[jeff]

I just checked mine for MA – still error score not found. Nothing yet

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I have passed the other 3 sections using Wiley only(I wouldn't do it again though, wiley is very technical) andnow I'm getting ready for this monster. Here's my humble opinion of how did I tell before my other ones if I was ready for the exam: 1 week before the exam, and having done all the Wiley MC's twice, I would writte down, without any help, all the modules and topics related to that module, along with any calculation, formulas, key concepts, neumonics or whatever pertain to the subject that was on the book. If there was a weak subject i would review it, if there was a very weak subject I would go to the book and MC's one more time. Be smart and choose the most tested topics that are based on the weights, you can tell this by how many MC's you have in the chapters. Master those main topics, reread every single day you main list that you wrote down to test yourself….then, when you are able to recite it…you are ready……You are all smart enough to pick your battles(chapters) to focus on…if you weren't you'll be working at Micky D's for 7,50 an hour…no that it is a bad job, but I prefer to get certified and have my own office…

REG:75, BEC: 77, AUD:83, FAR: 08/23

[lucylaw]

@Connie thx for the support. know I send it back your way.

@financeguy thanks for the advice and positive vibes to you. Sometimes that commiseration, the simple knowledge that none of us are doing this by ourselves helps. Mid-way through getting my Masters, I had a tax prof who thumped us with the hardest tests I've ever taken. It was so humbling, but it helped me tons. I just did what I could. I worked hard and I focused. The two minutes/educated guess advice is fabulous. I've been running over time in almost all of my quizzes. Also, chin up, that downer feeling after you finish one of these tests is a killer.

@CPAWannaBe you're so right on. Maybe I'll nickname FAR “the intimidator.” I'll post when I'm done tomorrow. 🙂 Thanks for the tip on Becker Final Review. I joined Club75 and got Jeff's notes to read over, which have helped me a bunch too.

All: at roughly 4:30 pm tomorrow, I'll raise my glass to you.

BEC 78 w00t | AUD July | FAR July 9 | REG 85

[Anonymous]

lucylaw

Good luck tomorrow – hope the beast tests what you know and that you pick off the points from the sim that you need to push you over the top!

Enjy the raised glass tomorrow!

[GopherCPA]

Sorry, it's taken me so long to respond to the questions that were asked a couple days ago…here goes! The strategy I took was going over each homework topic from the lecture CD and then doing the questions related. It helped me to break up the lectures, because they can get really long and boring. I would save the supplemental questions until after I had read through and done extra studying for each chapter. Usually I would try to spend 3 days for each chapter, maybe 4 if I hadn't done the topic for a while.

As for simulations, I didn't really do any prep for those specifically. I figured that if I was good enough at the multiple choice questions (getting above a 85) I would be able to handle most simulations. For all the exams I have taken I felt that were was usually one sim that I felt fairly good about and then at least one tab that I would have been lucky to 50% on. It varied a lot. For memos I just read over a few from Becker and then followed that format when I wrote mine.

I hope this helps! I also did use a lot of my materials from classes I took in college for FAR, because they went more in depth for some topics- so if you aren't too far out of college I'd use those resources too! Good luck:-)

[FARbehind]

Question: Why is Phil Yeager using the ABO to calculate the funded status for pensions whereas in Becker they say the funded status is calculated by using PBO (FV of plan assets-PBO=Funded Status). Which one is correct?

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[Anonymous]

FINALLY almost done w/all of the DVD's for FAR (using Yaeger), on DVD 13 of 14. After this I will be going back and redoing the minimum MCQ, then will either do all of the remainding or start pounding questions on the Wiley CD.

Any other suggestions?

[jeff]

FARbehind – I wondered if you were using an old version and after e-mailing you, this is the case.

Yes – ABO is the old way…use PBO now.

CPA-Valenz – that's exactly what I would do.

-Jeff

[FARbehind]

Jeff, thanks a lot. I guess using an old version is not a good idea…LOL

aud,bec,reg-passed
far-->75 Done!!!!!
ethics-100

[Anonymous]

@GopherCPA

Thanks for the info. I'm getting nervous about FAR but I refuse to reschedule! I will not let FAR take over my life! (-:

[Anonymous]

From what I've seen it's hard to feel completely prepared for FAR. I take it on the 19th, and go thru mood swings doing the review, feeling confident on some stuff and shaky on some other. I rescheduled both BEC and AUD before taking them, and am going to avoid doing that any more!

Let's have faith in our studying and hope for the best!

[Anonymous]

FAR in 4 days and I'm getting so stressed out. I'm working the required Becker multiple choice for the 2nd time, supplemental for the 1st time, and simulations for the 1st time. The worst part is that I feel like I have to re-learn some of what I've already mastered. My boyfriend is so sweet to help me out, he reads questions out loud to me when I just can't take it anymore. This is the worst summer ever…

[Anonymous]

FAR in 8 days. I know the feeling. I am going back through the chapters, chapter questions, homework questions, Becker Final Review, those questions and I am so burnt out after all that. Some questions I have gotten wrong over 5 times!

I'd like to do the supplemental and some Wiley questions but feel like I will scream if I do another complex calculation. My brain can only do so much in a day. These 10 days prior to test time are crucial because my memory starts to go.

This is the worst week of the worst summer of my entire life. I hope we all pass this thing once and for all!

[whonis2002]

Jeff since your the master in all this I just finished chapters one and two with the Becker material ..in your opinion, does the CPA exam focus on certain particular topics as compared to others?

[knj1988]

I just took FAR today. And it sucked. The first testlet was OK. The second and third were bad. My sims were testing nit picky little things and other big broad topics… It was almost bizarre how much information was given on one Sim Tab. The prompt said pretty much “they choose not to use XXX information because they consider it immaterial,” but I couldn't tell whether that meant it was excluded from internal calculations and I should work it in because they messed up by not considering it, or if they were just trying to see if I'd read the prompt and was just supposed to ignore it.

There was also 1 or 2 MCQs where I'm 85% sure the correct answer wasn't there… I came home and looked in the Becker book to confirm… the journal entry options on the MCQs just WEREN'T the right accounts… it was odd.

Because the test is computer adaptive and scored based on how hard the questions that you get right or wrong are… I think I screwed myself by getting stupid, easy things wrong…

BEC- 85
AUD- 84
FAR- 91
REG- 96

[GopherCPA]

Big Shot CPA,

Good luck! I wouldn't reschedule it- I figure what can few days do anyway? you'd probably rather just get it over with and get on with celebrating being done!

[Author]

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