[G]

Hello all,

I have read numerous posts about the feelings one has after taking FAR. I took it on Tuesday and feel like I really let myself down. I am now having trouble thinking about anything else besides the “more likely than not” chance I did not pass. I saw how some people felt this same way but ended up getting very high scores. However, I came home that day and looked up at least 5-6 MCQs I got wrong. I basically blew off my class homework do to my final review and now I feel highly unmotivated to catch up. I really just had to vent because my wife does not seem to understand. 🙂

I am typically a good judge on when, and when I don’t, do well on exams. Obviously, the grading is a little different for this test, but it is also much more difficult. Anyway, I am curious how many MCQs I could potentially miss? My SIMs were brutal too. It was material I have seen but not my strengths. Any advice is appreciated.

FAR - 78
AUD - 90
BEC - 87
REG - TBD

[Anonymous]

You don't know your score until you see your score. Almost every one of my scores have been a shock (pass or fail).

[G]

Of course. Like I said, I just wanted to vent a little and get some feedback.

FAR - 78
AUD - 90
BEC - 87
REG - TBD

[go2134]

I took mine on Tuesday as well. It was my second shot at it, because I tried to fit it in the last window after 3 weeks of studying. The first time I went in and was frustrated because I forgot a lot of fundamentals, which is understandable, but left confident that I would do great the next time. I thought I had failed and actually left 3 sims completely blank (I would have had to guess on them to get them right) and ended up with a 68. I probably could not have made up the difference even if I guessed correctly, but I was looking forward to the retake.

Tuesday I went in and got a completely different experience. My MCQs were the most trivial questions I've ever seen. I might have had 10 fundamental-based questions other than the Gov/NFP questions. The sims weren't too bad, but I don't think I got them all correct. I even struggled with the research question. It sucked.

I walked out not happy with my performance, but that's just the way that exam works sometimes. If I fail, I'll be disappointed, but I won't be discouraged. I know the material, but out of the millions of questions they choose from, this test wasn't “my test”. So be it. Failure only makes success that much better. This wasn't your only chance, but rather just one chance. Stay the course, it will happen.

[G]

Yes, I keep trying to tell myself all those things but I keep coming back to being disappointed. Hopefully, you get through it this time. I did not want to take any of these exams twice. I totally agree with you about exam content. It sucks when you have a decent grasp on most things and you feel like what you were asked was not what you thought you studied. I am in no way making excuses, it is just a lot of material. I definitely had anxiety going in, which did not help. Made a few mental errors on material I knew (but apparently didn't).

FAR - 78
AUD - 90
BEC - 87
REG - TBD

[Tripp11]

Just put your scenario into perspective… There are countless folks who have been trying to pass the CPA Exam for decades. Plenty of folks who didn't pass it until their 40's on here. Hell, I know plenty of my friends who just gave up on the exam entirely.

It's hard. Real hard. It takes determination and a never quit attitude, no matter how many times you get a 74. If you don't give up everything in this quest, you might never pass.

Think of the upside though, even if you don't pass, you've got a massive jump on your studying for next time.

AUD - 93
BEC - 80
REG - 86
FAR - 83

[tami3492]

I too am guilty of focusing in on the questions that I missed. When going thru the test, I flag the ones I don't know and then tenatively calculate my score based off of that. With FAR I felt terrible when I walked out of there, by my calculations I should've had mid 60's. I about fell off my chair when I got an 88. It's normal to just focus in on the ones you know you got wrong. Remember that some of the questions are pretest questions, so they may be thrown out. Maybe the ones you are remembering are just pretest questions so they won't count against you.

FAR 7/8/14 - 88 - Becker live course
REG 10/14/14 - 82 - Becker live course, Ninja notes and audio
BEC 11/25/14 - 88 - Becker live course, Ninja audio, Wiley book for extra questions
AUD 2/3/15 - 94 - Becker self study, Ninja audio, Wiley book for extra questions

[Rocky123]

It's hard to know with any kind of certainty whether you passed or failed with these exams. There are so many factors in play. First, there are those pretest questions that don't count. Also, some questions carry more weight than others.

The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

AUD-PASS
BEC-PASS
REG-PASS
FAR-PASS

Rocky123, CPA

[TiffaNiffaNi]

FAR was my first and I had VERY similar feelings. I felt sick thinking about my score release. Studying for FAR sucks but the wait after is much more draining, IMO.

Lots of people think they fail but end up passing. In my group of 4 friends, we all were CONVINCED we had failed. We all passed.

Like you, I've always been a pretty good judge of how I've done on tests. With the CPA, throw that out the window! If I've learned anything, it's a total crapshoot. So for instance, for FAR, I thought I failed but passed with an OK score. With AUD, you would think I would have left the test center all smiles. Not the case. I wasn't as “beaten” as with FAR but at the same time, I didn't leave the test center, like I would in college, saying “nailed it!” It's impossible to tell.

Hang in there! Once you have one under your belt, the test anxiety will be much more manageable. Good luck!

FAR: 7/17/14- 79
AUD: 8/20/14- 91
REG: 10/1/14- 88
BEC: 11/10/14- 85

Becker Self-Study

[Skynet]

Please do not jump of the CPA ledge. Doing so will mean one less potential CPA in the Accounting industry, and the industry itself is in need of CPA's. Not only that but it will mean you have given up. How will you be able to look at your children knowing you have given up?

So please don't jump of the ledge.

AND FOR HEAVENS SAKE! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[G]

@ TiffaNiffaNi Did you find yourself narrowing it down and sometimes guessing between two possible answers?

FAR - 78
AUD - 90
BEC - 87
REG - TBD

[TiffaNiffaNi]

Yep! I did the same thing you did and looked up some of the questions/answers I could remember, and I was so ticked off when I found that some of those 50/50 answers were wrong! This also happened with AUD by the way.

The biggest thing for me though was that my 3rd testlet (FAR) was much easier than the 2nd testlet (from hell). That was the biggest reason I thought I failed, actually. It all pretty much became a blur after that 2nd set. Oh, the horror.

One thing that has helped in tests since FAR is when I get a question that I can't answer, I think “Pffft – what a dumb pretest question, they should throw that out”. It keeps my confidence up as I go along and also helps with time management.

FAR: 7/17/14- 79
AUD: 8/20/14- 91
REG: 10/1/14- 88
BEC: 11/10/14- 85

Becker Self-Study

[TiffaNiffaNi]

Oh, and there were a handful that I totally guessed on as well so… 😉 They don't expect you to know everything, just “enough” to prove you're competent. At least that's the way I look at it.

FAR: 7/17/14- 79
AUD: 8/20/14- 91
REG: 10/1/14- 88
BEC: 11/10/14- 85

Becker Self-Study

[randerso]

There are 90 MCQ on FAR. I believe 15 are pre-test questions. That means you could conceivably get 33 MC wrong (all 15 pre-test and 25% of the remaining 75 questions) and still score a 75%. You could miss even more if you did well on the sims.

Like everyone else said, there's no point getting down on yourself until you see that score. I was I bombed REG and I ended up with an 80.

REG: (May 2014) - 80 ✔
AUD: (Nov 2014) - 93 ✔
FAR: (Oct 2014) - 71, (Jan 2015) - 88 ✔
BEC: (Feb 2015) - 89 ✔

CA PETH: 94 percent

[Anonymous]

@randerso — I hope you are right but I feel like I bombed because of the sims…….I need to pass this as I will lose Audit (and possibly my mind) lol……

[G]

I will try to be positive, but as stated by The Pixies, “where is my mind? ” Hahaha! I hope you're right Tiff. 😉

FAR - 78
AUD - 90
BEC - 87
REG - TBD

[Author]

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