Here’s Your CPA Exam Scores Open Thread for the January/February Testing Window

Perhaps Caleb can confirm for us whether or not the exotic Colorado climate is snot-inducing, inquiring minds are dying to know.

We love tales from the CPA exam (if you have one, please let us know), especially ones that make us wonder if Prometric staff are human beings or robots. Once again, we totally get the high security environment but have to question the logic that dictates a drippy nose should be left to annoy the rest of the room instead of providing a candidate with a damn tissue (or a barf bucket). Absent a pen (unless they’ve keistered one, obviously), what exactly could the candidate do with the tissue to compromise the security of the CPA exam? Copy MCQ by swirling around the snot?

Seriously.

I got kicked out of the CPA exam (but let back in) because of the sniffles. I had just moved to Colorado and was having a hard time adjusting to the climate so I had a constantly running nose. When I got to the exam I asked if I could take some Kleenex in with me and they told me no. It was my first part of the exam so I was still feeling out how it all works, etc. I was in my second testlet and occasionally had a sniffle here and there (not hocking a loogie or anything, just a small sniffle). I feel a tap on my shoulder which scares the pants off me since I’m in the zone. I turn around and pull off my headphones and the moderator tells me she’s going to have to ask me to leave the exam (which is all she says). I stare at her dumbfounded and my heart starts racing “but why?? what did I do wrong??!” trying to think if I had taken off my hoodie during the exam (which is a no-no) or something else to get me kicked out of my first exam. She says “I’m going to have to ask you to come blow your nose, we’ve had some complaints”. So I stare at her more. “But I’m in the middle of a testlet, should I wait and come out after the testlet is closed?”… she responds “No, please come with me.” So she escorts me out of the testing room, points at a box of kleenex and demands I blow my nose in front of her and throw it in the trash can. I had flooding memories back to kindergarten….. So I return to my testing room, relieved I was allowed back in, only to wonder to myself “Who the hell would have complained about my sniffles? Were they not wearing their headphones or something?”. So when I got to the typing portion of my test I made sure to bang my keys as loud as I possibly could.

Colorado CPA in Australia.

Fine, it’s a Pandora’s Box… first Prometric starts providing tissues and next thing you know candidates are demanding emergency tampons for unplanned monthly accidents, insulin, and porn to accommodate their masturbation disability. We get it, it’s a slippery slope of accommodation and Prometric shouldn’t be expected to have a solution for every possible scenario but let’s be reasonable here, it’s just a little snot.

Really, Prometric?