[l447020623]

I failed FAR once in MAY 17. Now i need to pass FAR and REG by DEC 17. I only have 1 month to study FAR. I have Becker, but i think it takes me so much time to study for each chapter. Also I sux at financial accounting. Should I purchase Rogers Cram or Ninja? I dont even know how should i study for FAR in just a month. If I dont pass FAR by the end of this year, my BEC and AUD will be expire and basically i will just need to restart all sections again….. PLEASE HELP!!!!

[M123]

Here's my butchered understanding of Becker having used Becker and Ninja:

A. Watch videos
B. Reread book (now with highlights)
C. Do selected MCQ
D. Do selected sims
E. Watch Skills Practice
F. Do mock exams

If you do all of these, Becker says you'll pass. The time waste is in overlap or areas which are not net educational.

A and B – you can do one or the other. I watched the vids and only read problem sections of the book. I found reviewing problem sections very fruitless and finally “discovered” Ninja notes – which was more effective for problem areas for me.

C – their selected MCQ (the ones they do within a given section) are of lesser use because they do not reflect realistic exam scenarios and are “permutated” – ie – similar facts with different tail question. Here, Ninja MCQ beats Becker.

E – many people swear by them but I was done with Becker by the time they introduced this.

F – mock exams – I personally found this to be a wast of time.

So what's left:

A. Watch videos (only about 20 hours)
B. Do Ninja MCQ and Sims (I did 1200+ for FAR).
C. Read Ninja Notes initially and read them continually throughout as in combination with MCQ – each time will bring more “aha” moments. Aha moments win the exam.

It's risky to change course but if you focus on getting through the core content then do MCQ like mad and learn from them – that could be the difference. I can say with certainty it worked for me.

[BatmanInTraining]

I'm a little bias because I have only used Becker and was able to pass all 4 first try (not bragging). So for me doing things the way that Becker told me to worked 100%. I personally have no problem with the mock exams and see them as just more practice with questions that I have no seen before. Some people call them confidence killers but I find them as weak area discoverers (patent pending). So I watched a lecture, did the skills practice, then did multiple choice for each chapter/subchapter. Some people do all the lectures first then multiple choice. It really whatever works best for you. But I found it doing problems in an area I just learned really reinforced it and made it easier to go back to for review.

[IwannabeaCPA2017]

Batman, though its my 4th time taking FAR (I'm embarrassed LOL). Should I re-weatch the lectures or just read the book again? I only watched the lectures once and never bothered to watch again since they take so much time. @OP I am on the same boat though only BEC is on the line. I think at this point we need to have confidence and we have NO RETREAT, it is basically DO OR DIE! Hang in there.. From now until Dec 10 dont go out on weekends dont do anything after work (if you're working).. quickly grab food and start hitting the books. Thats my plan and hope for the best (as long u give it ur best thats all u can do). Good luck, boss!!

[l447020623]

@M123 thank you for the great tips! yea i found the becker MCQ are totally different compare to my real exam. I wasnt sure was i not studying enough to see the similar questions or becker MCQ is not working…. i dont have Ninja but i am will to buy whatever most effective and efficient study material to just freaking pass FAR! since you use both, did you see exam questions comes up as the MCQ you have on Ninja?

[CS]

NINJA is a great tool. I had Wiley, but also used NINJA/Gleim for MCQs and SIMs as a supplement, partially for literally just a different interface, but both were useful in their own ways.

[Anonymous]

@BatmanInTraining – Same boat as you. Followed Becker's plan, read every page, did every single MCQ, listened to every video, did every Sim and Skill Practice and passed all 4 on the first try.

There is no one size fits all study routine, you just have to find what works for you and stick to it. The only time I scored below an 80 was on FAR, and I tried to watch the lectures instead of reading the Becker textbook. The only time I scored above 90 was when I made hundreds of flashcards on BEC and memorized every one of them. What worked for me was putting a lot of emphasis on reading the textbook and making flashcards and less emphasis on watching the lectures (only listened to them on my commute).

[BatmanInTraining]

@IwannabeaCPA2017 Considering that you have already watched the lectures once, I would say no don't bother rematching them. However, watch a few on topics you really don't understand, that could help. I personally skimmed through the book, every page and made sure I had a good basic knowledge on every topic. Then I did MCQ like there was no tomorrow and took notes off them because I found them very insightful and for me personally, practice is the best study. I don't retain too much from reading/lectures.

@Drumstick Good for you my fellow superhero! haha But yeah I personally believe that Becker is suitable for most candidates, as long as the candidate truly devotes themselves and does every inch of their plan.

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

Never passed FAR. So for the new format. I invested to see what's in the exam, and designed my exam review strategy based on it, plus, taking into consideration what helpful ‘advice' I got from others, especially the ones who just took FAR, passed or non-passed candidates.

This is what I found and daily CPA review that likely will work for me, for all the sections:
– Making mock exam tests, using AICPA released exams, esp the newer ones, MCQs are all ‘number problems'. During my 2017 Q3 FAR, I was too slow with number crunching MCQs. Instead of 40-45 minutes/MCQ testlet, it took me 1hr for each.
In addition:
– Read my Ninja/Becker notes.
– Read my Ninja/Becker textbooks.
– Read my Ninja/Becker/Wiley for IFRS.
– Listen to Bisk, jot down notes, esp. on JEs, calculation format.
– Make sure MCQs/SIMs are trending at 85%.
– Add Ninja's MCQs/SIMs, number problems, to my existing released AICPA, number problems.
– Take 3 MOCK exams on the weekend, one per section.
– Re-do the ones I got incorrect.
– Work on my weak areas until few hours before my exams.

I am not sure if this will work for you.
– In my last 2017 Q1 & 2017 Q2 exams, I only study 2-3 days, basically reading my textbooks & notes, and I got into the 50s, except for AUD.
– AUD, you can pass without hardly doing MCQs/SIMS, but with FAR/REG/BEC, the most you get are 50s WITHOUT DOING MCQS/SIMS. – SO JUST READING YOUR TEXTBOOKS/NOTES FOR FAR/REG/BEC, AND STUDYING FOR 2-3 DAYS, WILL EARN YOU 50S OR LOWER MARKS.

Lastly, I'm putting in 8-10 yrs a day, for the next 3 months.
– Also, my husband is giving mock exams during the weekends, making sure I am on track with my review.
– Meaning, I have to study those mock exams, before the gruelling weekends, 4hrs per section.
– THERE IS NO EASY WAY TO PASS, FAR/REG/BEC SECTIONS, and YOU HAVE TO DO THE MCQS/SIMS app, and
– Read your Ninja/Becker/Wiley(for IFRS only) notes and textbooks briefly, to put all things together, just before the exams.
Good luck.

[QueenCPA]

Make sure you identify your weakness and improve on those areas

For me, bond, leases were my weakness and NP and Governmental were my strengths

So I focused on my weak areas and made sure I understood them well and did lots of ninja mcqs.

[Bokhead]

Since you only have one month, i suggest just doing mcq over and over again in order. I can't emphasize enough how useful ninja mcqs were for me and made me understand the concepts and JE ALOT better rather than watching the video lectures. Don't bother doing practicing sims since they are completely different from the actual exam(As long your strong in MCQ and know the concepts, you will notice that the SIMs isn't as hard as it seems since they are basically grouped up mcq). I also purchased Ninja Notes and that helped understand the JE and concepts better as well.

[Q]

Having a month to study FAR. I suggest read the books and answer the MCQs. Very important to know the concepts, and you need more practice to solve simulations and MCQs computation in order to be comfortable in actual exam. Focus on government acctg. and not for profit for theory questions. For simulations focus on basic topics that an accountant with 2 years work experience doing in actual practice. Focus on assets, leases, cash flows, etc.

God bless.

[Author]

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