[livloon]

Hi all!

Im relatively new to the site and CPA studying in general so bear with me. I’ll be taking FAR on Oct 21st and am super nervous. It took me an entire week to get through F1 (maybe trying to figure out a study method), and F2 is just rough in general. I’m having trouble working at an efficient pace while getting things right. I’m doing grad school and studying at the same time for this exam. Anytime I’m not doing school work, I study constantly at least 5-6 hours a day sometimes 8 hours if I dont have class. It still takes me forever to get through anything and understand my mistakes.

My study process is as follows:

1. Watch lectures/underline (I find the lectures to be helpful as I’m a somewhat auditory learner)
2. Jump into hw and when I get things wrong, I take notes on that section until i get through all of them. Been scoring quite low in the 40-60% range in F2.(I found it took FOREVER to take my own notes and manage to get through the hw and that even if I did take notes, I wouldn’t retain anything unless I was taking those during the hw)
3. Re-read notes, and re-do the homework trying not to look. (taking me forever to get to this point)

The problem I’ve been having with the above is that it takes FOREVER for me to get through the MCQs once, and I feel like I don’t have time to do them again after taking notes. I need to get through 2 chapters a week but am working at a one a week pace at the moment and am worried I wont be ready by Oct 21st (7 weeks from now). My questions are as follows:

1. What study methods have you used to pass FAR?
2. Do you ignore certain areas? Should I skip simulations until review? Should I emphasize just MCQs and progress tests?
3. Was F2 hard for you? Is it one of the harder chapters?
4. What pace did you work at, and how did you accomplish that?
5. Do you think I should change my date to Nov and just do a chapter a week to ensure I will have time to learn and understand everything?
6. Is it normal to do pretty bad on the hw initially?

Sorry for the mismatch of information, but any advice or insight would be appreciated. I am feeling quite discouraged by the length of time its taking me and the fact I am getting things wrong. (in F2 mainly) Thanks again!

[.]

I gave up on writing notes and watching videos in FAR. Takes too much time. The most important thing is reviewing for 2-3 weeks before the exam. I did this by doing all the Ninja MCQs and simulations. I did all the questions at least once, ran out of time…and that was that. This method has worked for FAR and REG so far.

The thing is with the FAR exam….it's not like school exams. You are not aiming for a high grade, you just need to pass. It's scored in such a bizarre manner that I think 75 means 50% correct. I know damn well, I didn't get more than 65% correct on FAR and I got 88.

The score you get on the initial homework questions doesn't matter as long as you feel you understand the topic. What score you get when you do the review is more indicative of the actual score you will get.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Author]

Replies