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Here’s Your Open Thread For the Fourth CPA Exam Score Release of Q1 2020

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

Hello and happy Thursday, everyone! I hope you are safely enjoying your home office or, as is usually my case, a comfy corner of your couch. Scores are out:

Today’s score release means the quarter is almost over except for the last scores trickling out that weren’t received by the AICPA by the March 11 cut-off.

Testing Window: January 1 – March 10 (20Q1)

As we found out yesterday, Prometric is closing testing centers through April 16 — perhaps longer should the situation change between now and then — which could obviously affect any retesting plans should you get bad news today. Once testing centers do reopen, NASBA has stated that face masks and rubber gloves are considered “personal item exemptions” and candidates will be allowed to wear them at the testing center.

On a side note, today happens to be the first day of spring which is a great time to think about decluttering and getting a fresh start. So if you’re one of the unlucky ones with a <75 in your NASBA account today, now is your chance to re-commit. Heck, we’re all stuck inside anyway, might as well fire up those CPA review lectures and throw yourself into studying.

And for those of you who got the coveted “PASSED” news today, congrats! I’d say go celebrate at the bar or something but … yeah don’t do that. Congrats anyway.

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Four Ways to Force Yourself to Study for the CPA Exam

I’ll save you the hoo-rah, I’m pretty sure you don’t need it. It’s March already; if you aren’t studying, you’re working, and if you’re doing both right now I worry about your decision-making capabilities. Oh well.

Masochistic or not, it isn’t always easy to get yourself motivated to study.

You have entire CPA exam strategies laid out on the CPAnet forums here, here, and look, you even have a hoo-rah. Not everyone is an Elijah Watt-Sells so get that out of your head and worry about what works for you.


That strategy – finding a perfect fit for your own needs as a CPA exam candidate – also goes for motivation.

So how do you force yourself to study? Here are a few ideas:

Bribe yourself – Sock away $xxx for a new toy and reward a passing score with whatever your bribe is. If you’re cheap/laid off/sinking $1000s into failed exam fees and broke, it could be a decent dinner or a movie. Define splurge for yourself and make that the carrot you dangle in front of your face to get you to study.

Commiserate – You can find plenty of miserable accountants taking (and not always succeeding at) the CPA exam. You can also find support and encouragement if you’re actually trying to pass, so use resources like CPAnet and Twitter to find other candidates to speak to. If you’re taking a live review, sign up with someone else from your firm and go to class together. It helps to have someone else keeping you in check.

Visualize your goal – This might be the most, um, cheesy of methods but it absolutely works. Write CPA after your name on business cards and put them up where you will see them frequently (but don’t hand them out, that’d be illegal); though this tactic isn’t meant as a substitute for actually preparing (sorry to break it to you), a little positive thinking takes the anxious edge off.

Plan – Sometimes knowing there is a clearly defined schedule takes some of the panic out of the CPA exam, and if you’re disciplined enough, you won’t need motivation. Sure, it’s robotic, but that’s what studying for the CPA exam is. The exam doesn’t ask you to think critically outside of the parameters of financial reporting and accounting, nor do you get bonus points for creativity. So maybe you just need to have a plan, stick to it, suck it up, and move on until you’re done. It’s the most miserable of the options but sometimes all that works.

So? What worked for you?