[alabe]

I took two exams on this last score release, BEC and FAR. I passed BEC with a 79 and completely bombed FAR with a 59. I felt like I had failed BEC and that there was no hope and felt pretty good leaving FAR, so I guess it goes to stand to stand that if you feel like you failed then you passed and if you feel like you passed then you probably failed. I have my REG exam October 24, so I will not be able to pick back up on studying for FAR until then.

I was just wondering what are some study tips and what are the best cram courses that you recommend?

I studied for over 300 hours for this exam using Becker Lectures, Becker Final Review, and NINJA MC. This is why I feel so defeated because I don’t know how much more I can learn or what I even need to learn still. I believe most of the low score came from getting heavily tested on one topic for MC and not heavily studying that topic.

Please provide all insight as possible. I really want to nail this exam the second time and be done with it forever!

[mafalo1989]

Same boat, I failed with a 55. The circumstances suck but I'm glad I'm not the only one in this situation. I've asked for the same thing on FAR, the link to my post is https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/far-retake-very-low-first-score/. I haven't received any responses yet but hopefully someone responds to one of us and we can get some advice.

[Anonymous]

The thing is even if a test focuses on one subject that subject won't get graded more than it's weight. For example if you got a ton of governmental questions each question is not going to count for all that much. Those questions combined are going to be worth the % that's stated it's worth. If you are scoring in the 50's or 60's it means your overall base still needs work. Are you feeling like you are actually comfortable with all the material and retaining it all? Do you take progress tests? How many questions do you think you do during your review? Are you neglecting simulations?

[Scared-cpa]

For my FAR retake, I literally just worked Ninja MCQs for a whole month. Took about 90 hours and I was averaging 70 trending 85ish when I sat and passed with an 82. Ninja does a fabulous job preparing you for FAR. I remember when I left the testing facility thinking that there was no topic or subject I wish I had studied more. And I owe it all to Ninja.

[alabe]

Yes, it definitely makes me feel better knowing that someone else is in the same boat. It was such a low score and I just feel defeated, but I keep telling myself the more I study the more I will know and will hopefully pass this beast of an exam the next go around or even a third go around if I have too.

YEs, I did feel comfortable with all of the information. I mean it was a ton of information and there are going to be parts that you could always study harder or more of, but for the most part I felt like I grasped the concepts. My study method is to watch the lectures, study the module, do the multiple choice, and then the SIMS. Then I go back and review the whole section once I finish each module. I did everything and didn't skip any of the SIMS. I scored around a 75 on all of the progress test and scored a 72 on my final mock exam, which for the Becker mock exams is about average to pass from the research I did. So I don't know if I just need further time to study and grasp concepts or if I just severely mixed some major topics up.

My plan is restudy all of November and sit again before the testing window closes for the 2017 year. I'm just unsure of how to go about restudying and was leaning toward using the Rodger Cram, reviewing my Becker book, practicing MC from both Becker and NINJA, and finally using my Becker flashcards. Just don't know if I need to rewatch the lectures or just review the book and the problems.

Just looking for guidance on a study plan to tackle the exam for a second time.

[mafalo1989]

I did tons and tons of MCQ's, the SIMS killed me. On my exam I had 4 DRS and the remaining SIMS also had a lot of research but just not as much as the DRS. I got through the MCQ's easy enough but out of all the MCQ's I had around 24 that were related to government and NFP topics, 40% of the MCQ section of the exam, both of which were sections I had to rush through to get done with the material on time. I thought 24 MCQ's on a few areas was a little overkill, especially considering that a very small portion of CPA's work in those sectors and the amount of information that they require you to know for the FAR. The FAR has tons and tons of testable topics and focusing in on one of those seems a little unfair and stupid. If I were the AICPA I would be more concerned with whether a candidate has more knowledge of either a broader spectrum of information or either more detailed information on areas that most CPA's find employment in. I also went over and over on things like inventory and all of Becker's “highly tested items”, NONE of them were on the exam. I spent DAYS reviewing inventory alone and all the calculations and JE to go along with them and I did not have a single question on that. The only one of Becker's highly tested items that was actually highly tested on my exam was government and NFP. I left feeling like I wasted so much time studying things that Becker told me to focus on and that I knew would be more important only to get attacked by gov't and NFP questions.

[mafalo1989]

So I'm kind of in the same boat as alabe, I felt comfortable with the information I assumed would be important. It doesn't really matter how the questions are weighted if they make up nearly 40% of the exam. That just sets you up for failure. I did well on mock exams, MCQ's, the Becker TBS and when it came to the exam my sims were much more difficult then Becker and the MCQ's were way too heavy on the gov't and NFP in my opinion.

[Lentilcounter]

I'm in the same boat as you guys. I took FAR at the end of last year when the test was still 60% (MC)/40% (SIMS) and got a 68 using NINJA alone. Took FAR again at the beginning of this year using NINJA alone and got a 62. Then took some time off from studying it and restudied using Becker + NINJA. This time I scored a 64. My process with this latest attempt was to go through all of Becker and do NINJA concurrently on the subjects I was learning in Becker as reinforcement. Once I finished Becker, I then reset NINJA and did the Becker final review. I only did one Becker practice test and got a 67. Again, based on my research, a 67 on a Becker practice test should have been enough to break into the 70s on the real test. Also in my latest attempt, I did work many simulations.

I don't understand how people are passing with 80+ scores in this latest exam format and not doing any practice SIMS. How much time are people allocating to do MC on the test? 1.5 hours? 2 hours?

sigh.

BEC = 72 (6/08/16)
FAR = ?
REG = ?
AUD = ?

[AICPAy2Play]

Get the Ninja Audio for FAR (and AUD if you still have to pass it). My first AUD exam I got a 74 without Ninja audio. I listened to it every day on my way to and from work. Aside from that, I just did the same multiple choice questions (Wiley) that I had done before. Second exam I got a 94. I probably listened to the entire audio 12 times over. So I bought it for FAR. I listened to it a total of 7 or 8 times all the way through and just passed with a 95. It helps….a lot. Also, know Govt and NFP really well.

[ipadminihalf]

When I had my first attempt at FAR last year, I got a 63. I was pretty exhausted as it was my last test, so after my exam, I took a month off of studying. When I picked up again, I started by reading the chapters and taking notes on notecards and then I did the questions. I did this for all chapters and then continued doing questions until the test time. In my second time studying, I studied for about 10 weeks and passed with an 82. Try taking a little break after REG and then pick up on FAR again. You will likely grasp a lot of the concepts better this time.

REG - 2/19/16 - 77!
BEC - 4/16/16 - 79!!
AUD - 6/04/16 - 84!!!
FAR - 8/31/16

[alabe]

I won't have time to take a break because I really do not want to be studying during tax season, as I have accepted a job in public accounting that will start in January. I also think that if I just focus and push through that I will do much better because I probably will never want to study again if I take a break. In the event I don't pass the second time around that I will take a break until after tax season.
I agree I feel like the items Becker says are heavily tested are not even on the exam. After taking BEC and realizing that I barely even focused on it. I took FAR in a 10 week session of studying, which is like 2 sections a week. I literally studied 10+ hours every Saturday and Sunday. I feel like although I was being productive that it was almost over kill and I retained like half the information. I also had an insane amount of government and NFP on my exam. As you had mentioned above at least 40% if not more and my SIMS were insane, so I truly do feel like some of my low score was attributable to the exam I got and the material that was tested on my exam and the remainder attributable to not having enough time to study. I'm hoping that 4 weeks and a cram course will be enough to tie up any lose ends I will be able to get a 75 on the next exam.

I had the audio for BEC and listened to here and there, what I really liked were the notes. They had some tidbits of information that made some points easier to remember. From what I was looking at you can no longer buy them separate though. I already have the MC from NINJA and flashcards from Becker so it seems like a waste of money to buy the package that has the notes in it when I won't use some of the material.

[lilac]

FAR for me in 3 consecutive windows: 52, 64, 75. I got my last score today and I knew it would be close, but I didn't think it would be that close. This was a very difficult exam. I read a post on here where someone said they had figured out the secret to FAR, and that is, to know everything about accounting. It made me chuckle, but there's a little bit of truth in there. Every exam is different, so you have to start from the beginning. If I can do it (I was an ECON major) you can do it. Stick with it. Each time through, I made sure I understood the concepts and that I could work every problem with pen and paper. In the end, I did more than 2,000 MCQs.

[alabe]

I have the confidence that with time and persistence I will be able to pass this exam. Just more curious as to what everyone used to study? I'm just worried a cram course won't be enough studying, but also have no idea where to start in terms of with the Becker lectures. I don't feel like I need to rewatch all the lectures. I feel like I need to tie down some more topics but not to the extent of starting over.

Anyone have any tips, advice, or guidance?

[Author]

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