Should you take the CPA exam right after graduation from college? The common wisdom is that the best time to schedule the CPA exam is within a few a months of graduation. The logic is that right after school, you are accustomed to studying and taking tests. In addition, most people believe that work/family life pressures only increase with time meaning that you’ll have less time to study in the future.
First of all, there are no statistics that indicate which CPA candidates are most likely to pass. In other words, the correlation between date of graduation and pass rates has not been confirmed by any studies. We can only rely on anecdotal evidence about when to register for the CPA exam.
Secondly, some people feel overwhelmed when they start a new job. There is often a six week adjustment period where you have to learn even administrative functions like using the company intranet. The learning curve for most jobs especially in the field of finance is steep meaning that the first few weeks are the toughest. During this stressful time, CPA exam registration and studying would be counterproductive.
The other question is whether family pressures increase after graduation making CPA candidates less likely to pass. Perhaps in years past when people had children at a young age, it was better to finish the CPA exam right after college. However, these days people graduate from college at 22 years of age and on average start a family at 29 years of age. There is a seven year window before home life becomes more stressful.
The last issue is whether your studying and test taking abilities erode after college. I would argue that traditional studying tactics that most people use for college exams are not helpful for the CPA exam. For example, everyone I knew in college “crammed” for exams a night or two before a big test. The way that most college students study lacks consistency that is required for the CPA exam. If you try to cram for the CPA exam you will most likely fail. It is a different animal that requires a consistent study schedule due the huge volume of material.
I would be careful with accepting the traditional dogma that one must register for the CPA exam right after college. For many CPA candidates this may be bad advice.
The post When to Register for the CPA Exam appeared first on CPA Sample Questions and Study Materials.
