5th time's the charm: This CPA Board Exam passer kept going until she reached her dream
When the October 2025 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Exam Results came out, Marjorie Tolentino Magpayo—one of the 3,460 passers—sparked a special kind of hope because this wasn’t her first time taking the exam, or her second, but her fifth.
In an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Magpayo shared that she first took the CPALE in October 2013, tried again in 2014 or 2015, and made her third attempt in October 2016. She took an eight-year break, almost passed her fourth attempt in May 2025 as a conditional passer, and finally did it just this past October.
She faced her final exam with a mix of fear, hope, and surrender.
"Honestly, all I could think about was, 'Please, Lord, let this be my last.' I just wanted to give everything I had left," Magpayo recalled. "I didn't want to think about past attempts anymore; I just focused on the present, one question at a time. I knew I had done everything I could, and all I wanted was to end the long journey on a victorious note."
Retaking the CPALE after multiple times was both humbling and terrifying, according to Magpayo.
"There were countless moments when I thought of giving up, convincing myself that maybe it just wasn't for me. But every time I prayed, God reminded me why I started," said Magpayo.
"What also kept me going was the love and support of my family, my boyfriend, and a few friends who never stopped believing in me even when I doubted myself," she continued.
Taking the exam anew isn't just a matter of waiting six months for the next one.
After failing the exam the first time, a CPA hopeful can take it again without the need to fulfill extra requirements. But the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, which administers the twice-a-year exam, requires takers who fail on their second attempt to complete a refresher course of at least 24 units covering the subjects tackled in the exam.
Before they can retake the exam a third, fourth, or fifth time, they have to submit to the Board evidence that they enrolled and completed the refresher course.
There is no limit to the number of times the exam can be taken.
God's timing
For her final hurdle, Magpayo adjusted not just her study habits but also her mindset and faith.
"This last take, the fifth one, felt different. I no longer studied just to pass; I studied to honor my journey, to prove to myself that perseverance and faith can turn failure into testimony," Magpayo said.
Manifesting success, she had planned to record herself looking for her name when the results came out.
"But when I suddenly saw a message in one of my group chats that the results were out, nataranta ako. My heart started pounding so fast, and my hands were shaking as I searched for my name," Magpayo recalled.
As she zeroed in on her name, "I froze for a second, and then I just screamed. I rushed outside my room shouting, 'Ma! Pa!' They panicked and asked, 'Ano'ng nangyari?' And through tears, I said, 'CPA na po ako!'"
She and her parents broke down crying while hugging each other.
Although it wasn't the "Instagrammable" moment Magpayo had originally planned, she said her family's genuine, unfiltered reaction would "forever be one of the best memories of my life."
Knowing everything that she went through to get to that moment, Magpayo said had she failed a fifth time, she still would have kept going.
"Knowing myself, I think I still would've tried again; maybe not immediately, but someday... I couldn't imagine giving up completely after coming this far and investing 12 years of my life in this dream," Magpayo told L!fe. "Deep in my heart, I wouldn't [have stopped] until I finally saw those three letters—CPA—beside my name."
"Looking back, I understand that it was never about how long it took or how many times I failed. It was about how much I grew, how deeply I trusted, and how faithfully I waited. God's timing was, and always will be, perfect," Magpayo added.
