
- How Lucia Passed While Still “Having a Life”
- How Addison Increased Her CPA Scores from 70s to 80s
- How Ana Crushed Her CPA Exams Studying 2 Hours a Day
- How Joe Cut His Study Time in Half and Passed His CPA Exams