Specifically, my experience with FAR:
(1) Though I did tons of practice simulations before AUD and REG, I did very few for FAR. I just didn't have time, felt I needed to focus on learning the material well. I ended up with one fairly easy simulation and one much harder. However, I do not feel that working any more practice simulations beforehand would have helped me on that one. I split my time pretty evenly between working practice MC questions and reading the Becker chapters over and over … and over. I firmly believe you have to do both.
(2) Time is the main enemy on FAR. I paced myself through the MC questions so that I'd have about an hour per simulation, and I'm glad I did. I needed every minute. There were definitely some MC questions that I couldn't figure out in a couple of minutes and I knew that if I spent 5 or 10 minutes on them, I'd probably get it right. But I felt like I didn't have that kind of time, so I guessed and went on.
(3) I did the writing component first, as soon as I opened the simulation. One of the Becker teachers recommended that, and I've done it every time. It's a relief to get it out of the way, and you can always go back and add something afterwards if you have time. I didn't waste time jotting down notes; I just started writing quickly, getting out everything I could think of as I wrote. I didn't spend more than 10-15 minutes on the writing part, trying to leave at least 45 minutes for the rest of the simulation.
(4) The worst part of the exam for me was that there were a number of MC questions that were on topics I knew (or thought I knew) extremely well. But there would be an unfamiliar element thrown in, or a number I wasn't sure I needed, and I didn't know how to handle it. I think I felt really secure about only half, maybe 60%, of the MC questions, and that's why I am not sure I passed.
(5) Except for one tab on one simulation, there weren't any questions that I felt were not covered in Becker.
(6) In my opinion, it's better to know 85% of the Becker material really well than to “sort of” know 100% of it. If you don't have time to master all of it, master what you can.
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