[mikeymike92]

Hi another71 community,

I am a new member and it seems like you guys have a lot of constant activity on this forum. I am in the process of signing up to take my first test and wanted to know what part I should focus on initially. I have heard to take FAR first and save the easiest for last. However, this past week I have been studying for FAR (Becker) and no real progress. It is just a bunch of chaotic info loll. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Mamabear]

bcarmi–I thought the same thing until I got to the last one and am so burnt out that I can hardly concentrate on the material. I had high hopes that with 3/4 knocked out studying for this last one would be a piece of cake. I was wrong and I've had a hard time getting into it, but I'm sure the motivation will come back closer to the exam time. Or I should say “I hope” the motivation will come back.

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!!

[CPAfit]

@mamabear I know the motivation will be back. I know you will end this in july. It's people like you who keep me motivated, even though I have been lacking myself for the last two weeks but I am trying my best to dive back in and slay FAR. I just wish my mind goes back to the state it was in when I first started this journey. I was at it like an addict but now it's 4 hours of unproductive notes/outline skimming and avoiding of long mcqs at all cost. I want to study hard but my mind won't let me 🙁

[Mamabear]

Thanks Zubairs! I know exactly how you feel. You've got this. Did you get your score report? What were your weak spots?

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!!

[CPAfit]

@mamabear the million dollar question. I got weak on everything except NFP 🙁 I didn't think i performed this bad on the exam but I guess the AICPA knows better. Anyway I am doing as much MCQs as I can which is 0 for the past couple of days. I am looking forward to get something done tonight though. Let's see how it goes.

[Kimboroni]

I'm glad that I took FAR early, since no way do I want to study for that again. But if I knew what I know now, I would have started with FAR. Then AUD, since you need to have the good journal entry groundwork that FAR gives you. Then REG and then BEC. Ditto what Mamabear said for many of the reasons.

You are very early in the studying process, so you can't judge how it will feel by the first week or even the first few weeks. Keep going, and hopefully it will click at some point once you've covered a lot more of the material. Start looking for the bigger patterns and why you do things certain ways.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Take your strongest subject area first!!!

If you maintain the proper motivation and take two exams per window, then the 18 months really shouldn't come into play unless you fail multiple exam attempts.

Your study habits will improve each time. I took BEC first since I have a finance degree and I am a CMA. My study habits were iffy, my materials were poor, and I didn't know about another71 yet, and I still scored my highest of the four.

BEC can be tackled in <80 hours, AUD < 100, REG 100+, and FAR around 150 hours, so plan accordingly.

[Anonymous]

My signature is a testament to the fact that I wish I had taken FAR first…it was the only one I had to take more than once.

In retrospect I would've taken them in this order: FAR, AUD, REG, BEC

The reason that I took AUD first was because that was the last undergraduate class I had taken not 4 months prior to sitting for the exam, and because I did really well in the class I felt confident I would pass. The only valid reason to NOT take FAR first IMO is if you are the type of person where

confidence boost from an easy pass > getting FAR done right away…and I thought I was that type of person…until I realized how difficult FAR was.

[StephAV]

I totally agree on the start with FAR advice. I first sat for the exam in 2005 and took BEC first…. 8 years later for my 2nd attempt I decided to start with FAR. I started studying in may 2013, it took me 3 attempts to pass and I finally passed in February 2014 , 3weeks after passing BEC. I am really happy with how that turned out. I have almost the full 18 months to pass the last 2. The rest of my strategy was to do a hard one then an easier. I originally was hoping to get all 4 passed in 2 testing windows.

FAR - 7/13 - 72, 11/13- 74, 2/14- 82!!! Best score ever (for me)!!!
BEC - 1/14 - 75!!! Perfect score! First Pass! YAY!!!
AUD - 8/14 - 80!!!
REG - 5/14 - 72, 10/14 - 66, 1/15 - 78 - DONE FOREVER!!!
I did 5 of the UNA and CPAExcel classes to earn units.

[Anonymous]

I think the best strategy is to take the two hardest sections first, probably FAR and REG, on the last days of the window and retake sections as needed while the material is fresh.

For example, take FAR on FEB 28th, then study for BEC until you get your score. If you failed FAR do a review while material is fresh and re take April 1. If you passed, take BEC in April. Or, take REG May 31, study for Audit until you get your score, if you passed take Audit, if you failed retake REG on the first day of the next window.

I think this is the most time efficient strategy.

[nicole2035]

i'd try FAR first but after that tbh I wouldn't bother with FAR again until you come back around to it after testing on AUD, BEC, and REG. I think a lot of people re-fail the same section over and over again because they can't truly start back over re-learning and seeing what they got wrong.

[SlickRick]

Take whatever test you feel most confident in passing first. If you can pass your first one it will greatly increase your motivation and confidence. Save BEC for last. I did REG last, awful.

AUD- 86
FAR- 79
BEC- 83
REG- 87

[QuesoDip]

I took REG first and then FAR, doing AUD now. I wanted to knock out REG since I felt that taxes and business law were my weaker areas. It was a personal choice but I would not recommend it to anyone else unless they have an extreme fear of REG like I did. I wouldn't have been able to focus without REG being done. It would have always been in the back of my mind.

In retrospect, the order which makes most sense to me and would reduce the aggregate study hours between the 4 exams would be FAR, AUD, REG, and BEC. Studying for AUD has been a cakewalk and I feel very confident with the material. Having FAR relatively fresh in my mind is a huge help and I'm getting questions correct that are a direct result of my FAR knowledge.

REG - 88 - 8 Weeks (Becker, Ninja Audio/Flashcards, Wiley TB)
FAR - 87 - 10 Weeks (Becker, Ninja Audio)
AUD - 98 - 6 Weeks (Becker, Ninja Audio, Ninja MCQ)
BEC - 87 - 2 Weeks (Becker & Ninja Audio)

[Author]

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