[Masso]

Hello – I failed BEC with a 70. Since I will need to wait until January for a retake, I was wondering if I can start studying for FAR along with BEC. Thanks

[Rocky123]

Is this your first exam? I would focus on BEC only right now. FAR is a beast and very time consuming. I would reschedule BEC for very early January and then start on FAR.

Just my $.02.

The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

AUD-PASS
BEC-PASS
REG-PASS
FAR-PASS

Rocky123, CPA

[Anonymous]

Did you already schedule FAR?

[Masso]

Yes, it was my first test.

No I did not even apply for FAR yet. Since I will have almost 8 weeks to prepare for the BEC retake, I thought that I can add FAR to my study

[Anonymous]

What about just going through the lectures (without taking notes) and homework for FAR (maybe 2 weeks?) and then studying BEC for 6? Then after you take that exam, try studying for FAR in more depth, taking detailed notes and redoing the homework?

My hope is that re-studying FAR will be easier if you went through the material once.

[Anonymous]

What about just going through the lectures (without taking notes) and homework for FAR (maybe 2 weeks?) and then studying BEC for 6? Then after you take that exam, try studying for FAR in more depth, taking detailed notes and redoing the homework?

My hope is that re-studying FAR will be easier if you went through the material once.

[Anonymous]

What about just going through the lectures (without taking notes) and homework for FAR (maybe 2 weeks?) and then studying BEC for 6? Then after you take that exam, try studying for FAR in more depth, taking detailed notes and redoing the homework?

My hope is that re-studying FAR will be easier if you went through the material once.

[Masso]

Thanks for the input Akvod – will look into that option

[Mamabear]

I would suggest just holding off on FAR. It is not a test that you want to split focus on. Take BEC at the beginning of January. You have 6 weeks to study for the retake. Treat it like it's the first time and don't take short cuts (except I probably wouldn't rewatch any lectures for a retake). You know you are going to lose some study time because of the holidays so do what you can and get it done early January. Then you could take FAR/REG/AUD at the end of February and knock out two in that window.

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Masso]

@ Mamabear, thanks.

For those of you who took a retake, how did you prepare for it? How did you keep focus like it was your first time taking the exam? When I get home after work I am sooo drained, with the house chores and a toddler

[Mamabear]

Let the house chores go. Do the essentials–clean clothes, cook food, wash dishes…but try to make it easy on yourself. On your allotted study days throw in a pizza and eat out of paper plates. I work full time and have 3 kids (1,3, and 5) and I have help from my parents and my husband, but I'm still the mom and still have responsibilities that they cannot help with when it comes to the kids and our house. I studied for my AUD retake as if I was taking it for the first time (except I didn't watch lectures). I read the entire book, took notes, listened to Ninja Audio as much as possible, went through the Ninja Flashcards often, went through the test bank as much as possible, and I rewrote my notes once before the exam. The Ninja Notes/Flashcards/Audio was awesome and I attribute my 20 point jump to those things more than anything else. I remember answering some questions because I could recall Jeff saying the answer in the audio. You can do this! Try to study at lunch each day. I would take 15 minute breaks some days and just sit in my car and listen to audio.

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[Masso]

Thanks a lot Mamabear, I appreciate it.

[jasbeerch]

@ Mamabear

My re-take for FAR is on 24th Nov. what would you suggest?

I am planning to go through wiley text book and do MCQ's from NINJA.

Will it be sufficient ?

Please give me your suggestion?

[Mamabear]

Going through the book and working the Ninja MCQ should be sufficient. Go through ALL of the MCQ and ALL of the SIMS. Know gov't and NFP and bonds/lease amortization tables/JEs very well. I had approx 100 pages of notes for FAR. I read through them several times and worked as many MCQ/SIMS as possible. I didn't watch any lectures and I only read half of the book. In a week or two you should start hitting your problem areas hardcore and just review your stronger areas up until the test. Make sure you do review quiz sets of all topics as in the few days before the test. For FAR I did one topic at a time and would work all the MCQ for that topic before moving on. Then I went back and did random sets of prior topics to keep it fresh. With only 20 days you probably already know which areas you need to focus on. Don't make the same mistake I did with REG. Focus on your WEAK areas, not your stronger ones just because it builds confidence. Good luck!

CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
BEC (08/10/13) 80
AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
FAR (04/12/14) 81
REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

[jasbeerch]

@ Mamabear

Thanks for the suggestions.

I appreciate your help !!

[Author]

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