[Anonymous]

– I read/understood all 20 chapters, made flashcards (average 55 flashcards per chapter), understood MCQ problems for each chapter while making “formula sheet” for these questions as needed. I did not practice any problems.

The problem now is memorizing these flashcards, practicing MCQ, and SIMS. I have 33 days before the exam. I don’t know how many problems I should practice per chapter. Keep in mind when I say problems, I am only talking about problems with calculations. Can you guys give advice on how many problems with calculations I should do per chapter for MCQ? And how many SIMS with calculations I should do per chapter? I am using Gleim study guide.

[Anonymous]

@Von,

I'm taking FAR in a month and using Gleim, and I'm using the same strategy I used to pass REG. I'm finishing up my last 3 SUs this week, and then for the next two weeks I'll do general review within Gleim by spending an hour on each SU reviewing flashcards, reading core concepts, and doing a 20 question quiz. I'll add SIMS once I go through each SU twice.

Then first week of April, I'll go through all the NINJA MCQS, the AICPA practice test and focus on trouble spots in SIMS. The week of the test I'll go back to Gleim and take the rehearsal exam and focus on my weak spots.

For REG, the day before the test I did a 20 question MCQ study session quiz from each SU, and I'll probably do this again for FAR. However, I think some people recommend a lighter review the day before.

Anyway, I have about a week and a half extra for general review than what Gleim recommends so I feel pretty confident. I would narrow down your flashcards to max 10-15 per SU and separate the IFRS ones. Then you can drill the flashcards and use the study session feature to practice IFRS concepts only.

[Anonymous]

@benj2017

Thanks for your reply. The flashcards have information straight from MCQ that are not calculations, so that is why it's best if I don't narrow it down. I think 10-15 calculation MCQ per unit should be good then for me judging your reply.

[Tncincy]

@Von Unfortunately, you need to turn it up. You should be doing mcq's galore. And at some point get a practice test in with some sims. But This is it, you cannot be casual now. Set a schedule, (if you can) do mcq's in the am, Notes @ lunch, mcq's @ break.. notes and flash cards @ night (before bed). Put in some mcq's at night if you have to. Use your audio if you have it. Point is you can't approach this final 33 days casually.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Anonymous]

@Tncincy

How many SIMS would you recommend to work on per unit?

Also I am not working right now, so I can put in 7 hours easily per day studying.

[Anonymous]

1,000 flash cards just seems a little too much. Do you really have that much stuff to memorize, or are you basically using them instead of notes?

[Anonymous]

Using them instead of notes

[Anonymous]

@Von,

I concur with @calvinus that 1,000 flashcards is excessive. Most of the MCQ explanations in Gleim can be found in the outline, so if you base your flashcards on the most important material in each SU and narrow that down, you'll have a better chance of retaining the conceptual info. I have about 5-10 for each SU. If you are using them instead of notes, then come up with a second group that is made up of more integral material, and drill those hard.

I wouldn't attempt to distinguish between calculation and conceptual MCQs for two reasons. One, you will wind up memorizing the calculation answers for a lot of the MCQs, and also for more complicated topics, the AICPA will test more conceptually on MCQS. Check out the released CPA questions and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, the good thing about Gleim is that if you memorize the general concepts in the outline using flashcards, then drilling MCQS in study session mode will give you instant feedback in essentially the same way a flashcard does. Hence, why having that many flashcards is overkill….

It's also important to practice the Gleim SIMS because they are very close to the ones you will see on the exam. (I can verify this from my REG experience) You also get put through the paces more with SIMS, so it strengthens your overall conceptual understanding of the material and makes you rely less on memorization.

[Anonymous]

Thanks @benj2017

How many SIMS do you think I should do per unit? Keep in mind each sim has like 5 questions in Gleim

[Anonymous]

Benj2017,

Actually, I could still see the flashcards as being very effective in some ways, but also counter-productive in others. For one, they didn't really let me connect things together and see the bigger picture. For example, the differences between the various entities on property contributions. It was just random rules that made no sense until I took the extra step of putting them all on one flashcard. Should that step have been obvious from the beginning? Perhaps, but I never claimed to be a good student.

[Anonymous]

I am not familiar with Gleim, but I used Becker and Ninja and I think I probably did over 4,000 multiple questions by the end (so at least twice for each test bank, ok, maybe 1.5 times) and I did all the SIMS Becker course had to offer….

[Anonymous]

@von,

I don't think there is an exact number to do or attempt. The best bet is probably to do at least one set for each SU, and then focus on the SUs that line up with the FAR SIMS Blueprint thread that is up here.

@calvinus,

I don't know about counter-productive, but definitely not as useful for some people. I think the plus to @von ‘s approach is the process of writing out the cards which probably requires analyzing and condensing the info quite a bit. However, for study purposes, I think reviewing any more than 150-200 flashcards just gets overwhelming.

Just my two cents….A lot of this just depends on the person's learning style I think.

[Anonymous]

Well I use quizlet, so it's more copy pasting – not writing it out. But I changed up my tactic. I am spending way too much time trying to memorize a lot of info. I am going to memorize some (the ones I really need to), not all. The ones I don't memorize I will read everyday more like notes.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if it's even possible to memorize all the info for an exam. For me, sometimes I don't even remember what I read yesterday. But when I do MCQs, I am usually able to see why some choices are correct or incorrect. So my suggestion is, don't emphasize too much on memorizing all the info, when you do the questions, you'll be surprised at how much you actually know in terms of recognizing which choices are correct or incorrect.

After going through all the chapters once, I think you should do a general review. Glance through the chapters, do like 5-10 MCQs. After reviewing a few chapters, you should do some MCQs involving several chapters, not just the one you just reviewed, to ensure that you're able to retain most of the information.

Since you are studying for FAR, I think you should do a Sim for chapters that are heavy on calculations as I believe that is the best way to learn how to do the calculations, along with the appropriate journal entries.

[Anonymous]

That's actually really good advice, appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Agreed, I screwed myself on last BEC by not at least familiarizing myself with all the terms. Couldn't even tell which were real. Perimeter physical control? Real-time mirroring? Who talks like this?

[Author]

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