[cooperz]

I finished my first FAR exam today and I felt that I was in a time crunch. The MCQs were ok, but the SIMS were lengthy as hell. I was left with 45 mins and 5 SIMS remaining. The last testlet had such lengthy SIMS with so many documents to review and then fill in numbers. Not sure if I’ll pass, but hoping there is a curve since with such lengthy SIMS not sure how people finish their exam.

[KarenE]

I also took FAR this morning (first attempt as well) and I totally agree! There were a couple SIMS I just couldn't take the time to finish because of an insane amount of information and necessary computations. Even though I was confident in my grasp of the material, I had to punch in a few guesses and move on. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

[Anonymous]

Hope you guys did well. It must feel like a huge weight off your shoulders to finally go in and take it. I'm halfway through my studies for FAR and go in for my first attempt in early September. My SIMs for REG were similar, very lengthy and a lot of tabs/material to sort through. I took that beast in May and still waiting for my score (only a few more weeks).

Does anyone have any recommendations how to best prepare for the FAR SIMs? I hear Gleim does a good job at this. Can anyone vouch?

[cmcook]

Ditto – just took FAR today, 1st attempt. It is not for the faint of heart, though I maintain REG was worse. Time management may be more important than anything. I know that's been said before, but I'm saying it again. I left 2 hours and 40 mins for the SIMs. Barely eked them out and there was plenty of long shots, hail mary's, and plain ole guessing.

@BrickellCPA – I am an exclusive Gleim user. First, their SIMs are pretty close to the real thing. But more importantly, their nauseatingly detailed coverage of every topic is what gets you ready for the SIMS. I decided it was a waste of time to practice SIMs (might live to regret this?) because, as Forest Gump says, life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you're going to get. But what I decided WAS worthwhile was painstakingly reading material, and re-reading why I got certain MCQs wrong so that I actually understood the material. Although I didn't knock out the amount of MCQ's I hear other people on here doing, I think I did a pretty good job of actually learning the concepts – the key to SIMs. Of course, it's a real possibility I didn't pass so take this all with a grain of salt.

It will be interesting to see how the new SIM weight impacts scores. I feel like when the dust settles from this sh!tstorm, there's going to be a curve. Those SIMs were not messing around…

[KarenE]

I agree with @cmcook that the key to the SIMS is really knowing the concepts. I think just going through them once is enough (I use Becker). But what I would recommend is practicing the MCQs and SIMS with a white board and dry erase marker. I say this because when I was working problems over and over in my study time, I used lined paper, wrote-out very organized calculations, with a sharp pencil. I got accustomed to writing everything out, nice and neat. When it came to do computations during the exam, using the thick dry erase markers with no eraser, on a blue laminated sheet with grid lines (and no lines at all on the other side)… I could barely read my own writing! It was hard to stay organized. It just threw me off.

My second suggestion would be to try to get through the MCQs pretty quickly. Don't dwell on an answer too long. If you don't know it, guess and move on. You need a LOT of time for the SIMS.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. When I did REG I used 100% NINJA and I'm very confident I did well on the MCQs, however, the SIMs were tough due to all the different tabs/material given. Even knowing the NINJA material, I don't feel like it prepared me enough for the SIMs. A few others have mentioned this as well.

Based on what I've read, it seems it would be the same for FAR. I can do literally every single MCQ as I did for REG and I don't think it will prepare me enough for the SIMs.

It sounds like Gleim is much more detailed than NINJA though and has been a great alternative for many, so I'll probably end up supplementing with that if I have to retake it.

[Accountingbeans]

Are SIMs meant to get harder/lengthier as the test progresses?

Newbie
BEC- August 31

[IwannabeaCPA2017]

Thank you for this post. I will follow this as I take it in little over a month. Still trying to finish up Becker (only mid way there). Studying has been hard lately. Would like to hear more updates on the new exam version. Thanks!

[tskits75]

I took FAR last week. I took two hours for both sets of MCQs which was too long. I ran out of time on my last SIM, but I think i got 90% of it done when the clock expired, so we'll see.

AUD - 92
BEC - 79
REG - August
FAR - TBD

[Wannafree]

Requesting all those who took exam to give some more insights without violation of rules.I am more interested to know form time taken perspective e.g.how much time you took in testlet 1 and 2 or how much time you took for longest of SIM ? What percentage was the calculations based MCQs etc.
One thing I have understood that TIME is the key but that's very vague.

[Wannafree]

@tskits75 you are one of the few who did so well in FAR.Do you mind sharing how you handled the SIM or MCQ so good within 4 hours ? I would love to hear your methodology of tackling FAR.

[cooperz]

I took FAR yesterday and had 1.5 hours for the last 2 testlets.NOT enough time, my 2 cents, give as much as 2-2.5 hours for last 2 testlets. There were many tabs that I had to go through to fill in the numbers.

I am using Becker and in both the MOCK exams I had 1 hour left after completing all testlets, so I thought I would allot more time to MCQs on the real test. Biggest mistake ever!! Leave as much time possible for the SIMS. It's a beast!

[Anonymous]

Wanna- I took far about 2 months ago. After reading about everyones time crunches I opted to get through mcq's quickly.
I didnt think the mcqs were terrible, maybe 5-7 each testlet i wasnt sure on.
I got through the 1st testlet in 28 min, 2nd testlet in 45ish minutes. 3rd testlet sent me into a panic. Glad I got through mcq quickly because I spent at least an hour on the 3rd. Next 2 testlets werent as time consuming as the 3rd.
Finished with 2 minutes left. Didnt leave anything blank or just have to enter guesses. But I wasnt able to spend as much time on some as id have liked or go back and double check anything.
However, if I failed it will be because of the sims.

[Anonymous]

So there are 66 MCQs total in the first two testlets and then there the 8 SIMs.

2 hours for the 66 MCQs and 2 hours for the 8 SIMs seems reasonable.

[Anonymous]

I believe you should leave more time for sims, they are much more time consuming than mcq testlets.

[Anonymous]

Damn that's intense. I really want to find out the best course material to use to practice for the FAR SIMs.

I've been getting mixed reviews of people saying to “just do the MCQs and study the material” or to buy Gleim, Becker, or some other course, etc.

Any additional recommendations I'd appreciate it.

[Author]

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