[SchruteBeet]

Hey guys,

I failed FAR on my first attempt this past quarter and am planning a retake the last week of Feb. I was able to sit down and really decide on where things may have gone wrong and what not to do next time. I was in the middle of a huge move (to another country) so I had a lot going on. On top of that I stretched the prep time to 4 months and didn’t quite review the old material as I progressed into the later chapters. Also, I did not manage my time well on the exam and ended up rushing through the last 3 SIMs. I have a plan below for my retake and wanted to get you guys thoughts.

I have been using Becker so for the retake I was thinking of spending the next 2 weeks going back to the textbook and taking handwritten notes. I don’t plan to redo any MCQ’s or videos except for the 2018 updates topics. Then I plan to go through the Ninja MCQs for 3 weeks. On Sundays leading up to the exam, I plan to do 1-2 Becker Sims, a progress test, flashcards from my first attempt and review my notes. Finally during my last 2 review weeks, I was thinking of doing the Ninja MCQs in their adaptive phase and then practice exams from either Ninja or Becker.

Do you guys think this plan is realistic? Would appreciate any thoughts or comments.

[SchruteBeet]

Anyone?

[turo9992000]

What was your score for FAR? I also failed Far and I'm retaking it on February 11. My plan is to study the whole thing again. I plan to get through the book/notes in 4 weeks, I'm going to do the becker mcqs as I go along. then the last 2.5 weeks nonstop Ninja MCQs or Gleim MCQs.

I think your plan looks good.

[SchruteBeet]

@turo9992000 I got a 56 on my exam so I really need to up my game!

[Anonymous]

This is a great thread! I got a 69 this past Tuesday, got my score report today, which didn't explain crap… Except stronger on MCQ, weaker on SIMS…And weaker on whatever section that's 40% of exam…( I forget) I was comparable on gov't accounting, and that is a disappointment almost because that's what I thought did me in.

I thought I would go back through Becker and then Ninja, but I think I need quality over quantity. I plan on spending most of my time on Ninja MCQ, the way I have done for other sections that I passed, then use Ninja as a guide to go back through Becker on certain topics (I think in my heart of hearts I know which ones they are…) I also plan on redoing all of Becker SIMS, and doing Ninja SIMS as well, even though they may not be as good as the real thing, the more practice I can get the better. I tried to listen to a lecture on Revenue Recognition and decided that I can't listen to another word Garritty says every again!

[Floreat]

Hi, SchruteBeet,

Sorry to here about your FAR score, but so glad you are not deterred and have a plan. It sounds good to me. Two things you could consider are incorporating 1) MCQ's and SIM's into you plan from day one and 2) Pushing your retake to maybe March 5th or 6th. Incorporating MCQ & SIMS up front, might force you to have the concepts in the forefront of your mind. Pushing it out would give you time for a solid review only week.

The advice I got from my personal counselor at Gleim for my REG retake was to work through the MCQ and write on notecards all the concepts that I could think of that related to the question. I didn't actually do that, but it forced me to think high level about the question first, in terms of concept, and then drill down to formulas, rules and application. I think it helped. I think such an approach can be used for FAR, too.

Now that life has settled down for you a bit, you can give this last dragon the whipping it has coming! Hope this was helpful. Good luck and KNOW that you will do this.

Ethics, here I come!
FAR: 80 (10/28/2016)
AUD: 85 (2/6/2017)
REG: 68 (5/31/2017), 77 (12/7/2017)
BEC: 79 (9/7/2017)

[Anonymous]

Repeating what I just said in another thread, I think it's very helpful to be able recall *something* basic about every topic. A foothold, if you will.

We assume that we know something if we understand it. Understanding is NOT knowledge, I don't care what Descartes says lol. I read and re-read my REG notes for weeks, and I understood every word. But at exam time, I couldn't even calculate personal exemptions because I hadn't really entrusted anything to memory.

[SchruteBeet]

@anyatver Agreed! I was watching the lecture on the new rev rec standards and it put in a very dark place suddenly haha. Glad to hear about your plan it sounds like we're both trying to focus on the same areas. Hopefully it's one last push for us! @Floreat Thanks for your input, I've been following your journey and I was so glad to hear when you passed your final exam. Unfortunately I can't push my exam any later since I am testing at an international testing center and also I need to take the exam before my BEC expires. But I will try to incorporate the SIMs and MCQs into my plan sooner. @calvinus I agree about having a basic recall tool related to each topic. I think it would have def helped in my first attempt!

[Anonymous]

I feel like us re-takers need a separate thread just to bitch and moan about how much re-studying sucks! 🙂 LOL

Did my first set of 30 MCQ in Ninja last night-for a 73…..:(

[JAStansel]

I am scheduled to retake FAR on Jan. 27th and plan to listen to the new lectures from Roger first. Following that, my plans are in the air. I was so close my first time, and know that the SIMs were where I lost it. So I guess I should focus on doing as many SIMs as possible from every source I have, which includes Roger, Ninja, Becker and Surgent. I was also debating on listening to the Becker lectures while I work; any thoughts on that? I wasn't crushed about not passing until I saw how much change there was on FAR when Roger updated, that is when I cried. Guess I really need to figure out a study plan and stick to it!

[Anonymous]

I just passed FAR despite not even finishing the sims, so let me assure you that it's possible. And I know that I bombed the sims because I had only 1.5 hours left by the time I started them.

So what was the difference? I remember there was one loong sim about year-end adjusting entries, with the usual ten supporting documents. Except this time I didn't panic, took my time, and nailed it. And I think that's the key – it's better to at least get some of it right than wildly guessing without really even trying.

[PianoCPA]

This whole jumping back in to studying kind of stinks. I started with FAR, got a 62. Passed all other sections, returned to FAR last quarter, got a 64. Used Becker both times, but my coworkers are saying to try Ninja (push the MCQ until I'm sick of them, and then do more!). So to say the least, I'm happy to find this thread, and glad to see others jumping in to FAR before other credits fall off (I lose REG February 28).

I'll state my plan (somewhat) publicly to keep myself accountable: I have Ninja Notes (already re-wrote them once before finding the 2018 update). During the next two weeks, I'll probably take half-days at work (spread out the year-end PTO!), I'm hoping to spend at least three hours each day on MCQ, and another hour on SIMs.

In the past, I spread my time out too much: 3 months for the first FAR, and 5 months for second FAR, all with only one or two hours daily. I read in other threads that there's something to be said for cramming into short-term memory…not how I usually work, but I guess I need to adapt.

I have the NTS but haven't set exam date yet. I don't want to run in to busy season, but January 16 seems too soon. Thoughts on that?

Also good to read above other people's thoughts on the new Revenue Recognition standards…not sure if I want to look Tim Gerty in the face again.

And thanks for being a great community–this process can be isolating!

[msquared17]

@anyatver – I like the idea of a FAR retake thread. 🙂

[Author]

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