Core scores (AUD, FAR and REG) are targeted for release tomorrow, November 10, if your exam data reached the AICPA by October 23. If that’s you, this is the night you refresh a portal that hasn’t changed in six hours.
Here’s my advice, from someone who has been on both sides of that email.
Tonight: nothing
Eat dinner. Put the phone down. Go to sleep. The score will post when it posts, and checking at 2 a.m. doesn’t change the number. Whatever it says, you will have a next step.
What a 75 actually means
This one comes up every release. A 75 does not mean you got 75% of the questions right. CPA exam scores run from 0 to 99, they account for question difficulty, and there is no curve. You are measured against a standard, not against the person in the next chair. (The AICPA’s scoring page explains it in detail.)
If you passed
Congratulations. Enjoy it, really. Then look at what’s left and get your next section on the calendar while your study habits are still warm. Momentum is easier to keep than to rebuild.
If you didn’t pass
I failed AUD the first time. I’d taken REG, then BEC, then FAR, and I kept pushing FAR back. That left me five days for AUD. I rebuilt my plan, retook it and passed. It is not the end, and a pass is a pass no matter how many tries it took.
A 34 and a 74 get the same advice from me:
- Tonight, no big decisions.
- Find your weaker areas. Your performance report shows them, if your board provides one. For most people, start where you were weakest, then make sure you still review every area.
- Plan real study hours. Every new attempt resets the hours. But you’re not starting from zero, so put those hours where the exam cost you points.
- Put a retake date on the calendar. A date lights the fire.
Want help with the next step?
Free lessons for every section are on my YouTube channel. If you want a full course, Copernicus CPA Review is where I teach as Lead Instructor. And if you want someone in your corner for a retake, I offer 1:1 tutoring.
Good luck tomorrow. Whatever the number, I’ll help you find the next step.
Nick Palazzolo, CPA
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