[FutureCPA]

I took my first exam FAR yesterday and I’m freaking out a little.
So I felt ok on my 1st testlet. I flagged 4 but other ones I felt like I knew how to solve them.
Then on my 2nd testlet, I think 75% were conceptual. Most were Gov’t and NFP but there were other very easy questions.
(I say easy because the questions were very short, no calculation involved)
I know 2nd testlet gets harder if you do well on 1st testlet… I felt so discouraged solving the 2nd testlet.
I wasn’t even sure about the SIMs…. Got both Gov’t & IFRS SIMs.. which I heard was rare!!

Has anyone experienced this for their test and pass?
I looked up some posts and many who felt how I felt ended up failing with a score very close to 75.
I need to wait about 2 weeks for my score and idk how I’m going to wait… feeling very anxious

[CPA1219]

When I took the exam I heard an adage that turned out to be true. “If you leave confident, you likely failed; if you leave defeated, you likely passed”. Since the exam is structured in a way that subsequent questions change in difficulty depending on whether the previous was correct/incorrect, if the questions seem hard, it's because you got the previous questions correct. If the questions seem easy, it's because you got the preceding wrong. Granted, I don't know how much you studied or if you were prepared, but if you busted your tail and scored well on practice tests, I'd say there's a decent chance you'll be surprised by your score.

I remember taking the exams and leaving demoralized. Then having a WTF moment when my scores came in. Some of the questions seemed as though they were from a completely different test. At any rate, hang in there and don't beat yourself up. The first phase of receiving a passing score is leaving the test center in total defeat.

My strategy was as follows for each section:
1. Go through Becker, answer all questions and highlight/mark everything they told me to mark.
2. Go through Becker again, answer all questions again.
3. Purchase Gliem test bank for the newly-worded questions.
4. Repeatedly skim Becker book and continue taking Gliem practice tests until I average over 80.
5. Once I consistently averaged over 80, I was off to the test center.

[Simone]

Honestly I feel that it is very hard to tell if you passed or failed after you've taken an exam. Ive taken all four (failed my last one, AUD and retaking Tuesday). The first three I felt like I failed for sure and passed them all. AUD I was unsure and failed by two points. I would try not to stress about it the next two weeks and enjoy your time off of studying. I always had a plan if I had to retake so I wasn't super disappointed if I failed. Good luck!

[FutureCPA]

Does that apply to SIMs? getting harder if we do well?
Also, my worry comes from testlet 2 questions being too simple, so I'm not sure if my case counts..?
My testlet 2 was 80% conceptual, maybe 2 calculations. Mostly Govt & NFP.
Thank you for the advice though! I also have both Becker and Gleim so I'll try the method you wrote!!

[FutureCPA]

my worry comes from testlet 2 questions being too simple, so I'm not sure if my case counts..?
My testlet 2 was 80% conceptual, maybe 2 calculations. Mostly Govt & NFP.
I have REG in a month so hopefully I can focus on that meanwhile!!

[Simone]

I don't believe the sims gets harder based on your first set, just MC. And I've had at least one exam (maybe two) where I felt the multiple choice was easier and didn't get more difficult the second teslet, and I passed. I just think you have to do decent in the sims at that point!

[jd]

I wouldn’t look too far into finding out which testlets were more difficult. Like you my first exam was far, and I thought I did so awful and teared up driving home, just to find out three weeks later I passed. Just be positive and take a break until your next move.

[Author]

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