[AliCpa]

Hi every one , I have study for FAR 4 months till now and I am still in F3, I FEEL VERY FRUSTRATED , AND I FEEL I AM STARTED FORGETTING THE f1,f2 , now I have my own plan , I decided to read the flash card first then the watch the calculation on the lectures, after that go to MCQs , BUT ON THE MCQ I ONLY PRACTICE THE THEARITICAL ONE NOT THE CALCULATION, DO THINK IT’S a GOOD IDEA OR THE EXAM WILL FOCUS ON MATH MORE , ‘ I USING BECKER COURCE ‘

Thank you, in advance, i am really needed help.

[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

took it july 11th. Would say it was 60% math, 40% theory for the MCQ. Sims were laughably impossible tbh

[Finally_a_CPA]

I honestly think it all depends. I tend to prefer problems where math is involved but unfortunately for me, my exam didn't really have a lot of math. 90% of the math it did have was simple 3rd grade math. It was more about understanding the concepts.

[countinCoconuts]

I ran into this exact same issue, finishing all the material in sequential order only to forget the MCQs I got right earlier in my studies.

My Advice: go through all the MCQs in random order. This will keep your brain from answering things based on one subject matter, and it will force you to think across the board.

Also, as you move forward into new subject areas, be sure to constantly refresh/ reinforce what you've already learned. There's so much material on the FAR, it's tough to really comprehend all at once. You'll see the real learning will come during your final review when you take all subjects at once (as you would on the CPA exam).

Regarding the exam, I would Say to truly “understand” the calculation and theory vs just memorizing how to answer them. The TBS was laughably impossible as mentioned above. Moral of the story? UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS and why the answer is what it is. It'll really help on the TBS section as well. Also, take the practice AICPA exam online to get used to the sim format. Scrolling between supporting docs and the question can be annoying if this is your first exam!

Good luck!

FAR – 8/14/17 (awaiting results)
AUD – 10/3/17

[AliCpa]

Thank you future CPA, thank you so much

[Skynet]

You can't escape FAR on calculations no matter what! FAR is calculations heavy and in order to do those calculations you need to understand the concepts. There are no shortcuts, so you have go through everything because every subject will be tested. You will have to find way to get refreshed on those subjects. The way i did it was creating and doing cumulative quizzes on all prior chapters a few times a week and reviewing prior chapters on the weekends.

[maverick87]

You need to study faster and actually get through the material. Some stuff you will not understand a great deal but that is ok. Watch lectures and highlight info to go back and take important simple notes, do half the mcq for that section and then move on to the next section. After getting through all the material, you evaluate your weak areas, focus on these. When you review, I think this will help you out; every other day switch between doing mcq all day and half mcq/half read notes, flash cards, book. Make sure you have a note book specifically for mnemonics or trouble topics, no need to write a ton of notes so keep them short. Roger has FAR broken down into 31 sections so I would re read notes every 5 chapters or every week to review and keep information somewhat fresh.

[Big Mike]

my MCQ were like 90% theory

[Jigalo]

I took FAR in July and would say it depends on what section your exam is heavy on. If its heavy on bonds, pensions, inventory it will be math heavy. If its heavy on NFP and Gov then it will be heavy on theory. My experience it was 70% theory for the MC but all my sims made up for the lack of math i had to do in the MC. As for getting through, just make sure you do a good progress test after every section, it helps to keep the old chapters fresh. Good Luck!!!

[Scared-cpa]

In short, I would say FAR is more mathematical as opposed to theoretical. Both are important to understand but you're not going to fully understand FAR unless you know how to do the calculations. It can suck at times but keep practicing. The second time around for me, I could tell the concepts were clicking for me and I understood it. My first time on the exam, i didnt focus on the math as much and it is reflective in my score – 67. Second time around, I delved into all the material and really tried to understand how to work the problems and i was much more successful with a passing score of 82. Good luck.

[krstnam]

I've taken FAR 3 times and will be going for a 4th. The calculation vs theory is difficult for me to quantify. One exam, it seemed like most of the questions were complicated calculation questions. Another exam, it seemed I only had a handful of questions that involved complex calculations but had several “simple” calculations but the problem was where on what statement does that simple calculation go…

But, I too had that problem the first time I took the exam. It was so much crap to muddle through that by the time I got to chapter 3, I completely forgot chapter 1. When I began the 2nd exam I ran into the same problem. By the time I was into chapters 4/5, I had forgotten about the 1st chapter. You have an edge because you've figured it out a lot earlier in the game than me.

Now what I do, I stagger the studying. So, say today I'm finishing chapter 4 – tomorrow I'll do MCQs from chapters 1-4. GLEIM and NINJA have great options for that type of studying because you can pick and choose very specific content you need to work on and the practice quiz will give you questions only from those areas. GLEIM has 1/2 off the test bank for all four sections until the 30th. NINJA no longer offers stand alone MCQs/SIMs – even with the discount though, NINJA is less expensive.

Good luck!

[Author]

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