[Tina82]

I’ve asked this question before, but starting a new one to make sure there are no disclosure issues. Please don’t mention specific topics, just how did you prepare for these (as prepared as one can be).

What in your opinion is the best way to prepare for the SIMS:

A) practice MCQs, no SIMS

B) practice SIMs in Becker/Wiley/CPAReview

And how much time it is worth to spend on the practice SIMs? I was thinking of trying to go through the Becker SIMs once and maybe look at some Wiley (time permitting).

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[Serena]

I personally don't look at the sims practice questions until I am comfortable with all the material from the MCQs. (I.e. passing scores.) I usually just do a handful of sims in my last 2 weeks of studying, basically just to get a feel for what to expect. I will still be hammering out the MCQs in the last two weeks, consolidating my notes, and then i will throw in maybe 2 or 3 sims a day.

I don't really like to waste my time doin a bunch of the research sims, just the ones where there's a bunch of calculations and journal entries.

But DO become familiar with how the research sims work, just don't do a whole bunch of them.

Hope this helps!

AZ
AUD - 10/20/2011 - 77
BEC - 7/28/2012 - 79
FAR - 4/6/2013 - 79
REG - 4/18/2013 - 75 (3rd time's a charm!)

[scestone]

I find it very important to understand and have the ability to complete the journal entries for the major topics.

During my exam I also found it very valuable being familiar with the codification and being able to understand and navigate it.

Good Luck! 67 no study is fairly impressive you should do great

REG - 95
FAR - 96
BEC - 92
AUD - 99

[Tina82]

Thanks guys. I'm writing all the JEs in my notes and it helps with a lot of the mcqs. I looked at a few SIMs and I think they actually might be helpful in pulling all the info together.

scestone – I probably just got lucky with the 67 🙂

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[Tina82]

Anyone else with tips? Calling all FAR ninjas. And maybe Jeff will chime in if I'm lucky 🙂

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[ORcpaHOPEFUL]

I personally think it's worth it if you have the time. I always did the assigned SIMs in the homework then when I did the practice exams online for Wiley I did 7 of them like the actual test and I always chose “problems I haven't seen before” so I could see a wide range of topics. Just seeing all of the random kind of SIMs you could get was nice and put me at ease going into taking FAR. You also for sure need to know journal entries and should be good at navigating the AL because if you have some extra time you can look up answers (or info that can help you answer!) good luck 🙂

FAR: PASSED!! 64, 68, 79 on 2/27/13!
AUD: PASSED!! 73, 93 on 4/5/13!!!
BEC: PASSED!! 75 (phew) on 5/24/13!
REG: PASSED!!! 77 on 8/7/13 I AM DONE!!!!!

Experience: got it!
Ethics Exam: PASSED on first try (what a waste of money)

[SeattleAccountant]

Did all the Becker FAR sims during the initial lecture/MCQ/Sim round and went back for the second round of review and completed those Sims that were messed up/misunderstood the first time around. Working out sims is crucial in my opinion especially in FAR, this is as important as knowing the JEs for the covered chapters.

Becker Class of Jan - Aug 2013: FARB DONE!!!!
CPA license pending 🙂

[Faintear]

I used the Wiley book and the Wiley test bank. There's really no way to prepare for it, but I suggest just looking over the SIMs over the book, test bank, or whatever material you're using that has SIMs. Just look over it and be familiar with the formats of the SIMs

[Anonymous]

I was lousy at sims. After 3 hrs of testlets, it was like I had a hard time even understanding what the sims were asking.

1. Know your journal entries!

2. Wiley Test bank is excellent for sims. I made sure I did almost every sim I could for the topics that had them in addition to over 3000+ mcq.

3. Do 1-3 sims for every 20 mcq over and over as you switch around your topics. Wiley Testbank makes it easy to do this.

I was one of those people that just needed extra help to be more proficient with sims. I actually finished all sims on this last round of FAR on 04-19-13. I'm anxiously awaiting the results.

Good luck!

[Tina82]

Thanks everyone, I think I will focus on the Wiley SIMs. I've been writing out the JEs so hopefully that helps 🙂

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[RSBro]

I study MCQ's and SIM's on different days. Like others have said, after 3 hours of MCQ's I can't just take a 5 min break and work on SIM's and be proficient at them. Obviously hasn't “worked” yet as SIM's are far and away my weak area on the exam but I just need to do more of them I think. Becker sometimes only has 1-2 per chapter so far, for FAR.

REG - ('11) 71, ('12) 71 - Becker
AUD - TBD
BEC - TBD
FAR - ('16) 54 - Becker

[Author]

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