[Eat Pray Study]

Hi guys,

I just got my FAR score and It was as I expected. I got a 64.

I felt awesome doing the MCQs but SIMS crushed me. I want to discuss it in detail but I read some where that we are not supposed to talk about them? Anyways I had SIMS that had way too much reading materials to finish them in two hours.

My score says my MCQs were stronger. So I think I really need to focus on my SIM skills. How did you guys do these sims? I mean I felt like it was impossible to read thru all of them. But also the size of them overwhelmed me and I became a very inefficient reader too.. Please share if you have any tips.

I burnt my finger badly baking last night but I can’t feel it anymore hahaha GOSH it’s so painful to see 64! I hate this number!!

[Ana]

if you use Becker, search for the FAR Blueprint thread and work on that.

[Stilgoin]

You are correct- we are not allowed to discuss exam content of any kind. For sims, practice is key. You need to do all the sims you can so that on exam day, nothing surprises you. The test exam on the AICPA website is always good, and I really liked Becker sims and Wiley sims. Those two seemed to be the closest experience in relation to the actual exams.

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Anonymous]

Practicing SIMs will definitely help you. A lot on this forum say it's not necessary but I think that should only be the case when you don't have time. Practice sims are there to help you find your weak areas – not to resemble actual exam sims. I found so many of my weak areas while practicing sims cause if you can't put in a journal entry or do an open-ended calculation, you clearly don't know the material. Tackling a lot before the exam also gives you confidence that you're comfortable with sims and will allow you to perform better.

I practiced enough that for each sim on the exam, I felt relatively comfortable and was able to fill something out to get every partial point I could.

[cando]

I agree with @Stilgoin and @cjhim. MCQ is important but you definitely want to practice as many SIMs as your time allows so that you

– Get familiar with the format : if the overwhelming amount of document SIMs are challenging you the most, I'd select those from your review course questions (I used Wiley Test Bank) and tackle those. Once you see more of them and practice more, you will less likely get panic in the exam and focus on what info you need to extract from all the exhibits given. I am not a fast reader so I had to develop my own strategy (skim through the main tab, see what are being asked, quickly click the exhibit tabs to see what kind of info is given then proceed with answering questions). Always check your time in the middle of solving the SIMs so that you don't get caught up and spending too much time on it. I forced myself not to spend more than 20 min in each SIM unless I know that I have extra time to spare because one of the SIM in the same testlet was a simple one and I banked some extra time for the long SIMs.

– Also, don't underestimate the importance of other format of SIMs such as filling the blanks, drop down menu choice, JEs : I made a mistake of skipping the “less complicated looking” SIMs during my practice and the exact same SIM showed up in my exam…

I got 57 in my first try but thankfully got 83 in retake. It is possible to do it, keep your spirits up and keep on digging. You WILL knock this FAR down. I know how painful to through this and I'm rooting for you, you will be rewarded with the passing score in your retake then get to throw all your notes, study materials in the trash… 🙂

Good luck @Eat Pray Study! You certainly can do this!

[Eat Pray Study]

Thank you so much guys for the tips and encouragement!!!!

[Author]

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