Study Strategies6 min read

Study Strategies That Actually Work, According to Professionals Who Passed

Four professionals who passed difficult certification exams share the specific techniques that got them through

Treating wrong answers as debugging opportunities builds retention faster than reviewing material you already know

Verbal rehearsal and explaining concepts out loud exposes gaps that silent reading misses

Targeted memorization of specific thresholds and rules outperforms blanket memorization of entire chapters

Active recall through practice questions beats passive review of notes and lectures across every field tested

We asked professionals who passed high-stakes exams to share the one study habit that made the biggest difference. Their answers converged on a common theme: stop re-reading your notes and start doing something that feels harder.

Last updated: March 12, 2026

Featured Experts

Abhishek Pareek

Founder & Director, Coders.dev

Rebecca Rushton

Podiatrist & Founder, Blister Prevention

Thomas W. Carey

Senior Partner, Carey Leisure & Neal

Herman Martinez

Founder, The Martinez Law Firm

Beyond Flashcards and Highlighting

If you have studied for the CPA exam the same way you studied in college, you are probably making the same mistakes that most candidates make. AICPA data puts the cumulative pass rate around 48% for AUD and closer to 42% for FAR, which means more candidates fail than pass on their first attempt at the two hardest sections. A lot of candidates respond to that by studying more hours, but the professionals we talked to across four different fields said the answer is almost never more volume and almost always a better method. We asked them what actually worked when they were preparing for their own professional certifications, and their strategies had more in common than you would expect.

Treat Mistakes Like Debugging

Abhishek Pareek, founder and director of Coders.dev, described his study process as "debugging" rather than reviewing. When Pareek got a practice question wrong, he did not just read the correct answer and move on. He spent 30 minutes building what he calls a "logical model" of why his reasoning failed, tracing the error back to the specific concept he misunderstood or the assumption he made without realizing it. Rebecca Rushton, a podiatrist and founder of Blister Prevention, came at the same idea from a completely different field, but her method was almost identical in principle. Rushton closes the book after reading a section and forces herself to recall everything she just learned before moving on, and she says the discomfort of not remembering is the point. Both are describing active recall, which is one of the most well-supported study techniques in cognitive science and one that a lot of CPA candidates skip in favor of passive re-reading.

Say It Out Loud

Every lawyer reads case law. Thomas Carey, senior partner at Carey Leisure & Neal with over 40 years of trial experience, took it further. That discomfort, the awkwardness of hearing your own voice stumble through an argument in an empty room, is what made the preparation stick.

“I would argue motions out loud to myself, alone, long before I ever stood up in court. The physical act of speaking the argument made me find the weak spots I couldn't see on paper.”
Thomas W. Carey, Senior Partner at Carey Leisure & Neal

Memorize the Details That Matter

Herman Martinez built his personal injury practice at The Martinez Law Firm on a reputation for knowing NHTSA regulations better than the expert witnesses on the other side of the table. Martinez memorized tolerances down to the half-inch because he knew that opposing counsel would try to discredit his arguments on technical specifics, and being wrong by even a small margin in deposition could cost his client the case. He called the process building "muscle memory" for details that most attorneys would look up, and he said the confidence that came from knowing the numbers cold changed how he performed under pressure. That same principle applies directly to CPA exam preparation, where candidates need to recall specific tax thresholds, filing deadlines, and percentage cutoffs without hesitation during a four-hour timed section. The difference between looking something up during practice and knowing it cold on exam day is often the difference between passing and failing.

Building Your Own Strategy

The pattern across all four of these professionals is that none of them relied on passive review. They did not re-read notes, highlight textbooks, or watch lecture videos on repeat, and they forced themselves into active, uncomfortable practice that mimicked the conditions they would face on the actual test or in the actual courtroom. If you are building a study plan for the CPA exam, I would start by asking whether your current method requires you to produce answers from memory or just recognize them on a page, because that distinction is where most study plans fall short. The candidates who pass at the highest rates tend to use review courses that emphasize timed practice simulations and adaptive question banks over video lectures and reading materials. Take the LIFTS Assessment to find the review course that matches how you actually learn, and look at providers with strong practice question banks that force active recall rather than passive review.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Active recall, which means testing yourself on material before you feel ready, is consistently the most effective strategy. This includes doing practice MCQs, explaining concepts from memory, and working through task-based simulations. Research on retrieval practice supports this across professional exam contexts.

The professionals we surveyed all used some form of active output rather than passive review. Techniques included building logical models from memory, verbal rehearsal of procedures, targeted memorization of specific thresholds, and self-testing with case scenarios.

Yes. Multiple studies on retrieval practice show that testing yourself on material produces stronger long-term retention than re-reading or highlighting. The CPA exam tests application, not recognition, so active recall more closely mirrors what the exam requires.

For the CPA exam specifically, most candidates need 400-600 total hours across all four sections, or roughly 100-150 hours per section. The key is how you use those hours. Active practice and targeted review are more effective per hour than passive study.