[CPANOVICE]

Hello Everyone,

This question is for people who failed FAR on their 1st attempt and than subsequently passed. What would you say the you did wrong the 1st time and how did you adjust your study the second time around in order to pass?

Thanks

FAR:TBD
REG:TBD
AUD:TBD
BEC:TBD

I am using Becker self study, ninja blitz and Wiley (I am using the paperback version of the testbank)

Brief overview of study method:
1. Skim through chapter quickly
2. Watch lecture videos
3. Take a lot of notes on what the lecturers emphasize
4. Complete half HW after lectures half after rewriting notes

[michaelabs22]

I would suggest a few things:

1. Do weekly reviews/progress tests on everything you've done ( I usually did these on Sunday afternoon with Becker comprehensive progress tests). There is so much material it is hard to remember it all unless you keep it fresh.

2. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get through ALL of the material without cutting corners – you never know if that NFP fund accounting will make up a much larger part of your exam than you planned!

3. Take a deep breath, make sure to give yourself regular time to have a (little) bit of fun. I found when I immersed myself the second time, even taking 45 minutes at the end of the night to watch a show with my wife helped clear my head.

4. Schedule your exam when you're ready to take it, but don't push it back too far because you'll start to forget things!

A - 10/28/12 - Passed!!!
B - 11/20/12 - Passed!!!
F - 11/12/13 - Passed!!!
R - 02/01/13 - Passed!!!

Work Experience - Done!
Ethics Exam - Boom! Done!

RI Licensed CPA.

[Anonymous]

I got a 74 my first attempt and a 77 my second attempt. I did not do enough MCQs before my first attempt. Thankfully I passed the 2nd, I was in the middle of busy season for my retake so I was lucky to have gotten a 77 and not another fail.

[Anonymous]

I got a 74 my first attempt and a 77 my second attempt. I did not do enough MCQs before my first attempt. Thankfully I passed the 2nd, I was in the middle of busy season for my retake so I was lucky to have gotten a 77 and not another fail.

[Anonymous]

Things I did wrong:

1. Underestimated the exam overall

2. Glossed over concepts I didn't like or care about (I didn't figure the exam would ask in-depth questions on obscure topics)

3. Didn't use additional study aids (Ninja notes, etc)

4. Didn't leave enough time to review properly

Tips:

1. When you view your videos, take very good notes. Be active. You should never be just listening and doing nothing.

2. Get through the videos quickly. The videos teach you concepts and help you practice. But you will do more learning when applying concepts to MCP's.

3. Do A LOT of MCP's. When you think of A LOT, whatever that number is, it isn't enough. I scored higher and finally passed when I did all of the WTB questions at least twice.

3. When you are doing MCP's, be very active. No guessing. Be honest did you KNOW the answer? I would often write something down for each question I completed. A fact nugget, why a wrong answer was wrong, something I learned. Read the test bank explanation, even if you got it correct.

4. Don't study over a too long period of time, you will forget stuff. You will need to refresh your mind on earlier chapters often.

My method was this:

1. Watch videos (Yaeger) and take notes. Pausing the video often. At the end of the section I would do 25-30 MCP's just to review the material.

2. After videos were finished and I had my awesome set of notes, then I would start MCP's. I would choose a topic, read my notes on that topic and spend some time writing a condensed version of notes for that section. A “cheat sheet.” It contained formulas, mnemonics, lists, etc. Then I would attempt 20-25 MCP's on that topic using only my cheat sheet. I would stay on that topic until I got 75-80%.

3. After I finished all topics and as time got closer then I would do say 15 MCPs on each topic, then 10 MCP's on each topic and then 5 MCP's per topic in the last few days. This meant that I was rolling through all of the topics more than once on a rotating basis. If I scored poorly on a topic, it was time to reassess. Then I would go back to doing 20 MCP's on that topic until I got a passing grade.

4. If at any time you find yourself avoiding a topic because you are uncomfortable/dislike it. Then assign yourself more MCP's on that topic. Say you find Gov't annoying and hard to remember, assume you will get a SIM on that topic and study accordingly.

I noticed you are using the paperback Wiley. Get the online subscription, its not that expensive. It's cheaper than a fail frankly. Not only is it faster because you're not looking back and forth at the answer pages, it is more flexible. Say you're feeling weak on Leases and Bonds today, You can tell Wiley to give you 30 MCP's a mix of Lease and Bonds. Also, the answer explanation is available immediately for each question. It helps reinforcement to know immediately why the answer you chose was wrong. Also, it saves your scores and graphs your performance. You can easily see what your weak topics are and hit them again.

[Anonymous]

Things I did wrong:

1. Underestimated the exam overall

2. Glossed over concepts I didn't like or care about (I didn't figure the exam would ask in-depth questions on obscure topics)

3. Didn't use additional study aids (Ninja notes, etc)

4. Didn't leave enough time to review properly

Tips:

1. When you view your videos, take very good notes. Be active. You should never be just listening and doing nothing.

2. Get through the videos quickly. The videos teach you concepts and help you practice. But you will do more learning when applying concepts to MCP's.

3. Do A LOT of MCP's. When you think of A LOT, whatever that number is, it isn't enough. I scored higher and finally passed when I did all of the WTB questions at least twice.

3. When you are doing MCP's, be very active. No guessing. Be honest did you KNOW the answer? I would often write something down for each question I completed. A fact nugget, why a wrong answer was wrong, something I learned. Read the test bank explanation, even if you got it correct.

4. Don't study over a too long period of time, you will forget stuff. You will need to refresh your mind on earlier chapters often.

My method was this:

1. Watch videos (Yaeger) and take notes. Pausing the video often. At the end of the section I would do 25-30 MCP's just to review the material.

2. After videos were finished and I had my awesome set of notes, then I would start MCP's. I would choose a topic, read my notes on that topic and spend some time writing a condensed version of notes for that section. A “cheat sheet.” It contained formulas, mnemonics, lists, etc. Then I would attempt 20-25 MCP's on that topic using only my cheat sheet. I would stay on that topic until I got 75-80%.

3. After I finished all topics and as time got closer then I would do say 15 MCPs on each topic, then 10 MCP's on each topic and then 5 MCP's per topic in the last few days. This meant that I was rolling through all of the topics more than once on a rotating basis. If I scored poorly on a topic, it was time to reassess. Then I would go back to doing 20 MCP's on that topic until I got a passing grade.

4. If at any time you find yourself avoiding a topic because you are uncomfortable/dislike it. Then assign yourself more MCP's on that topic. Say you find Gov't annoying and hard to remember, assume you will get a SIM on that topic and study accordingly.

I noticed you are using the paperback Wiley. Get the online subscription, its not that expensive. It's cheaper than a fail frankly. Not only is it faster because you're not looking back and forth at the answer pages, it is more flexible. Say you're feeling weak on Leases and Bonds today, You can tell Wiley to give you 30 MCP's a mix of Lease and Bonds. Also, the answer explanation is available immediately for each question. It helps reinforcement to know immediately why the answer you chose was wrong. Also, it saves your scores and graphs your performance. You can easily see what your weak topics are and hit them again.

[Author]

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