[maloney021]

I found out that I failed FAR for the second time last night. My score went from a 70 to a 72. This is beginning to feel impossible, I have pretty much lost hope for myself. I honestly don’t know what else I can do anymore to get to a 75.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[rp 12]

Hello,

I understand how it feels… My best advice is – take all your frustration, rest up and clear your mind for couple days, and get back up to re-study FAR. I think you need to fine tune your concepts again. Your scores aren't that bad – in my opinion that's a positive thing, and keep looking forward from here on. I know it's easier said than done, but I have been through this w/ AUD, and also struggling w/ FAR as well. Wish you the very best… We got this.

"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss act only as motivation"

AUD: 68, 62, 77✔ (expires 10/31/16)
FAR: 53, 48, XX (retake 6/16)
REG:
BEC: 53

[maloney021]

It just feels like my self-esteem has been completely shot down. It's been almost a month since I took the exam, the scores come out last night, and I find out I failed again. There's a lot that could be forgotten in a month's time. The AICPA is not fair at all to the candidates with their test scoring.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[maloney021]

I also just feel so upset about it that I don't know whether I should start off from square one again. I took other people's advice and covered Governmental and NFP (items I was weaker at last exam) and only reviewed everything else. I still failed.

I'm currently at an impasse with life.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[Kscope]

Do not lose hope! I just passed FAR on the 4th attempt. With enough persistence you can do it. I really struggled with balancing work and studying for FAR as I feel that section just needs dedicated focus especially. I had a similar experience and best to start from scratch (Review if standards have changed!). If you know the other material you should move that much quicker through it, I would do a mix bag of problems every day. I was beyond frustrated, I lost Audit which I had already passed because I could not get over FAR. But it really is the best feeling once you do pass!

AUDIT: 88 2/12/14 (Lost Credit), 92 11/30/15
FAR: 71 4/14,70 5/15, 70 8/15, 80 10/15 (FINALLY)
REG:80 11/14
BEC: 80 5/15

[maloney021]

But you had already passed parts before then. I honestly just want to feel like I can pass AT ALL. I feel like I'm looking up at a wall that I can almost reach to climb over, but I'm just inches away from reaching the top. I just don't know if I have the physical ability to do it. That's what is killing me the most.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[Missy]

Honestly I don't even think you should count your first attempt. I looked at your previous posts and you got a 70 after TWO WEEKS of studying? I think that more than proves your aptitude its just a matter of pulling it all together. So what was your study like this time, how many honest to goodness study hours,what was your review material, and how many MCQ would you say you did?

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Jdn9201]

Maloney, I'm sorry that you failed but don't get discouraged. All you can do is remember the WHY you want to do this, and think about how you can study better, etc. Don't think about failing though – it doesn't help. It just sets you up to fail again.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[lshan78]

maloney021 I am right there with you. I just found out that I failed FAR for the third time (64, 66, 71). It took me four times to pass REG (63, 66, 74, 80), three times to pass BEC (72, 68, 77) and I still have AUD left (53, 70, next one on 11/30)…oh did I mention BEC rolls off in January. After today's latest score and 2 years of working on this I am wondering if it's all worth it as well and at what point am I suppose to stop.

[thederek]

I wanted to chime in on a comment you made about starting over or only focusing on your weak areas.

When you fail exam ALWAYS study as if it were your first time. When you see people take an exam 4+ times and their score bounces up/down by 2-3 points every time, they are trying to rush their retake.

The exam is only 90 MCQs, a lot of which aren't even graded. That's way too small of a sample size for each subject to base your restudy on. I've noticed questions tend to cluster together on topics, which most likely won't repeat next time. For example, I got 7-8 variance questions on BEC, while others in the same window got zero. On FAR I got 4 questions in VIEs, which literally covered everything in that half a page the subject takes up in my review book. all my NFP questions were targeted towards hospitals, which have their own subsection in the review book. All of that's not likely to repeat. If I were weak in those areas and failed and crammed for those, I may not get any questions on those next time.

IMO, a mistake a lot of people make is not moving on after a fail. Have another section scheduled? Study for that and come back to the one you failed. It will be easier to restudy the entire material if you've taken a break.

BEC - 10/05/15 - 83
FAR - 11/09/15 - 79
AUD - 11/30/15 - 84
REG - 02/14/16 - 82

[Gatorbates]

Patience. I had back to back 74's in FAR. You'll pass. It'll happen … just give it time, and spend your review time going your weaker areas more. And take it again as soon as possible.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Anonymous]

My first three scores were 74, 72, 71. It was really tough to muster up the motivation to keep pushing. But I did and finally I passed REG, then BEC , then AUD. I retook FAR yesterday and it was a monster. I have passed three of the exams but I have failed a total of 5 times!! I look at this now as a character builder. I didn't quit, I worked my tail off and did it.

I will offer some counter intuitive advice that helped me get my first two passing scores. If you find yourself keep coming back to a particular tough area, take a step back and work in other areas. There are many topics to cover and sometimes I tended to hover over a few ‘tougher' sections. Make sure to cover all the material without bias. Some stuff you just may not perform as well on. As Jeff says in the Ninja Audio, you aren't trying to become a master of Non Profits, you just need to pass the CPA exam.

[Kls238]

@maloney021, If your exam strategy consisted of only studying gov't and NFP and just reviewing the rest, then I've identified why you failed. Go back through and act like you're starting from scratch. Read through the book, take good notes, listen to NINJA Audio wherever you go ( if you have it), and hammer MCQs. Make sure you know and understand every JE in your study material, too. And DONT SKIP TOPICS!

I, too, got 73 then 71 on FAR before passing with an 85. What I changed, was I suggested above. You just have to keep at it and not get overwhelmed by the quantity of material.

Passed all sections.

[maloney021]

After taking a couple months off from FAR, I am reattempting FAR on 2/22. I'm going to go over all sections of Becker at least once, and hope that will be enough for me to get by.

The only issue is that I don't think I will have enough time to go over all the MC questions that Becker offers, so I'm going over all the simulations (which I skipped over the first two times around) to hope that helps me gauge the big picture of each section. Along with this, I'm hoping to do 40% of all MC questions in each Becker section. I am also going to read and go over as many flash cards and cram the Final Review as much as possible.

I hope that with all topics refreshed (skipping gov't and NFP 1st time and everything else 2nd time), this will be the time I pass. I'm not quite sure what I would do if I fail again, but I'm doing my best to stay positive. Thanks everyone.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[tacctfin11]

MCQ MCQ MCQ

FAR- 76 01/08/2016 exp 08/04/2017
AUD- 82 04/14/2016
BEC- May 28th

baby

REG- TBD

[maloney021]

Would you recommend prioritizing MCQ's over all else?

My action plan is to study as many Becker flash cards whenever I'm not able to practice MCQ's or Sims (like when I'm at work for example). I also listen to Becker lectures while I am driving. I just hope I don't run out of time again since I test on the 22nd.

FAR - (8/20) 70, (10/28) 72, (2/22) 76
REG - (6/8) 69...
BEC - (11/18) 77
AUD - (4/14) 72...

[Author]

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