[sealegs]

So, I did not pass FAR for the second time! (72 first time, 73 second time) 🙁 Each time I’ve done weaker on the sims. I never practice any simulations during my studies because I feel the ones on the test are much harder than the wiley ones. Also, you never really know what to expect. Just wondering how anyone else has prepared for the FAR simulations? Any tips? For me, the sims are the worst part of the exam!!

Also, I only have about a month to restudy so I can retake it for the third time. Not sure what is the best way to study…I know I should do mcq’s, but the FAR ones take forever to do…and I’m on a time crunch! HELP!

REG - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 72, 73, 80
AUD - 72, 92

[pacific1]

@sealegs – I am not sure I am the best be giving advice but I am in the same boat as you, I did not pass FAR and I have it rescheduled for less than a month from now. They way I am going to tackle it is so to spend more time really understanding the concepts, in the past I have focused on doing as many mcq's as possible. I also really looked at my statistics from my previous studies, I looked to see where I am stronger and weaker and I am planning on attacking all the weaker areas first. I am also going to take notes, I am not sure I will have time to re-write them but I am hoping I can just study them whenever I have a free moment during the next month.

[Anonymous]

@sealegs. Are you using Becker? If so, to prepare for sims, I would use stickies and flag every single page in the Becker book that has journal entries / boxy examples. These are all potential SIMS, so make sure you have these down. Rewrite them. If you're having issues with journal entries, make sure you practice them (rewrite them) w/o looking at the book. Even if problems are time consuming to do, practice them. I would think that the ones involving heavy calculations might earn you more points.

[sealegs]

@pacific1 – The second time I studied, i focused on reading and understanding the concepts and only did a few mcq's. I think now that I have the concepts down, I really should just reinforce and practice them through doing questions. Good luck with your studies! A couple weeks to study for the second/third try is enough time!

@CPABear – I am actually using Roger. But thanks for the advice about practicing j/e's. I will definitely do that.

Have either or you (or anyone else) used the Ninja Notes? I was thinking about getting them…but not sure if they will be useful?

REG - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 72, 73, 80
AUD - 72, 92

[Anonymous]

Sealegs, I’m in no place to give advice either but I am in the same boat. I got a 74 in FAR-first test. I have about 4 weeks to study too (before I need to study/sit for AUD) and am also using Roger’s review which I like.

I scored weaker in sims too. I did the one thing I promised myself I wouldn’t do and did not leave enough time to complete them. I planned on leaving 1.5 hours but of course my plan went out the window and only had 55 mins left for them. I totally skipped one and left another one halfway done. I think I only got the research questions right.

I practiced the sims using the Wiley testbank but it couldn’t really prepare me since time is really an issue in completing them on the real exam. Did you have enough time or did you finish them and they were just incorrect? I’m really hoping I screwed up due to time.

As for restudying, I debated buying the Roger Cram but I think I’m going to study with the tools I have: rewatching some lectures, rewriting notes, concentrate on weaker areas, practice more m/c, and more practice exams.

Not sure I can do this in 4 weeks but I’m going to try too. Did you use the Roger Cram the second time around? Just wondering how it is.

Good luck to all of us!!

[SunDevil13]

I think it may be time to practice the simulations. Get used to doing long problems rather than just one calculation. Being prepared for whatever pops up. Practicing the sims cannot hurt you.

To me the hardest thing about sims is how much information you have to read before you even start the problem. It can be overwhelming.

FAR - 7/25/11 - 79
AUD - 11/29/11 - 93
REG - 2/29/12 - 86
BEC - 4-5/XX/12

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I know how ya'll feel! I just got a 73 for the 2nd time on FAR, and its my last test. I used Becker self study the first time, and supplemented it with Becker Final Review the 2nd time. I think that is a great idea to flag through the book any long example or journal entry to focus on those.

When I was taking Financial for the 2nd time, I felt like the BIG topics that I focused on weren't on my exam. I was frustrated because I felt like the questions were on such random topics and things that weren't covered very well in my review material. Did any of you have this problem too? I'm hoping that I just got a bad test, and next time will be easier. Good luck to everyone restudying for FAR!

[Anonymous]

ar.cpa.cand, you are officially on my list of people I'm rooting for!

[sealegs]

@cosmo_sippin_cpa – i had enough time to finish the sims, i just didn't know how to do most of them. =/ I didn't use the roger cram. I am thinking about buying the ninja notes/flashcards, but i'm not sure if they will be useful to me.

I think I will follow SunDevil13's advice and actually practice a few sims this time! I really cannot get “weaker” for sims again if i want to pass!

REG - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 72, 73, 80
AUD - 72, 92

[jamesjohnson11]

I thought the ninja notes were very well written and could be a great supplement. The only reason I didn't use them that much was because when I try to remember something I visualize the page and try to remember exactly where the topic was on the page and what the numbers or notes were. When I studied with the ninja notes i felt like it was a little too confusing for me because i started messing with my brain trying to remember if it was in becker or the ninja packet.

The ninja notes didn't fit my style but i think they could easily do wonders for someone else.

R PASS
A PASS
B PASS
F AUGUST

[sealegs]

Do you guys think it is still possible to pass with a “weaker” on sims??

REG - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 72, 73, 80
AUD - 72, 92

[rshaf]

@sealegs

I failed FAR twice as well before passing (73, 74). For me, while I agree that the Wiley SIMs aren't a perfect supplement, I thought they were fairly helpful on a number of topics. I focused on the Wiley SIMs and the previous 14 SIM topics that I sat through on my previous 2 exams and drill them for like 10 days straight. I think it really helped out.

Good Luck.

BEC- 76 (08/10)- PASS
AUD- 85 (11/10)- PASS
REG- 71 (02/11), 81 (04/11)- PASS
FAR- 73 (05/11), 74 (08/11), 79 (11/11)- PASS

[ggwsbi]

@sealegs – I rarely study for sim. I usually go through sim once; only a few days before sitting for exam just to get familiarized with the format of specific topics. In my opinion, sim tests your understanding of certain topics, so you need to get used to the journal entries and even practicing sim more may not help, in my opinion.

BEC 11/10 - 77
REG 11/10 - 66, 8/11 - 84
AUD 4/11 - 86
FAR 4/11 - 67, 11/11 - 83

[Anonymous]

I failed FAR back in October and I'm just now starting to re-study for my exam at the end of February. I am trying to follow NINJA this time around but am getting burnt out and I'm only halfway through writing notes for F1. I feel like I'm writing down the entire textbook (Using Becker). I was going to just copy Jeff's NINJA notes but they don't really correlate to the order of the Becker book. Any advice on how to successfully complete this process?

[jamesjohnson11]

I skipped the ninja notes for the reason that they didnt correlate to the order in the becker book and kind of confused me. I think if you were to separate the ninja notes and put them in the order so they are similar to becker this would be really helpful.

R PASS
A PASS
B PASS
F AUGUST

[Author]

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