[Anonymous]

I just came home from FAR for the second time. I felt I knew the material going in. However, by the time I finished the third testlet something switched off and it was like I wasn’t even reading English. My sims were a disaster. It was all stuff I’d gone over and over but I just could not focus on what to even start with in the problems. I felt my deductive reasoning and problem solving skills weren’t there. I ran out of time…again.

Knowing that it’s hard to focus, I made sure I had 8 hours sleep, ate before the exam and forced myself to get up between testlets to at least move around for a minute or two. I can’t begin tell you how many hours I’ve put in for this in addition to working full-time.

It dawned on me as I left that it’s not that I don’t know the material but that something happens after about three hours where I’m not focusing as I should anymore.

Have any of you had this challenge? If so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks in advance for you advice.

[Anonymous]

4 hours is a super long time to have to focus, and unfortunately part of the challenge of passing the exam is dealing with the time constraints and mental exhaustion. I have yet to take REG but out of the 3 I've taken, FAR has been the worst for that.

I took a quick break after Testlet 1, and then a 5-10 minute break before the SIMS. I had gotten a smoothie made with protein powder and fresh fruit to keep in my locker, and I chugged it before going back for the SIMS. I obviously have no idea if that helped, but I did end up passing on the first try.

How long are you allowing for the SIMS? I left 1 1/2 hours, and wish I would have left a little more. I actually guessed on some of the MCQ's that were taking me too long to solve in order to save time for the SIMS.

[abacus]

I struggle with the same thing. Even in college, I had trouble focusing through the 2 hour exams. My main struggle is all the small noises and movements of the other test takers. One thing that helped me is designating some study time in a computer lab without listening to music. I feel like I am always using music to cover up external distractions and need to hone my focusing skills. I would also recommend that you do at least one full practice exam under exam conditions (ie no water or music, no bathroom break except between testlets, etc. (I know Jeff advises against these, but I feel like they are crucial to practicing the focus/stamina aspect of this exam).

Good luck. Hopefully you receive good news when the scores are released!

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[futuremdcpa]

When I took REG, I only had 2 hours of sleep. Not because I was nervous, but because I thought I had my test around 2pm that day, when at around 3-4am, I realized it was at 8am. I was freaking out!!

Right before I went into the exam (with 2 hours of sleep), I crushed a LARGE Redbull. I finished REG in about 1 hr, and 15 or so minutes. Yeah, 1hr15 min. This also included me double checking multiple MCQ's that I was iffy on, as well as the SIM's.

If I was you, I would have put my large redbull in a container with ice packs in it to keep it cold, and take a break halfway through, and crush the redbull, and go right back in, and finish that sucker!

REG: PASS || BEC: PASS || AUD: PASS || F: SCORE PENDING..

[moey]

Hmm. I haven't taken an exam before, but peaked in here for advice. I didn't think about putting snacks & stuff in the locker to re-energize myself. Thank you guys!

FAR - 90
REG - 75
AUD
BEC

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the great ideas and insight. I know that keeping myself energized is pretty important. What I also want to try is focus endurance exercises. I've looked around and saw other ideas similar to what Abacus suggested like ramping up to exam conditions and pushing yourself to focus an extra 15-20 minutes each study session (where you are not at home).

I've got to get past the 3 hour burnout where I feel my focus shuts down. I was able to do three mcq testlets in three hours okay. When the burnout hit me I realized that it has happened before. The material is there in my head but I get to a certain point where I can't pull it out effectively. I'm wondering how many exam takers are out there that equate it to “not knowing the material” when it could be a focus/stamina issue.

I think I have to seriously consider this focus challenge in addition to knowing the material.

Again, I really appreciated the input.

[Anonymous]

Carrie – in my opinion, 1 hour for SIMS is not long enough. They are 40% of your grade so you should aim to allow 40% of your time to them which is 96 minutes.

Another SIM strategy that helped me was to go through and fill in all the drop down boxes first. You have a better chance of getting those right since they give you choices as opposed to having to type in an answer. Then I went through and filled in numbers starting with what was easiest for me and then ending with what was most difficult. I ended up running out of time, but the questions I left blank were ones that I probably would have gotten wrong regardless. Yes, this is a lot of jumping around and may not work for you, but it worked well for me and that's why I wanted to mention it.

There was a thread on here a few months ago with exam tips. One of them said if you're running out of time on the SIMS, go through and put 0's in all the boxes that require numbers. You have a chance of getting at least a point or two if the answer is indeed 0 as opposed to leaving it blank.

[LittleMoe]

I wear soft earplugs when I test. They will let you bring in just the earplugs and it helps to cut out the distractions. I don't even notice most of the time when other people are up and moving around the test center. You might try studying with them and seeing if they are comfortable to you. If they are, definitely use them. Much better than the huge headphones that are at the testing center!!

AUD 4/12/12 79
FAR 5/29/12 76
REG 8/2/12 82
BEC 8/30/12 72 Retake 10/18/12 76!!! DONE!!!!
ExamMatrix, Wiley Books, NINJA notes and audio
LICENSED ALABAMA CPA 11/30/12

[Mahina]

I have the problem of mental exhaustion in tests and the only way I could over come it at test time was taking a break, and a decent sized one mind you. I took about 5 minutes between the second and third testlet and a ten minute on between the third and the sims. In that time, I drank some soda, used the bathroom, and ate some chips.

Basically, it seems like you just need something to take your mind away from the test for a couple of minutes. Not just for stretching and walking but literally not thinking about it. Have a short conversation with the people administering the test if you can.

BEC - 85
FAR - 85
REG - 82
AUD - 68, 88

[Anonymous]

For FAR, I think 1:45 is best for Sims since they get confusing.

[Anonymous]

I really agree that I have to spend more time on the sims in combination with improving my endurance. I finally got to the point studying where I felt the material presented in the mcq for this exam was fair. Now I've got to get to where I can do the mcq proficiently in 2.5 hours as well as building my capacity to focus through the sims.

[Anonymous]

Consider me crazy, but this was my routine before I took AUD this Saturday:

2hrs before check in at prometric, watch a couple Oregon Ducks pump up / motivational videos on youtube. Some of these videos are apparently made by Nike for the team to get fully pumped up before some huge game.

1hr before check, drink 20 gram protein shake and eat a nice deli roast beef sandwich. I was also considering eating some kind of fish.

1/2 hour before check in, walk around prometric center. Also took a vivarin. Tried to get my self psyched to win this mother. Tried visualizing passing the test in total and nailing every single question.

1/4 hour before check in, ran hill repeats up a long stairway near the test center. Hill repeats, or intervals consisting of running the stairs slow a couple times, then progressing faster to wind sprints multiple times, then slow down for a couple cool downs. This got the blood running to my head, woke my ass up and took care of any aggression issues.

1 minute to check in- I was there to fuck AUD and every single one of it's tedious little questions up.

[TaxThreat]

Haha we got a meathead accountant in the house!!! <3 Happy me

REG - 7/2/12 - 88
BEC - 7/25/12 - 83
FAR - 10/01/12 - 86
AUD - 11/24/12 - 90
Ethics -DONE

[Author]

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