[Anonymous]

I finally passed FAR on my 5th try!

I was one of those people that just needed extra help to be more proficient with sims. After 3 hrs of testlets, it was like I had a hard time even understanding what the sims were even asking for. I guess I needed a bit more practice than the average bear.

This is what it took for me to do this:

1. Know your journal entries!

2. Wiley Test bank is excellent for sims. I made sure I did almost every sim I could for the topics that had them in addition to over 3400+ mcq. I did all the FAR CPAReviewForFree also.

3. Do 1-3 sims for every 20 mcq over and over as you switch around your topics. Wiley Testbank makes it easy to do this. Wiley gives you up to 164 sims. I did every blimey one (not including research). When you get to the exam…your going to understand why sims shouldn’t be shined on for some of you.

4. Ninja notes written down twice with every poor subject rewritten a few more times in addition to that.

5. I used Wiley FAR for Kindle as my reference.

I actually finished all sims on this last round of FAR on 04-19-13.

Good luck!

[jgrfan1]

Thanks for the post. I'm using Wiley book and test bank for FAR. I had a post earlier asking if the Wiley sims were helpful in preparing for the exam. I've used Wiley for all of my prior exams and found the test bank to be an excellent tool in preparing. You basically have to do all of the MC and all of the sims. If you can get an average score of 70-75 on Wiley test bank, you should be adequately prepared for the exam.

Thanks, about to pound out 30 MC and 2 sims this AM.

BEC - 5/2012 - 91
AUD - 8/2012 - 89
REG - 1/2013 - 90
FAR - 5/2013 - 88
Wife, 2 kids and a job

[RandomAlt]

Thanks for the insight Carrie-in-WA.

Its funny that you mentioned #1 being know your journal entries. I started a post last night asking how everyone studies JEs.

So let me ask you. Did you focus a lot of journal entries outside of Wiley, or did just focus on them through the Wiley SIMs?

FAR - [10/07/2013 --> 66] [07/07/2014 --> 86]
BEC - [08/31/2014 --> 86]
AUD - [11/24/2014 --> 88]
REG - [02/14/2015 --> 92]

[Anonymous]

@ RandomAlt

I made note cards every time a MCQ or simulation asked about “what would be the correct account to debit/credit” in X situation? Many questions come up like that in Wiley test bank's MCQ and sims in many subjects. I kept up at it because I did not want to get caught in any questions that I could not have solved simply because I could not remember the fundamental journal entries.

[jgrfan1]

How did you guys score on the Wiley Test Bank during your prep? I am in the low 70s but I range from the 60s to the low 80s.

BEC - 5/2012 - 91
AUD - 8/2012 - 89
REG - 1/2013 - 90
FAR - 5/2013 - 88
Wife, 2 kids and a job

[memmy29]

Unfortunately I purchased the Wiley Test Bank App for Iphone/Ipad and it does not have SIMS. I hope the Becker ones are helpful…

AUD-84, REG-75, BEC-84, FAR-77

Licensed CPA

CIA Exam
Part 1 - Passed
Part 2 - Passed
Part 3 - Passed

[MustPass1988]

I am scoring in the 60's but for REG I scored overall a 64 and passed with an 83 so I'm not worried about that. I think Wiley Testbank is a great tool for studying. The questions are actually harder and more in depth most of the time than the ones on the actual exam.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[jgrfan1]

@MustPass1988

Agree with that statement per my experience with previous exams. Just hoping it holds up one more time for me with FAR.

BEC - 5/2012 - 91
AUD - 8/2012 - 89
REG - 1/2013 - 90
FAR - 5/2013 - 88
Wife, 2 kids and a job

[RandomAlt]

@MustPass1988 & jgrfan1…When you say “The questions are actually harder and more in depth most of the time than the ones on the actual exam,” do you specifically mean the SIMS? Because aren't the MCQ's just past exam questions?

FAR - [10/07/2013 --> 66] [07/07/2014 --> 86]
BEC - [08/31/2014 --> 86]
AUD - [11/24/2014 --> 88]
REG - [02/14/2015 --> 92]

[jgrfan1]

@RandomAlt

I mean my experience is that the MC and SIMS in the Wiley Test BAnk have been harder than what I've seen on the exam. I'm not sure if the MC are past exam questions or not. If they are, they seem to be the more difficult ones.

BEC - 5/2012 - 91
AUD - 8/2012 - 89
REG - 1/2013 - 90
FAR - 5/2013 - 88
Wife, 2 kids and a job

[JiujitsuCPA]

I just got my score notice for my 5th FAR attempt yesterday, and found out I failed again with a 69. I did get a 74 on the one I wrote in January so I was looking forward to see a passing score this time. I seriously can't understand how people manage to pass this exam, I've put in more than 1000 hours in total just for FAR. Is there any way I could get over this curse?? I am currently using Wiley textbook.

I AM DONE!!

BEC - 79 (4/30/13)
FAR - 81 (11/12/13)
AUD - 83 (4/14/14)
REG - 75 (8/14/14)

Wiley CPA Excel
Wiley Test Bank
Ninja Audio

[Anonymous]

@JiujitsuCPA I just wanted to say hang in there. You WILL pass FAR. I thought studying for that exam was so hard. I spent 7 months on it. Don't give up. Try taking notes if you haven't done this yet. I would never have passed without extensive note taking in addition the the mcqs. It's endlessly time consuming but it really helps the information to stick. Good luck!

[memmy29]

@JiujitsuCPA,

What are you using to study? Don't get discouraged…it may take some time, but you can do it. It's kicking my butt too but you are so close!

AUD-84, REG-75, BEC-84, FAR-77

Licensed CPA

CIA Exam
Part 1 - Passed
Part 2 - Passed
Part 3 - Passed

[RandomAlt]

Hey JiujitsuCPA,

I can't offer any help with the CPA exam itself, because I haven't taken any section yet, but I can pass along my study habits.

One of my big things is creating my own flashcards. I use a program called Anki, it lets me create them on the computer and auto sync them to my android phone. I'm using CPAexcel, which for FAR, is broken down into 239 sections, so after reading and analyzing each section, I boil my flashcards down into 4-8 of the most important concepts. I then review these everyday. I find this part VERY important because it keep topics fresh in my mind. If not, I'm sure by the time i get to section 239 I wont remember anything from sections 1-150.

Hope some of that helps.

Side note: I like Anki for a # of reasons, but mostly because rather than just throwing flashcards at me, I can time when I get different cards shown to me. Every time you answer a card, anki asks you how hard it was. Harder cards show up more often, easier card less often. So I'm not reviewing every card every day, but the ones I feel are harder concepts.

FAR - [10/07/2013 --> 66] [07/07/2014 --> 86]
BEC - [08/31/2014 --> 86]
AUD - [11/24/2014 --> 88]
REG - [02/14/2015 --> 92]

[JiujitsuCPA]

@CPA_Driven, thanks, I feel a lot better now! I was really discouraged after I saw my score this tiime. Regarding the notes, did you handwrite it? or is there any recommended format/software??

@memmy29, I'm using Wiley CPA exam review texbook, the big thick one. I kind of got to the point where I memorized a lot of the questions and answers… I can see you've passed the other 3 already, good luck with your rematch!

@RandomAlt, I've never heard of Anki, can I get that online?

I AM DONE!!

BEC - 79 (4/30/13)
FAR - 81 (11/12/13)
AUD - 83 (4/14/14)
REG - 75 (8/14/14)

Wiley CPA Excel
Wiley Test Bank
Ninja Audio

[memmy29]

I'm getting nervous. My retake is 5/28. I'm running out of time, so I'm going to read the text/take my own notes to get through the chapters and then start MCQs and SIMS.

Has anyone had luck doing everything and then questions, or is it better to do questions after each chapter?

AUD-84, REG-75, BEC-84, FAR-77

Licensed CPA

CIA Exam
Part 1 - Passed
Part 2 - Passed
Part 3 - Passed

[Author]

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