[Anonymous]

A month ago, I bought the Gleim software to practice for FAR, which I’m taking April 2nd. I studied the Wiley book like crazy and watched the Yaeger lectures and took lots of notes. I’m reviewing and studying like mad. I’m now taking a lot of practice questions on the Gleim software and I find them rather difficult. I started off getting around 60%, but lately I’ve been getting around 70-73%. I’m fighting to get to that 75 mark, but still, I would love to aim for a 90 or better on the actual CPA exam, not for bragging rights, but to ensure myself that I’ll pass. I’ve already failed enough times and I promised myself that I’m going to pass once and for all this year. So, I’m studying like there is no tomorrow and still can’t hit in the 80s or 90s on the Gleim questions.

So, my question is….what is considered a good score on the Gleim software? IMHO, these look like they’re much harder than the actual CPA exam because I don’t recall the CPA questions being this insane.

So, for those who used Gleim and passed FAR, how well were you doing on the Gleim questions and what did you get on the actual CPA exam?

 

 

[smrichard]

I used Gleim study questions and I think I was consistently in the low 70's for my score. I passed FAR with an 82. I think the Gleim questions are harder than the actual exam but that's probably a good thing! It's better than the opposite! GOOD LUCK!!!

FAR 82
AUD 81 (2007), 73, 80
REG 68 (2010), 76
BEC 58 (2007), 75 DONE!!!!

[tulip]

I had the same experience – low 70s on the practice – 82 on the exam.

BEC - 10/18/2010 - 79
FAR - 10/28/2010 - 82
AUD - 11/04/2010 - 73; 02/18/2011 - 86 - IT'S OVER!!!!!!
REG - 11/21/2010 - 83

[smrichard]

Tulip you amaze me – nice scores all in one window!

FAR 82
AUD 81 (2007), 73, 80
REG 68 (2010), 76
BEC 58 (2007), 75 DONE!!!!

[tulip]

smrichard – thanks! I admit, though, that I had to quit my job to do it. Working 60+ hours per week and being tethered to my blackberry was not getting me closer to a CPA.

BEC - 10/18/2010 - 79
FAR - 10/28/2010 - 82
AUD - 11/04/2010 - 73; 02/18/2011 - 86 - IT'S OVER!!!!!!
REG - 11/21/2010 - 83

[Anonymous]

Thanks. The highest I was able to get so far was a 76 and I only was able to get that score once. Most of the time, it's a 73. It's frustrating. I studied the Wiley book like crazy and can't excel on these practice questions. I'm so frustrated that I feel like throwing my review books out the window. Gleim is killing my confidence, I tell ya.

[MmarianoB]

I use Gleim, the questions are tend to be a little more difficult but if you're getting 70's your fine. The CPA exam questions are so random you just never know what you'll be tested on.

BEC - 10/15/10 - Pass
AUD - 11/30/10 - Pass
REG - 2/28/11 - Pass
FAR - 5/31/11 - Pass

[Anonymous]

@CPAMan

I used Gleim for my exam prep… I tried to score in the 80's @ a minimum. My FAR score was 78.

I felt that the CPA EXam Q's were a bit harder than the Gleim prep, but, I was able to work most of the Q's because the topics were covered well in the study materials.

Good Luck on the Exam!

AUD: 80, BEC: 75, FAR: 78, REG: 81, Ethics: 95… DONE!!!

[LizP]

I was getting right around 70% in FAR on Gleim, and I passed it with a 79 (after failing it the first time, but for my own lack of preparedness). The only section that I don't feel like I'm prepared adequately enough with Gleim is Auditing. I have taken it three times, and each time, I was getting at least 80-85% consistently before taking it each time. I'm waiting for my score for the third round, and hopefully it will be good news. If not, I'm definitely going to look into a different program for my last section. I felt like the new test was so much harder than the last two times I took it, so who knows…

BEC 77
FAR 68, 79
REG 81
AUD 70, 68, 2/18/11

[Anonymous]

How does Gleim compare for prepping to pass BEC. I used Becker and failed three times, switched to Yaeger and failed with a 72 (mostly due to complications from a Crestor allergic reaction). I have to pass both FAR and BEC before May or I lose AUD and pretty much have to start over. I took FAR on 2/26 after spending 3 full months studying. I'm now studying to pass BEC on 4/30.

[Anonymous]

My scores are all over the place. Most of the time, I get in the 70s and couple times I hit the 60s when I get a crazy set of questions. And what's annoying is that I'm getting questions wrong because I don't read carefully. Very frustrating, I tell ya.

[LizP]

dhuffman: I passed BEC first try with Gleim, but that was back in 2010. I feel like they have a lot of questions, and they tend to be harder than the exam, and with good explanations.

CPAMan: One of the things that I did that helped me a lot was to take one study unit at a time. I had to answer a quiz of 20 questions for each study unit and get at least a 75 before I could move on to the next. After I got through all of the study units, I would group 5 study units and do the same thing, or go back over study units that I just barely passed. I think the key to doing this is to make sure to choose only questions that you haven't seen before. Otherwise, you may get a higher score than you normally would, because you remember the right or wrong answers.

BEC 77
FAR 68, 79
REG 81
AUD 70, 68, 2/18/11

[Anonymous]

I've always been choosing questions I've never seen before.

And what I've been doing is choosing sets of 30-40 questions from ALL topics. I want to practice a mix of topics being thrown at me because that's the way the CPA exam is going to be. Yesterday, I took a set of 40 questions and got 28 right. That's a 70%. Today, I took a set of 30 questions and got 20 right. That's a 66%. Argh!!! I'm going nuts, I tell ya.

[Anonymous]

OK, finally got an 80% last night. I got 24 out of 30 questions right. I would've gotten 25 but they played a trick on me. They played that old switcheroo trick on me, so I goofed up on one question which covered a topic that I was very strong on. I expect that will occur on the actual CPA exam, so it's good that I pay for it now than on the actual exam. But still, everytime I get a question wrong for that reason only, I feel like slapping myself. And it happens way too often no matter how much I tell myself to read carefully.

Here was the example of that switcheroo trick:

“L Company consolidated with S Company. S sold a machine to L for $10,000. Half of the inventory remained. L's gross profit rate was 30% and S's rate was 40%. What amount of gross profit should be eliminated?”

How clever! First they order it L & S. Then they switch it to S & L in the next sentence. And then they switch it back to L & S. Naturally, I read fast and wasn't careful, so I thought L was the seller and I used the 30% rate. Argh!! I feel stupid sometimes.

[Anonymous]

So far every night I will spend 2-3 hours(ONLY TIME I could have daily) to finish one CPA simulation in Wiley Test Bank. I think the tricky you mentioned in Gliem which you also could find in Wiley test bank. How about your Wiley's score? I am thinking to buy AUD and BEC notes from Jeff for Yaeger as supplementary materials.

[Anonymous]

I took the FAR exam two days ago. The first testlet was easier than Gleim, while Testlets 2-4 were significantly harder than Gleim. It was ridiculous. Almost ran out of time because many of questions required intense calculations. So, my advice to everyone is……do not take Gleim lightly. The actual exam questions are harder.

Seriously, you must be one smart person to pass these exams. I'm a guy that spent the last three months studying like there's no tomorrow. Spent 20-35 hours a week studying and studying, leaving no stone unturned, and I STILL couldn't dance my way out of the exam room and say “Yeah, I kicked butt!!!” Geez! it's crazy. Now, comes the worse part…..the dreaded 3 month wait and during the wait, I have to study AUD. Ugh! It's hard studying for AUD now thinking that my last 3 months of INTENSE studying were practically wasted.

Seriously, how the heck did you guys pass this exam?

[Author]

Replies