@gtg179i, my approach for FAR was the same as for REG and AUD (minus reading through the Wiley Focus Notes, which was the only other material I used for those two exams)- first I did a very thorough read through of the NINJA Notes multiple times. I did try writing them out as recommended for a few days but found that it was taking me too long, so instead I just read and studied them to the point of memorization before I moved on.
I have to admit, though, that just looking at the study planner made me feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of material needing to be covered, so I quickly decided it wasn't for me since all it would do is psych me out from actually getting through everything. So, instead, after I was done studying the NINJA Notes I started with 30 question sessions of the NINJA MCQs picked from all of the topics and just kept hammering those out until a few days before my exam. I also wrote down any information I hadn't seen in the NINJA Notes and that I was having a hard time with so I'd have study notes for those weak areas. A few days before the exam I'd go back over the NINJA Notes and my notes from the NINJA MCQs several times. And finally, since my boss always gave me work off the day before my exams, I did more 30 question sessions of the NINJA MCQs for around 10 hours or so without taking notes and timing myself so I'd be prepared for the actual exam's time limit. My method was more organized chaos than anything else but it ended up being a much more efficient method of learning for me than having a set plan with specific videos, chapters, and questions to go through. I did that with Roger for BEC and even though I got through all of the material and used the WTB for a few days (no NINJA MCQs back then!), I felt much less prepared when I was taking the exam than I did with the NINJA materials.
As for the SIMS, I actually never even looked at them for FAR. I did back when I was studying for REG but I personally think the MCQs are a better use of study time since you can generally cover more material that way in a shorter amount of time. For those who've never taken an exam yet or who have only taken BEC, I'd recommend at least taking a look at the format of some of the SIMS beforehand, but I found with REG that I didn't gain any knowledge out of the SIMs that I hadn't already covered in the MCQs.
@shankysays, congrats to you, as well! And I did actually fail FAR twice before my passing score, first with a 73 and then with a 70, I just shortened my signature once I had that final passing score. Those fails were definitely my own fault, though- prior to my last FAR exam I had two areas I was fairly weak in that I had been neglecting for that reason that were featured prominently on both of the exams I failed. I made sure not to make that mistake for my third FAR exam! 🙂
My motivation for looking into other certifications now is that if I stop studying for too long, I'm not going to want to again later on. Although the different specialty areas I've researched all look interesting and worth pursuing (PFS, CFE, CITP), so now I'm probably just distracting myself from doing taxes more than anything else. 🙂 I also saw that the AICPA is going to be offering a Not-For-Profit Certificate program starting next month that I'm definitely interested in since my firm has been getting more and more requests for services from not-for-profits and it's literally the one area of FAR I never had any difficulties with. Plus it's 40 hours worth of CE's!
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