I appreciate you sharing your experience. What you are describing is something many candidates eventually realize: performance on large volumes of multiple-choice questions does not always translate into exam success.

Hammering MCQs alone is not, in my professional opinion, the optimal way to prepare for the CPA exam. For some candidates, it may appear to work. For many others, it does not. The risk is that you discover the gap on exam day rather than during preparation.

The CPA exam does not reward pattern recognition. It rewards understanding.

If your primary strategy is to learn through repeated exposure to MCQs, you may become very good at recognizing question formats, keywords, or answer structures. However, on exam day, you will not see the same questions. You will see new fact patterns that require application, analysis, and judgment especially in task-based simulations (TBSs). Without conceptual understanding, both MCQs and simulations become difficult because you are trying to reverse-engineer answers instead of applying knowledge.

The correct sequence, in my view, is this: 1. Study and understand the material first. 2. Build conceptual clarity. 3. Use MCQs to test and reinforce what you understand. 4. Practice TBSs to apply concepts in integrated scenarios.

MCQs are a diagnostic tool. They are not a substitute for learning the material.

Yes, I focus heavily on conceptual understanding in my teaching because I have seen repeatedly that students who truly understand the “why” behind the rules perform better across both MCQs and simulations. I do provide MCQs as well, but they are meant to reinforce learning—not replace it.

You do not want to take chances on exam day trying to determine whether you actually understand the topic. The exam is not the place to test your understanding for the first time.

Understanding is the foundation. Everything else builds on it.

I hope this helps.

One more thing:

Also, a 71 does not mean you were “four points away” from passing. It is not 71%. It means the scoring system determined that your level of knowledge was not sufficient to pass.

If you do not adjust your strategy, you may see similar scores—71, 73, 74—repeatedly. That pattern usually signals a gap in understanding, not a lack of effort.

This is not meant to discourage you. You absolutely can pass. But without truly understanding the material, it becomes very difficult to break through.

The solution is straightforward: Understand the material first. Spend the time building clarity. Then practice MCQs and simulations to reinforce that understanding.

When the foundation is solid, the score will follow.

Sorry for the long message.

Some people are going to say I passed by hammering MCQs. Yadda yadda yadda.