Has anyone ever passed FAR with these odds?

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  • #177932
    Path To CPA
    Member

    I took FAR for the 4th time on 5/31/13 and need some words of comfort to keep hope alive.

    The first time I took FAR was just to have a feel because I made a mistake to pay for 2 exams at once (REG & FAR) and did not have time to study for both. I scheduled them all on the last week of my expiring NTS and completed FAR in 15 mns (I just clicked on random answers just to learn how to navigate through the software). I failed it with a 24.

    The Second time, I had a very poor time management during the exam and only left myself 54 mns for the Sims. My testlets were Medium-Difficult-Difficult. My score report showed that I score stronger on MCQs and weaker on Sims. I failed it with a 67

    My third time, I focused more on speed and did not care about testslet getting harder. My time management was great and I had 1h 45mns for the Sims. My testlets were Medium-Medium-Medium with the 2nd testlet being very easy. My score report showed that I was weaker on MCQs and on Sims. I failed with a 69.

    The Fourth time, I tried to find a middle ground between quality and speed. My testlets were Medium-Difficult-Meduim. The Sims caused my downfall once again. This time around I had 2 research questions and 5 other Sims on various subjects. I’ll know my score hopefully this Friday.

    My question is: Has anyone of you pass FAR with the following odds? and do you think I have a chance of being done this time?

    2 research questions = 0% – I could not find any of the 🙁

    3 Sims = At least 75% correct on each of them

    2 Sims = Just hoping for very little partial credit (not more than 10% combined).

    The spiritual side of me is telling me that this is it, I’ll pass it. The human side of me is telling me that history will repeat itself and that the weak simulations will cause me to fail again.

    Can someone tell me that doing well on MCQs and decent on only 3 Sims can lead to a pass grade? Any input will be very helpful.

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 22 total)
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  • #420325
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    FAR is a beast. In my opinion, it should be two tests like it was in the past (get rid of BEC). Here is the problem with FAR, there is so much to learn and yet you won't have any questions over at least half of the material. Took me 5 times, but I didn't put the study time in that I should have during the process.

    I think the SIMs is how I passed with a 78. I had six problems and one research. I felt that I figured each of them out pretty well except for 1 of them. Is 3 enough to pass? It depends on how well everyone else did on the same three SIMs. One of my SIMs was on a topic that many struggle with that I knew hand downs.

    The MC are the key in my opinion. The first set allows you to present basic knowledge, and then the second allows you to show what level above basic you are at after working very difficult problems. The third gives you a chance to drive it home. Do ok on the SIMs and you are golden.

    The one time I thought I had nailed FAR was when I nailed the SIMs, but the MC were too easy and failed with a 71. You should walk out of that testing room feeling like you could only answer a handful of questions from the on the 2nd and 3rd bank of questions.

    We all have our beast of our exams. REG and FAR are mine. I didn’t put any study into BEC and passed with an 82 and about 20 hours of study for an 83 on AUD. Some people pass REG and FAR with ease and struggle with BEC and AUD. Everyone’s mind works in different ways.

    My advice if you fail. Get Yaeger CPA review and it will help you narrow down what you need to know. It’s how I finally passed FAR. They key to FAR in my opinion is focusing on what is important and what you need to know as you can’t know everything.

    #420326
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    For my first one (audit) i didnt know what to expect, but i felt like I passed and I did

    For Reg, I though i did poorly. I expected to be on the bubble (73-77 range).. Ended up with a 86

    For FAR, i though I did good. I though it was my best exam. I expected a 90+ considering i felt better on it than in Audit. I got the same 86 I got on Reg. Go figure

    For BEC, i only had 3 weeks to prepared and i was burned out from FARE. I didnt prepare for it like I did for the other 3, but after the exam I was happy because I felt like i have a fighting chance of passing. Expected to be in the bubble as well and this time i was right (76)

    #420327
    Path To CPA
    Member

    Thanks for your help guys.

    I would have felt more confident if I had found the 2 research questions. I'm considering continuing to work MCQS and Sims and retake the exam at the beginning of July if I fail. However, deep inside, I'm hoping for a miracle. I'll keep hoping until I hear from NASBA.

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420328
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Im sorry for my post.. I was Multi tabbing and posted on the wrong one. Cant edit it now for some reason

    Anyway, i am really hoping you get that last exam and be done with this…

    I think you will do better than you think on the Simulations.. I assume the simulation have the same points each (6.67) but i think they make it so you can accumulate more points. Example if you do a perfect 8/8 on a simulation you will be awarded 6.67 points, but if you did 6/8 you will be awarded 6 pts. Again this is just my theory

    #420329
    Path To CPA
    Member

    @angelmiguel

    Thanks for your encouraging words. There is hope and I'll keep it alive until I get my score. When you believe, even what's considered impossible becomes possible and I'm a believer.

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420330
    Ntw6817
    Participant

    I feel like I did about as well as you did on the SIMS. I also had 2 research questions but I think I got the first one right but I feel like that one was a pretest.

    #420331
    WEAGLE
    Member

    @Path To CPA – From what I've read in the past, there is always one pretest SIM. You will always have at least one research. If there are two, the second is a pretest question. I could be wrong, but you shouldn't be too discouraged about missing both, because hopefully only one of them counts!

    AUD - 68, 83 (exp), 74
    ---------------------------------
    FAR - 77 (exp), 73, 71, 72, 77
    BEC - 68, 72, 71, 82
    REG - 70, 70, 79

    Program used - Becker (x2), Just purchased 10 point combo! Let's see how it goes!

    #420332
    Path To CPA
    Member

    @Ntw6817

    It surely looks like we had similar Sims but at least you got one research question right. It would have been perfect if they had partial credits on the research questions because I was in the right section but just could not find the last number to fill the 4th box. How do you feel you did in MCQs? I'm confident I did fairly well on those and hope they will carry me through the finish line. Good luck to you.

    @WEAGLE

    Thanks for the moral boost. If indeed one of these research questions is pretest, my chances of passing will slightly increase. Spent a lot of time digging in this website, looking for threads that will make me feel good and decrease the pain that comes with waiting for a score. While searching, I found what I will call “one of the greatest threads” for my current situation. The thread did get really ugly at a time but if you look towards the end, everyone who thought they did poorly on Sims and great on MCQs ended up passing. It may not be the same case for me but it certainly gave me hope and proved that anything is possible when it comes to FAR.

    Here is the link: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/to-those-that-feel-they-failed-far

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420333
    Ntw6817
    Participant

    @Path To CPA I'm pretty sure I did well on the MCQ. The 2nd testlet was definitely more wordier and I believe it was the more difficult one. The third one I'm not too sure about.

    I think that thing that killed me was the SIMS. I'm pretty sure the 1st research question was the pretest because the research question is left for last and that's the one I got right. I think I'll be lucky to have gotten 50% of the SIMS points. So that's 50% of 40% percent of the test. If I got a perfect on the MC (which I doubt I did) I can still get an 80.

    #420334
    Path To CPA
    Member

    @Ntw6817

    There is still hope for us and tomorrow we will know if our best efforts were good enough in the eyes of AICPA. Good luck to everyone waiting for a result tomorrow. Let's hope and pray for good outcome.

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420335
    rockrlz87
    Member

    @Path To CPA

    To be honest it's all random how much each sim is weighted. You could have what appears to be a hard sim (i.e. you didn't study pensions and had a pension sim), but it not be weighted as much as maybe what you preceive as the easy sims (i.e. there was one really long sim, although easy, left room for alot of mistakes that AICPA could ding you on) but that easy sim is weighed heavily.

    It took me more than 4 times to pass FAR so don't stress. Having the 1hr45m you said on your “third” attempt was great and my goal is usually to spend no more than 1hr30m-2hr on multiple choice for any section.

    Now getting to why I put “third” in parathesis. I think your biggest mistake was the first time you sat for FAR in which you finished in 15min. To be honest your best bet would have been to test your knowledge from college/work experience to see how you do. With the feedback results we get it's a great tool to use for studying. That way when you actually started to study for FAR the first time you would have known which areas to really focus on.

    With all that being said, good luck on your score tomorrow and hopefully we will both get our passing scores and be done.

    BEC - 5/2012 - 79
    AUD - 10/2012 - 77
    REG - 7/2013 - ???
    FAR - 12/2012 - 80

    #420336
    Path To CPA
    Member

    @rockrlz87

    Thanks for your input. The first time I took FAR, I have not read a single page and had been out of college for more than a year. So there was not much I could do and even if I had taken the time to do it well, I would have guessed 95% of the MCQs and wouldn't know where to start with the Sims. Therefore the report that I would have gotten would not have been accurate as far as showing my weak areas. I believe that learning FAR is comparable to learning a foreign language; If you don't practice it on a regular basis, you tend to forget what you've learnt. Additionally, I had REG scheduled the same week and my main focus was to get use to the exam software navigation.

    I'm really hoping that the fourth time will be the last time for me and I also hope you pass your REG exam and get your life back. Tomorrow promise to be a good day in our lives. Hopes and Prayers.

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420337
    steggy
    Participant

    So… I took FAR on 5/29 and the anticipation is killing me. Looking at the release schedule it says days from test window is once NASBA receives the scores not when you test. Does this mean I will likely not see my score tomorrow? Was hoping so… Really hoping I passed this thing!

    #420338
    Path To CPA
    Member

    @Steggy

    Based on past trends, I'm sure that you'll receive your score tomorrow. The time varies but my bet is that the scores will be released right after 2pm.

    These are my predictions but AICPA and NASBA always have the last word. Good luck!

    REG: 68, 75
    AUD: 80
    BEC: 77
    FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!

    Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success

    NYS Licensed CPA - 2013

    #420339
    peetree
    Member

    “there is so much to learn and yet you won't have any questions over at least half of the material”

    This is what I feel is the hardest part about FAR. It's not that any of the material is that difficult. It's the fact that there is just so damn much to remember!!!

    Even if you do learn it all, half of it won't even be on the exam. Soooooo frustrating.

    If you fail it this time, don't worry, just know you need to put it so much more time for FAR than you do for the others.

    I'll cross my fingers for you bud!

    FAR 02/21/13 - 95
    REG 07/02/13 - 87
    AUD 08/02/13 - 94
    BEC 08/30/13 - 85
    Ethics Exam - 90

    Illinois candidate awaiting his license

    Used Becker Self Study | Ninja Audio | Becker Flash Cards | Ninja Notes | Wiley Test Bank

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