This is the second article of a 3-part series on how I achieved my ultimate goal of becoming a Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines.

This has become a 3-part series because I wanted to emphasize that studying for college and board exams are two different things and as per my experience, it both requires a different mindset.

Part 2: Preparing for the Licensure Exams

I honestly don't know where to begin because after graduation days are passing by so fast yet the hours were excruciating slow during the review. For CPAs, we usually spend 5 months of review and a 3-day exams with 2 subjects each day.

1. Set an expectation for yourself

This is one of the most important part before starting the review for the board exams. I always tell myself that no matter what happens on the day of the board exam "manghuhula ka pa din" (you'll still have to guess some questions) because honestly you really can't know everything. And believe me, I tried my hardest to do it but in the end, still circled back to it.

So before starting your review talk to yourself and ask yourself this question:

• What's the subject that you always avoid because it's the most difficult thing in the world?

• What's the subject that even with eyes closed, you can answer everything?

• Are your basic foundations for the subjects generally okay or does it needs an overall improvement?

You need to be able to assess yourself honestly, admit if you have difficulties, and accept if you can ace a subject, through that you can be able to set an expectation for yourself during the review. It helps if you can't easily keep up with your friends or classmate during review or even when with the results of pre-boards, it makes it easier for you to cope up because you recognize that you have difficulties with a certain subject. You know where to focus on and you can build a schedule or a learning plan around it. This way you became proactive instead of worrying if you will fail a subject because it's so damn hard, you admit that you're not good with it, move forward, and improve.

This can also make it easier for you to know the level of focus that you have to give for the review. Like, if you'll have a job, a relationship, rent a dorm, hang out with friends, and many more. You have to set this at the beginning of the review so that it will be easier for you to stay focused on your schedule or plan.

2. Set an expectation for your parents, friends and family.

Most people forget this part, some create an expectation for themselves but rarely do I see people creating expectations for their family and friends, especially parents. If you were to review full time and don't have a job, your parents can expect from you since they will still be providing everything for your review. And we already heard how thousands of people didn't pass the licensure exams due to the heavy pressure, mostly imposed by their parents. It would be a great help for your mental health to just say to your parents that you will try your best but don't expect much because we all know most of the time, the expectations don't help.

We should not forget that during review most likely your routines will change and you need to set an expectation for that too. Some examples of it are:

• You might end up staying later or waking up earlier

• You might not get out of your room or the place you study at for long periods of hours and just leave your study desk for food and bathroom breaks

• You might end up eating more because as my sister said, the more you think, the more it makes you hungry

• You might deactivate your social media sites so you can focus more, so your friends can't easily contact you

• You might end up missing hangout with friends or your significant others

• You might miss family occasions

• You might be more emotional

• You might need a quiet environment

• You might end up staying later or waking up earlier

• You might not get out of your room or the place you study at for long periods of hours and just leave your study desk for food and bathroom breaks

• You might end up eating more because as my sister said, the more you think, the more it makes you hungry

• You might deactivate your social media sites so you can focus more, so your friends can't easily contact you

• You might end up missing hang out with friends or your significant others

• You might miss family occasions

• You might be more emotional

• You might need a quiet environment

I'm not saying that you'll do all of these, again it boils down to the expectation that you will set for yourself but after creating an expectation for yourself, you should tell them to the people close to you because, at the end of the day, you're all aiming for you to pass the exams and honestly, they'll do their best to support you for it. Then, let them negotiate and compromise for the expectations you set out for them, some might be a bit harsh and in other areas, they can give out more. Communicating with everyone will help you massively during the review. Trust me.

3. Choose your study plan

After creating an expectation for yourself and everyone else, you have to create a study plan or a goal. I can't speak for everyone but for me, I poured my heart out during the 5 months review for the CPA Licensure Exam, so some of you might think that it's a bit extreme. Again, I did aim to top the board exam and it's an expectation I set out for myself.

My study habit back then was to wake up at 6 AM, eat, take a shower and check out Twitter and Messenger up until 7 AM. At 7 AM, I turn on a focus app, which prevents me from opening other apps on my phone for a designated time, I use tide and forest and proceed to study the designated subject for the day.

I stop at 12 nn to eat and while eating, I watch Youtube videos, mainly Bretman Rock's or Mimiyuh's, on random days I put on some Ted Talks too. After that, I usually take a nap for 30 minutes, and when I wake up around 1 pm or 1:30 pm because I always believe that studying after waking up is one of the best times for me plus I feel like my brain is going through a reboot while I sleep.

I change into a different subject. I usually have nuts beside me, I like to take down notes and I have my highlight system. I take another rest at 5:00 pm because my other sisters are coming home from their schools and usually they're quite noisy, and I can't study with much noise. I just rest and wait it out for dinner, I usually take a shower again and eat dinner, then I resume around 8 pm up until 10 pm or 11 pm, it depends if I need to catch up on a subject. Then I repeat that routine all over again up until the board exams came.

I enrolled in a review school and proceeded with the weekend schedule because I like it better when I have more control over my schedule. I rarely hang out with friends and to be honest, my rest days were the time when I went to review classes because I get to see my friends and we usually eat out. I have missed dozens of family occasions because my review school was on weekend and it's hard to miss out on a schedule. I never deactivated any social media but I deleted all my apps and access everything through the browser.

Making your study plan will take some time, most of the structure of it came from the way I studied in college but to be honest, the way I studied during the review was way more intense and more mature than I did in college.

Licensure exams will require a lot of sacrifices, not just from you but for a lot of people. It's a dreadful ride and I wish people didn't have to go through it. But after the board exams, you will realize how much it made you grow as an individual.

Again, I hope you got something from this.
See you around!

Check my college journey here: https://read.cash/@deedum/my-college-journey-e5a201ba

Check out the first part (surviving college) here: https://read.cash/@deedum/how-i-studied-to-become-a-magna-cum-laude-5fbf84e1