[NY.CPA.Someday]

Just took FAR this week and actually found it to be more difficult than the Becker practice finals and passmaster questions I had previously encountered. I marked 15 questions throughout the exam and upon coming home and cracking open the FAR text, discovered that my answers to all 15 of them were in fact wrong. However, I am fairly confident with my answers on the balance of the questions. Assuming that I got 20 wrong in total and that I had medium, hard, and medium testlets (most of the wrong answers occurring in the hard testlet) does that pretty much preclude me from passing this exam? I’d say I got about half the alotted points for the simulations and full credit for the written communication. This was the first exam I’ve taken and felt extremely prepared going in since my averages on Becker questions were in the 90s for all questions. About half of the questions I answered incorrectly were not encompassed in the Becker questions but rather in minute details in the text. I know that it’s extremely difficult to assess the situation since some questions are discarded and some not weighted as heavily as others but I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience getting around this quantity of multiple choice wrong and still ended up passing. It’s been awfully difficult for me to come to terms with sacrificing 2 months of my life for something I’m almost certain I failed. It’s been proving difficult to get my head into Audit which I’m taking in less than 3 weeks but I know I must forge onward however hard that may be. Any thoughts or comment would be greatly appreciated.

FAR - 8/4 - 93
AUD - 8/26/10 - 97
REG - 10/3/10 - 93
BEC - 11/21/10 - 82

[NY.CPA.Someday]

Haha, I don't know. I guess I typically remember things that I'm unable to answer because I'm curious as to what the actual answer is. Too bad this trait didn't help me with the information I needed on the exam. Then again, most of the stuff I needed on the exam wasn't provided in my study materials so it was kind of pointless. I was amazed to see how heavily tested this one topic was that Becker omitted. Without exaggeration, this particular topic accounted for approximately 10 of the 15 aforementioned incorrect questions.

FAR - 8/4 - 93
AUD - 8/26/10 - 97
REG - 10/3/10 - 93
BEC - 11/21/10 - 82

[financeguy]

well to be fair, there are thousands of questions for the AICPA to use, and you only get 90 of them. So while you may have seen a lot of a certain topic, I may possibly have not gotten 1. I remember reading the AICPA has over 7000 questions for all 4 exams. Let's just say FAR has 2000 to choose from. 90/2000 = 4.5%

You are only being exposed to approximately 5% of the total possible questions that can be asked. Some times it is just the luck of the draw.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[Anonymous]

@NYCPA- I had the same exact experience with REG…heavily tested, not covered by Becker…at all.

[NY.CPA.Someday]

Those questions must comprise a statistically significant portion of the question database then if 10 of them appeared on my exam. I'm sure not as much as other sections but Becker should disclose more information on this particular topic if the probability of receiving a significant portion of these questions is even remotely possible.

FAR - 8/4 - 93
AUD - 8/26/10 - 97
REG - 10/3/10 - 93
BEC - 11/21/10 - 82

[Anonymous]

@NY- In theory that might sound nice, but really, that's not feasible. Plus, would you wanna know that all the studying you're doing is for .01% of a chance of the question being on the exam?

[NY.CPA.Someday]

No certainly not but all the information I needed to answer these questions could have comprised only about a page in a Becker book. I found the answers to these questions in 4 paragraphs between 2 pronouncements. Oh well, what's done is done. I'm just venting now.

FAR - 8/4 - 93
AUD - 8/26/10 - 97
REG - 10/3/10 - 93
BEC - 11/21/10 - 82

[Anonymous]

Understandable. This is the place to vent, for sure.

[Anonymous]

Just an comment on my part. I never went back and looked up any questions after the exam probably because I couldn't remember any because my brain was fried after each exam. I would recommend that you forget about the exam the moment you walk out of the test center because at that point there is not a thing you can do to change the outcome. so do not waste valuable time, energy and brain power on what ifs, it will drive you nuts. Take a day or two for a break if your schedule will allow it enjoy your free time in between exams, charge your batteries so speak then dive in to your next exam. Worry about what you are going to do if you fail after you get your score, until then move on to AUD.

Also, remember Becker's material covers what is mostly likely to be tested from experience, By no means do they claim that they cover all the material tested. They proclaim if you follow there plan you will pass and like financeguy your goal is to beat out about 55% of the others since at least 45% pass. That is the way I always looked at it. Good Luck on your FAR score and turn your focus on AUD.

[NY.CPA.Someday]

Thanks for the insight Lee. Will do!

FAR - 8/4 - 93
AUD - 8/26/10 - 97
REG - 10/3/10 - 93
BEC - 11/21/10 - 82

[Anonymous]

NY.CPA.Someday

I agree with Lee_IN – Becker covers what is most likey to be tested – think of it like a review of 20% of the items and covering 80% of the population. With FAR the amount of material that could be tested is vast – and the review material adequtely covers what is likelt to be tested. The testers will always be able to throw something in – but most other testers will miss it too. Hopefully, that question is tossed.

I also agree with Lee_IN about not looking up questions. Stopprd that in college – it does not change the answer and frequently I incorrectly recalled eiher the question or my response. Now I wait for the black box to spit out my score.

Good Luck! Hope you are receive good news in a few weeks!

[joohj1187]

Yeah, come on guys, Becker only provides reasonable assurance that their review materials do not materially misstate the contents of the CPA exam. They can't give you a guarantee!

I hope the AICPA reads my comment and just gives me a 75% for AUD. Goddamn, i hate studying.

FAR: 8/5/2010 - 89
AUD: 8/24/2010 - 92
REG: 10/11/2010 - 94!!
BEC: 11/30/2010

[gabe1475]

I think every review course has parts they do not stress, Phil Yeager actually admits to this on the section for pensions, while becker covers it. He states he does not go over gains/loss component of pension expense as it is not likely to be tested. Unless you schedule on the wrong day and you get the test that has 5 questions on it, like someone else mentioned – luck of the draw. If I had just scheduled that test on Tuesday!

FAR - 95
AUD - 82
REG - 94
BEC - 84

[Author]

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