[krokofilen]

So I did AUD a few weeks ago and found it very reasonable, perhaps becouse I have many years of experience as an auditor (all though not US GAAS).

I thought this would help me out also for FAR, but have now read 3 chapters in Becker, and spent 2 days on MCQs on those chapters. It turned out I am scoring around 65% on the Becker MCQs, which is a huge disappointment. It was up around 80% my first time on the AUD MCQs.

Did anyone else experience this? (FAR MCQs being much more difficult than AUD)
Should I be worried?

It seems like the once I fail are either calculation misstakes from my side, or really odd topics that have either not been covered in the Becker book, or covered but in a sort of different context i.e. the MCQ is much more difficult than the examples in the book.

 

 

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[JamesBJames]

FAR is tough. F2 also has a reputation of being insanely hard.

65% your first time through isn't bad at all, honestly. Just learn from your mistakes and figure out why you're missing what you're missing.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[kpb]

Wait until you get to BEC! the calculation questions are sooooooo lenghty and some of the answers are not very user friendly at all. Studied nearly 300 hours for BEC. Studied also nearly 300 hours for AUD however my sims were tested on some FAR things that I had not practiced for especially because I was so short on time :/ came so close.

FAR questions are hard too, and yes F2 is no fun. 65% is actually good, I was scoring 50-60% ish on my first try, now i'm about 10-20% on my second try. It makes a little more sense the 2nd time around. I'm already over 300 hours of studying for FAR.

BEC - 81 4/08/14
FAR - 80 8/25/14 Thank you Jesus!
REG - 69 (Nov 14),80 1/08/15 Thank God!
AUD - 70 (May 14), xx 5/1/15

Becker Online & Becker Flashcards
I definitely wish I was one of those people who got all 4 exams done in 4 months, but unfortunately LIFE (being a newlywed, stress, adjusting to newlywed life and cpa exam study life, as well as starting a job with a Big4 which I am very happy about) got in the way, just happy that I am passing period!!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

[kpb]

even though the becker questions are long and hard, they are great practice for the exam. IDK about FAR but for BEC I found the actual exam questions to be easier. For AUD it was a mix or long and shorter questions.

BEC - 81 4/08/14
FAR - 80 8/25/14 Thank you Jesus!
REG - 69 (Nov 14),80 1/08/15 Thank God!
AUD - 70 (May 14), xx 5/1/15

Becker Online & Becker Flashcards
I definitely wish I was one of those people who got all 4 exams done in 4 months, but unfortunately LIFE (being a newlywed, stress, adjusting to newlywed life and cpa exam study life, as well as starting a job with a Big4 which I am very happy about) got in the way, just happy that I am passing period!!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

[krokofilen]

JamesBJames – yeah, that's what I try to do. I am perfectly fine with the answers once I read them, it all makes sense.

kpb – 300+ hours for FAR, I won't get further than 230 as my exam is Aug 13. So a second round won't work for me – will probably have time to do the once I failed a second time, but for sure not all Becker MCQs (or all NINJA MCQs).

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Anonymous]

Krokofilen, I'm in the same boat. I'm averaging about a 70ish % on each MCQ section of Becker's FAR right now. Some of the questions just aren't very intuitive at all and I spend just as much time trying to figure out what is actually being asked for as actually working calculations.

With that being said, I am learning a lot from my mistakes and it's a review that I'm sorely in need of.

[krokofilen]

Angelwatch – what Becker lesson are you on? I am on F4. F2 was my worse, but did pretty good in F3. I understand all the concepts but mess up the calculations due to the, to me, odd way of formulating the questions. Do you feel like you are learning from reading the Becker chapters, from the Becker lessons, or from the MCQs? I currently feel like the MCQs help quite a bit, however still reading the chapters. Completely leaving the lessons out, don't have time and don't think it would help me all that much.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[pia ach]

I got the becker mcq's 2013 pdf version from a friend who cleared her cpa… i have used the wiley test bank till now for all my previous exams. Becker ones are really wordy in comparison to the wiley…also the pdf i got, does not have the chapter wise break up , so its really time consuming and hard to find the relevant questions to the topics i am doing…

Finally done!!! Experience-pending. Ethics- Pending.
Reg 78 / 73/82.
Aud 74/89.
BEC 72 /78.
FAR 74/ 73/ 82.

[lauren725]

Try not to kill yourself ont the becker mcq's. I was in your shoes, stressing and thought there was no way I could pass (because I was so overwhelmed by the becker questions – probably got through 70% of them when it was all said and done). I ended up printing out a lot of questions from my problem areas and reviewing them as much as I could, because there really was not enough time. I ended up purchasing ninja mcq's a few days before my test mainly to see a new format of questions because I was sick of the long, drawn out becker ones. I did not utilize it as much as I would have wanted to but it was nice to see a change.

Try to grasp as much as you can from the becker questions, but know it is possible to pass without getting through all of them. I am currently going through this with chapter 2 in BEC and I am hoping it is the same type of situation. It has been pretty brutal for me.

Good luck ya'll, FAR is a beast but keep at it and you will pass!

AUD - 73,91
FAR - 79 - Thank you God!
BEC - 73,79!!!!
REG - 92 whatttt??!

I used Becker review + flashcards, Ninja Audio, Ninja MCQ supplement on BEC and REG.

Done! Praise God!

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat. I have to read the question 2-3 times just to figure out what there asking! It's definitely really discouraging seeing how low my mcq grade is. Also every chapter is like a completely different topic so there just so much to learn. I sit here and think is it even humanly possible to learn everything!!!? But people have passed this exam so I know it's possible. I'm using becker to and I try not to get disappointed if I get a question wrong or if it takes me 5 minutes to answer it. And I always make sure I learn WHY I got it wrong and take notes. So if something similiar comes up on the exam you won't make the same mistake. Also if you get a question right make sure you know why you got it right. Not just because you happened to pick the right answer. Another thing is look at your notes/chapter to help you solve the MCQ. There is nothing wrong with looking in the book and trying to get to the answer. That's part of learning! I also write down the mcq and answer and make my own notes. I highlight, draw arrows, use differently color pens. It makes things easier to visualize then staring at my notes all in one color ink. It's the little things 🙂

[GTAccountant]

Like everyone else, I feel like I will never pass the exam. I just started studying (using Becker) and it's so overwhelming.

Great to read encouraging posts here, though!

[Anonymous]

@CPA8488 Becker FAR F2 got me so discouraged when I did MCQs (getting 40 – 60% correct first time around) that I actually start to wonder am I really cut out for this exam. I ended up giving up for a few weeks and didn't even want to touch the materials because every single time I start out doing the MCQs I spend at least 4 to 6 minutes just trying to understand what it's asking. The first section of MCQ with over 100 questions just did me in. I thought to myself if this is what FAR exam will be like they might as well just give me a failing grade before I even start on the exam, at least that'll save me 4 hours of my life. Finally pushed myself to start it up again and got through the 100 questions in 12 hours (took me 3 days at 4 hour increment because of work).

[Excel14]

@CPAorNot:

Reading your post, sounds like I could have written it. Please know, there are other people (i.e. me) who are right there with you! I guess we just have to “press on”!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

I just finished F6 (and am scheduled to take FAR on Aug 30).

It's just so discouraging seeing me miss every other question. I'm learning areas that I need to study more in depth but it's just so overwhelming. Especially when it seems EVERY area is one that I need to study more in depth… I know the two aren't comparable, but during my Masters program, I got straight A's in all of my Accounting classes so that's part of why I feel so discouraged.

[Anonymous]

Here is some support for anybody that's doubting themselves for FAR. I am currently studying for it as well and it can be very overwhelming so it really helps to look back at others who are in the same boat. Please comment if you have any support to give or can relate at all!

[Anonymous]

Because I didnt have money I used Wiley CPAexcel books, Becker 2014 PDF questions, and Ninja MCQs. Have to say that this is the only section where I thought Becker did a good job in.

65% is not bad at all for your first sit through.

[Author]

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